Sri Lankan bishops urge political unity amid economic crisis
ABC News
Sri Lanka’s Catholic bishops have called for unity among the country’s politicians, warning that the South Asian island nation is fast becoming a failed state amid its most severe economic crisis in memory
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka’s Catholic bishops on Thursday called for unity among the country's politicians, warning that the South Asian island nation is fast becoming a failed state amid its most severe economic crisis in memory.
A foreign exchange crunch in Sri Lanka has led to a shortage of essential goods such as fuel and cooking gas, and power cuts now last up to 13 hours a day.
“All successive governments to date are responsible in varying degree for the present state of affairs," the Catholic Bishops Conference in Sri Lanka said in a statement, adding that "the present government as well as those in the opposition ... must adopt a conciliatory not a confrontational approach” and they should not “play the blame game.”
“The country is fast approaching the precipice of a failed state that will in its wake inflict irreversible injuries on the people," the statement added.
