COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, apparently ending his family’s nearly two-decade domination of the country after a massive popular uprising triggered by an economic collapse.
But his decision to leave his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president sparked further demonstrations, with protesters storming the prime minister’s office, calling for him to step down as well.
Wickremesinghe’s office initially declared a state of emergency and a curfew with immediate effect, then canceled them, but said the measures would be announced again at a later date.
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Police stationed outside the prime minister’s office fired several bursts of tear gas and a military helicopter hovered overhead for a while, but the protesters appeared to be helpless and eventually rushed into the compound. Wickremesinghe’s team refused to reveal his whereabouts.
“It feels so great, people have been trying to take this place for about three hours,” said university student Sanchuka Kavinda, 25, who was standing next to the gate of the Prime Minister’s office. “No matter what, everyone in this crowd will be here until Ranil steps down as well.”
Wickremesinghe said in a statement that the protesters “have no reason to storm the prime minister’s office”.
“They want to stop the parliamentary process. But the constitution must be respected. That’s why the security forces advised me to impose a state of emergency and a curfew. I’m working on it,” he added.
In the basement of the two-story whitewashed colonial-era building, dozens of protesters gathered to sing Sinhala pop songs. In an adjacent air-conditioned room, a large group of security men sat armed with assault rifles.
Protest organizers and security personnel guarded a central wooden staircase at the heart of the building, directing spectators to and from the upper floor where the Prime Minister’s room is located.
In an adjoining upstairs room, where Reuters interviewed Wickremesinghe a few weeks ago, plush furniture was hastily pushed into corners and a row of armed security personnel ushered visitors.
New leader due next week
Parliament is expected to name a new full-time speaker next week, and a senior ruling party source told Reuters that Wickremesinghe was the party’s first choice although no decision had been made.
Wickremesinghe’s attempt to hold on to him would anger protesters who say he is a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, which has dominated the country since Rajapaksa’s older brother Mahinda became president in 2005.
The opposition presidential candidate, Sajith Premadasa, said on Twitter: “A one-seat parliamentary deputy is being appointed as the prime minister. Now the same person is being appointed as the acting president.” “This is Rajapaksa’s style of democracy. What a farce. What a tragedy.”
The air force said in a statement that the president, his wife and two of his bodyguards departed the main international airport near Colombo on an Air Force plane early Wednesday morning.
Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abhiwardena said Rajapaksa called him and informed him that his resignation letter would arrive later on Wednesday.
A government source and a person close to Rajapaksa said he was in Mali, the capital of the Maldives. The government source said the president is likely to move to another Asian country from there.
Economic crisis
Protests against the economic crisis have been simmering for months and culminated last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over key government buildings in Colombo, blaming the Rajapaksas family and their allies for hyperinflation, shortages and corruption. Read more
Government sources and aides said the president’s two brothers, former President and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, are still in Sri Lanka.
Wickremesinghe, whose private residence in Colombo was set on fire on Saturday, had offered to resign as prime minister but did not repeat the offer after becoming acting president on Wednesday. In the event of his departure, the Speaker of the House will serve as acting president until a new president is elected on July 20 as scheduled.
Amid economic and political chaos, Sri Lanka’s sovereign bond prices hit new record lows on Wednesday.
The US embassy in Colombo, located in the central region of the city, said it has canceled consular services in the afternoon and Thursday as a precaution.
The island nation’s tourism-dependent economy took an initial hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then a drop in remittances from Sri Lankans abroad. A ban on chemical fertilizers hurt production, although the ban was later rescinded. Read more
The Rajapaksas implemented populist tax cuts in 2019 that hurt government finances, while shrinking foreign reserves slashed imports of fuel, food and medicine.
Gasoline was severely rationed and long queues formed in front of shops selling cooking gas. The overall inflation rate was 54.6% last month and the central bank warned that it could rise to 70% in the coming months.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, president from 2005 to 2015 and then prime minister under his brother, resigned in May after protests against the family turned violent. He remained hidden in a military base in the east of the country for several days before returning to Colombo.
On Tuesday, Sri Lankan immigration officials banned Basil Rajapaksa, who in April resigned as finance minister, from traveling outside the country. Read more
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Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh and Alasdair Pal; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Krishna in Das; Editing by Sam Holmes, Shree Navaratnam and Kim Coogill
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