Colombo: The women’s wing of Sri Lanka’s largest leftist party has called upon the people to quit standing in serpentine queues daily for food and fuel and help overthrow the government which it said was incapable of resolving the country’s worst economic crisis.
The Women for Rights (WfR) group said in comments published on Monday that anyone who props up the regime of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe “is an enemy of the public”.
WfR Chairperson Sarojini Savithri Paulraj told the media: “What is the use of this government that cannot keep schools open for five days a week? There is no use for Ministers and MPs coming to Parliament while schools remain closed. The government should resign, letting people elect a new administration that could find solutions for the crises.
“Now, it is very clear that this government has no solutions but it does not step down. People have no other option but to take to the streets to send it home.”
WfR is affiliated with the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), which has carried out two bloody insurrections to capture power: once in the early 1970s and then in the last 1980s. Both insurrections, which were crushed by the military, left thousands dead and led to widespread human rights abuses.
WfR Secretary Samanamalee Gunasinghe called on women to come out of kitchens to fight against the government.
“No other country will give any substantial assistance to this country as long as this government is in power. This crisis is not because of anything but because the rulers had stolen public money. This is the end result of a political culture that prevailed in this country since its independence.”
WfR Colombo District Organiser Rishana Shimas said that 2.3 million, of the 4.8 million child population, were suffering from malnutrition.
“Every mother is facing unprecedented stress because she cannot feed her children. The prevailing situation is leading to an unprecedented health crisis. What sort of future will be there in this country when half of its children are suffering from the effects of chronic malnutrition?” she asked.
