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Sri Lankan President resigns after being evicted from home

#Sri #Lankan #President #resigns #evicted #home

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Sunday was preparing to finally relinquish power after fleeing protesters who stormed his home and forced him to announce his resignation.

Saturday’s events were the culmination of months of anti-government protests fueled by an unprecedented economic crisis that bankrupted the South Asian island nation and anger at corruption by the ruling Rajapaksa clan.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the capital Colombo on Saturday to call on the government to take responsibility for the country’s mismanaged finances and crippling food and fuel shortages.

After storming the gates of the presidential palace, a crowd of protesters made its way through its rooms, with some of the boisterous crowd jumping into the grounds’ pool.

Others were seen laughing and lounging in the residence’s stately bedrooms, one producing what he claimed was a pair of Rajapaksa’s underwear.

After his escape, Rajapaksa boarded a naval vessel in Colombo port and was taken to the island’s southern waters, where he said he would finally bow to calls for his resignation.

“To ensure a peaceful transition, the President said he would step down on July 13,” Parliament Speaker Mahinda Abeywardana said in a televised statement.

Rajapaksa had to be dragged out of his residence by troops firing in the air to keep the crowd outside at bay.

Shortly after the protesters stormed the presidential palace, Rajapaksa’s nearby seafront office also fell into the hands of the protesters.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Rajapaksa’s first successor, called a meeting with political leaders and said he was ready to step down to pave the way for a unity government.

But that failed to mollify the protesters, who stormed the prime minister’s private home and set it ablaze after nightfall.

Footage shared on social media showed a crowd cheering the fire, which broke out shortly after a security detail guarding Wickremesinghe attacked several journalists outside the home.

No casualties have been reported in the fire so far and police said Wickremesinghe and his family were absent at the time.

Rajapaksa’s resignation announcement was intended to spark a power struggle.

The United States on Sunday urged Sri Lankan leaders to act quickly to find long-term solutions.

The United States “calls on the Sri Lankan Parliament to address this turning point with a commitment to the betterment of the nation – not to any political party,” a State Department spokesman said when Foreign Minister Antony Blinken visited Thailand.

– delay, despair –

Security forces tried to disperse the huge crowd that attacked the Colombo governorate earlier in the day, with dozens injured in the resulting clashes.

A spokeswoman for Colombo’s main hospital said three people were being treated for gunshot wounds, along with 36 others who were suffering from breathing difficulties after being hit by bursts of tear gas.

Sri Lanka has suffered months of shortages of basic necessities, prolonged power outages and runaway inflation after running out of foreign exchange to import necessities.

The government has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt and is seeking an International Monetary Fund bailout.

Sri Lanka has nearly exhausted its already tight petrol supplies, and people unable to travel to the capital protested in other cities across the island on Saturday.

Demonstrators had already maintained a month-long protest camp in front of Rajapaksa’s office, demanding his resignation.

The camp was the scene of clashes in May when a band of Rajapaksa loyalists attacked peaceful protesters gathered there.

Nine people were killed and hundreds injured after violence sparked reprisals against pro-government mobs and arson attacks on lawmakers’ homes.

– cricket continues –

The unrest comes at the end of Australia’s ongoing cricket tour of Sri Lanka, with Pakistan’s squad also on the island for their upcoming series.

Cricket officials said there were no plans to change their schedules, adding that the sport was unaffected by the political turmoil.

“The Australian Test is coming to an end and we are starting the Pakistan series,” a cricket board official told AFP.

“There is no opposition to the games going ahead. In fact, the fans are supporting and we have no reason to postpone the date.”

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