Colombo, April 4 (AsiaFreePress): In Sri Lanka, cabinet has resigned amid protests against inflation, severe shortages of essentials and social media ban.
All 26 cabinet members except President and his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted letters of resignation at a late-night meeting. The resignations come after the government imposed a social media blackout to counter the rising protests due to economic crisis. The blackout was rescinded later in the day after the country’s Human Rights Commission ruled against it.
On Sunday, thousands of people across the country defied a curfew order and a special notification banning anyone from from being on any public road, in a park, on trains or on the seashore unless they have written permission from the authorities.
The curfew, along with a ban on social media sites including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, was meant to halt a planned day of protests, after a demonstration outside the president’s house on Thursday night turned violent.
The demonstrations mark a massive turnaround in popularity for Mr Rajapaksa who swept into power with a majority win in 2019, promising stability and a “strong hand” to rule the country.
