COLOMBO —
Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning
cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga and fellow ex-skipper Sanath Jayasuriya have
joined street protests demanding the president step down over the country’s
economic crisis.
اضافة اعلان
Cricket is avidly followed in the
Indian Ocean
island nation and the pair called on other former players to support attempts
to oust President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The island nation is in the grip of its worst
economic crisis since independence in 1948, with severe shortages of essential
goods and regular blackouts causing widespread misery.
“Cricket is driven by spectators,” Ranatunga said
outside
Rajapaksa’s office in Colombo on Friday, surrounded by demonstrators
who have been protesting daily for the president’s removal since last week.
“Our fans are on the streets today because they no
longer can bear the hardships. We must be with our fans when they need us most.
Sports stars must physically join the protests.”
Hours later, his fellow former captain Sanath
Jayasuriya, known as “Master Blaster”, climbed the barricades in front of
Rajapaksa’s colonial-era office and pledged solidarity.
“Your message is loud and clear,” he told the tens
of thousands of protesters. “I hope the authorities will listen and ensure a
brighter future for all of us.”
Crowds have been chanting “Gota go home, go home
Gota.”
The pair are the first former captains to join the
street protests in person, but other stars have previously voiced their
support.
Former captain
Mahela Jayawardena has strongly
backed the demonstrations on social media and urged Rajapaksa to go while
ex-captain Kumar Sangakkara has issued more guarded statements.
Former Test player and International Cricket Council
match referee, Roshan Mahanama, who has supported the anti-Rajapaksa campaign
from its inception, compared the country’s plight to Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
“When I used to go to
Zimbabwe many years ago, I saw
the economic hardships people suffered there,” Mahanama told AFP.
“My driver had to stand in a queue for hours to get
diesel. I thought this will never happen in my country. But today we are in the
same boat.”
Fuel rationing
Police tightened security
around Rajapaksa’s office on Saturday as demonstrations demanding his
resignation entered a second week.
More than a dozen trucks were seen parked near the
building at the Galle Face Promenade, which is being protected by commandos and
anti-riot police.
Official sources said authorities feared protest
numbers could swell next week, when more marches are scheduled.
“We can expect more people to pour in. The current
strength (of police) may not be sufficient,” one official told AFP, asking not
to be named.
“So far, the crowd is peaceful, but we can’t take a
chance.”
Sri Lanka imposed fuel rationing on Friday in the
latest effect of the crisis.
The government has urged citizens abroad to donate
foreign exchange to help pay for desperately needed essentials.
It has announced a default on its entire external debt, and
will open negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to seek a bailout.
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