Sri Lanka leader declares emergency amid protests

By KRISHAN FRANCIS and ERANGA JAYAWARDENA
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president has declared a state of emergency amid widespread public protests demanding his resignation over the country’s worst economic crisis in recent memory. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a decree declaring a public emergency effective Friday. Sri Lanka is near bankruptcy having announced that it is suspending repayment of its foreign loans and its usable foreign currency reserves plummeting below $50 million. Rajapaksa’s announcement comes as protesters demonstrate near Parliament while others occupy the entrance to the president’s office demanding Rajapaksa and his powerful ruling family quit, holding them responsible for the economic crisis.