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Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a nationwide address on Wednesday announced that he will appoint a new Prime Minister and Cabinet this week. “This week I will appoint a Prime Minister and Cabinet that can command a majority in Parliament and can gain the confidence of the people of the country,” he said.
The President in his statement said: “a constitutional amendment will be moved to enact the content of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which will vest more powers with the parliament. The new government’s Prime Minister will be awarded the opportunity to produce a new program and take this country forward.”
The announcement comes hours after the Central Bank chief warned that the Sri Lankan economy will collapse unless a new government is urgently appointed. Nandalal Weerasinghe said it was critical that a new administration take charge by Friday or the country would suffer a catastrophe. “The economy will completely collapse and no one will be able to save it,” he said.
“The country was fast going down a slope when I took over just over a month ago. I thought we were able to apply the brakes, but with events of Monday the brakes no longer work.”
Weerasinghe also threatened to step down within weeks unless political stability was restored. “I have clearly told the president and other political party leaders that unless political stability is established in the next two weeks I will step down,” Weerasinghe told reporters.
As Sri Lanka reels under its worst economic crisis, security forces fanned out on the streets to restore order after spasms of mob violence on Wednesday. Nine people have died since Monday due to clashes between anti government demonstators and supporters of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, injuring more than 200.
Opposition parties have refused Rajapaksa’s overtures for a unity government to resolve a political deadlock and instead demanded his resignation.
Security forces have largely curbed public disorder after they were deployed to enforce a nationwide curfew with orders to “shoot on sight” anyone engaged in looting or violence. Amid rumours of a looming military coup, Sri Lanka’s military chief rejected the speculations. “Don’t ever think that we are trying to capture power,” said Kamal Gunaratne. “The military has no such intentions.” He said it is likely the curfew will be removed tomorrow. “The situation is getting better and we are hopeful of lifting the curfew by tomorrow morning.”
Sri Lanka’s snowballing crisis has led citizens to blame the government led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family as reserves reduced to just about $50 million, stalling most imports and bringing massive shortages of essentials including cooking gas, fuel and medicine.
Hours after the violence escalated on Monday, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s older brother, said he was resigning with the hope of a new, unity government taking over. Rajapaksa, head of a family that has dominated Sri Lanka’s politics for much of the past two decades, later had to be rescued from his Colombo residence by soldiers after it was besieged by an angry crowd.
The former leader is now being guarded at a naval base on the other side of the country after rumours he was preparing to flee Sri Lanka were denied by his son.
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters)
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