Sri Lanka’s new law and order minister said on Monday that the ten-day emergency imposed in the country on March 6 will not be extended beyond March 15, The Daily Mirror reported. Law and Order Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara said there was no need to extend the emergency proclamation as the situation in Sri Lanka had returned to normal.
“I had a discussion with the inspector general of police and senior police officers this morning to assess the current security situation in the country,” he said. “We are of the view that the country’s security situation is normal right now and therefore extending the state of emergency which will expire on Thursday will not be necessary.”
However, police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police Ruwan Gunasekara said the police would not relax security measures in Kandy even though the situation in the region was now peaceful. Gunasekara said 3,000 police and 750 special task force personnel had been deployed in the district.
Meanwhile, Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando said on Tuesday that the ban on social media imposed last week would be lifted by March 16. He said that officials from Facebook Inc would arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday to discuss the situation with the government.
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