COLOMBO —
Sri Lanka’s president lost his parliamentary majority Tuesday as former allies
urged his resignation following days of street protests over the island
nation’s crippling economic crisis.
اضافة اعلان
Unprecedented shortages of food and fuel along with
record inflation and blackouts have inflicted widespread misery in the
country’s most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.
President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s once-powerful ruling
coalition is in turmoil after a string of defections, capped Tuesday by the new
finance minister’s resignation just one day after taking office.
And as anti-Rajapaksa demonstrations continued for a
fifth straight day, the government warned of retaliation if rallies turned
violent.
“Security forces will not hesitate to enforce the
law against those involved in violence,” defense ministry secretary Kamal
Gunaratne said in a statement.
More than 60
people had been arrested in connection with unrest since Friday and many have
said they were tortured in police custody.
The
UN Human Rights Council said it was closely watching
the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka, which is already facing international
censure over its human rights record.
“The drift towards militarization and the weakening
of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the state’s ability
to effectively tackle the economic crisis,” the
UNHRC said.
Public anger is at a fever pitch in Sri Lanka, where
crowds have since the weekend attempted to storm the homes of several senior
government officials.
“If we don’t act now, there will be a river of blood
in the country,” said
Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, a newly independent lawmaker who
broke ranks with the president’s party and joined calls for the leader to step
down.
Tuesday’s parliamentary session was the first since
dozens of MPs withdrew their support for Rajapaksa’s government, including 16
lawmakers from his own Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP).
The government is now at least five short of a
majority in the 225-member house, but there has been no clear signal that
legislators will attempt a no-confidence motion to topple it.
Opposition parties have already rebuffed Rajapaksa’s
call to join a unity administration led by him and his elder brother, Prime
Minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Their government imposed a state of emergency last
week in an effort to contain street protests, but the ordinance is set to
expire next week unless ratified by parliament.
Rejecting calls for a vote on the emergency decree,
the government cut short Tuesday’s proceedings by two hours, but promised a
debate on Wednesday.
Nimal Lanza, a former minister who has also
abandoned Rajapaksa’s administration, conceded that the ruling party no longer
had a mandate to govern.
“I beg and appeal to you to take the side of the
protesters,” he told parliament, addressing the prime minister, who attended
the session but remained silent.
Every member of Sri Lanka’s cabinet except the president and
prime minister resigned late Sunday.
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