INDIA. Delhi: An all-party meeting on the unrest in Sri Lanka has been convened for Tuesday evening with Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Dr. S. Jaishankar, the government said on Sunday following a call by Tamil Nadu-based parties to intervene.
In a party meeting ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, the DMK and AIADMK demanded that India intervene in the neighboring country, which is facing its worst economic emergency in seven decades, news agency PTI reported.
Both parties have raised the plight of the country’s Tamil population, M Thambidurai of the AIADMK, which is part of the ruling coalition at the centre, and TR Baalu of the DMK, which rules Tamil Nadu, said.
Apart from sending aid through all possible channels, India has so far maintained a hands-off role in the crisis. The Ministry of External Affairs stated, “India stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established institutions and a constitutional framework.”
Making Reference to the financial assistance India has provided to the island nation, the statement also said that Sri Lanka is central to its Neighborhood First policy. “India is Sri Lanka’s nearest neighbour and our two countries share a deep civilizational bond,” he added.
The protest movement in Sri Lanka reached its 100th day on Sunday, forcing one president from office and now targeting his successor as the country’s economic crisis continues.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his residence shortly before protesters stormed it last weekend and resigned as president on Thursday over an Email.
His mismanagement and lack of vision is being blamed for Sri Lanka’s financial upheaval, which has forced its 22 million people to endure such dire situations like shortages of food, fuel and medicine since late last year.
As per Sri Lanka’s constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was automatically installed as acting president following Rajapaksa’s resignation and is now the leading candidate to replace him permanently in a parliamentary vote next week.
Numbers at the protest site dwindled after Rajapaksa’s departure, with protesters leaving the three key state buildings they had occupied by them; the 200-year-old presidential palace, the prime minister’s official residence Temple Trees and his office.
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