Dinesh Gunawardena is the new acting Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Dinesh Gunawardena, a classmate of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, has held various ministerial positions in the past. Dinesh Gunawardena, a solid left-wing leader whose family has ties to India, became Sri Lanka’s prime minister due to a habit of fate when Sri Lanka was tackling an unprecedented economic crisis and political turmoil.
Sri Lankan politician Gunawaldena was appointed prime minister on July 22, the day after Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed president. Gunawardena, 73, was previously the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Education. He was appointed Minister of the Interior by then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in April.
Dinesh Gunawardena becomes the new prime minister
Dinesh Gunawardena, a classmate of President Wickremesinghe, has held various ministerial positions in the past. Born in 1949, Gunawardena is the leader of the Trotskyist majority nationalist Mahajana Exasperumna (MEP), a member of the ruling Podujana Peramuna Party in Sri Lanka.
Gunawardena belongs to a prominent Sri Lankan politician and is a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, who ruled the country for almost 20 years. His father was a celebrity in the left-wing socialist movement of the British era before the country became independent in 1948.
His brother Indica, who died in 2015, was born in Bombay in 1943 when his parents were hiding in India. He rebelled against British rule. Indica was a minister from 1994 to 2001. After receiving elementary and secondary education at Royal College in Colombo, Gnawaldena studied at the Dutch Business School and earned a degree in Business Administration and Business Administration.
He later transferred to the University of Oregon and graduated with a BBA in International Business. He led the party in 1979, succeeding his father Philip Gunawardena. Gunawardena first joined the parliament in 1983 from Maharagama, a suburb of the populous Colombo, and by 1994 became a major opponent.
In 2000 he became the first Cabinet Minister. He remained in senior ministerial status until 2015. In 2020 he returned to the cabinet. The new government, led by Wickremesinghe, is tasked with bringing the country out of economic collapse and restoring order after months of massive protests that forced President Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign. There is. Sri Lanka has witnessed protests since mid-April.
Due to the economic crisis, demonstrators are demanding a resignation. Mr Gunawaldena was appointed hours after security forces arrested several times and cleared a protest camp near the capital’s presidential palace. As Prime Minister, Mr Gunawaldena has to walk a tightrope. His close relationship with Rajapaxus may provoke protesters to blame strong families for the country’s worst economic crisis.
18 cabinets sworn
The 18-member cabinet president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, wanted to end the country’s political instability and unprecedented economic crisis. The Cabinet was sworn in by Mr Wickremesinghe on his first day in office.
In addition to Prime Minister Gunawardena, there are 17 ministers in the cabinet. Ali Sabri, who previously headed the Treasury, was appointed Foreign Minister. Prime Minister Gunawaldena was given an additional portfolio for administration, internal affairs, state legislature and local government.
The rest of the ministers are left with the same portfolio, but President Wickremesinghe continues to hold the Treasury. The formation of a new government in Wickremesinghe took place hours after Sri Lankan troops and police armed with assault rifles and batons violently eliminated the rebel’s camp outside Cheong Wa Dae in a pre-dawn raid. Social media posts showed that riot-gear police officers destroyed protest tents and arrested several protesters. The banner above the secretariat has also been removed.
Sri Lanka has experienced months of massive anxiety over the economic crisis, and many have accused the island nation of mishandling its finances after the expulsion of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The deportation of protesters, criticized by both the opposition and several Western envoys here, is seen as a signal that President Wickremesinghe, 73, will crack down on rebel protesters forced to expel his predecessor, Rajapaksa. Is done.
Wickremesinghe, appointed acting president by Rajapaksa, officially became president of the country on Wednesday after being elected by parliament on 20 July. The 18 cabinets were sworn in by President Wickremesinghe on the first day of his inauguration. Ali Sabri, who previously headed the Treasury, was appointed Foreign Minister. According to analysts, he was elected Minister of Foreign Affairs for his language skills and ability to trade with international partners, including the International Monetary Fund.
Prime Minister Gunawardena, 73, was given an additional portfolio of administrative, internal affairs, state legislature, and local government. The rest of the ministers are left with the same portfolio, but President Wickremesinghe continues to hold major Treasury and Defense Ministry. Wickremesinghe said he is taking steps to form a party-wide government to deal with the island’s worst economic crisis.
Sri Lankan politician Gunawaldena, 73, was formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Education. He was appointed Minister of the Interior by then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in April. After Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and Wickremesinghe (73) became the country’s eighth president on Thursday, the prime minister’s post became vacant and then resigned.
Gunawardena, a classmate of President Wickremesinghe, has held various ministerial positions in the past. Meanwhile, police have described the dawn of destruction at the main camp of rebel protesters as “a special operation to regain control of the presidential secretariat.”
Protesters cleaned up the president’s and prime minister’s residences and the prime minister’s office after being arrested on July 9, but still occupied some rooms in the presidential office. They also refused to accept Wickremesinghe as the new president, firmly holding his part of the country’s responsibility for the unprecedented economic and political crisis. A major protest group that has blocked access to Cheong Wa Dae since April 9 said it would continue to fight until Wickremesinghe resigned.
The new government in Sri Lanka has been criticized for expressing concern over the crackdown on Friday morning and working with the ambassador and high commissioner stationed in Colombo to eliminate rebel protesters. US Ambassador to the United States Julie Chung of Sri Lanka said she was deeply concerned about the actions taken against the protesters at midnight. She “requests detention from authorities and immediate access to medical care for the injured,” she tweeted.
Britain’s High Commissioner for Sri Lanka, Sarah Halton, also tweeted that she was concerned about reports from the protest site Galle Face. She said in a tweet that her position on the importance of peaceful protests is clear. The official Twitter name of the European Union in Sri Lanka states that “free speech” is essential to the current transition of power in a crisis-stricken island nation, and how seriously restrictive [free speech] can help.
Find solutions to the current political and economic crisis, which he added is difficult to understand. Sri Lanka’s opposition leader and leader of the Samagi Jana Balaw Party, Sajith Premadasa, said excessive force was used against the protesters. “It cannot be denied that excessive force was used and it was inappropriate. There is nothing to justify this inhumane act. The law must obey everyone. “
Wickremesinghe warned that occupying government buildings is illegal and legal action will be taken against the occupiers. The new president said he would extend support to peaceful protesters but would be tough on those trying to foster violence in the guise of peaceful protests.
Protesters fired at Wickremesinghe’s home and his office during last week’s protests. Twenty-two million people are on the verge of unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in 70 years, and millions are struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other necessities. Sri Lanka has a total external debt of US $ 51 billion.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
