Sri Lanka Economic Crisis : President will not resign, says minister
Sri Lanka Crisis Live News Updates: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa late Tuesday night revoked the state of Emergency with immediate effect on his island nation. In a gazette notification number 2274/10, the President said he has withdrawn the Emergency rule ordinance which gave security forces sweeping powers to curb any disturbance in the country.
Despite public anger against the Rajapaksa family, President Gotabaya will not resign, Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando asserted Wednesday. “May I remind you that 6.9 million people voted for the President. As a government, we are clearly saying the president will not resign under any circumstances. We will face this,” he said. Claiming that the Opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramunawas (JVP) party was behind the violence in the country, Fernando said that this “thug politics” should not be allowed and called on the people to end the violence.
President Rajapaksa had declared an Emergency on April 1 amid a spate of protests over the worst economic crisis in the country, with thousands gathering outside the President’s private residence, demanding his resignation. On Tuesday, the ruling coalition appeared to have lost its majority in the 225 member Parliament with over 40 MPs declaring themselves independent.