Escalating crisis in Sri Lanka; President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa approves removal of brother Mahinda Rajapaksa from the post of Prime Minister
Lawmaker: Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has approved the removal of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa from the post of Prime Minister in the proposed interim government to resolve the political stalemate caused by the worsening economic crisis in Sri Lanka, MP Maithripala Sirisena has said.
After the meeting, MP Maithripala Sirisena said that President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had approved the National Assembly to elect a new Prime Minister and that the President had approved the appointment of an all-party cabinet in the new interim cabinet.
Sirisena, a former president before Rajapakse, withdrew his support for the ruling party earlier this month, leaving nearly 40 legislators behind.
Sri Lanka is heading for bankruptcy and has announced that it will suspend repayments on foreign loans. It will have to repay $ 7 billion in foreign debt this year and $ 25 billion by 2026. But Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves are less than $ 1 billion.
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The foreign exchange deficit has severely affected imports, forcing people to wait in long queues to buy essential items such as food, fuel, cooking gas and medicine.
Rajapaksa and his family, including Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, have dominated all the changes that have taken place in Sri Lanka over the past 20 years. People are currently fighting against the Rajapaksas.
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