‘Took all possible steps,’ says Rajapaksa on Sri Lanka crisis as PM Wickremesinghe steps in
Sri Lanka lawmakers on Saturday began the process to choose a new president to serve the rest of the term in the embattled island nation abandoned by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled and resigned from the top post following mass protests over the country’s economic collapse. Demonstrators, frustrated over the months of food and fuel shortage and debilitating power cuts.
Rajapaksa in his resignation letter, that was read out in the Parliament meeting today, said that he ‘took all possible steps to address’ the crisis in his nation.
“It is my personal belief that I took all possible steps to address this crisis, including inviting parliamentarians to form an all-party or unity government,” the letter said.
On Friday, Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the interim president until Parliament elects a successor to Rajapaksa, whose term ends in 2024. However, protestors have demanded his resignation as well.
Here are all the latest developments from Sri Lanka:
1. Sri Lanka’s Parliament secretary-general read out Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation letter in Parliament on Saturday, the contents of which were previously not made public. Rajapaksa had sent his resignation letter to Parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywarden.
2. Rajapaksa flew from the Maldives and arrived in Singapore on board a Saudia Airlines flight on Thursday evening, media reports said.
3. The new president, once elected, could appoint a new prime minister, who will have to be approved by Parliament. In the meantime, Wickremesinghe stepped up as the interim president when Rajapaksa fled to Maldives to escape chances of detention in his country.
4. Security around the Parliament building in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo was heightened on Saturday in anticipation of turmoil. Armed masked soldiers were placed on guard and roads near the building were closed to the public.
5. Sri Lankan cricketer Chamika Karunaratne, who is in the country for upcoming cricket matches, narrated his ordeal earlier today as he waited in a long queue at the fuel station to fill up his car after two days. “I got it filled for (Sri Lankan) ₹10,000 which will last another 2-3 days only,” he said.
6. Earlier today, Indian High commissioner Gopal Baglay called on the Sri Lanka Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena saying India will continue to be “supportive of democracy, stability and economic recovery in Sri Lanka”.
7. Meanwhile, prices of vegetables and fish saw a rapid surge in Sri Lanka on Saturday, a report by News 1st said. Chairman of the Peliyagoda Manning Market Association told News 1st that prices went up because of the volume of vegetables and fish received by markets as a result of the fuel crisis.
8. Sri Lanka’s main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has announced that he will contest the Presidential elections. Taking to Twitter, Premadasa wrote, “I am contesting to be the President. The electorate is confined to 225 MPs with the GR (Gotabaya Rajapaksa) coalition dominating the numbers. Even though it is an uphill struggle, I am convinced that truth will prevail.”
9. The United Nations mission in Sri Lanka urged senior politicians to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in line with the national Constitution.
10. Sri Lanka needs about USD 5 billion in the next six months to cover basic necessities for its 22 million people, who have been struggling for months with long queues, worsening financial shortages and power cuts.
