Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed his willingness to resign in favor of a national unity government. Earlier today, he had convened an emergency meeting of the government and political party leaders after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee his official residence that had been stormed by thousands of protesters.
Rajapaksa has meanwhile been taken to safer places. According to the Defense source, Rajapaksa is still the country’s president and is protected by the military. The presidential palace is however heavily guarded, and the police had also used tear gas against the demonstrators. The demonstrators demand the resignation of Rajapaksa and his government.
Ranil Wickremesinghe has only been Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for two months. He succeeded Mahinda Rajapaksa, the brother of the president. There were also protests and bloody clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters. At least 50 people were injured in today’s unrest, including police officers.
Sri Lanka is facing a serious economic crisis and is bankrupt. The country is struggling with shortages of food, medicines, fuel and foreign exchange. Negotiations are underway with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a financial bailout.
Security forces had imposed a curfew on Friday in an attempt to discourage protesters from taking to the streets, but that measure was soon lifted after opposition parties, human rights groups and lawyers threatened to prosecute the police chief.
The demonstrators also largely ignored the curfew. Some had even forced the railway company to take them by train to the capital Colombo to take part in a demonstration.
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