President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on the run in the Maldives, the Prime Minister’s offices stormed by demonstrators… The situation in Sri Lanka did not stabilize on Wednesday as the state of emergency was introduced.
Thousands of demonstrators thus stormed the offices of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a few hours after his appointment as interim president, witnesses reported.
The palace stormed, public television disrupted
The crowd overwhelmed law enforcement and entered the building, to raise country flags, as law enforcement tried to push it back with tear gas and water cannons. These scenes recall the capture of the presidential palace on Saturday which forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee before reaching the Maldives on Wednesday.
On television, the Prime Minister asked the army and the police to “do what is necessary to restore order”, adding: “we cannot allow the fascists to take power”.
On Wednesday, the demonstrators also disrupted the antenna of public television. An unidentified man entered the studio of the Rupavahini channel during a live broadcast and ordered that only information relating to the protests be broadcast. The transmission was cut and replaced by a recorded program.
State of emergency and curfew
Hours earlier, the government had declared a state of emergency and police said a curfew had been put in place in Colombo province to end protests.
In vain, because thousands of people gathered in front of the offices of the Prime Minister to demand the resignation of Ranil Wickremesinghe at the same time as that of the president. “Go home Ranil!” Go home Gota,” protesters shouted.
Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed interim president by the fleeing head of state, the speaker of parliament announced on Wednesday. The Constitution provides for such a transition in the event of resignation, but the latter has not yet been formalized. The Prime Minister had himself pledged to step down if an agreement was reached for a government of national unity.
Mismanagement of the economy
Having not yet resigned, Gotabaya Rajapaksa still enjoys presidential immunity. He may have wanted to flee to Dubai before being arrested. In the event of the resignation of the president, the Constitution provides that the Parliament elects within 30 days a deputy who will exercise power until the end of the current mandate, that is to say November 2024. If Gotabaya Rajapaksa submits his resignation Wednesday, the vote of the Parliament would take place on June 20, announced its president of the legislative room.
Sri Lankan leaders are accused of mismanaging the economy, leading to the country’s inability, starved of foreign exchange, to finance the most essential imports for a population of 22 million. Colombo defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bailout.
Sri Lanka has almost exhausted its gasoline reserves. The government has ordered the closure of non-essential offices and schools to reduce travel and save fuel.