Sri Lanka business leaders demand end to political impasse

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan business leaders on Friday called for an end to the country's political instability amid public demands for the president to resign over alleged economic mismanagement, warning that failure to do so would lead to economic catastrophe.

Leaders from 23 business associations representing export, import and logistics firms told reporters in the capital, Colombo, that they want lawmakers to “act responsibly and resolutely to implement remedial solutions to halt and then reverse the rapidly deteriorating situation.”

The associations warned that their industries, which collectively earn around $16.7 billion annually through merchandise and service exports, would come to a standstill if the current situation continues.

The Indian Ocean island nation is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades.

For several months, Sri Lankans have endured long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas, food and medicine, most of which come from abroad and are paid for in hard currency. The fuel shortage has caused rolling power cuts lasting several hours a day.

The extent of the crisis became clear when Sri Lanka couldn’t pay for imports of basic supplies because of its huge debts and dwindling foreign reserves. The country’s usable foreign reserves are said to be less than $400 million, according to experts, and it has nearly $7 billion in foreign debt obligations for this year alone.

Rohan Masakorala, director general of the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber, said business owners “were worried,” adding that “something dangerous is heading towards us.”

“We need a stable political system,” he said, noting that confidence must be regained “before we completely fall off the precipice.”

Yohan Lawrence, secretary general of the Joint...