Colombo, July 17, 2022: The Catholic bishops of Sri Lanka have urged politicians to set aside their differences and agree on a president and a prime minister who can earn people’s trust.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka has issued a statement saying that it is asking all parliamentarians to set aside political differences and agendas and come to an agreement at this time to appoint an interim president and prime minister who is honest and can win everyone’s trust, reports colombopage.com.
Otherwise, the situation will worsen and people’s confidence in politicians will be lost, the bishops said.
The statement issued by conference president Bishop Harold Anthony Perera of Kurunegala and general secretary Auxiliary Bishop J D Anthony of Colombo requests the country’s political leaders to set a time frame to hold a general election for people to exercise their freedom and right to elect representatives who can take the country forward.
Earlier on July 13, Sri Lanka’s Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith appealed for peace and requested all parties to act with restraint, warning that external forces could intervene in the country’s internal affairs during this vulnerable situation.
Cardinal Ranjith also called for the people to remain as they are, and to support the ongoing struggle, News First Lanka portal reported.
Sri Lanka is facing the worst crisis. Thousands of protesters in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo have taken over the president’s residence.
The police fired tear gas on protesters who had gathered near the Prime Minister’s Office. The protesters broke through a barricade despite tear gas and stormed the prime minister’s office also, calling for his resignation.
The protesters continued to occupy the three main buildings in the capital, the President’s House, the presidential secretariat and the prime minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, calling for their resignations.
In a statement, the cardinal stated the ongoing struggle has achieved certain milestones, and the only way to ensure that those milestones are strengthened is to not to attack any civilians, and not to cause any harm, the portal reported.
Therefore, he called for all parties to act with restraint, as a vulnerable situation as this could lead to external forces intervening in the affairs of the country, the report added.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in early July said Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt country.