Butterfly reference may have been directed at me, says Rajitha

• Warns ordinary man will lose most due to this crisis 
• Says Sri Lanka risks losing GSP+ and access to EU markets
• Ravi warns country may be cut off from international funding 

Taking ownership of the “butterfly” label used by President Maithripala Sirisena, the Health Minister of the Pre-26 October 2018 Government, Rajitha Senaratne, yesterday quipped that he too may have been included in the reference. 

“He must have referred to us. I may be called a butterfly. The symbol of my old party during Chandrika Kumaratunga’s time was also a butterfly. I will gladly be a butterfly,” Senaratne said during a press conference held at Temple Trees. 

Noting that the Sirisena-Rajapaksa Government had not been accepted by any country to date, Senaratne said that the repercussions would be felt by the ordinary citizens of the country when the 66% of exports which go to European and US markets slow down, causing loss of revenue for the country. 

Responding to a comment made by Keheliya Rambukwella, appointed Media and Information Minister in the Sirisena-Rajapaksa Government, Senaratne said that if the country loses its GSP+ concessions the fish export market, which took years to build, would collapse. 

“It took years for us to build the market but it only takes days to ruin our access to the market,” he said. 

Ravi Karunanayake, who has held both the Finance and Foreign Affairs portfolios previously, also highlighted that the lack of recognition from the international community would be detrimental to the country’s economy as Sri Lanka may be prevented from receiving funding from international organisations. 

“The problem is that if they don’t accept the government they will not give us loans or grants. The IMF doesn’t need to interfere in internal politics but they will not give us loans. The World Bank has stopped loans too. The Japanese funding was a grant and we won’t get that either,” he said.