Sri Lanka will not renew the state of emergency, the situation in the country shaken by unrest due to the economic crisis having “stabilised”, announced Tuesday the office of the president.
The state of emergency was renewed on July 18 and President Ranil Wickremesinghe has the power to extend it monthly.
Sri Lanka, which is experiencing a very serious economic crisis, was rocked from April 9 by demonstrations aimed at protesting against shortages of basic necessities, such as fuel, food and medicine.
They peaked on July 9, when tens of thousands of people poured into Colombo and stormed the presidential palace of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing him to flee to Singapore and resign.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who succeeded Mr Rajapaksa, promised to take tough action against “all troublemakers”.
“The situation in the country has stabilized, there is no need to impose the state of emergency again when it expires this week,” said the head of state, quoted by his office.
The state of emergency, heavily criticized by rights groups, allows troops to arrest and detain suspects, and the president to pass regulations that override existing laws to deal with any unrest.
To see in video