Sri Lanka's Catholic church Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on Wednesday appealed for peace and requested all parties to act with restraint, warning that external forces could intervene in the country's internal affairs during this vulnerable situation.
Cardinal Ranjith also called for the people to remain as they are, and to support the ongoing struggle, News First Lanka portal reported.
Sri Lanka is facing the worst crisis. Thousands of protesters in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo have taken over the president's residence.
The police fired tear gas on protesters who had gathered near the Prime Minister's Office. The protesters broke through a barricade despite tear gas and stormed the prime minister's office also, calling for his resignation.
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The protesters continue to occupy the three main buildings in the capital, the President’s House, the presidential secretariat and the prime minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, calling for their resignations.
In a statement, the Archbishop of Colombo states that the ongoing struggle has achieved certain milestones, and the only way to ensure that those milestones are strengthened is to not to attack any civilians, and not to cause any harm, the portal reported.
Therefore, he had called for all parties to act with restraint, as a vulnerable situation as this could lead to external forces intervening in the affairs of the country, the report added.
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Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe last week said Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt country.
(With PTI inputs)
