Sri Lanka’s cabinet members have resigned en masse from their positions, the education minister said, as anti-government protests escalated despite curfews. All 26 ministers aside from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down during a late-night meeting on Sunday, Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters. The move came after thousands of people defied a weekend curfew on Sunday to protest across the island and demand the resignation of the Rajapaksa family, which returned to power in November 2019. Al Jazeera’s Andrew Chappelle reports. – Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe – Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish – Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera – Check our […]
People in Sri Lanka are demanding their government address the crippling economic crisis. Prosters say if the govenrment can’t handle the food and fuel shortages — there should be elections for a new government. Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez reports from Nugegoda, Sri Lanka. – Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe – Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish – Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera – Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/ #SriLanka #SriLankaProtests #SriLankaEconomicCrisis
Tuesday’s protests came as the government is heavily in debt and struggling to pay for essential imports. The 2019 Easter bombings on churches and hotels killed 270 people and hit vital tourism revenue. The pandemic which followed further hampered recovery. Analysts blame unsustainable debt, low revenue, a foreign exchange crisis, financial mismanagement and corruption for aggravating dire problems. After months of rejecting calls to seek an international bailout, the government appears ready to seek help. Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez reports from one of the main demonstrations in Colombo, Sri Lanka. – Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe – Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish – Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera – Check […]
