Protesters demanding the resignation of the president of Shri Lanka refuse to leave the presidential palace this Sundayafter the day before they broke into the residence forcing the president to flee and announce his resignation this week.
The dramatic events of Saturday were the culmination of a wave of protests on this island, located off the southern coast of India and plunged into an unprecedented economic and political crisis, which the protesters attribute to the management of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Colombo, to demand that Rajapaksa take responsibility by the shortage of medicine, food and fuel that threw a relatively prosperous country into chaos.
After storming the presidential palace, which dates back to the colonial era, the crowd swept through the ostentatious rooms, some they jumped into the pool and went through Rajapaksa’s wardrobe and belongings.
Also read: Protesters set fire to Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister’s residence
The troops fired into the air to allow the president to escape and then Rajapaksa boarded a navy ship that took him off the island.
From there the 73-year-old president has clung to power, despite the wave of violence that left several dead in May and forced his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who served as prime minister, to resign.
But finally Gotabaya Rajapaksa threw in the towel.
In the evening, the Speaker of Parliament announced on television that “to ensure a peaceful transition, the President said he would tender his resignation on July 13.”
– US points to Russian food blockade –
Rajapaksa’s office situated on the waterfront was also seized by protesters and another group set fire to the prime minister’s residence, Ranil Wickremesinghe, despite the fact that he also announced his resignation.
The images published on social networks show a mob applauding the fire, which broke out shortly after security forces attacked several journalists.
Earlier, security forces attempted to disperse the huge crowds gathered in the administrative district, sparking unrest.
Colombo’s main hospital reported that received 105 wounded on Saturday and that on Sunday 55 were still hospitalized.
Among the admitted patients there are seven wounded journalists.
“There is a person who is still very serious after receiving a bullet impactspokeswoman Pushpa Soysa told AFP.
Shortly after midnight, General Shavendra Silva called for calm.
“There is an opportunity to resolve the crisis situation in a peaceful and constitutional way,” Silva said in a brief speech on television.
Of interest: The raw experience of a Colombian going through ‘the hole’ looking for the American dream
A defense source reported that Rajapaksa will arrive at the Trincomalee naval base in the northeast of the island during the day on Sunday.
The United States urged Sri Lankan leaders to act “quickly” to seek long-term solutions.
The head of the United States diplomacy, Antony Blinken said on Sunday that Russia’s blockade of grain produced in Ukraine due to the war “may have contributed” to the crisis.
This Sunday, it remains uncertain whether there is any figure in the legislature who can muster enough support to succeed Rajapaksa.
“We are approaching an uncertainty that is dangerous,” lawmaker Dharmalingam Sithadthan, a member of the Tamil minority, told AFP. The politician pointed out that “Gota”, in reference to Gotabaya Rajapaksa “He should have resigned immediately without leaving a power vacuum.
– A country in default and a desperate population –
On Sunday, protesters still occupying the presidential palace said they will not leave until Rajapaksa is effectively out of power.
“Our fight is not over,” student leader Lahiru Weerasekara told reporters.
The activist said that when they crossed the last barrier they knew that the soldiers were going to shoot.
“We risk our lives,” he said. “We’re not going to give up our fight until he’s really gone.”
Shri Lankan It has been enduring for months the shortage of basic foodstuffs, power outages and unleashed inflation, after the country exhausted its foreign exchange reserves that are needed for imports.
The government declared a moratorium on its debt for 51,000 million dollars and is seeking a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
