Sri Lanka’s prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday reached out to young protestors demanding the government’s resignation, but social media posts in response rejected the offer of talks. Protests continued for the fifth day near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s secretariat demanding the government “step down and the corrupt political culture be cleansed”.

The statement from the prime minister’s office said if the protestors were ready for talks, he would extend an invitation to their representatives and meet them for discussions. “We did not come here for talks. We are here to demand that you and the government resign,” said a youth at the protest site.
Meanwhile, as part of its attempts to push for a proposal to abolish the executive presidency, the main opposition Samaga Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said it proposed to table three motions in Parliament. They include a motion of no trust, an impeachment motion against President Gotabaya and a motion to repeal 20 amendments, which had given him absolute power as president in 2020. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa has signed the three motions.

Former Sri Lanka president and a member of the ruling coalition led by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Maithripala Sirisena told reporters on Tuesday that they would cease all talks with the government. They had proposed an 11-point plan, including the formation of an all-party interim government, to break the current political impasse.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday lowered Sri Lanka’s foreign currency rating to “CC” from “CCC”, citing the economic crisis in the country and rising external funding pressures. The “CC” rating means highly vulnerable to default. S&P said Sri Lanka was unlikely to be able to carry out a quick debt restructuring.

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