COLOMBO — Protesters in
Sri Lanka defied tear gas, water
cannons, and a state of emergency to storm the prime minister’s office on
Wednesday after the president fled overseas, with the crowd demanding both men
step down in the face of an economic crisis.
اضافة اعلان
In a televised statement Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe said he had instructed the military and police to do “what is
necessary to restore order”.
But footage showed armed security personnel standing
by in the grounds of his office as protesters, some holding national flags,
milled and took pictures.
Other demonstrators at one point broke into state
television studios, as the country’s months-long political and economic crisis
appeared to be moving towards a climax.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised at the weekend
to resign on Wednesday after escaping his own official residence in Colombo
just before tens of thousands of protesters overran it.
As president, Rajapaksa enjoys immunity from arrest,
and he is believed to have wanted to go abroad before stepping down to avoid
the possibility of being detained. The 73-year-old, his wife and two bodyguards
took a military aircraft to the neighboring Maldives, immigration sources told
AFP.
Hours later, with no formal announcement he was
stepping down, thousands of demonstrators mobbed the office of Wickremesinghe —
whom Rajapaksa named as acting president during his absence — demanding both
officeholders should go.
“Go home Ranil, Go home Gota,” they shouted.
Tear gas and water cannon fired by police and the
declaration of both a nationwide state of emergency and a curfew failed to
disperse them and the crowd poured into the building.
Wickremesinghe, also 73, would automatically become
acting president if Rajapaksa steps down, but has himself announced his
willingness to resign if consensus is reached on forming a unity government.
“We can’t tear up our constitution,” he said in his
statement. “We can’t allow fascists to take over. We must end this fascist
threat to democracy,” he said, adding that the official buildings occupied by
protesters must be returned to state control.
The protesters’ actions were a repeat of the capture
of
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s home and office on Saturday, when
Wickremesinghe’s private home was also set ablaze.
The prime minister’s office confirmed that Rajapaksa
had left the country, but said it had no schedule for any presidential
resignation announcement.
The succession process could take between three days
— the minimum time needed for parliament to elect an MP to serve out Rajapaksa’s
term, which ends in November 2024 — and a maximum of 30 days allowed under the
statute.
A complicated exit
Rajapaksa is accused of
mismanaging the economy to a point where the country ran out of foreign
exchange to finance even the most essential imports, leading to severe
hardships for its 22 million people.
Earlier Wednesday, smiling Sri Lankans again
thronged the corridors of the president’s official residence after his
departure, with young couples walking around hand in hand in a mood of quiet
celebration.
“People are very happy, because these people robbed
our country,” said retired civil servant Kingsley Samarakoon, 74.
“They’ve stolen too much money, billions and
billions.”
But he held little hope for an immediate improvement
in Sri Lanka’s plight.
“How are people going to run the country without
money?” he asked. “It’s a problem.”
Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt
in April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a possible
bailout.
The island has nearly exhausted its already scarce
supplies of petrol. The government has ordered the closure of non-essential
offices and schools to reduce commuting and save fuel.
The departure of Rajapaksa, 73 and once known as
“The Terminator”, had been stymied for more than 24 hours in a humiliating
standoff with immigration personnel in Colombo.
He had wanted to fly to Dubai on a commercial
flight, but staff at Bandaranaike International withdrew from VIP services and
insisted that all passengers had to go through public counters.
On arrival in the Maldives on Wednesday, Rajapaksa
was driven to an undisclosed location under police escort, an airport official
in the capital Male said.
His youngest brother Basil, who resigned in April as
finance minister, missed his own Emirates flight to Dubai on Tuesday after a
tense standoff of his own with airport staff.
The leader of the main opposition Samagi Jana
Balawegaya party, Sajith Premadasa, who lost the 2019 presidential election to
Rajapaksa, has said he will stand for the presidency.
Premadasa is the son of former president Ranasinghe
Premadasa, who was assassinated in a Tamil rebel suicide bombing in May 1993.
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