Mumbai, Apr 3 ( IANS): Mumbai Indians' coach and the former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene on Sunday said he feels sad to see emergency law and curfew in his country. He added that the government cannot ignore the needs of the people who have every right to protest.

"I am sad to see emergency law and curfew in Sri Lanka. The government cannot ignore the needs of the people who have every right to protest. Detaining people who do is not acceptable and I am very proud of the brave Sri Lankan lawyers who rushed to their defence," Jayawardene tweeted on Sunday.

Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic crisis and people are protesting in different cities including capital Colombo against the government's policies.

"True leaders own up to mistakes. There is massive urgency here to protect the people of our country united in their suffering. These problems are man-made and can be fixed by the right, qualified people. Certain people controlling the economy of this country have lost the people's confidence and must stand down. We then need a good team to give the country confidence and belief. There is no time to waste. It is time to be humble, not make excuses and to do the right thing. #PeoplePower," he wrote on Twitter.