Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksas show no intention of quitting

NEW DELHI, APRIL 11

Sri Lanka’s embattled Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa set the stage for a confrontation with the opposition by stating clearly in his address to the nation on Monday evening that he had intention of quitting his post.

In a televised address marking his first public appearance since countrywide protests began, Mahinda said the government was confident of overcoming the country’s worst-ever economic crisis in the same way it crushed the LTTE over a decade ago. “We have to strengthen the economy. We will take the responsibility to resolve the economic issue in the same way we ended the 30-year war,” he said.

The elder brother of the Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda said the government was working round-the-clock to overcome the economic crisis. The Rajapaksa clan, which is amply represented in positions of political power, has so far sacrificed Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and replaced him with a former Justice Minister Ali Sabry. —