Saturday, February 10, 2001, updated at 13:19(GMT+8)
World
Sri Lankan Opposition Leader Urges Govt to Provide Relief to People
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) leader Ramil Wickremasinghe urged on Friday Evening the government to bring down prices of essential items to provide relief to people of the war-torn island country.
"People face untold hardships due to the escalating cost of living in the country. The government should reduce prices of rice, sugar, milk powder, kerosene, diesel and other items which are essential to the people." Wickremasinghe told a rally held in the capital Colombo at the end of a six-day protest march from Kandy, a hilly city in the central part of the country.
A total of 100,000 UNP supporters participated in the six-day protest march arrived in Colombo on Friday. They were protesting against rising cost of living due to government's decision to allow floating of the country's currency rupee late last month.
The protest march began on Monday, the Independent Day when the country marked its 53rd anniversary of independence from its former British colonists.
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) leader Ramil Wickremasinghe urged on Friday Evening the government to bring down prices of essential items to provide relief to people of the war-torn island country.