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SJB to hold Colombo protest tomorrow

14 Mar 2022

The country’s main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB), will be having a protest in Colombo tomorrow (15), against the multiple crises currently faced by Sri Lanka, demanding a solution directly from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa within a month. “We are giving a month’s time period for the President. At least now, let go of your stubbornness and the thought that you have done the best. At least now, let go of the opinion that only you and your family can run this country. At least now, bring a multiparty dialogue and decide how to save this country. If he cannot do that in a month, we will go for a movement beyond that of the ‘Arab Springs’. We will send you home, within our democratic means,” a SJB MP said at a press conference held yesterday. Sri Lanka has been battling with a heavy economic crisis, with shortages of essential items such as fuel, electricity, and medicines being prominent. After months of keeping the rupee at approximately Rs. 203 per US dollar (USD), the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) announced last Wednesday (9) that the rupee is being floated, with the USD currently selling at over Rs. 260. Following this, prices of almost all essential goods have steadily risen – fuel by 54%, airline tickets by 27%, medicines by 29%, and a loaf of bread by Rs. 30. The SJB last week met with the CBSL to discuss the country’s ongoing economic crises, where they urged officials to restructure debt and to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF).


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