Pressure mounts on Sri Lanka leader to quit as crisis grows

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Thousands of Sri Lankans have rallied in the country’s main business district and Christian clergy marched in the capital to observe a day of protest calling on the debt-ridden nation’s president to resign. Protesters carrying national flags and placards called out President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his administration for mismanaging the crisis. He has remained steadfast in refusing to step down even after most of his Cabinet quit and loyal lawmakers rebelled. That has narrowed a path for him as he seeks to negotiate with international lending institutions. For months, Sri Lankans have stood in long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas, food and medicines as the Indian Ocean nation faces bankruptcy, saddled with $25 billion foreign debt over the next five years.