A key convention of Buddhist clergy tells Rajapaksa to step down to make way for an interim govt

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's powerful Buddhist clergy on Saturday held a key convention here and warned that people would be influenced to reject all politicians if Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa did not resign to make way for an interim government to resolve the political and economic crisis in the country.

Rev Prof Olaganwatte Chandrasiri read out the monks' order after over 1,000 monks staged a protest march demanding the government to act according to their letter addressed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dated April 4.

"Unless action is taken to empower parliament by pruning the excessive powers of the president, unless the prime minister resigns immediately to make way for an all-party interim government, we would be compelled to rally the public to tell them to reject all politicians," the order read out by Prof Chandrasiri stated.

Prof Agalakada Sirisumana in his address accused the government of wrongdoing since assuming power in 2019.

"They destroyed the country by appointing misfits to top positions, appointed retired military officers to head institutions and ruined the institutions, brought 48 per cent of institutions under the control of the Rajapakses, caused shortages of fuel, sugar, electricity, cement, gas and made people suffer. Only created queues for everything and let people die in queues. We asked for the resignation of the prime minister and the government and appoint an interim government for a period of one year to let the country run by capable people". 

The monks going against the Rajapaksa family assumes much significance as the family had enjoyed their overwhelming support until the current economic crisis.

The public agitations demanding the resignation of the entire Rajapaksa family entered its 22nd day on Saturday.

The monks convention said the Rajapaksas had failed to heed the message coming out from the continued protest action by the suffering public.

In recent weeks, the Buddhist clergy, civil society and trade chambers have demanded the formation of an interim government in the predominantly Buddhist nation.

Now the Buddhist clergy has decided to come out to press for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to make way for an interim government.

The four Buddhist chapters - Malwathu, Asgiri, Amarapura and Ramanya chapters - wield a lot of power in Sri Lanka's political landscape.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has also come under pressure from a dissident group of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition to set up an interim government.

However, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, has refused to resign.

He stresses that any interim government should only be formed under his premiership.

The Opposition maintains they would never be part of any government under the two Rajapaksas.

Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.

The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.

Sri Lanka needs at least USD 4 billion to tide over its mounting economic woes, and talks with international institutions such as the World Bank as well as countries like China and Japan for financial assistance have been going on.