Protesters storm Sri Lankan prime minister’s office as president flees country

Protesters storm Sri Lankan prime minister’s office as president flees country without resigning

Sri Lanka’s political and economic crisis intensified when protesters stormed the prime minister’s office on Wednesday, demanding the country’s leaders resign after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives without resigning.

Rajapaksa was expected to formally step down on Wednesday, but he left the crisis-hit country and named Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as his interim leader, citing a section of the constitution that allows a prime minister to “exercise , Duties and Duties of Office” of the President” when he is sick or “absent” from Sri Lanka.

Wickremesinghe was also to formally resign “to make way for an all-party government”.

The move further infuriated protesters, who want the two leaders to step down as the country’s 22 million people struggle to buy basic goods, fuel and medicine.

Hundreds of protesters stormed the prime minister’s office complex in Sri Lanka’s largest city, Colombo, on Wednesday and entered the venue, according to footage from the site and local witnesses.

The land has now been taken over by protesters who are gathering in celebration after clashes with armed police at the property’s gates. At least 30 people were injured and taken to hospital, according to the National Hospital in Colombo.

A hospital nurse told CNN that many people were brought in due to inhaling tear gas, while others had cuts and bruises likely received while trying to jump over fences. The nurse did not confirm any gunshot wounds.

On the property, people could be seen on the balcony, lighting fireworks and waving the Sri Lankan flag, according to witnesses.

Protesters outside demanded that neither the president nor the prime minister “be spared”.

This comes after months of mounting anger over the economic crisis, with Rajapaksa accused of high-level corruption and mismanagement that ultimately bankrupted the country.

As protesters took to the streets, incumbent President Wickremesinghe appointed a committee of armed forces commanders headed by Defense Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva to “restore law and order” in the country, a spokesman said. high-ranking military officer to CNN. Wednesday.

Wickremesinghe declared a Sri Lanka-wide state of emergency and curfew on Wednesday, only to later cancel both orders, according to the prime minister’s office.

In Colombo, a handful of protesters also entered the premises of state broadcaster Sri Lanka Rupavahini on Wednesday, negotiating a “deal” with the broadcast team not to give airtime to politicians like Wickremesinghe. The station instead played history and culture programs.

the president runs away

Rajapaksa was forced to announce his resignation after more than 100,000 people gathered outside his residence over the weekend.
His planned resignation would leave him without presidential immunity – potentially exposing him to a slew of legal charges and reduced security.

After being prevented from leaving the country at least twice on Monday, Rajapaksa and his wife managed to flee to Malé, Maldives, on Wednesday, according to a high-ranking security official.
They flew in a Sri Lanka Air Force AN32 troop transport plane shortly before he left office.

Maldives air traffic control refused the plane’s request to land until an intervention by Maldivian Parliament Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed, according to the official.

A spokesperson for Nasheed neither confirmed nor denied the intervention.
The Sri Lankan Air Force on Wednesday confirmed Rajapaksa’s departure, saying in a statement: “In accordance with the government’s request and in accordance with the powers conferred on a president in the Sri Lankan Constitution, the Sri Lankan Air Force Lanka provided a plane earlier today. to take the president, his wife and two security officers to the Maldives.”

Rajapaksa was previously barred from leaving Bandaranaike International Airport on Monday after refusing to enter a public immigration queue, a high-ranking military source told CNN.

Aides to Rajapaksa arrived at Colombo airport on Monday with 15 passports belonging to the president and members of his family – including First Lady Ioma Rajapaksa – who had reserved seats on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight departing Dubai at 6:25 pm. local time, according to the military source.

But immigration officials refused to process passports given to them by presidential aides as Rajapaksa and his family were not physically present for cross-checks.

Eventually, the flight departed without the president and his family on board, the source added.
Another attempt was made to take the family on an Etihad flight scheduled to depart Colombo for Abu Dhabi at 9:20 pm. According to the source, however, the same problem occurred, as the Rajapaksas refused to get in the public immigration queue for the flight.

In both cases, the Rajapaksa family was in a nearby airport lounge, waiting for confirmation that they could board without queuing among members of the public, the source said.

On Tuesday, a video released by a former police officer claimed that Rajapaksa was staying at a private home belonging to a top air force commander. The Sri Lankan Air Force has denied the allegation, describing it as propaganda aimed at tarnishing the image of the body and its boss.