CITIZENS CONTINUE TO LAY SIEGE TO PALACE, SAY WON’T GO TILL PRESIDENT, PM RESIGN

Thousands of enraged protestors on Sunday stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s palace in Colombo and refused to move out until the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned. Even as the protestors unwind in the palatial bedrooms, frolicking and splashing in the vast swimming pool, as if they were on a holiday in a picnic spot, some of them unearthed millions of rupees from the Presidential Palace, according to local media reports. However, the protestors handed all the money over to security forces.

Earlier in the day, as thousands of demonstrators were seen enter the compound of Presidential Palace raising anti-government slogans, President Rajapaksa reportedly fled the country on Saturday. Even though both President and Prime Minister had said they would resign on 13 July, the protesting citizens on Saturday broke into PM’s private residence at Cambridge Place and set it on fire. Sensing the public mood, two Lankan ministers resigned in the day.

As the public protests and turmoil continued in the day, Lankan opposition parties, including Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the breakaway faction of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, agreed in principle to form an all-party interim government.

Public protests started in April this year after Sri Lanka plunged into worst economic crisis ever in the history of the Island Nation, alleged to have been resulted from one bad economic policy after another. This led to government defaulting on payment as prices of

essential commodities skyrocketed and fuel became a rare commodity. The government ordered schools, colleges, government offices and even some hospitals and medical centres to completely shut down as there were no fuel stocks available, sparking widespread anger among its citizenry. 

However, Gotabaya continued in office even in the face of “Go Gota Home” calls from protesting public, which raged across the country. The protests, supported by the main opposition parties, including SJB and JVP, took a radical turn in the past three days as thousands of protesting citizens started reaching Colombo since Thursday. The protestors refused to be cowed down after curfew was imposed in Colombo on Friday and thronged Galle Face Green in large numbers. Security forces had to use tear gas after violence erupted in some areas prompting.