COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s beleaguered prime minister came under increased pressure to step
down on Saturday, as staunch allies broke ranks and backed street protests
calling for resignations over a worsening economic crisis.
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Media minister
Nalaka Godahewa announced his support for the thousands outside President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office who are demanding he and other members of his
family relinquish power.
Sri Lanka is
suffering its most painful economic downturn since independence in 1948, with
months of blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel, and other essentials.
The crisis has
sparked nationwide protests, with angry demonstrators camped outside
Rajapaksa’s office for more than two weeks.
Under pressure,
the president dropped two of his brothers — Chamal and Basil — and nephew Namal
from the cabinet this month, but protesters rejected the changes as cosmetic.
Godahewa,
previously a staunch Rajapaksa loyalist, said the president should sack his
elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa — the political head of the
family — and allow an all-party interim government to take over.
He said the
government had lost its credibility after the police killing of a protester on
Tuesday. Godahewa said he had offered his resignation but President Rajapaksa
had not accepted it.
“We need to
restore political stability to successfully meet the economic crisis,” Godahewa
said in a statement on his Facebook page.
“The entire
cabinet, including the prime minister, should resign and (there should be) an
interim cabinet that can win the confidence of all.”
Several other
senior ruling party members, including Dullas Alahapperuma, a former media
minister and cabinet spokesman, have asked the premier to step down.
“I urge the
president to appoint a smaller cabinet with a genuine consensus representing
all parties in parliament for one year maximum,” Alahapperuma said Saturday.
‘Be patient’
But the prime minister rejected their demands, insisting a majority of
ruling party lawmakers still supported him.
“A majority of
MPs want me, there may be a few who want me to go,” Mahinda told Neth FM radio.
“People must be
patient to overcome this crisis,” the 76-year-old added, rejecting calls for a
unity cabinet.
“There cannot be
any interim government without me as its prime minister.”
Police and the
military stepped up security in the central town of Rambukkana on Saturday for
the funeral of 42-year-old Chaminda Lakshan, who was shot dead when police
broke up a protest against spiraling fuel prices.
Saffron-robed
Buddhist monks chanted teachings ahead of the sunset burial at Lakshan’s family
home.
Opposition
leader Sajith Premadasa visited to offer his condolences to his widow and two
children, while a large number of villagers attended.
Police said they
had arrested a 28-year-old man who allegedly attempted to torch a fuel tanker
before officers opened fire on the crowd, killing Lakshan.
Hundreds of
people had been protesting a 64 percent increase in the price of diesel,
commonly used for public transport.
Food, oil, and
electricity have been rationed for months and the country is facing record
inflation.
Hospitals are
short of vital medicines and the government has appealed to Sri Lankans abroad
for donations.
Finance minister
Ali Sabry, who is in Washington to negotiate a bailout from the International
Monetary Fund, warned on Friday that the economic situation in the South Asian
nation will likely deteriorate even further.