Sri Lankan cabinet ministers resign amid widespread protests

Sri Lanka, the South Asian island nation, is facing severe shortages of food, fuel and other necessities, along with record-high inflation and prolonged power cuts. This is considered the period economic depression the worst since the country gained independence in 1948.

Sri Lankan Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters that all 26 cabinet ministers, except President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, had submitted their resignations at a meeting. meeting late at night.

The move paves the way for President Rajapaksa to appoint a new cabinet on April 4, and some who resign could be reappointed.

Demonstration against the economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 3, 2022. (Photo: AP)

Sri Lankan authorities have imposed a state of emergency after a mob of protesters tried to break into President Rajapaksa’s home in the capital Colombo and a nationwide curfew was in effect until the morning of April 4.

Soldiers armed with automatic assault rifles were deployed to stop a protest by opposition lawmakers and hundreds of their supporters trying to march towards Independence Square in the capital Colombo .

Internet service providers in Sri Lanka have been ordered to block access to Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and several other social media platforms.

Police fired tear gas to disperse university students in the central town of Peradeniya, while protests in other parts of the country continued.

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