Sri Lanka crisis: UN calls for dialogue to ensure smooth govt transition

United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for dialogue to ensure a smooth transition of government in Sri Lanka and find sustainable solutions to the economic crisisI stand in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka amp call for dialogue to ensure a smooth transition of government amp to find sustainable solutions to the economic crisis Guterres tweetedI stand in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka amp call for dialogue to ensure a smooth transition of government amp to find sustainable solutions to the economic crisisI condemn all acts of violence and calls for those responsible to be held accountablemdash Antoacutenio Guterres antonioguterres July 11 2022I condemn all acts of violence and call for those responsible to be held accountable he addedOn Monday the Deputy Spokesperson for the SecretaryGeneral Farhan Haq said that the UN Secretary was closely following the developments in Sri Lanka and stands in solidarity with the countryNotably Sri Lankas President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday agreed to step down from his post He said that he will step down from the presidency on July 13 amid economic and political instability On Monday Sri Lankas speaker of parliament said political party leaders have decided to elect a new president on July 20 through a vote in parliamentIn a statement Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said that following a meeting with all political party leaders it was decided to convene parliament sessions on July 15 and inform the parliament that there was a vacancy for the presidencyNominations for the presidency will be called for on July 19 and a vote will be taken on July 20 to elect a new president the speaker said Party leaders also decided to form an allparty government under the new president and take steps to continue the supply of essential servicesThis comes after protests by thousands rocked Colombo on Saturday as crowds tore through the barricades surrounding Rajapaksas residence and climbed over the fence and took control of the areaDramatic visuals from outside Rajapakses residence showed a sea of demonstrators storming into the compound tearing down security cordons placed by police taking a dip in the swimming pool and romping through his kitchen and homeHours after the protestors stormed his official residence Rajapaksa agreed to step down from his postSri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948 which comes on the heels of successive waves of COVID19 threatening to undo years of development progress and severely undermining the countrys ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals SDGsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever