Sajith Premadasa, leader of the Opposition alliance marches along with others towards Independence Square as they shout slogans against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after the government imposed a curfew, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 3, 2022. (Reuters)Sri Lanka Economic Crisis Highlights: The central bank of Sri Lanka will hold its monetary board meeting on Monday after Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal tendered his resignation. “The Monetary Board meeting will be held on Monday as previously scheduled. There is no change,” news agency Reuters quoted two sources close to the matter as saying.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Monday invited the Opposition to accept ministerial portfolios. A statement by his office informed that the President called on all parties to come together and help find a way out of the country’s worst economic crisis. He named four Ministers on Monday “to ensure Parliament and other tasks can be conducted in a lawful manner until a full Cabinet can be sworn in” after all 26 Cabinet Ministers resigned on Sunday night. Replacing his brother Basil Rajapaksa, the President named Ali Sabry, who was until Sunday night the Minister of Justice, as the new Finance Minister. Previous ministers of Foreign Affairs, Education and Highways kept their positions, Reuters reported.
A coalition partner, however, has slammed the appointments, with Udaya Gammanpila, the chief of one of the 11 political parties comprising the ruling coalition, calling the new cabinet “old wine in a new bottle”. Gammanpila called for Parliamentary elections, stating, “People should decide their next leaders, not anybody else.”
A Sri Lankan man shouts anti government slogans during a protest outside Sri Lankan president's private residence on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (AP)
Mounting economic woes in Sri Lanka, a major player in the global tea market, may provide opportunities for Indian exporters of the commodity as the island country is set to witness a significant decline in its production and shipments this year, industry stakeholders and experts said on Monday. Sri Lanka produces around 300 million kg of tea annually and is predominantly an orthodox tea producer. The country exports around 97-98 per cent of its annual output, rating agency ICRA Ltd's vice president Kaushik Das said. --PTI
Sri Lankan police fired tear gas and water cannons at some 2,000 irate protesters who defied curfew orders and tried to storm Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's residence in Tangalle on Monday, demanding his resignation amid the worst economic crisis in the country. Around 2,000 people descended near the Prime Minister's residence known as Carlton House in Tangalle, situated 200 km south of Colombo, and pulled down barricades chanting anti-Rajapaksa slogans. Interestingly, Tangalle, which has a Sinhalese-majority population, is considered to be the bastion of the powerful Rajapaksa clan. --PTI
The central bank of Sri Lanka will hold its monetary board meeting on Monday after Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal tendered his resignation. "The Monetary Board meeting will be held on Monday as previously scheduled. There is no change," news agency Reuters quoted two sources close to the matter as saying.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday fired his brother and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa from his post and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the island nation's worst economic crisis. Basil had negotiated the Indian economic relief package to help Sri Lanka tackle the current foreign exchange crisis. --PTI
In a protest on Sunday, Opposition leaders demanded the resignation of Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa. They also protested against the curfew, which was imposed by the government till Monday morning, calling it an infringement of rights.
"Four ministers were appointed to ensure Parliament and other tasks can be conducted in a lawful manner until a full Cabinet can be sworn in," Rajapaksa's media office said in a statement after cabinet ministers resigned in a bid to resolve the crisis. It said Justice Minister Ali Sabry would be the new finance minister, replacing Gotabaya's brother Basil Rajapaksa. Previous ministers of foreign affairs, education and highways will keep their positions.
Udaya Gammanpila, the chief of one of the 11 political parties comprising the ruling coalition, rejected Rajapaksa's move, calling the new cabinet "old wine in a new bottle". "Our demand is for an all-party interim government to restore essential services and to hold a parliamentary election," Gammanpila of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya party wrote on Twitter. "People should decide their next leaders, not anybody else." (Reuters)
Following the mass resignation of Cabinet ministers Sunday night, President Rajapaksa on Monday announced at least four new Ministers, according to news agency PTI.
Replacing his brother Basil Rajapaksa, the President named Ali Sabry, who was until Sunday night the Minister of Justice, as the new Finance Minister. G L Peiris has been retained as the Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena as the Education Minister and Johnston Fernando as the Minister of Highways.
Sri Lankans on Monday continued to protest against President Rajapaksa, demanding his resignation. They carried cards with slogans like "Go Home Gota" and "Rajapaksa Resign" and asserted that they are not "extremists".
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Monday named GL Peiris as the Foreign Minister.
This came after all 26 Ministers of Sri Lankan Cabinet resigned on Sunday evening.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday removed his brother and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa from his post amidst the worst economic crisis that has plagued the island nation.
Hee has been replaced by Ali Sabry, who was until Sunday night the Minister of Justice. (PTI)
In a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the Opposition alliance in Sri Lanka said, "Please try and help Sri Lanka to the maximum possible extent. This is our motherland, we need to save our motherland."
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Monday invited all political parties represented in parliament to accept ministerial portfolios to help find a way out of the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, Reuters reported.
A statement by his office read, “President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invited all political parties to come together to find solutions to the ongoing national crisis. Considering this a national need, the time has come to work together for the sake of all the citizens and future generations.”
Sri Lanka's Colombo Stock Exchange on Monday said it has halted trading of shares for 30 minutes due to a sharp fall in the benchmark share price index.
"Please note that the Market has been halted for 30 minutes due to the S&P SL20 index dropping over 5% from the previous close," the bourse said on its website. "The halt will be lifted at 11.02 A.M." (Reuters)
Sri Lankan central bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said on Monday that he submitted his resignation in the context of all cabinet ministers resigning.
Youth and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, nephew of Gotabaya and the son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said on Twitter on Monday he had told the president's secretary about his resignation with immediate effect. He hoped it would help the president and prime minister's "decision to establish stability" for Sri Lankans and the government.
As political turmoil deepened in the crisis-hit country, the shortage of fuel continued to impact Sri Lankans on Monday. People waited in long queues at a fuel-filling station, which is being guarded by security personnel amid massive protests across the country.
The 36-hour curfew, which was imposed amid anti-government protests across the country over its worst economic crisis, was lifted on Monday morning.
However, the country is still under the effect of a state of emergency, which was declared after an angry mob surrounded the private residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on March 31.
Sajith Premadasa, Leader of Opposition in Sri Lanka, stated the country is calling for a "wholesale change".
"What we ask for is a pathbreaking wholesale change that brings about relief to the country, not relief to politicians...not a game of musical chairs where politicians exchange their positions," he was quoted as saying.
With all 26 Ministers resigning from the Sri Lankan Cabinet on Sunday evening, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of Opposition in Sri Lanka called the move "melodrama".
"It's a melodrama that is being enacted to dupe the people of our country. It's not a genuine effort towards bringing some sort of relief to the people of our country. It's an exercise in fooling the people," Premadasa was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The government ramped up security in Colombo as scores of Sri Lankans and Opposition leaders defied curfew to protest the rising inflation and unemployment in the country.
AP Photos
Government coalition parties are demanding that a caretaker Cabinet be appointed to pull the country out of the crisis. The resignation of the Cabinet appears to be an effort to pacify the people, who are protesting countrywide to hold the president and the entire Rajapaksa family responsible for the economic meltdown in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka's political power is concentrated in the Rajapaksa family. In addition to brothers being president and prime minister, two other brothers are ministers of finance and irrigation. Namal was also a Cabinet minister until he resigned.
A Sri Lankan couple with their infant joins an anti-government protest during a curfew in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP)
AP Photos
Following the resignation of all 26 Ministers, a news Cabinet is expected to be sworn in on Monday, as Sri Lanka continues to reel under its worst economic crisis.
Government coalition parties are demanding that a caretaker Cabinet be appointed to pull the country out of the crisis.
Widespread public protests were seen throughout Sunday evening in spite of the imposition of curfew which is due to end on Monday morning. The enraged public has been demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The government declared a state of emergency after an angry mob surrounded the private residence of Rajapaksa on March 31.
Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers resigned with immediate effect late on Sunday night, as the country experiences its worst economic crisis of all time. Speaking to reporters, Education Minister and Leader of the House, Dinesh Gunawardena said the Cabinet Ministers handed over their resignations to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He proffered no reason for the mass resignation. However, political experts here said the ministers came under intense pressure from the public over the government's alleged "mishandling" of the economic crisis, triggered by the shortage in the foreign exchange reserve.
Protesters in the Sri Lanka's largest city Colombo held numerous small, peaceful demonstrations over a severe economic crisis on Sunday, defying a nationwide curfew, while police used tear gas to disperse student protesters in the central city of Kandy. A senior police official said officers used tear gas and water cannons to stop a protest of university students in Kandy.
"There were about 750 participants but no arrests were made," said Nihal Thalduwa, a police spokesman. Thalduwa said over 600 people who were arrested in the Western Province on Saturday night for breaking curfew orders were released on bail given by police and charges will be filed against them later.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency on Friday as the Indian Ocean island nation grapples with rising prices, shortages of essentials and rolling power cuts. (Reuters)
A Sri Lankan government official denied news reports that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa may step down as early as Sunday in an administration revamp as public anger builds against their economic policies.
“The rumors to the effect that the prime minister is going to resign have no basis to it,” Information Department Director-General Mohan Samaranayake said by phone.
The Daily Mirror first reported on the possible resignations of the prime minister as well as Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and said their brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to form an interim government including members of the current opposition. A proposal has been submitted by the ruling coalition to ensure political stability, the newspaper added. Read more
A 53-year-old man, who was protesting outside the private residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the long power cuts in the country due to the ongoing economic crisis, got electrocuted after he climbed a electricity pole, police said on Sunday.
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon after the man in an inebriated condition climbed the electricity pole to protest the ongoing long power cuts in the nation and got electrocuted. "He had climbed an electricity pole to protest when got electrocuted," a senior police officer said. (PTI)
The Sri Lankan government on Sunday lifted the ban it had imposed on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after declaring a nationwide public emergency and effecting a 36-hour curfew ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst economic crisis in the island nation.
The services of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TokTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger were restored after 15 hours, according to an official. The services had been fully or partially blocked.
The move was aimed at preventing masses from gathering in Colombo to protest the government's failure to provide relief to the public suffering from shortages of food, essentials, fuel and medicine amidst hours-long power cuts, the Colombo Page newspaper reported. (PTI)
Police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesting students in central Sri Lanka on Sunday, a federal lawmaker said, as soldiers manned checkpoints in the capital to enforce a curfew imposed to curb public outrage triggered by an economic crisis.
Lakshman Kiriella, MP from the second-largest city, Kandy, said police used tear gas to scatter students protesting against the government near the University of Peradeniya.
"These students have come out in defiance of the curfew and police have fired tear gas to disperse them," said Kiriella, from the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party. The university is on the outskirts of Kandy, where the students had been held back by police, he said.
Police officials in Kandy did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency on Friday as the Indian Ocean island nation grapples with rising prices, shortages of essentials and rolling power cuts. On Saturday, the government implemented a countrywide curfew as protests turned violent. It is to run until till 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Monday. (Reuters)
Air India on Sunday said it will reduce its India-Sri Lanka services from 16 flights per week currently to 13 flights per week from April 9 due to poor demand.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts, the public has been suffering for weeks."Currently AI is operating 16 flights a week -- daily flights from Delhi and nine flights a week from Chennai," an Air India spokesperson told PTI.In the new schedule, AI will be operating a total of 13 flights per week, the spokesperson noted. In the new schedule, while the frequency from Chennai will remain untouched, flights from Delhi will reduce from seven to four per week, the spokesperson said.
"Four flights from Delhi instead of seven effective April 9 due to poor loads," the spokesperson noted.AI 283 on the Delhi-Colombo sector will now operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from April 8 to May 30. AI 284 on the Colombo-Delhi sector will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from April 9 to May 31. (PTI)
Over 600 people were arrested in Sri Lanka's Western Province on Sunday for violating a 36-hour nationwide curfew and trying to stage an anti-government rally to protest the country's worst economic crisis.
Opposition lawmakers, led by their leader Sajith Premadasa, had set off on a march towards the iconic Independence Square in Colombo, defying a weekend curfew imposed by the government on Saturday, ahead of the planned protest for Sunday.
“We are protesting the government's abuse of the public security ordinance to deny the public's right to protest,” Premadasa said.
The protest was organised by social media activists against the ongoing economic crisis and hardships heaped on people due to shortages of essentials. A total of 664 people were arrested in the Western Province on Sunday. A countrywide curfew was declared ahead of an “Arab Spring” style protest scheduled to be staged on Sunday, Colombo Gazette reported. (PTI)
Opposition lawmakers in Sri Lanka on Sunday marched in the capital, Colombo, protesting against the president's move to impose a curfew and state of emergency amid a worsening economic crisis.
Internet users in most of Sri Lanka were also unable to access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and other social media platforms on Sunday, after they had been used to organize demonstrations calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, saying he is responsible for the country's economic woes.
Netblocks, a global internet monitor, confirmed that network data collected from over 100 vantage points across Sri Lanka showed the restrictions coming into effect across multiple providers from midnight. (AP)
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa said he was opposed to the social media blackout imposed in the country. "I will never condone the blocking of social media. The availability of VPN, just like I’m using now, makes such bans completely useless," he tweeted.
Sri Lanka has blocked access to many social media platforms in an attempt to prevent further protests blaming the government for the worsening economic crisis. Internet users in most parts of Sri Lanka were unable to access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and other social media platforms on Sunday.
Netblocks, a global internet monitor, confirmed that network data collected from over 100 vantage points across Sri Lanka showed the restrictions coming into effect across multiple providers from midnight. Sri Lanka is under a nationwide curfew from Saturday night until Monday morning after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency.
Social media platforms had been used to call for protests demanding the president's resignation, saying he is responsible for the economic crisis. (AP)
Sri Lanka's government imposed a weekend curfew on Saturday even as hundreds of lawyers urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to revoke a state of emergency to ensure that freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are respected under the country's economic crisis.
"Under the powers given to the president, curfew has been imposed countrywide from 6 p.m. (1230 GMT) on Saturday to 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Monday," the government's information department said in a statement.Rajapaksa on Friday invoked stringent laws to tackle growing unrest in the unprecedented crisis. (Reuters)
A consignment of 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India reached Sri Lanka on Saturday, the fourth such assistance from New Delhi, to mitigate the spike in power cuts in the island nation, which is facing an unprecedented economic and energy crisis caused due to shortage of foreign exchange.
Power cuts lasting over 13 hours were imposed on Thursday, the longest cut since 1996 when a strike by the state power entity employees caused a 72-hour black out. Officials of the state fuel entity, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), said the Indian diesel supplies would ease the ongoing power cuts. The power cuts effective Saturday are over 8.5 hours. (PTI)