Free speech and journalism in particular in Sri Lanka is under attack from authorities. On Sunday it imposed a temporary media blackout in order to curb any unrest related to the country’s worsening economic woes. This article by Murali Krishnan is published by Deutsche Welle. Here is an excerpt:
Sri Lanka imposed a temporary nationwide social media blackout on Sunday as part of its efforts to contain public unrest triggered by the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
For a few hours, authorities restricted access to platforms including Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram, as a state of emergency was declared amid the widespread protests.
The suspension of the services was aimed at preventing protesters from organizing, but it was lifted just a few hours later as the move failed to prevent demonstrations.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government also revoked the state of emergency — which gave him sweeping powers to detain people and seize property — within days of imposing it, despite the political and economic turmoil gripping the island nation.
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