| Translate This News In |
|---|
Former Sri Lanka President and Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Maithripala Sirisena called for new elections in the country on Sunday while speaking at a May Day rally organised by his party in Polonnaruwa.
According to Colombo Page, Sirisena said that lawmakers should take the side of the people at a time when the country is experiencing a huge tragedy by taking to the streets on International Labor Day to do so.
“I, too, took to the streets because this administration refuses to leave, despite the fact that citizens ranging from the country’s wealthiest to the country’s poorest farmers and public employees have taken to the streets to demand that the government depart. I’d like to establish a new government in the country. We’ll make it work “According to Colombo Page, Sirisena stated.
The former president went on to say that he couldn’t stay at home when the country’s people were suffering from myriad of problems.
“Farmers in Polonnaruwa who hoped to use the Moragahakanda Reservoir to make the country self-sufficient in agriculture are now unable to farm even on a daily basis. Today, I participated in a working-class May Day rally, which raised the voice of the farmers’ community and conveyed its difficulties and challenges to the country’s ruling class “According to reports, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said.
The former president further warned that if the current politicians stay in power, people will die at home, claiming that two or three lakhs of people in the country are already hungry and that he is receiving calls from people all across the country requesting food.
Food and fuel shortages, skyrocketing prices, and power outages are hurting a large number of people in Sri Lanka, leading in massive protests against the government’s handling of the problem.
Foreign exchange shortages due to a drop in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as risky economic policies like the government’s decision last year to restrict artificial fertilisers in an attempt to make Sri Lanka’s agriculture “100% organic,” are blamed for the crisis.
Sri Lanka has defaulted on all of its international debt, totaling around USD 51 billion, due to a severe scarcity of foreign cash.
Huge protests have erupted in Sri Lanka, calling for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit due to the country’s economic crisis.
