The parliamentary group of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that quit the government called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa this evening (April 05).
According to reports, the meeting lasted for nearly four hours.
Speaking to the media afterwards, SLFP general secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara said the party’s parliamentary group will continue to sit independently in the House despite the discussions.
Sri Lanka’s Police Chief has ordered for an immediate independent investigation over a confrontation that had taken place between several police officers and a team of Army Riders during a protest opposite Parliament on Tuesday (5).
The Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army General Shavendra Silva has requested the Inspector General of Police to immediately conduct an inquiry into the ‘unethical and ill-mannered behaviour’ of two Police officers and initiate disciplinary action against them when a four -member team of Army Riders on the directions of the Director Operations of the Army HQ arrived at the road entrance to the Parliament complex.
Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd) has also already informed the IGP and the Secretary to Ministry of Public Security in regard to the incident and requested them to inquire into the unacceptable conduct of those Police Officers.
University students have thronged in large numbers near the Prime Minister’s residence on Wijerama Road in Colombo 07, staging a demonstration against the incumbent government.
Mass protests are continuing in many parts of the island today as well, as people took to the streets to seek solutions for the ongoing crises in the country and to urge the government to step down.
In the aftermath of the agitation in Mirihana on March 31 near the presidential residence on Pengiriwatte Road, demonstrations were staged all across the island. The protesters also defied a countrywide curfew which was in force from 6.00 p.m. on Saturday (April 02) to 6.00 a.m. on Monday (April 04).
41 lawmakers leave coalition, leaving Rajapaksa’s government with fewer than the 113 members needed to maintain a majority in the 225-member house
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday lost his parliamentary majority, as a group of lawmakers from the ruling party and its allies sat independently in the House, deserting the government that faces enormous public criticism for “mishandling” the economic crisis.
Over 42 MPs, including from key partner Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), quit the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or People’s Front)-led alliance, and the government lost its majority in the 225-member legislature. Thier defection signalled the collapse of the government ‘s popularity that, in 2020, fetched it a formidable two-thirds majority. However, there is no vote of confidence scheduled yet to test the strength of the government or Opposition .
In his address to Parliament on Tuesday, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa blamed the government for the current crisis, and said it was time for the country to abolish Executive Presidency that allows the President sweeping powers to take unilateral decisions. Opposition legislator and Jaffna MP M.A. Sumanthiran too intervened, challenging the government to put its recently imposed Emergency regulations to vote in the House, as is mandated in the Constitution.
The Parliament will convene on Wednesday to debate the country’s economic crisis that has resulted in severe shortage of essentials for citizens and skyrocketing prices. It has also led to a spontaneous eruption of street protests, with citizens demanding that the President step down.
The President’s attempt to appoint a “new” Cabinet after mass resignations appears to have backfired, with the newly appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigning barely 24 hours after his appointment. Top bureaucrat and Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Ministry resigned on Tuesday, resulting in two crucial positions falling vacant at a time of a dire economic crisis.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where Sri Lanka has sought support, on Tuesday said that it is monitoring political and economic developments in Sri Lanka “very closely” amid growing public unrest, Reuters reported. “IMF staff is looking forward to program discussions with the authorities, including during the visit of the newly appointed Finance Minister to Washington later this month,” IMF Sri Lanka mission chief was quoted as saying. Except, with Mr. Sabry’s resignation, Sri Lanka did not have a Finance Minister as of Tuesday.
On Tuesday, citizens and professionals including health workers, lawyers, continued agitating at different locations, including outside Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s private resident, asking the Rajapaksas to resign immediately. As protests swell in different parts of the country, despite the police attempting to disperse crowds with water cannons and tear gas in some areas, the Ministry of Defence urged citizens not to resort to violence. “I further emphasize that the security forces will act to maintain peace and also will not hesitate to enforce law against those involving in violence,” said General GDH Kamal Gunaratne (Retd), Secretary, Ministry of Defence in a statement.
The UN on Tuesday expressed concern over “excessive and unwarranted police violence” against protesters. Recalling the report of the UN Human Rights Chief, a spokesman said in a statement: “the drift towards militarisation and the weakening of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the State’s ability to effectively tackle the economic crisis.”
Source:The Hindu
Sri Lanka’s opposition has rejected an invitation from the president to form a unity government, urging his resignation over the country’s worsening shortages of food, fuel and medicines.
The opposition’s demand on Monday came as anti-government protests continued throughout the country over its worst economic crisis in memory and deepening mistrust in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s leadership.
Earlier on Monday, the president’s office said he “invites all political parties represented in the parliament to come together to accept ministerial portfolios in order to find solutions to this national crisis”.
The largest opposition political alliance – the United People’s Power or Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) – rejected the proposal.
“The people of this country want Gotabaya and the entire Rajapaksa family to go and we can’t go against the people’s will and we can’t work alongside the corrupt,” top SJB official Ranjith Madduma Bandara told The Associated Press news agency.
SJB has 54 MPs in the 225-member parliament.
The left-wing People’s Liberation Front (JVP) also responded by urging Rajapaksa and his once-popular and powerful family to immediately step down.
“He really must be a lunatic to think that opposition MPs will prop up a government that is crumbling,” JVP MP Anura Dissanayaka told reporters in Colombo.
The main minority opposition party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), joined the voices dismissing the idea.
“His offer to reconstitute the cabinet with opposition MPs is nonsensical and infuriates the people who have been demanding his resignation,” TNA MP Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran told the AFP news agency.
All 26 Cabinet ministers handed in their resignations on Sunday, after thousands of people defied a countrywide state of emergency and curfew and joined street protests to denounce the government.
Two other Rajapaksa brothers, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa, were among those who resigned, along with the prime minister’s son, Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa.
The departures cleared the way for the country’s ruling political family to seek to shore up its weakening position and attempt to stem growing public protests.
But the president has already reappointed four of the outgoing ministers – three of them to their old jobs – while replacing brother Basil Rajapaksa as finance minister with the previous justice chief. Previous ministers of foreign affairs, education and highways kept their positions.
Protests continue
On Monday, April 4, police used a water cannon to disperse protesters who marched towards the Rajapaksa family home in southern Sri Lanka demanding that the ruling family quit.
The debt-laden country, led by Rajapaksa and several members of his family since 2019, is struggling to pay for imports of fuel and other goods due to a scarcity of foreign exchange, leading to hours-long power cuts and a shortage of essentials.
The extent of the crisis became clear when the country could not pay for imports of basic supplies because of its huge debts and dwindling foreign reserves.
As protests grew and calls increased for him to step down, President Rajapaksa assumed emergency powers by decree at midnight on Friday. The government also declared a countrywide curfew, which was lifted Monday morning.
Authorities also reportedly blocked access for nearly 15 hours to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and other social media platforms that were used to organise the protests.
Sri Lanka’s new finance minister quit after one day in office as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa faced more calls from lawmakers to step down for mismanaging the economy, with soaring living costs triggering street protests that spiraled into a political storm.
Ali Sabry, who was sworn in on Monday and replaced the younger Rajapaksa brother Basil, would have been part of a team to oversee the nation’s debt recast — key to obtaining support from the International Monetary Fund. No official reasons were immediately given for his resignation.
His departure is in keeping with the trend of government officials and politicians distancing themselves from the powerful Rajapaksa family in the face of growing public anger over a surge in inflation that is now Asia’s fastest.
Eleven parties within the ruling coalition said in parliament Tuesday that they would function as independent lawmakers, bringing the total to 30 members. Another 12 lawmakers from Rajapaksa’s SLPP party will also distance themselves from the government, putting a simple majority in the 225-seat legislature for the president’s coalition in doubt.
The General Committee of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) today decided to declare an emergency health situation from tomorrow due to the prevalent severe drug shortage in the country, GMOA Secretary Dr. Shenal Fernando said.
He said the decision to announce the emergency health situation was taken to protect the lives of patients following an emergency general committee meeting held today to discuss the present situation, including the imposition of the emergency law and the severe drug shortage prevaling in the country.
During a meeting held with Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals State Minister, Channa Jayasumana, the GMOA revealed that there would be a severe drug shortage in the country due to the poor management by the government and the current economic crisis, Dr. Fernando said.
“The crisis will remain until the dollar issue is resolved.” However, with the present economic crisis, the current drug shortage will move into a very serious situation in the future. The government declared the public health service an essential service on February 12 after a series of power outages and protests inconvenienced the public.
“After declaring the health services essential, the government should have ensured the supply of essential medicinal drugs in the country,” Dr. Fernando said.
Therefore, the government and the health ministry should take full responsibility for the emergency drug shortage, he said.
“The dollar crisis did not emerge suddenly. Therefore, the government and the health ministry should have applied a methodology. The government should have told the truth to the people and the health sector. The Health Minister was continually informed in this regard while requesting for discussions, but did not consider any of them. Now the health ministry says that there would be a huge issue with essential drugs. Therefore, the doctors have been told to curtail certain routine services that are essential, “Dr. Fernando said.
He said without revealing a health emergency situation to the country, we would not be able to find adequate funds to overcome this situation and to maintain the health situation in the country.
“The government should cut down on other development projects to allocate funds needed to get down essential drugs to its people,” Dr. Fernando added.
Protests have intensified against Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Government with several protests being held in various parts of the country today.
The public has engaged in peaceful public protests in several areas demanding the President resign over the current economic crisis.
A move by the President to appoint a four-member temporary government has failed, as the public has continued to stage protests today as well to show their displeasure over the conduct of the President and his Government.
Meanwhile, the houses of several leading ministers and state ministers were also surrounded by the public during the protests that are being carried out in various parts of Sri Lanka.
The public has surrounded the houses of government ministers and has staged protests, calling for their resignations along with the President amidst the current economic crisis.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s private residence in Tangalle, the houses of ministers Keheliya Rambukwella, Gamini, Lokuge Ramesh Pathirana, Kanchana Wijesekera, Roshan Ranasinghe Nimal Lanza, and Janaka Bandara Tennakoon had been surrounded by the protesting public.
The protesters are also reported to have surrounded the office of Minister Douglas Devananda in Jaffna, while he was inside the premises.
(NewsWire)
10.45 PM : Protest in front of Sri Lanka President's office in Colombo pic.twitter.com/SYnhnkbLae
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) April 4, 2022
A small group of protestors have gathered outside President Gotabaya Rakapaksa’s son’s house in Los Angeles, USA, with protestors calling on him to call his father back home.
The protester said that President Gotabaya had to go down and his money had to come back. The protester said that people in Los Angeles are with Sri Lankans.
A massive protest is currently taking place oppsoite the Presidential Secretariat, Colombo.
Thousands of people have gathered near the President’s office chanting slogans and demanding his resignation.
A heavy police and military presence was seen in the President’s Office.
People were also protesting on Galle Face Green and several other places in Colombo against the President.
However, the President still maintains that he will not leave office due to public pressure.
