COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) – Protesters withdrew from government buildings in Sri Lanka on Thursday, restoring a tenuous calm to the economically paralyzed country, and the president, assaulted, emailed the protesters’ long-standing resignation. months.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled a day earlier under pressure from protesters enraged by the island nation’s economic collapse. He emailed his resignation a day after the engagement, according to an official.
But with a fractured opposition and confusion over who is in charge, a solution to the country’s many problems did not seem closer after Rajapaksa’s departure. And the president has further angered the crowds by making his prime minister the acting leader.
Protesters have pushed for the two men to leave and a unity government to address the economic calamity that has led to widespread food, fuel and other needs.
The provisional form of the resignation only increased the agitation. An aide to the Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament issued a statement saying the spokesman had received the president’s resignation through the Sri Lankan embassy in Singapore, but there was no immediate official announcement.
An announcement is scheduled for Friday after verifying the authenticity and legality of the letter, according to the statement.
When word of the resignation spread, a jubilant crowd gathered near the president’s office to celebrate. Dozens of people danced and cheered and waved the Sri Lankan flag, and two men sang in Sinhalese on a small stage.
The mood was festive, with people whistling and swaying to the sound of music while others chanted into the microphone wanting better governance.
“Being validated like this is massive,” said Viraga Perera, an engineer who has been protesting since April. “Globally, we have led a movement that overthrew a president with minimal force and violence. It is a mixture of victory and relief.”
Protesters accuse Rajapaksa and his powerful political family of diverting money from government coffers for years and his administration of accelerating the country’s collapse through mismanagement of the economy. The family has denied allegations of corruption, but Rajapaksa acknowledged that some of his policies contributed to the crisis.
Months of protests reached a frantic high over the weekend when protesters stormed the house and office of the president and the official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. On Wednesday they seized the Wickremesinghe office.
Images of protesters inside the buildings, resting on sleek sofas and beds, laying on officials ’desks and roaming the opulent stages, caught the world’s attention.
Initially they promised to keep these posts until there was a new government, but the movement changed tactics on Thursday, apparently worried that any escalation of violence could undermine its message after last night’s clashes outside Parliament that left dozens of wounded.
“The fear was that there might be a breakdown of the trust they had for the fight,” said Nuzly, a protest leader who has only one name. “We’ve demonstrated the power of the people, but that doesn’t mean we have to occupy those places.”
Devinda Kodagode, another leader of the protest, told The Associated Press that they planned to evacuate the official buildings after Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said he was exploring legal options for the country in the wake of Rajapaksa’s departure.
Visaka Jayaweer, a performing artist, described the bittersweet moment of closing the door of the presidential palace after the crowd cleared up.
“Taking possession of his residence was a great moment. He showed how we wanted him to leave office. But it is also a great relief, “he said. “We were worried if people would act; many were angry at seeing the luxury they had been living in when they were out, struggling to buy milk for their children.”
The country remains a barrel of gunpowder and the army warned on Thursday it had powers to respond in the event of chaos, a message some found worrying.
Troops in green uniforms and camouflage vests arrived in armored vehicles to reinforce barricades around Parliament, while protesters vowed to continue holding rallies in front of the president’s office until there was a new government.
The government announced another curfew in the capital Colombo and its suburbs until early Friday. Some people ignored a previous curfew, but many others rarely leave home anyway due to fuel shortages.
Rajapaksa and his wife fled Sri Lanka early Wednesday morning to the Maldives, escaping overnight aboard a military plane. On Thursday, he went to Singapore, according to the city-state Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said he had not applied for asylum.
Since Sri Lankan presidents are protected from arrest while in power, it is likely that Rajapaksa wanted to plan his departure while he still had constitutional immunity and access to the plane.
The protests highlighted the dramatic fall of the Rajapaksa political clan that has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades.
As a military strategist whose brutal campaign helped end the country’s 26-year civil war, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, who was president at the time, were hailed by the island’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority. . Despite allegations of wartime atrocities, such as the ordering of military attacks on Tamil civilians and the kidnapping of journalists, Rajapaksa continued to be popular among many in Sri Lanka. He has continually denied the allegations.
The shortage of basic necessities has sown despair among Sri Lanka’s 22 million people. The country’s rapid decline was all the more shocking because, before the recent crisis, the economy had been expanding, with a growing and comfortable middle class.
It was not immediately clear if Singapore would be Rajapaksa’s final destination, but he has previously sought medical attention there, including heart surgery.
Sri Lankan lawmakers have agreed to elect a new president from their ranks on July 20 who will serve the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in 2024. This person could appoint a new prime minister, who would then have to be approved by parliament. .
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Associated Press writer Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report.
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