When Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency last week after weeks of anti-government protests amid the worst economic crisis the island nation has faced since its independence, many foreign envoys and rights groups expressed concern, stating that citizens have the right to peacefully protest in a democracy and their voices should be heard. Some expressed concern that such a measure could be counterproductive. As expected, protests demanding the Rajapaksa government to step down over mismanagement of economy, which has led to acute shortage of staple food, fuel, electricity and other essential goods, didn’t stop. The Sri Lankan Army stood by their words not to resort to violence to suppress peaceful protests. However, it took a completely different turn on Monday after the pro-government supporters attacked anti-government protesters, leading to the death of several people and injured hundreds. The clash was unfortunate and should have been avoided. There is no justification for such attacks. Allowing civilians to quell anti-government demonstrations has put a big question mark on the law enforcing agencies as well as the government. It, in fact, added fuel to the fire that was raging for months and pushed the country to the edge.
Following Monday’s violent incident that prompted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign, besides the ancestral home of the Rajapaksa family being set on fire and houses of dozens of politicians attacked, curfew has been imposed across the country. The government has also given emergency powers to its military and police, giving the forces the power to detain people without warrants for up to 24 hours as well as carry out search operations. Some have expressed concern over the latest move, arguing that such measures could be abused. Now, the military should stick to its earlier stand of upholding the constitution of the country and avoid violence on peaceful demonstrations. Further agitations and skirmishes can’t be ruled out considering the magnitude of the crisis but the armed forces should tactfully deal with such situations. Crackdown on protesters has cost several lives and pushed the whole nation into a vulnerable situation. The country can’t afford to make such a mistake again.
Meanwhile, the fact that the current crisis is an outcome of years of reckless borrowings and other government policies, further aggravated by the ongoing pandemic, the road to recovery can be long for the island nation. While making efforts to de-escalate the current situation, the government should convince the citizens that it is taking concrete steps to rebuild the economy. The policy makers should chart out a long term solution and pull the country out of this mess. Absence of such a road map and trying to stifle the voice of the people instead of tackling the root cause of the turmoil can push the country into a similar crisis in future. Above all, the administration should not use suppressive tactics on peaceful protestors, especially when they are fighting for their bread and butter. Governments from other countries can also learn a lesson from this episode- that undermining civil liberties can be disastrous.