Police stood outside a gas station in the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and slowly opened shops on Saturday April 2, the first day after a state of emergency was declared, resolving growing disputes as an unprecedented economic crisis is raging.

In a decision issued last Friday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa called for a law allowing the military to arrest and detain suspects without warning. In his statement, he said the state of emergency was necessary to protect public health and control vital supplies and services.

Hundreds of protesters were outraged by the shortage of fuel and other essentials, clashed with police and soldiers outside Rajapaksa's building on Thursday, demanding Rajapaksa's removal and setting fires for various police vehicles and military.

Police on Friday imposed a curfew in and around Colombo after arresting 53 people to stop further unrest. "Sri Lankans have the right to fight for peace, which is essential to the spread of democracy," US President Julie Chung said.

“We are taking good care of the situation,” he tweeted.

With a population of 22 million, the country's islands are plagued by electricity tariffs that last for up to 13 hours a day as the government rushes for foreign currency to pay for their import services of oil.

Due to a shortage of major foreign supplies, a tanker carrying 5,500 metric tons of cooking oil was forced out of Sri Lankan waters after the company, Laugfs Gas, was unable to board. 4.9 million US dollars from the local bank to pay it. . .

W H K Wegapitiya, director of Laugfs Gas, told Reuters: "People are struggling with a shortage of cooking oil, but how can we help them when they have no money?" Police and military police have been at the gas station for the past month helping thousands of people distribute fuel and make peace.

The current crisis (result of uncontrolled commercialization by the government) has led to further disruption of the line of transmission of COVID-19, which has affected travel, visits and remittances.

It also makes a positive contribution to Rajapaksa, who came to power with the most victories, promising security in 2019.

The government said it was asking the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bailouts and was still asking for new loans from India and China.

For the first time since Colombo received a loan from New Delhi, Indian traders have started transporting 40,000 tons of rice into the country's main food supplies.

( Source://Reuters )