COLOMBO: Thousands of supporters of Sri Lankan opposition parties rallied on Sunday in the commercial capital Colombo as a weeks-long political and economic crisis showed no sign of abating.

Sri Lanka’s economy was hit hard by the pandemic and tax cuts by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government.

Dwindling foreign currency reserves have left the island nation of 22 million people struggling to pay for fuel, food and medicine imports and brought thousands onto the streets in daily protests that have occasionally turned violent. On Sunday, opposition parties ended a week-long march from the central city of Kandy, with thousands of supporters thronging Colombo’s Indep­endence Square.

Many carried Sri Lankan flags and wore headbands reading “Gota Go Home”, one of the main rallying cries of the protests.

“So many people are suffering from the cost of fuel and food. There are queues for everything,” said Sunil Shantha.

“Gotabaya is a failed president.” Rajapaksa was hit by mass resignations from his cabinet earlier this month and now faces the possibility of a no-confidence vote in his reformed government later in the week.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2022