Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa called on protesters to end weeks of mass demonstrations demanding the government’s resignation over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades
Apr 12, 2022 at 2:25 am
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa called on protesters to end weeks of mass demonstrations demanding the government’s resignation over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
Rajapaksa and his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, have become a focus of protests that began over shortages of fuel, food and other basic necessities and daily power outages. Most of these items are paid for in hard currency, but Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, burdened with dwindling foreign exchange reserves and $25 billion in external debt. Nearly $7 billion is due this year.
In a televised address to the nation, Rajapaksa said that the government is rolling out a plan to rebuild the country and that “every second” protesters spend demonstrating in the streets is wasting an opportunity to obtain vital foreign currency.
Demonstrators, meanwhile, occupied the entrance to the president’s office for a third day Monday, demanding his resignation.
Talks with the International Monetary Fund are expected later this month, and the government has approached China and India for emergency loans to buy food and fuel.
Mahinda Rajapaksa blamed the FX crisis on COVID-19 restrictions and the loss of key tourism revenue.
“We are launching an enormous program to overcome the crisis we are facing today. Every second that the President and this administration spends is spent on rebuilding our country,” he said.
“Friends, every second you protest in the streets, our country loses the opportunity to receive potential dollars,” he said.
Much of the anger expressed through weeks of growing protests has been directed at the Rajapaksa family, who have held power for most of the past two decades. Critics accuse the family of having borrowed heavily to finance projects that have not brought in any money, such as a port facility built with Chinese loans.
Supporters of the encamped protesters provided drinking water, food and tea, while ambulances and doctors stood by to attend to health emergencies. Muslim protesters broke their Ramadan fast at the site and shared food with those around them.
Dinush Thyagaraja, a 29-year-old tourism professional, said he voted for Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the 2019 presidential election because he believed he was the best candidate to restore national security after killing a friend by suicide bombings on hotels and hotels that year Churches had lost on Easter Sunday.
More than 260 people died in the attack by local Muslim groups inspired by the Islamic State group.
“I realize I made a mistake and I want to correct that,” Thyagaraja said. “I’m not able to support my family, I don’t know if we can enjoy a meal in another month.”
Even political allies of Mahinda Rajapaksa have called for replacing him with an interim prime minister and a multi-party government. They say they don’t want the powerful Rajapaksa family in an interim government because they are the focus of public anger.
In his speech, Rajapaksa refused to cede power and said the ruling coalition will continue to rule Sri Lanka because the opposition parties have rejected calls for a unified government.
“We have invited all political parties represented in Parliament to join us and strengthen the country. But they didn’t join us,” Rajapaksa said. “As the party in power, we have accepted this responsibility.”
The crisis and protests prompted many cabinet members to resign. Four ministers have been sworn in as caretakers, but many key portfolios remain vacant.
Parliament failed to reach a consensus on how to deal with the crisis after nearly 40 MPs in the ruling coalition said they would no longer vote according to the coalition’s instructions, severely weakening the government.
Because the opposition parties are divided, they too have been unable to form a majority and take control of parliament.
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