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Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is set to replace his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and appoint an interim government. Maithripala Sirisena, a prominent MP, said after a meeting with the president. Sri Lanka has been going through a serious economic crisis for months.
Sirisena was previously the country’s prime minister and resigned a month ago along with dozens of other parliamentarians. Also on the left most ministers† President and Prime Minister remained seated despite calls to resign.
President Rajapaksa and his family have been part of the country’s political system for decades. Sri Lankan protesters hold the brothers responsible for the crisis and want them to resign. Yesterday there was another national strike, the first in 40 years, to put pressure on the brothers.
It is unclear whether protesters will be happy with the prime minister’s departure, while the president remains in place.
No fuel and medicine
Sri Lanka is deeply in debt, causing the national currency rate to plummet. The country has asked the IMF for financial support. There is no money to import fuel, food and medicine. The crisis provoked great protests.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Colombo:
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