As the crisis in Sri Lanka worsens, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said that he is following the situation in the island nation “very closely”. Urging all party leaders to “embrace the spirit of compromise for a peaceful and democratic transition”, the UN chief said that the “root causes of the conflict” and “protestors’ grievances” must be addressed.
“I continue to follow the situation in Sri Lanka very closely. It is important that the root causes of the conflict and protestors’ grievances are addressed. I urge all party leaders to embrace the spirit of compromise for a peaceful and democratic transition,” the UN chief wrote on Twitter.
Over the past two weeks, the political turmoil in Sri Lanka has worsened the crisis. While angry protests continue across the island nation against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the military and police forces are using tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s exit from the island nation has deepened tensions.
Rajapaksa announced news of his resignation after his presidential palace was breached by demonstrators. On the same day, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s house was set ablaze.
It was another day of chaos on Wednesday as Wickremesinghe’s office was targeted. In view of this, Wickremesinghe – who had also said last week that he would step down – on Wednesday declared a state of emergency. He is now the acting president, which has further riled up the demonstrators.
After Gotabaya Rajapaksa exited the island nation to the Maldives, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as acting president.
Meanwhile, according to speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the president had repeatedly assured the speaker of parliament that he would step down on Wednesday, but his resignation letter had not arrived as of early Thursday.
The island nation – which has over $50 billion in debt – is now set to get a new president on July 20.