General strike in Sri Lanka, trade unions ask president to quit
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Strike in crisis-hit Sri Lanka
There is a general strike today in Sri Lanka to pressure the president to step down over a growing economic and political crisis. Businesses were closed, teachers absent and public transportation was interrupted.
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On the streets
Business districts in the capital Colombo were closed. Bankers, teachers and other professionals held demonstrations and joined the main protest site opposite the president's office where protesters have gathered for weeks.
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Protesters want president to go
Protesters have crowded the streets of Colombo since March 31. They hold President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family - who have dominated nearly every aspect of life in Sri Lanka for most of the last 20 years - responsible for the crisis.
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Shortages of essentials
Sri Lanka is on the verge of bankruptcy with huge foreign debts and a shortage of foreign currency. This is causing shortages of imported essential goods like fuel, cooking gas, medicine and milk. People have to stand in lines for hours to buy limited stock.
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Govt's bid to quell protests
Government officials have blamed Russia's war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic for the debt crisis. Rajapaksa reshuffled his Cabinet and offered a unity government in an attempt to quell protests, But opposition parties refused to be part of it.