The resignation of
Sri Lanka's president has been accepted, the crisis-hit
country's parliamentary speaker announced Friday after the leader fled his
country earlier this week, prompting relief among protesters camped outside his
former offices.
اضافة اعلان
The formal declaration makes Gotabaya Rajapaksa -- once known as "The
Terminator" for his ruthless crushing of the Tamil rebellion -- the first
Sri Lankan head of state to resign since it adopted an executive presidency in
1978.
He emailed in his notice from Singapore after flying to the city-state from
the Maldives, where he initially escaped after demonstrators overran his palace
at the weekend.
"The president has officially resigned from his position,"
parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana told reporters.
A few demonstrators gathered at the makeshift headquarters of a months-long
protest movement against Rajapaksa outside the presidential secretariat.
"This is a historical moment for all Sri Lankans," said Catholic
priest Jeevantha Peiris.
"We were assaulted, put in prisons, put on travel bans, some of our
friends laid their lives down. With all these hardships we have come
through," the 45-year-old told AFP. "We have no fear anymore."
The former president, he added, was a "bloodthirsty criminal" who
should return to Sri Lanka to face justice.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as acting president -- his
accession was automatic under Sri Lanka's constitution -- but many of the
demonstrators see him as complicit in the rule of the Rajapaksa clan and also
want him to go.
Parliament will meet on Wednesday to elect an MP to succeed Rajapaksa for
the rest of his term, the speaker's office said, with nominations due the
previous day.
The Rajapaksas' SLPP party said it will not field a candidate for president
next week, supporting Wickremesinghe's bid instead.
- 'Private visit'
to Singapore -
Rajapaksa's departure came after months of protests over what critics said
was his mismanagement of the island nation's economy, with a foreign exchange
crisis leading to severe hardships for its 22 million people.
Inflation is rampant and the country has nearly exhausted its already scarce
supplies of petrol, with the government ordering the closure of non-essential
offices and schools to reduce commuting and save fuel.
Rajapaksa, his wife Ioma and their two bodyguards arrived in Singapore from
the Maldives on board a Saudia airline flight.
As president, Rajapaksa enjoyed immunity from arrest, and he is understood
to have wanted to go abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of
being detained.
The former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed is believed to have played a
behind-the-scenes role in getting him out of the country, and said Rajapaksa
feared he would be killed if he remained.
"I believe the President would not have resigned if he were still in
Sri Lanka, and fearful of losing his life," Nasheed tweeted.
Singapore's foreign ministry confirmed Rajapaksa had been allowed to enter
the city-state for a "private visit", adding: "He has not asked
for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum."
He is expected to look to stay in Singapore for some time, according to Sri
Lankan security sources, before potentially moving to the United Arab Emirates.
The spiralling economic crisis led to Sri Lanka defaulting on its $51
billion foreign debt in April, and it is in talks with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bailout, but the talks have been thrown off
course by the political upheaval.
- Law and order -
In an address to the nation, Wickremesinghe -- who ordered a state of
emergency on Thursday -- warned demonstrators that security forces would
maintain order.
"We are committed to safeguarding democracy," he said. "There
is a big difference between protesters and rioters. The rioters will be dealt
with according to the law."
He added that 24 soldiers had been wounded when protesters tried to overrun
the parliament Wednesday, two of them seriously.
But authorities were in full control of the emblematic state buildings
protesters had occupied in recent days, including the presidential and prime
minister's offices.
The Rajapaksas' SLPP remains the largest party in parliament and its backing
raises the prospect of the legislature electing Wickremesinghe despite the
opposition to him on the streets.
If that happens, said Jude Fernando, an academic at the protest site,
"then I think we have lost the battle".
"Just changing leadership, changing the heads, won't bring about the
change," he told AFP.
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