On Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revoked the state of Emergency with immediate effect on his island nation. With this, the President also withdrew the Emergency rule ordinance which he had declared on April 1 giving security forces sweeping powers to curb any disturbance in the country. Sri Lanka at present is facing a massive economic crisis.
“I, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, hereby revoke the gazette with effect from midnight on 05 April 2022,” a gazette issued late Tuesday night said, referring to the previous order. This is a day after Rajapaksa’s grip on power weakened as 41 lawmakers of the ruling coalition decided to quit the Parliament.
Sri Lankan President revokes State of Emergency
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) April 5, 2022
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/nluuilWpWu#SriLanka #SriLankaEconomicCrisis #SriLankaCrisis pic.twitter.com/n1VMHyhwbR
According to the reports, the Rajapaksa government who had won 150 seats in the 2020 general elections now has 109 seats against the 113 required to maintain the majority. Rajapaksa yesterday also asserted that he won’t resign from his position but agreed to hand over the government to whoever proved the majority of 113 seats in Parliament.
Earlier on April 5, the newly appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry had tendered his resignation expressing no intentions to take up another post. “After much reflection and deliberation and taking into consideration the current situation, I am now of the view, for your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangements to navigate this unprecedented crisis, fresh and proactive, and unconventional steps need to be taken, including the appointment of a new Finance Minister”, he had said.
Newly-appointed FM of Sri Lanka, Ali Sabry resigns from his post
— ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022
“After much reflection&deliberation&taking into consideration the current situation I’m now of the view, for your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangement to navigate this unprecedented crisis,” reads letter pic.twitter.com/HIPbRibZ3D
Also, the governor of Sri Lanka’s central bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal on April 4 had resigned from his post amid the worst economic crisis in decades. Cabraal’s resignation came seven months after he presided over the role to steer the country’s central bank and manage the economy pummelled by the ravages of the coronavirus-induced downturn and soaring debt crisis.
In the context of all Cabinet Ministers resigning, I have today submitted my resignation as Governor, @CBSL to HE President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. @GotabayaR #SriLanka #GoSL
— Ajith Nivard Cabraal (@an_cabraal) April 4, 2022
On April 1, President Rajapaksa had declared an Emergency amid massive protests staged over the worst economic crisis in the country. Thousands of citizens during the protest gathered outside the President’s private residence and demanded his resignation.
Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis in its history, with inflation reaching a record high of 17.5% in February 2022. The residents of the island nation are struggling with an acute shortage of food, and cooking gas. Power cuts are frequent and people are seen standing in long queues in the National Capital for buying diesel fuel. The situation is in Sri Lanka so grim that the central bank is forced to buy oil from Iran by bartering tea leaves, as the country does not have any foreign exchange for imports.
The government, headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been seeking credit lines from countries such as India, China and even Bangladesh for purchasing milk powder and diesel. India had extended a $1.5 billion credit line for the purchase of 40,000 tonnes of diesel. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka had sought an additional $1 billion credit line for importing essential items.
Earlier, the 26-member Sri Lankan cabinet had submitted letters of resignation. Now, with the government losing its majority in Parliament, protesters across Sri Lanka are demanding the resignations of President Rajapaksa and his brother PM Mahinda, raising slogans of ‘Go Home Gota’. However, the Prime Minister and the President have given no indication that they might step down even as calls for them to go grow louder on the streets.
