New Delhi: Sri Lanka is baffled by a deep economic and political crisis. President Rajapaksa Gotabaya on Wednesday flew out of the country, days after protesters stormed his residence. The Sri Lankan President had announced his resignation and is yet to officially resign. The Speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament said today that Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has authorized the PM to carry out presidential duties.
With a crisis looming large in Sri Lanka, a huge geopolitical shift is witnessed in South Asia. President Gotabaya has become the 2nd such President in South Asia to leave the country. In August 2021, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the country amid a Taliban takeover and in July 2022, Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country amid economic turmoil.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, India's former ambassador G Parthasarathy said, "Let's face it. Now, they are going to be faced by the military but I don't think, this opposition can be stopped without a political solution. We will have to see what emerges after the election of a new President. Who is the President going to be will be a major controversy".
Parthasarathy noted that by themselves, the SLMP ( Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya) will not get a majority as they have 100 seats, whereas the opposition has about 122. "There will have to be a coalition formed at the time of the Presidential election", he opined.
The island nation of 22 million people is under acute shortage of food, fuel, and blackouts for months now. "When there is a new government, I think people will be prepared to talk and there is no alternative to dialogue. We will have to tread cautiously", he said.
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"In the last few years, India has done very well at the Sri Lankan port, powerhouses were built across the Palk Straits. The Chinese have been remarkably silent about all these and I don't think, China has offered any assistance for rehabilitation to Sri Lanka", Parthasarathy added.
On being asked about India-Sri Lanka ties going further with the change in the government on the island nation, the former ambassador said, "It should be our effort to see that there is a consensus in dealing with India among the political parties in Sri Lanka. There is today broadly a consensus because we don't interfere. India has just moved ahead in providing the necessary assistance to the island nation. There is no Hambantotta we have, which is robbing the Sri Lankans".
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's PM Ranil Wickremesinghe instructed the military and police to do whatever was necessary to restore law and order. According to local media reports, Sri Lanka is pinning its last hopes on IMF. The government is in negotiations with the IMF on a bailout plan and Wickremesinghe said on June 22 that he expected to have a preliminary agreement with the IMF by late July. But that also depends on his replacement and the appointment of a new govt.
Earlier, speaking in Thiruvananthapuram, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Indian government had always been supportive of Sri Lanka and it was trying to help the neighboring country through its present economic crisis. “They are right now working through their problems, so we have to wait and see what they do. It is a very serious crisis, and it has been developing over the years. Answers to Sri Lanka are in Sri Lanka,” he had said.
