Tensions escalate, Sri Lanka’s prime minister unexpectedly resigns
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on May 9 – Photo: AP
Sri Lankan prime minister spokesman Rohan Weliwita said Mr Rajapaksa had sent his resignation letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother, to pave the way for the formation of a “new unity government”.
“My resignation is effective immediately so that you can appoint a unity government to lead the country out of the current economic crisis,” Prime Minister Rajapaksa wrote in his resignation letter to the president of Sri Lanka. .
The resignation of the prime minister means the dissolution of the Sri Lankan Government cabinet, according to AFP news agency.
Ahead of the clashes, Sri Lanka’s largest opposition party announced it would not join any government led by members of the Rajapaksa clan.
The same day earlier, Sri Lanka imposed a nationwide curfew, deploying the army to restore order after at least 78 people were hospitalized after clashes between Rajapaksa’s supporters and protesters demanding his resignation. office.
Violence broke out in Sri Lanka from April 9 when there were consecutive clashes outside the President’s Office. Police were forced to fire tear gas and spray water cannons at the crowd of protesters as government supporters smashed tents and other items set up by protesters.
At the end of April, Sri Lanka announced a 40% increase in prices of dozens of commonly used drugs as the island nation went through its worst economic crisis in decades. The official statistics released on April 29 showed that the inflation rate in Sri Lanka was near 30% in April this year.
The country is in a shortage of foreign currency to import essential items. In April, the Sri Lankan government announced it could not pay its foreign debt of 51 billion USD and urged people abroad to donate money to help the country overcome the difficult economic situation.
On May 6, President Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency for the second time in the past five weeks, giving security forces more powers to deal with a rising wave of anti-government protests. brought the country to a standstill.
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