The situation in the wake of the prime minister\u2019s resignation could complicate negotiations for more foreign aid
\nCOLOMBO
\nSri Lanka\u2019s president urged people on Wednesday to reject what he called attempts to foment racial and religious disharmony, as clashes broke out in many parts of the country over the government\u2019s handling of a devastating economic crisis.
\nViolent street protests killed eight people this week and even the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa\u2019s elder brother as prime minister and a curfew have failed to douse public anger. The government has ordered troops to shoot at anyone damaging public property or threatening lives.
\nSri Lankans have blamed the Rajapaksa dynasty for the economic meltdown that has left the country with only about $50 million in reserves, stalling most imports and leading to massive shortages of fuel, cooking gas, and other essentials.
\nProtesters set the family\u2019s ancestral home in the south on fire earlier in the week.
\n\u201cThis is the time for all Sri Lankans to join hands as one, to overcome the economic, social & political challenges,\u201d Rajapaksa said on Twitter.
\n\u201cI urge all Srilankans to reject the subversive attempts to push you towards racial & religious disharmony. Promoting moderation, toleration & coexistence is vital.\u201d
\nIt was not immediately clear what prompted the president to issue the warning. However, Sri Lanka has a long and bloody history of ethnic tensions.
\nRajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned as prime minister on Monday, were in key government positions when a 26-year civil war ended in 2009 after security forces overcame militants from the minority Tamil community.
\nSinhalese Buddhists are the majority in the country of 22 million which also has Muslim, Hindu and Christian minorities.
\nA police spokesperson said two shooting incidents were reported on Tuesday night, including one in the southern town of Rathgama that wounded four people.
\n\u201cThe situation is now calm,\u201d Nalin Thalduwa said.
\nIn Weerakettiya, a southern town that is home to the Rajapaksas, police and military patrolled the streets, with shops and businesses shut due to the curfew.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The situation in the wake of the prime minister\u2019s resignation could complicate negotiations for more foreign aid COLOMBO Sri Lanka\u2019s president urged people on Wednesday to reject what he called attempts to foment racial and religious disharmony, as clashes broke out in many parts of the country over the government\u2019s handling of a devastating economic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[7137,390,793,2611],"class_list":{"0":"post-259982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-economic-crisis","9":"tag-president","10":"tag-sri-lanka","11":"tag-tensions"},"yoast_head":"\n