MIAMI, United States. — Thousands of Sri Lankans took to the streets this weekend to demand an end to the government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
According to reports from press agencies, the demonstrators broke into the presidential palace in the morning calling for the resignation of President Rajapaksa for the poor management of the economic crisis in which the country is plunged. They then entered the prime minister’s private residence and set it on fire.
Sources from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense indicate that the president was evacuated minutes before the arrival of the crowd. He “he has been escorted to a safe place and is protected by a military unit.”
For his part, given the situation, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka had already agreed to resign once all parties agreed to form a new government.
The popular uprising has left unusual images, such as citizens bathing in the pool of the presidential palace and cooking in the kitchen while waving or holding the country’s national flags.
It is estimated that thousands of other Ceylonese have traveled to the country’s capital (Colombo) to join the protests, which have been going on for several months.
Figures from the Sri Lanka National Hospital collected by the US chain CNN indicate that at least 31 people have been injured during the popular protests.
Located in South Asia, Sri Lanka is a country of almost 22 million inhabitants that is governed by a unitary State and with a semi-presidential political system.
In recent years, economic mismanagement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unaffordable tax cuts passed in 2019 have plunged the country into an unprecedented economic crisis.
The nation is facing major food and medicine shortages that doctors in that country told doctors in May could lead to deaths.
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