 Calls continue for the release of three student activists who were detained by the Sri Lankan government under the Draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act or PTA on August 22nd. The three activists are Vasantha Mudilage of the Inter-University Students' Federation, Galveva Siridham Atheero of the Bhiku Federation, and Hasantha Javantha Gunithalake of the Kelaanya University Students' Union. President Ranil Vikramasinghe also approved the 90-day detention of the activists on August 22nd. Sri Lankan students had organized major demonstrations on August 18th, the first day after the emergency post from July 17th was lifted. The three were arrested while taking part in a student rally in Colombo on the same day. Thousands of student protesters raised slogans against the Ranil Rajapaksa Junta and the ongoing economic crisis in the country. The key demand of the students was the immediate release of anti-government protesters who were arrested under emergency measures. Soon after the march began, students were confronted by a massive contingent of police including riot control officers. The students were brutally assorted with water cannons and tear gas. While most of the arrested students have now been released on bail, the detention of the three student activists under the PTA is being decried as a new law for the Vikramasinghe government. The PTA was enacted in 1979 under President J. R. J. Bharatane. The controversial law has a history of views by consecutive governments to scuttle dissent especially during the civil war. It was introduced as an urgent temporary bill and was used to suppress the Tamil population and target those associated with the liberation tigers of Tamil elam. More recently hundreds of Muslim youth were targeted and charged under the Draconian law following the 2019 insuborm attacks. The PTA has been the most debated of Sri Lanka's anti-terrorism laws due to its controversial provisions that gave unfettered extensive power to the police. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has criticized the arrest of the student activists. The commission affirmed that no suspect exercising their fundamental right under the constitution should be wrongly treated as a terrorist. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Mary Lawlor, has also expressed concerns regarding the arrest. In its first weeks in power, the government of President Vikramasinghe has faced increasing criticism for its scuttling of dissent and brutal repression of protests. State authorities and the police have arrested a number of citizens who were part of the mass anti-government protests at Auschwitz President Rajapaksa last month. Moreover, the emergency enforced on July 17th had placed broad and disproportionate power in the hands of the executive. The economic crisis in Sri Lanka continues to be at the heart of the problems being faced by its citizens. While Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst economic breakdown in several decades, the inflation rate in the country is set to touch 66.7% in August. The food inflation rose to a record 82.5% in July from 75.8% in June. In mid-May this year, the Sri Lankan Central Bank had declared a pre-emptive default on all of its foreign debt, which stands at US$51 billion. The economic crisis is characterized by a foreign exchange shortage and a subsequent scarcity of essentials such as food fuel and medicines. Meanwhile, the World Food Program's report on Sri Lanka has presented some alarming details on the ongoing food security crisis in the island nation. According to the report, as of August 4th, 6.3 million out of Sri Lanka's 22 million population are facing food insecurity.