By P.K.Balachandran
Colombo, April 6: The Chief Government Whip in the Sri Lankan parliament and Highways Minister Johnson Fernando told the House on Wednesday that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would on no account step down. This touched off an agitation by the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) within the parliament complex. For a while, the Speaker had to adjourn the House.
“As a responsible Government, we state President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign from his post under any circumstances,” Minister Fernando said. He said that 6.9 million citizens of the country had voted the Presidentinto office. Fernando assured that the Rajapaksa government will face the current national crisisconfidently.
Members of the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party then commenced a protest inside the Parliament chambers. The MPs were holding placards and chanting “Go Home Gota.”
Parliament was adjourned for 10 minutes after a tense situation erupted following a heated argument between Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando and SJB MP Nalin Bandara.
Meanwhile, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) had begun a protest in front of National Hospital in Colombo against the severe drug shortage. They attributed the shortage to governmental mismanagement. GMOA has been demanding allocation of adequate funds to ensure “Right to Live and Right to Health”.
However, there is concern both in the government and in civil society about the use of violence by the protestors in several parts of the island. State Minister Kanchana Wijesekeraclaimed that certain groups are attempting to damage property and endanger the lives of MPs affiliated to the government in the guise of protesting against the shortages. The private residences of Ministers and ruling party MPs are being targeted. There is a growing fear that social miscreants and extremists might take the cue and jump into fray with dangerous consequences.
Minister Wijesekara requested the Speaker to direct the Inspector General of Police to issue strict orders to the Security Forces to ensure the safety of MPs. “We respect the right of the people to protest. However, during the protests over the past few days it is evident that a certain organized group is behind it and is trying to topple the government and create anarchy in the country. Therefore, I urge you as the Speaker and especially the IG to investigate who is behind the attacks on the residences of the MPs, who is telling them to go to these specific houses and providing them the stones.”Wijesekara urged the Speaker to summon the IGP and Security Forces heads to Parliament and issue relevant orders.
Wijesekara appealed to the Opposition to prove its majority. “If you can show your majority, by rallying 113 MPs (out of 225 members including the Speaker) we will not remain in power a minute further,” he told the Opposition.The ruling party now has only 114 MPs after 42 defections on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), while defending the right of those protesting peacefully, called upon authorities to take necessary action against any protesters inciting violence.
“If a peaceful protest becomes violent, that will only dilute the objective and purpose of the peaceful expression of dissent and strengthen the hands of those who seek to suppress legitimate dissent,” a BASL statement said.
The statement from the BASL observes that some of the recent protests have led to violence with protesters targeting private property of certain individuals and causing destruction to property including their homes.
“The BASL reiterates the position taken up in its statement on April 2, 2022 that if a peaceful protest becomes violent, that will only dilute the objective and purpose of a peaceful expression of dissent and strengthen the hands of those who seek to suppress legitimate dissent.”
Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry is monitoring the wave of protests that has erupted around the country. While it recognizes the people’s democratic right to peaceful protest, action will be taken against anyone unleashing violence, Defense Secretary Gen Kamal Gunaratne said in a video statement Tuesday (05).
According to him, two district groups have been found to be organizing the ongoing spate of protests. One, he said, were peaceful protestors exercising their democratic right, while the other is intent on damaging public and private property due to various motives.
“The other group is deliberately causing damage to state property and the private property of various parties, and insolvencies the public on main roads and in public spaces and engages in violent protests,” he said. Legal action will be taken against such violent elements, Gunaratnewarned.
IMF Report Tabled
The report prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sri Lanka was presented in Parliament by the Speaker on Tuesday. The report said that Sri Lanka faces “solvency” issues because of risks stemming from unsustainable debt levels that jeopardize the nation’s economy, according to International Monetary Fund staff.
“Based on staff analysis, the fiscal consolidation necessary to bring debt down to safe levels would require excessive adjustment over the coming years, pointing to a clear solvency problem,” the IMF said in its Article IV consultation report, released last Friday in Washington.
A summary of the report released earlier in March Sri Lanka faced unsustainable debt levels and needed a “credible and coherent” strategy to restore stability. The country’s “debt overhang,” along with persistent fiscal and balance-of-payments shortfalls, “will constrain growth and jeopardize macroeconomic stability in both the near and medium term,” the report said.
“Rollover risk is very high,” the IMF said. “FX debt service needs of $7 billion each year will require access to very large amounts of external financing at concessional rates and long maturities, sustained over many years.”
Since the IMF board considered the staff report in late February, a surge in oil prices and the loss of tourists because of the war in Ukraine exacerbated Lanka’s foreign exchange crisis, forcing the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to seek IMF aid.
Negotiations on a possible aid package are expected to start in April, when the Lankan Finance Minister travels to Washington.
Sri Lanka has about $2 billion of reserves against $3.9 billion of foreign-currency debt due for the remainder of 2022, according to Bloomberg calculations based on central bank data. This includes $1 billion of sovereign bonds maturing in July.
“With the government indicating that it is seeking a closer engagement with the IMF, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka stands ready to cooperate in such an engagement,” the monetary authority said in an amended statement Saturday.
Sri Lanka has no Finance Minister now with both Basil Rajapaksa and his successor Ali Sabry quitting. There is no Finance Secretary either after A.R.Attygalle quit. All these are fallouts of the politico-economic crisis.