A spokesman for the president said the president had implemented strict laws to ensure law and order was maintained. The state of emergency has been in effect since midnight yesterday.
........This brought stagnation to the island nation of 22 million people in South Asia, which had been in turmoil for weeks.
The students tried to enter the parliament this morning demanding the resignation of the Rajapaksa. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.
Due to the state of emergency, the law enforcement agencies have been able to arrest and detain the suspects for a long time without trial. At the same time, there was an opportunity to deploy army as well as police to maintain law and order.
They have been protesting there since April 9. Smaller groups of protesters have also tried to break into the homes of several other key politicians in the ruling party.
For the second time in the last few days, the students tried to enter the tightly guarded parliament yesterday. They are blaming the king and his ruling family for the mismanagement of the economy. Over the months, severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine have caused widespread distress on the island nation.
Hundreds of thousands of workers in the country went on strike yesterday in protest of a trade union strike.Workers protested in front of the factory.
He has said that he will not resign even after that.
But government sources say the president could pressure his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, to resign. He can take this step as part of forming a government of national unity to bring the country out of the economic crisis; Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections.