Sri Lanka won't extend state of emergency

Colombo, Aug 17 (IANS) Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will not extend a state of emergency declared during the anti-government protests, his office announced on Wednesday.After the improvement of the situation Wickremesinghe sees no necessity to extend the measure, the presidential office said in a statement.The state of emergency gives broad powers to security forces to make arrests, reports dpa news agency. It has been in effect for a month and is officially due to end this Thursday.Amid the ongoing economic crisis, Sri Lanka witnessed months of widespread protests against the government and storming of several key buildings last month which eventually led to the resignation of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.Wickremesinghe was picked as his successor in a parliamentary vote on July 20.He has in part addressed shortages of gas and fuel and restored some political stability, and the protests have recently largely fizzled out.Sri Lanka still faces an unprecedented economic crisis and is currently negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure a bailout package.
--IANS ksk/

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