Ten members of the US Congress have written to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development Samantha Power to protect the Sri Lankan peoples’ right to peaceful protest and access to essential commodities.
‘We urge the State Department to continue to use all diplomatic means available to ensure the Sri Lankan government protects the right of suffering citizens to peacefully protest and does not utilize violence against peaceful demonstrators and journalists’, the letter says elaborating how President Wickremesinghe in his new position of power ‘announced a state of emergency, placed the nation under curfew, denounced the protests, and even suggested the use of live ammunition to quell them’.
The letter highlights how Wickremesinghe assumed the role of acting President even though only four days earlier he had agreed to resign from the Prime Ministry in response to the continued protests.
‘Instead, the Sri Lankan Parliament elected Mr. Wickremesinghe to the full presidency one week later’, it says.
The letter points out that ‘protesters continue to gather en masse calling for large scale political reform’ because they are still ‘unsatisfied about the direction of the country’.
In their letter, the members of Congress observe that the demonstrations will not cease until the government effectively addresses the root causes of corruption and economic mismanagement which led to this crisis.
Writing about the ‘unprecedented’ and ‘disastrous’ economic crisis they say that the ‘circumstances throughout the country are dire with widespread food, fuel, and medicine shortages’.
The letter records data from the World Food Programme that ‘due to widespread economic issues, three in ten households—or approximately 6.26 million Sri Lankans—are unsure where they will get their next meal and that if the ‘current economic situation does not improve soon, some experts warn that the number of those suffering from dangerous food insecurity could rise to 22 million, or one-third of the country’s population’.
They request the US government’s expedited attention and urges USAID to take immediate action to provide additional relief to the Sri Lankan people, including increased food, medical, and fuel aid.
To read the full letter click on:
letter_to_blinken_and_power_on_sri_lankan_economic_crisis-final (1)
