Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has urged people to stop violence and acts of revenge against fellow citizens and vowed to address the political and economic crisis facing the nation. This statement from the President comes after his elder brother and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was evacuated to a naval base after a series of attacks on his supporters left at least eight persons dead.
I appeal and urge people to remain calm & stop violence & acts of revenge against citizens, irrespective of political affiliations. All efforts will be made to restore political stability through consensus, within constitutional mandate & to resolve economic crisis, President Gotabaya tweeted in his first comments since the outbreak of the violence that saw arson attacks on the homes of several former ministers and politicians.