Sri Lanka: PM Mahinda Rajapaksa appeals to end protests

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa  on Monday said his government is working round-the-clock to overcome the economic crisis. In his address to  the nation, he said Covid lockdown in a weak economy depleted foreign reserves,. "We are facing this crisis, right after being faced with the pandemic. Despite knowing the country's economy going down, we had to impose a lockdown and that's why our foreign reserves depleted," said Mahinda Rajapaksa. "The President and I are spending every moment to formulate solutions on how to get Sri Lanka out of this current crisis," he said.

The Prime Minister also appealed to the protesters to end their anti-government agitation and said that every minute spent on streets deprives the country of dollar inflow. "After winning the war in 2010 we won the election, people forgot the story. But I remember. I promise there will never be rolling blackouts in the future. We made a proposal to the powerplant, former government didn't support our proposal, they are responsible for it," said the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, efforts to establish an all-party interim government in Sri Lanka remained inconclusive. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Sunday said that it is ready to support the Opposition in moving a no-confidence motion against the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and is prepared to impeach the leader,nclusive as the talks between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the group of independents from his own ruling SLPP coalition failed to make progress on the issue. The SJB and TNA combined have 64 seats in the 225-member assembly. The Rajapaksa government, which has more than 150 seats with allies, lost 42 members, when they declared independence from the SLPP-ruling coalition.