Prominent Sri Lankan legislators call for ‘orderly renegotiation’ of foreign debt to combat crisis

Seek “strong social welfare measures” to protect poor families 

A group of senior parliamentarians in Sri Lanka, including some aligned to the government, have called for an “orderly negotiated postponement” of outstanding foreign debt, and corrective policy measures including a “strong social welfare scheme”, to combat the island nation’s .

In a collective statement dated February 11, the legislators said: “The best way forward for Sri Lanka is to immediately initiate a multistep process towards an orderly negotiated postponement and restructure the repayment of its sovereign debts. Sri Lanka can then correct its policies towards a path of sustainable economic growth and debt management, while also ensuring access to essential needs and goods for the Sri Lankan people and its economy.”

The initiative was led by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA)’s Jaffna MP M.A. Sumanthiran. Senior politicians including TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, government MP Tissa Vitharana, former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Leader of Opposition and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Sajith Premadasa, along with a group of other prominent legislators across political parties have signed the statement.