Uditha Jayasinghe & Alasdair Pa

COLOMBO (Reuters – Schools in Colombo and trains stations were deserted as train drivers and teachers joined mass walks demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa quit the government in protest at Sri Lanka’s worst financial crisis since decades.

Hundreds of employees from Sri Lankan state-run banks, most wearing black and carrying black flags, also joined other bank trade unions in a protest march to the president’s office as thousands of people took to the streets around the country.

Sri Lanka is now without sufficient dollars to purchase essential imports such as fuel, food, and medicines due to the pandemic and rising oil prices. This month, power outages and shortages caused violent protests to erupt.

Our country has been destroyed by this government. The cost of living is increasing, the number of businesses closing and rising costs mean that people are unable to make ends meet. Samanthi Ekanayake is a 34-year-old teller at a government bank.

We are sick of breaking promises.

If the president or the government refuse to resign, the trade union leaders of the country threaten an indefinite strike beginning May 6.  

Rajapaksa reaffirmed this week his desire to create an interim government that would include a prime minister and a cabinet. But, Mahinda Rajapaksa (his elder brother) has refused to resign and insists that he still holds a majority of the 225 members parliament.

Two Opposition parties, Samagi Jana Balawegaya and Tamil National Alliance, have begun the process of bringing no-confidence motions in opposition to the prime minister and president.

It will be more difficult for us to address the financial crisis if there is political instability. According to Nalaka Gopalahewa, Cabinet spokesperson, it’s essential for a government strong and with a majority of parliament members.