Sri Lanka's president will not step down and instead will face the country's political and economic crisis, a key government minister said Wednesday despite continuing large protests that are demanding his resignation.
Sri Lanka has endured months of shortages of fuel and other essentials, and the protests over the economic troubles have spread nationwide and expanded to criticism of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his politically powerful family.
Rajapaksa "will not resign. We will face this. We have the strength to face this. We are not afraid," Minister of Highways Johnston Fernando told Parliament on Wednesday. TV and social media images from Monday showed protesters storming into the offices and houses of governing party lawmakers and vandalizing some premises. Lawmakers urged the Parliament speaker to ensure their safety, and Fernando said they were prepared.Rajapaksa earlier proposed a unity government be formed to handle the crisis, but the main opposition party rejected it.
The family's immense political clout grew in part from Mahinda Rajapaksa being credited when he was president earlier for ending Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war with the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.