The IMF, the ministry said, has assessed Sri Lanka’s foreign debt as unsustainable, and staying current on foreign debt repayment is no longer a tenable policy

Once considered the country’s most influential family, the ruling Rajapaksa clan is now at the center of people’s anger. ‘GoHomeGota’ and ‘Rajapaksas must quit’ are among the most common slogans in the protest rallies, virtually blurring, at least temporarily, the country’s centuries-old fault line, the ethnic divide between Tamils and Sinhala Buddhists

Faced with the worst ever economic crisis, the government now appears struggling to contain the public anger and protests—largely citizen-owned and peaceful—demanding the Rajapaksa family quit the government

Indian authorities are anticipating more refugees from the crisis-hit Sri Lanka which has been facing a shortage of food, fuel, and other essentials

The crisis has also rocked the country’s political leadership as they face nationwide protests seeking the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa—a demand the government has refused to entertain

Since the imposition of a public emergency, demonstrations against the country’s ruling Rajapaksa clan had been growing as people defied prohibitory orders and curfew demanding the resignation of President Rajapaksa

Despite the mass resignation of the cabinet members and President Gotabaya making an offer to all political parties to join the government, opposition parties have rejected the offer, with most demanding the Rajapaksas quit the government

The decision to impose the emergency following the violent protests outside the president's private residence had created unease in the cabinet and opposition alike

Friday marked the turning point in the crisis. Public anger boiled over and led to violent demonstrations

On Thursday evening, protestors marched to the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing the government to deploy the army to quell protests. Dozens of people, including journalists, were injured after security forces fired tear gas and water cannons

This came after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week met the leaders of the TNA in Colombo—for the first time since coming to power in 2019—and discussed the issues of Tamils related to the release of political prisoners, land utilization, missing persons, 13th Amendment implementation and diaspora investment at the meeting

The Friday meeting was significant as this is the first time when the present government reached out to Tamil leaders and assured measures to address their concerns

Sri Lanka on Tuesday deployed military personnel at fuel stations across the country as the government struggles to contain the ongoing crippling fuel shortage, leaving thousands of people to stand in long queues to wait for hours to get a few litres of fuel

Sri Lanka’s crippling energy crisis is expected to ease in the coming days as India extended a $1 billion line of credit, bringing total assistance to Colombo around $2.4 billion since January this year

Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa government that came into power in 2019 with over two-thirds majority this week saw thousands of protesters descending on the capital Colombo seeking the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who they blame for the present economic crisis