Alasdair Pa and Uditha Jasinghe

COLOMBO(Reuters) – Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital city was calm Saturday as the President declared a State of Emergency following escalating protests against his government.

Although the details of the emergency regulations have not been made public yet, they are more powerful than previous laws that gave greater authority to the president to use military force, arrest people without charge, and end protests. [L2N2WY1RR]

According to his office, “The President made this decision because of the Sri Lankan emergency” and to ensure public safety and public order.

Initial reports did not indicate any late-night disruptions after the emergency declaration just before midnight. Traffic continued as usual in Galle Face which is a central part of Colombo and has long been a focal point of demonstrations and marches.

Police fired tear gas on dozens of protestors outside Parliament Friday, the latest violent demonstrations against government in over a month. This was in response to shortages in imported fuel, food and medicine.

The rising oil price, pandemic and tax cuts have left Sri Lanka with only $50 million worth of foreign currency reserves.

For a bailout, the country approached International Monetary Fund.

A statement by Masahiro Nagaki, IMF’s chief mission for Sri Lanka, stated that the IMF would meet with officials from Sri Lanka in a virtual meeting starting Monday.