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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Protesters stormed the Sri Lankan prime minister’s office on Wednesday, taking to the streets of the capital again and demanding the removal of the island nation’s top leaders as it arrived and the deadline for to the promised resignation of the president.
Tense clashes erupted in the afternoon when security forces with riot gear fired several rounds of tear gas at protesters who climbed the security walls and towers of the prime minister’s enclosure and finally took the control. A 26-year-old protester died of respiratory problems after receiving tear gas, several people were injured and in the evening a state of emergency was declared across the country.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled the country before dawn. At midnight, without his official resignation being announced, Sri Lanka remained in a state of calamitous limbo, gripped by confusion over who was making decisions and no closer to tackling the economic disaster it had forced. leave Rajapaksa.
His sudden departure created a political vacuum that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe tried to fill, only to confront protesters and opposition parties who denounced Rajapaksa’s decision to appoint him incumbent president.
Experts warned that turbulence and violence will only worsen the country’s economic problems. Sri Lanka is plagued by record inflation and drug shortages, and has almost no fuel or money to pay for it.
Ganeshan Wignaraja, a Sri Lankan economist with the ODI global affairs think tank, said the current instability is likely to “pull the economy away by scaring away investors, tourists, remittances and even foreign aid. “. Without such vital currencies, I fear that the economic crisis will take longer to resolve and people will suffer more. “
The country’s already difficult negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package are likely to be even more difficult without stable political leadership.
Sri Lankan police fired tear gas at protesters in front of the prime minister’s office in Colombo on July 13 after the president fled to the Maldives. (Video: Reuters)
As of Wednesday night, Rajapaksa was supposed to still be in the Maldives, where he and his wife had flown aboard an Air Force plane. “We have a duty to safeguard the constitution, and the request for the plane was within the constitutional powers attributed to the president,” said group captain Dushan Wijesinghe, a spokesman for the air force.
However, it faces a hostile audience in the Maldives, a small Muslim-majority nation in the Indian Ocean, due to its government’s response to Islamist suicide attacks in Colombo in 2019, with policies aimed at Muslims and close their schools.
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the Speaker of Parliament, announced at a press conference that Rajapaksa had appointed Wickremesinghe acting President in his absence. Wickremesinghe had previously offered to resign as prime minister, as demanded by protesters, although he did not provide a timetable.
In addition to the state of emergency, the incumbent president imposed a curfew on the country’s western province. He said he had called on the armed forces to take steps to restore order, which only raised fears that chaos and violence could escalate further.
“We cannot allow people who want to repeal the constitution to occupy offices and houses,” he said, referring in part to taking office. “We also need to protect private citizens.”
Despite the curfew, there were more clashes between protesters and security forces near the country’s parliament, local media reported.
Police fire tear gas and use water cannons to disperse protesters near the president’s residence near parliament
Mamith Dissanayake pic.twitter.com/bG3WfadRlB
– NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) July 13, 2022
The crowd outside the prime minister’s office for much of the day was largely made up of young college students, including some who had come to Colombo from other cities. When they first went through metal fences and then through the front door, people burst out screaming and screaming.
But the anger of many people for Rajapaksa and his family, including relatives who served as ministers and even prime minister, is becoming a rage directed at the entire political leadership of the country. Many protesters said they want systemic change.
“We all want 225 [lawmakers] to go, “said 24-year-old Lahiru Madusanka, who was at the door when he was hit by tear gas.” We’ve seen the same people all our lives. “
Police repression he took some people out into the street for the first time, shouting “victory in the fight!” sounding again and again out of the compound.
“We’re expecting kitchen gas, but we’re getting tear gas,” said Luke John, a pastor at a local church who was there with a friend to show solidarity with the cause. “The government has pushed us to do this.”
“Go home, Gota,” shouted Neyomal Wijesundara, a former executive at a travel company who lost his job during the economic crisis. “We want to rid our country of corrupt politicians.”
A 65-year-old housewife named Bandulatha Kulatunga, who had voted for the Rajapaksas in the last election, walked three hours to Colombo to take out her frustration. Her family had to wait a week to operate on her son because the local hospital had no medical supplies.
“Young people risk their lives,” Kulatunga said. “We have to support them.”
Rajapaksa, 73, had refused to stand aside for months, even in the face of growing public antagonism. The dramatic takeover of his residence last Saturday by thousands of protesters forced his decision, however. Protesters occupied the house, playing in the president’s pool and cooking meals in his kitchen.
The history of the Rajapaksa dynasty has dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades, although its last years in power were affected by accusations of corruption and disastrous economic policies.
With a frustrated audience looking for an account, it’s unclear what will happen to the family in the coming weeks and months. Many people blame them for the economic ruin of the country and demand that Rajapaksa and his relatives be tried for corruption.
“He fled like a coward without apologizing to the country,” said Hirushi Lakshika, a 25-year-old protester.
On Tuesday, the president’s brother, former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, was unable to leave the country on a flight to Dubai. The Hindu newspaper reported that the United States rejected a recent visa application by the president. The U.S. State Department declined to comment.
Sri Lankan president to resign next week, parliamentary spokesman says after protesters storm residence
Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic crisis in decades, with millions of people struggling to survive. The economy has “completely collapsed” and the country is “bankrupt,” Wickremesinghe recently told Parliament.
While the coronavirus pandemic was a major factor, with the blockades affecting the tourism industry on which many workers depend, the policies of the Rajapaksa government also proved very damaging. Among them were large tax cuts and a day-to-day ban on chemical fertilizers that paralyzed agricultural production.
Demonstrations against the government began months ago, first ousting President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s older brother as prime minister and then forcing other family members to step down.
As fuel shortages grew, schools and offices were closed. In a desperate attempt to prevent impending food shortages, the government asked workers to grow food at home. Rajapaksa unsuccessfully applied for a fuel loan in Russia and Wickremesinghe approached the IMF to request a bailout package.
Humanitarian agencies have warned that the country needs millions of dollars in food aid. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on world oil and grain prices have greatly aggravated Sri Lanka’s problems.
In the stately ensemble of the colonial era where Rajapaksa lived in the midst of elegance and lush gardens, the last few days looked like a carnival. The protesters who took over remained over the weekend.
Prasad Sinniah, 40, a marketing professional, introduced himself to his children. “We wanted them all to disappear,” he said of the Rajapaksa family. “We lived comfortably until it all happened. Now, it’s a daily struggle.”
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