Explore constructive and democratic ways to resolve current crisis: EU

European Union (EU) called upon all parties to explore constructive and democratic ways out of the current crisis that has taken its toll on the Sri Lankan people, a statement from EU Delegation in Colombo said.

“Freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are pillars of any democratic society when they remain peaceful. We, therefore, encourage all parties to continue acting with restraint. We consider the end of the state of emergency as a positive step,” the statement said.

The delegation issued the statement together with the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States [Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania] and with the diplomatic missions of Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

“We stress the extreme urgency of the situation, which requires the authorities to start in-depth discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the reforms needed to bring the Sri Lankan economy back to a sustainable path,” it added.