Rajapaksa said in a statement to the government newspaper late Friday that he had made the decision in favor of public safety, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and basic services. Hundreds of protesters clashed with police and army on Thursday outside Rajapaksa’s residence in a suburb of the capital, Colombo. The police arrested 53 people and imposed a ban on traffic in and around Colombo Friday to reduce sporadic demonstrations that have breached due to deficiencies in basic species, including fuel and other goods. The island nation of the Indian Ocean of 22 million people faces continuous power outages for up to 13 hours a day as the government tries to secure foreign exchange to pay for fuel imports. The country’s lucrative tourism industry and remittances have fallen from the pandemic and public finances have been hit hard by the deep tax cuts promised by Rajapaksa during his 2019 election campaign. Ordinary Sri Lankans are also facing shortages and rising inflation after the country sharply devalued its currency last month ahead of talks with the International Monetary Fund on a loan program. An alliance of 11 political parties has urged Rajapaksa to dissolve the cabinet and form a government with all parties to deal with the crisis, local media reported, in a country where both India and China are vying for influence. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds near Rajapaksa’s residence on Thursday, after burning several police and army vehicles. At least two dozen police were injured in the clashes, an official said, declining to comment on the number of protesters injured. Tourism Minister Prasana Ranatunge warned that such protests would damage the economic prospects. “The main problem facing Sri Lanka is the lack of foreign exchange and protests like this will hurt tourism and have economic consequences,” Ranatunge said. The United Nations envoy to the country, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, called on all groups involved in the conflict to show restraint. “We are following developments and are concerned about reports of violence,” he said on Twitter.
