Updated: May 11, 2022 9:44 PM IST 
Columbo: Amid ongoing tension in Sri Lanka in the wake of the country’s worst economic crisis, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday said he will appoint the new prime minister and cabinet by the end of this week. “This week I will appoint a Prime Minister and Cabinet that can command a majority in Parliament and can gain the confidence of the people of the country,” said Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in an address to the nation, according to a report by NDTV.
“Thereafter, a constitutional amendment will be moved to enact the content of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which will vest more powers with the parliament. The new government’s Prime Minister will be awarded the opportunity to produce a new program and take this country forward,” he added, according to the NDTV report.
Earlier today, Sri Lankan authorities deployed armoured vehicles and troops in the streets of the capital Colombo, two days after pro-government mobs attacked peaceful protesters, triggering a wave of violence across the country. Security forces have been ordered to shoot those deemed to be participating in the violence, as sporadic acts of arson and vandalism continued despite a strict nationwide curfew that began Monday evening.
Sri Lanka is nearing bankruptcy and has suspended payments on $7 billion in foreign loans due this year out of $25 billion due by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion.
The shortage of foreign currency has led to falling imports and acute shortages of essentials including food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine. For months, people have been forced to stand in long lines for hours to buy the limited stocks, with many returning with nothing.
Protesters blame the Rajapaksa brothers’ alleged corruption and style of administration for the economic crisis.
Anti-government protesters have been demanding the resignations of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who stepped down as prime minister this week, over a debt crisis that has nearly bankrupted Sri Lanka and left its people facing severe shortages of fuel, food and other essentials.
In the past few days, eight people have died and more than 200 have been injured in violent attacks in which mobs set fire to buildings and vehicles.
The prime minister’s departure has created an administrative vacuum with no Cabinet, which dissolved automatically with his resignation. After Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, he and his family were evacuated from his official residence through thousands of protesters trying to break into the heavily guarded colonial-era building.
The Defense Ministry’s top official, Kamal Gunaratne, said the former prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, is being protected at a naval base in Trincomalee on the northeastern coast. On Monday, supporters gathered at the prime minister’s official residence to urge Mahinda Rajapaksa to stay in office.
After the meeting, mobs backing the government beat peaceful protesters who had camped out near the prime minister’s residence and president’s office demanding their resignations, as police watched and did little to stop them. Across the country, angry citizens responded by attacking government supporters and ruling party politicians.
Eight people including a ruling party lawmaker and two police officers were killed and 219 were injured in the violence, the defence ministry said. In addition, 104 buildings and 60 vehicles were burned.
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