Colombo: Sri Lanka’s entire cabinet resigned on Sunday as the ruling political clan seeks to resolve a mounting economic crisis.
A new Sri Lankan Cabinet is due to be sworn in today as part of the government’s efforts to quell public outrage over the island nation’s greatest economic crisis.
Apart from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, all 26 ministers in the cabinet tendered letters of resignation at a late-night meeting yesterday.
Despite the fact that internet service providers were forced to ban access to social media sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, many small protests took place across Sri Lanka. In the second half of Sunday, the social media restrictions were lifted.
Legislators from Sri Lanka’s main opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya, defied curfew orders to organise an anti-government protest in Colombo protesting President Rajapaksa’s decision to establish a state of emergency and other restrictions.
On Friday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency after a throng attempted to attack his home in Colombo, and a statewide curfew remained in effect until this morning. According to police, at least 664 persons were arrested for breaking the curfew.
Western diplomats in Colombo have expressed concern over the situation.
The growing protests have caused divisions within the administration, with President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s nephew Namal Rajapaksa denouncing the internet ban.
“#GoHomeRajapaksas” and “#GotaGoHome” have been trending on Twitter and Facebook for days in the island nation, which is suffering from severe shortages of essentials, high price hikes, and debilitating power outages in its worst downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.
Sri Lanka is struggling to service its $51 billion international debt due to a catastrophic lack of foreign money, with the COVID-19 pandemic jeopardising important tourism and remittance revenue.
The South Asian nation is experiencing catastrophic food, gasoline, and other vital shortages, as well as record inflation and crippling power outages, in its worst downturn since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.Sri Lanka is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
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