Civil society grouping, Direction Sri Lanka, largely consisting of professionals, says President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should step down now. Having publicly acknowledged his culpability for the ongoing crisis, the President couldn’t turn a blind eye to continuing demand for his resignation.

Full text of its statement:

“To date there has not been any significant progress on resolving the political, social and economic situation in the country, and the day-to-day deterioration of the situation poses a considerable threat to the very being and survival of this nation and its people.

• Direction Sri Lanka is of the considered view that partial/interim measures, such as is being presently adopte, would not resolve the burning issues.

We strongly condemn the manner in which the President, Government, Opposition and the Parliament, as a whole, have been addressing this issue. It would appear that the will and aspirations of the people have been forgotten in the endeavour by all parties to achieve political, pecuniary and personal gain.

• In terms of Article 27 of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the State, led by the President, to ensure that there is a democratic socialist society in Sri Lanka, with the objectives, including promotion of the welfare of the people, the realization by all citizens of an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing and housing, the continuous improvement of living conditions and the full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities, the rapid development of the whole country, etc. The actions of those responsible so far have completely ignored the principles enshrined in Article 27 of the Constitution which have now brought heinous consequences to an otherwise blessed land.

• In fact, this failure has been occasioned by several critical mistakes made by the President and the Government, which have now been conceded.

• The considered view of Direction Sri Lanka in these circumstances is that there can be no alternative / experimental solution continuing the present status quo than that which Direction Sri Lanka, through its Statement and Proposals of 19th April 2022, made public, i.e. :-

1. a) The President to resign forthwith in response to the demands of the People. This is the primary demand of the people. The President has publicly admitted his failure and culpability in bringing about this crisis and must resign forthwith.

1. b) A Successor President be elected.

c) The Prime Minister to resign forthwith after the election of the Successor President.

1. d) A Caretaker / Interim National Government to be immediately formed comprising a new Prime Minister and a Cabinet limited to 18 essential portfolios along with an equal number of Deputy Ministers, representing all political parties. The Caretaker / Interim National Government shall function for a maximum period of one year.

Although the Former Prime Minister, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to resign after the events of 9th May 2022, the subsequent appointment of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe was not the expected tangible change in the status quo (through an all-party government) which was called for by the people.

In this respect, the main Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya is remiss in not having accepted the invitation made by the President to take the leadership in forming an All-Party Government, which can also be attributed as a cause for the continuously deteriorating country situation.

The persons holding portfolios in the Caretaker / Interim Cabinet should have adequate and appropriate educational qualifications and specialized skills required to hold the respective portfolios and should be persons of the highest integrity.

It would appear that these principles have been thrown out of the window in the rush to appoint the present Cabinet. Many do not have the basic appropriate educational qualifications and specialized skills required to hold the respective portfolios and others cannot be identified as being persons of the highest integrity and to this extent the steps taken thus far in building consensus have not been successful.

Members of Parliament on the National List should be encouraged to resign as necessary, to pave way for professionals / experts of the highest integrity to be represented in the Caretaker / Interim National Government. Only one member of Parliament, Mr. Basil Rajapaksa has so far resigned with his replacement being Mr. Dhammika Perera, which does not satisfy this requirement.

· e) As a priority during the period of the Caretaker / Interim National Government, action should be taken to rescind the 20th Amendment to the Constitution and to reintroduce the provisions of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution with necessary amendments addressing the democratic way of governance.

However, to-date there is uncertainty on whether the 21st Amendment will receive the necessary approval in Parliament, with various political groupings appearing to be adamant on scuttling this process.

· f) Immediately upon the reintroduction of the 19th Amendment, steps to be taken to appoint persons with the highest integrity and ability to the Independent Commissions.

• Direction Sri Lanka stresses the need to ensure that all of the above 6 action points in its fullest complement is reached and achieved as soon as possible, to support and guide Sri Lanka in its difficult journey out of this situation.

• Direction Sri Lanka has set out its concerns on the draft of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution by the letter of 22nd May 2022 addressed to the Minister of Justice Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC.

• It is imperative that the 21st Amendment to the Constitution must be passed forthwith incorporating the above positive changes.