Search Results for: rajapaksa

Sri Lankan law students are reporting for JURIST on the situation in that country since mass protests and the physical invasion of the President’s House in Colombo by demonstrators forced the departure and resignation of Sri Lanka’s president and precipitated the imposition of emergency rule. Here, Naveera Perera of CfPS Law School reports from Colombo. [...]

What is Happening in Sri Lanka? The dynasty has fallen. After protesters stormed the presidential palace and the private residences of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakse and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former announced his resignation while the latter offered to follow suit. For some, the anger burgeoned as Sri Lanka‘s economy spiraled into a [...]

Sri Lanka lifted a government curfew Sunday for the Buddhist holiday of Vesak on May 16. The curfew was put in place on May 9 after violence broke out amid protests against current Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The curfew was instituted under Sri Lanka’s Public Security Ordinance Part III. The [...]

Sri Lankan security officials were given orders Wednesday to use live ammunition against protesters to prevent “anarchy” amid anti-government protests and an economic crisis in the island nation. Sri Lanka, which is facing its worst economic crisis since the country declared independence from Britain in 1948, has been “rocked” with violence amid supply shortages, a [...]

These days, the Sri Lankan rupee has fallen by almost 45 percent compared to the US dollar. Its foreign exchange reserves are nearly dry, having dropped below $1 billion. Meanwhile, the island nation has to repay debts of about $4 billion in the rest of this year, including a $1 billion international sovereign bond that [...]

A nation-wide strike in Sri Lanka Thursday brought the country to a standstill. Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck Sri Lanka, the country has experienced shortages in food, fuel and medicine. The situation has become so dire that the government has requested donations from citizens in other countries. The crisis has been caused in part by [...]

Sri Lankan police Tuesday opened fire at people who were protesting against the new fuel price hike, killing one and injuring 13 others. This was the first incident of shooting by security forces during weeks of demonstrations over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. Sri Lanka is facing the worst financial crisis in its [...]

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) Tuesday urged Sri Lankan authorities to find a solution to the country’s economic and political challenges in a press release following Sri Lanka’s state of emergency declaration. Sri Lanka, which is enduring its most painful economic downturn since its independence from Britain in 1948, declared a state of emergency [...]

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers Sunday reportedly resigned amidst rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis in the country. All ministers except Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa signed a letter stating their resignation, paving the way  for a new cabinet to be formed. The letter was submitted to the prime minister, who will [...]

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the EU on Thursday to increase pressure on the Sri Lankan government to reform its controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and ensure its compliance with international standards. The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry (“the Ministry”) announced a proposed amendment to the PTA on Monday, which it hailed as the [...]