National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that they were not agreeable to an Interim Government as long as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains in post.
He said currently there are two crises in the country which is the political crisis and the economic crisis. There doesn’t seem to be any progress made to move forward and resolving this crisis. “The farmers protested against the wrong and foolish decisions adopted in the agriculture sector, but due to the government ignoring them the food prices have skyrocketed. As a result of the dollar shortage there is a huge shortage of imported items. In fact, the government has failed to even ensure the basic needs of the people. This has prompted the youth and the middle class, who prior to this never participated in such protests, to take to the streets. However, the President, Prime Minister and various government groups are trying every trick to cling on to power.”
However, he said that the economic crisis cannot be resolved without the political crisis being resolved. “Various parties have put forward proposals to address the political instability. Mahinda Rajapaksa had stated that an interim government should be formed under his premiership. Their statements clearly indicate how frantically this band of brothers and their sons are scrambling to cling onto power,” Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, adding that a large number of proposals have been submitted for the establishment of an Interim Government.
He said that after a short period a General Election should be called and a stable government must be established.
“The President has the power to dissolve Parliament. Even if a resolution is passed in Parliament, the President has the power to dissolve it. Be it the all-party governments, interim government etc it all depend on the president. The people’s only demand is that the president step down, he said, adding that no matter how much the people demand it or no matter how much suffering the people are put through, all the president wants is to hold on to his power.
He said in the event the government is not ready to step down, the public should engage in further protests, adding that many protests have been organized by the various unions. A joint general strike has been called on the 28th and a series of protests have been organized in every city. Dissanayake called on the public to show their strength and power.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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