With thousands of protesters on the streets of Colombo, soaring food and fuel prices and this week the first-ever suspension of government bond payments, Sri Lanka’s escalating economic crisis has shaken the governing Rajapaksa family’s grip on power.
But while demonstrators accuse Gotabaya Rajapaksa of mismanaging the economy, the president’s elder brother, prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has accused restive citizens themselves of deepening the island nation’s financial plight.
“Friends, every second you protest on the streets our country loses opportunities to receive potential dollars,” Mahinda Rajapaksa, who previously served as president from 2005 to 2015, said in a broadcast address on Monday.