Lankan Oppn to move no-trust motion against Gotabaya govt

Sri Lanka's main Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya on Friday announced that it will move a no-confidence motion against the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa if it fails to take steps to address the concerns of the public facing hardships due to the worst economic crisis.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa also called for the executive presidency to be abolished, saying power should be divided between the executive, legislature and judiciary.

"The government must pay heed to the public demand for the Rajapaksas to quit, if not we will bring a no confidence motion," the leader of the SJB told Parliament.

The SJB has begun to collect signatures from MPs for the no-confidence motion, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry, who resigned from the post within 24 hours of his appointment, returned to the position on Friday and would head the government's negotiating team at the International Monetary Fund as the island nation struggles to combat the unprecedented shortage of foreign reserves.

Former Justice Minister Sabry told Parliament on Friday that he had resigned from the post to give way for someone more suitable to accept the post. However, since no one came forward to accept the post he decided to continue as the finance minister.

"I will remain as the finance minister to do the needful to save the economy," Sabry told Parliament.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had appointed Sabry as the Finance Minister on April 4 after sacking his younger brother Basil Rajapaksa, who was at the centre of anger within the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna coalition.

However, he submitted his letter of resignation to the President within 24 hours amid mass protests against the government over alleged economic mismanagement. President Rajapaksa had not accepted Sabry's resignation.

Amid crisis, Rajapaksa had earlier proposed the creation of a unity government, but the main Opposition party SJB rejected the idea.

Premadasa said that he cannot agree to an interim Government with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remaining as President. The SJB said that it is also prepared to impeach the president.

He also submitted a set of proposals to Parliament on behalf of the SJB to address the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

The Opposition backs the public protests happening all over the island, demanding the resignation of the President and the entire Rajapaksa family.

Opposition JVP legislator Vijitha Herath said if Rajapaksa does not resign there needs to be a motion of impeachment for his removal as the President.

"If he is not responsive to the problems of the people let's be ready to impeach and remove him," he said.

Thousands of people from all walks of life have been demonstrating, demanding a solution to the crisis and calling for Rajapaksa to resign over economic mismanagement.

Rajapaksa has resisted the demands to step down, even after members of his own coalition joined the anti-government demonstrations this week, with governing party lawmakers calling for the appointment of an interim government to avoid possible violence.

Parliament has failed to reach a consensus in three days of debate on how to deal with the economic crisis.

The president and his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold power, despite their family being the focus of public ire.

Five other family members are lawmakers, including Basil Rajapaksa, irrigation minister Chamal Rajapaksa and a nephew, sports minister Namal Rajapaksa.

The government speakers defend the ruling family, saying the President need not resign as protests were meant to achieve "extra constitutional aims".

Rajapaksa last month said his government was in talks with the International Monetary Fund and had turned to China and India for loans, and he appealed to people to limit their use of fuel and electricity.

The Sri Lankan government has appointed an advisory committee comprising eminent economic and fiscal experts to provide guidance on addressing the current debt crisis and engaging with the IMF and other lenders as the island nation struggles to combat the unprecedented shortage of foreign reserves.

Foreign Minister Peiris told the foreign diplomats in the country on Wednesday that the government is ready to provide solutions to the existing problems in accordance with the country's Constitution.

Briefing the diplomatic corps on Wednesday at the ministry of foreign affairs, minister Peiris said that the government of Sri Lanka was fully aware of the severe hardships of the people and its magnitude with the most pressing issues being power cuts, shortage of gas, fuel and essential medicines.

Meanwhile, public and semi-public sector employees on Friday launched an island-wide one-day strike to protest against the government.

Many government institutions across the country have become inactive due to the token strike by the employees of state and semi state institutions.

Earlier, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had appointed Sabry as the finance minister on April 4 after sacking his younger brother Basil Rajapaksa, who was at the centre of anger within the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna coalition.

However, he submitted his letter of resignation to the President within 24 hours amid mass protests against the government over alleged economic mismanagement. President Rajapaksa had not accepted Sabry's resignation.

The government issued a gazette with names of the 24 members of the Cabinet who had resigned last week to facilitate the Rajapaksa's attempt to form a Unity cabinet with the Opposition.

All Opposition parties, however, rejected the offer.

The Opposition backs the public protests happening all over the island, demanding the resignation of thepresident and the entire Rajapaksa family.

Sri Lanka is scheduled to start talks with the IMF on April 11. The talks would lead to a possible bailout, including assistance on restructuring foreign debt.

The European Union's Colombo office on Friday in a statement underlined the importance of an IMF programme for the island's economy.

“We stress the extreme urgency of the situation which requires the authorities to start in depth discussions with the International Monetary Fund on the reforms needed to bring the Sri Lankan economy back to a sustainable path," it said.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948. An Indian credit line in a special economic relief package has only provided a temporary solution.

India had recently announced to extend a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis following a previous $500 billion line of credit in February to help it purchase petroleum products.