Curfew eased in Sri Lanka as PM begins cabinet formation
Sri Lanka lited a nationwide curfew for 12 hours on Saturday, further easing tight curbs as new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made first his cabinet appointments ater clashes between pro- and anti-government groups killed nine people.
More than a month of predominantly peaceful protests against the government turned violent this week ater supporters of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stormed an antigovernment protest camp in the commercial capital Colombo, burning tents and clashing with protesters and police.
The initial violence and reprisals against government figures also let more than 300 injured.
Hit hard by the pandemic, rising oil prices and tax cuts by the populist government, Sri Lanka is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since independence from Great Britain in 1948.
Useable foreign reserves have dwindled, and rampant inflation and shortages of fuel have brought thousands onto the streets in protest.
The government lited the curfew from 6am (0030 GMT) on Saturday until 6pm. A 24-hour
Wickremesinghe appoints four ministers; Rajapaksa swears in ministers of foreign affairs, public administration and home affairs, urban development and power and energy
curfew imposed on Monday had been lited for a few hours on Thursday and Friday to allow purchase of essential supplies.
Rajapaksa stepped down ater violence flared on Monday, leaving his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa to rule on as president.
Wickremesinghe, a five-time prime minister, was appointed to another term late on Thursday.
He appointed four ministers from the Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a decision unlikely to satisfy the protesters demanding the removal of the party from power.
The appointments, announced by the president’s office, include G.L. Pereis, the SLPP chairman who had held the post before resigning on Monday.
Rajapaksa swore in ministers of foreign affairs, public administration and home affairs, urban development and power and energy, said a statement on Saturday from president’s office.
Wickremesinghe is the sole lawmaker from his United National Party to hold a seat in parliament, and is reliant on other parties to form a coalition government. The SLPP has pledged to support him. The main opposition has ruled out supporting him, but several smaller parties have said they would back policies by the new prime minister to stabilise the economy.
Protesters atacked earlier this week by supporters of Sri Lanka’s government demanded on Friday that the newly appointed prime minister arrest his predecessor for allegedly instigating the atack against them as they were calling for his resignation.
A group of protesters camped outside the official residence of Wickremesinghe.
For months, Sri Lankans have been forced to wait in long lines to purchase scarce imported essentials such as medicines, fuel, cooking gas and food because of a severe foreign currency shortage.
The group of about 10 protesters camped at the prime minister’s residence said they don’t trust Wickremesinghe, a former five-time prime minister, because he is close to the Rajapaksas.
“If he is truly on the side of the people,” he should have Mahinda Rajapaksa arrested, said Wimal Jayasuriya, a 43-year-old teacher.
If he doesn’t arrest him, “then he has to get ready to go.”
Jayasuriya and the others said they were among the protesters who were atacked with metal and wooden poles by Rajapaksa supporters who were leaving the prime minister’s residence ater meeting him.
Thousands of protesters have joined weeks of protests outside the president’s office and the prime minister’s residence demanding their resignations over the country’s economic crisis.
Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family have taken refuge at a fortified naval base in Trincomalee, on the northeastern coast.
A court on Thursday issued travel bans against him, his former cabinet minister son and 15 others, including other former ministers, pending an investigation into the atack on the protesters.
Wickremesinghe’s appointment has been opposed by some politicians and religious leaders who say he is part of a corrupt system they want overhauled.