Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency Amid Escalating Protests

University students take part in a demonstration demanding the resignation of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the country's crippling economic crisis, near the parliament building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 6, 2022. Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared an island-wide state of emergency for the second time since April amid sustained protests demanding his resignation.

The state of emergency was imposed in the interests of public security, the protection of public order, and the maintenance of supplies and essential services, the president’s media division said in a May 6 statement.