Is Rajapaksa waiting for loans to placate people and stave off challenges to power?

Much action is happening in Sri Lanka but no solutions have been offered by either its leadership or by the opposition parties. Meanwhile, people continue to protest on the streets with a single demand that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should go.

The embattled President has decided not to resign because his party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), still enjoys a simple majority. He offered an olive branch to the opposition but that has been rejected.

Understandably, the opposition has refused to join the unity government as urged by Rajapaksa because it does not want to inherit a mess for which there is no solution in sight. Despite parliamentary debates, the leaders have failed to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis engulfing the country.

So, what is happening?

Dhananjaya Tripathi, Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, South Asian University, told India Narrative that the Rajapaksa government is desperately seeking international help—and that is where the solution to the crisis lies.

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