An imminent threat of starvation awaits Sri Lanka, warned speaker of the parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. The economic crisis, and the consequent political storm, has all but crippled Sri Lanka—the nation is currently experiencing long lines for fuel, cooking gas, with essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts.
Abeywardana, warning that this was “just the beginning", said, according to The Guardian: “The food, gas and electricity shortages will get worse. There will be very acute food shortages and starvation."
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had declared the emergency last week after protesters demonstrated near his home in Colombo. The protests initially began over shortages of essentials such as cooking gas, petrol, electricity and milk powder, but now have spread across the island nation and the demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Rajapaksa and his government. The president late Tuesday night revoked the emergency after huge public protests demanded his resignation.
The president and his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold power in Sri Lanka, despite their politically powerful family being the focus of public ire. On Tuesday, a verbal clash took place in Parliament between ruling party and Opposition members when they held a debate over the current crisis in Sri Lanka.
Speaker Abeywardena was forced to suspend sittings twice as a result of a heated situation which arose in Parliament.
The main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) also held placards in Parliament during the debate. The opposition questioned the state of emergency enforced and later lifted by the president and also insisted that the President steps down. Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday said it is closely following developments in Sri Lanka and urged the authorities to engage in a meaningful dialogue with political parties and civil society to find a solution to the deepening economic crisis, the Colombo Page reported.
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, said public frustration had been rising in recent months with largely peaceful demonstrations taking place across the country and the situation has worsened over the past two weeks amid sudden shortages in fuel, cooking gas and some essential food items, as well as power cuts. The spokesperson said the Human Rights Office is concerned over the measures taken by the government declaring a state of emergency, curfew and internet ban and police violence against protesters.
"We are concerned that such measures are aimed at preventing or discouraging people from legitimately expressing their grievances through peaceful protests, and that they frustrate the exchange of views on matters of public interest," she said.