A new Sri Lankan Cabinet is expected to be sworn in today after all 26 Ministers resigned with immediate effect on Sunday night amid intensifying protests against the Rajapaksa government over the country’s spiralling economic crisis. Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters that following an emergency cabinet meeting, “All the ministers submitted their letters of resignation so that the president can constitute a new cabinet.”
However, embattled Prime Minister (PM) Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, have quashed rumours of their resignations and will be continuing their respective terms. However, three other members of the family submitted their resignations to the PM, including Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son and Minister for Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa, youngest Rajapaksa brother and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, and eldest brother and Agriculture Minister Chamal Rajapaksa.
"Save Sri Lanka" protest held in Toronto, Canada pic.twitter.com/u48Tknuze5
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) April 3, 2022
The Cabinet’s resignation was coordinated with that of several members of parliament and came as hundreds of citizens defied the Saturday 6 pm to Monday 6 am curfew on Sunday and protested against the government’s mismanagement of the ongoing economic crisis.
Although the curfew had been introduced by authorities to crack down on the large scale protests that have been taking place, around 664 people were arrested for violating the precautionary measure. Police also reported the death of a man that had been electrocuted after climbing a high-tension pylon near Rajapaksa’s home while protesting against rolling power cuts.
Sri Lanka Crisis Coverage:
- Sri Lankan Economic Crisis Prompts Day-Long Power Cuts, Intense Protests Against Rajapaksa
- 16 Sri Lankan Tamils Reach Indian Shores Attempting to Escape Economic Crisis
- Sri Lanka: Thousands Demand Resignation of “Evil” Rajapaksa Gov’t Amid Severe Shortages
In order to contain the public outrage, the President declared a state of emergency on Friday, allowing security forces to exercise unrestricted powers. In fact, military convoys and troops armed with assault rifles have entered Colombo, with several tanks also sighted. There are also reports that the 53rd Brigade of the Sri Lankan military, which is led by General Kamal Gunaratne, has been ordered to move toward the capital.
Military convoys reported in Colombo as state of emergency grips Sri Lanka
— Tamil Guardian (@TamilGuardian) April 3, 2022
Tanks and armoured vehicles have been reportedly deployed in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo as island-wide anti-government protests are held today.https://t.co/S5EmeKSzqI pic.twitter.com/DX1FAeC4qX
🇱🇰 Colombo: Defying national Protests, the Rajapaksa ruling dynasty declares a 36-hour nationwide curfew Saturday and deployed troops with sweeping new powers under a State of Emergency to halt protests against the Presidential family #GotaGottaGo #SkiLankaEconomicCrisis pic.twitter.com/JkONn02oJj
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) April 2, 2022
Eran Wickramaratne, a lawmaker from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Sri Lanka’s main opposition alliance, condemned the military presence on the streets saying: “We can’t allow a military takeover. They should know we are still a democracy.”
The government also instituted a social media ban to prevent people from organising protests. Internet service providers were ordered to block access to Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter among other platforms. However, the order was rescinded later in the day after the country’s human rights commission ruled that the defence ministry had “no authority” to impose the censorship.
I will never condone the blocking of social media. The availability of VPN, just like I’m using now, makes such bans completely useless. I urge the authorities to think more progressively and reconsider this decision. #SocialMediaBanLK #SriLanka #lka
— Namal Rajapaksa (@RajapaksaNamal) April 3, 2022
In fact, before the ban was revoked, Minister for Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa said that he would never “condone” the “completely useless” ban and urged his uncle’s government to think “progressively and reconsider this decision.” The comment is largely being viewed as a sign of disharmony within the ruling party.
To help ease the South Asian neighbour’s power outage woes, India delivered 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel on Saturday. This was India’s fourth fuel consignment to Sri Lanka under a $500 million Line of Credit. Over the last 50 days, India has supplied around 200,000 metric tonnes of fuel to the island nation.
India has offered Sri Lanka $2.4 billion in financial assistance since January. This includes a $1 billion emergency financial support deal, a $400 million currency swap, a $500 million loan deferment, and 40,000 tonnes of diesel as part of the $500 million Line of Credit for fuel imports that was delivered this weekend.
Rumours have also been rife that New Delhi is supplying the island nation with soldiers; however, the Indian High Commission in Colombo has denied the reports.
High Commission strongly denies blatantly false and completely baseless reports in a section of media that India is dispatching its soldiers to Sri Lanka. The High Commission also condemns such irresponsible reporting and expects the concerned to desist from spreading rumours.
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) April 2, 2022