Diplomats concerned by state of emergency in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Diplomats and rights groups expressed concern Saturday after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency and police used force against peaceful protests demanding his ouster over the nation’s worst economic crisis.

Rajapaksa issued a decree Friday declaring a public emergency. It empowers him to authorize detentions, property seizure and search of any premises. He can also change or suspend any law in the interests of public security and for the maintenance of essential supplies.

Sri Lanka is near bankruptcy. It has been rocked by months of street protests blaming Rajapaksa and his close family members, who have dominated politics for years, for economic and debt mismanagement that has created massive shortages of basic supplies, electricity and medicines.

The government has suspended repayment of its foreign loans and its usable foreign currency reserves have plummeted below $50 million. The country has $7 billion in foreign loan repayments due this year out of the total foreign debt of $51 billion.

Police used tear gas and a water cannon twice Friday at protesters near the Parliament building who were criticizing lawmakers for not ousting the president and the government, headed by his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Protesters are angry that lawmakers elected a government-backed deputy speaker of Parliament by a large majority in what was seen as a key victory for the governing coalition.

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung tweeted Saturday that she is “concerned” by the state of emergency, adding that “the voices of peaceful citizens need to be heard.”

“And the very real challenges Sri Lankans are facing require long term solutions to set the country back on a path toward prosperity and opportunity for all. The...