Government convenes crisis cabinet as large citizens’ march protests price hikes and economic crisis in Colombo
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hastily fled his official residence in the capital, Colombo, minutes before an angry mob stormed it during a demonstration condemning the country’s severe economic crisis. The president has been transferred under strong escort to a “safe place” hidden from even his closest associates in government. The Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has convened a crisis cabinet, which has included all political parties, pending “instructions” to find a “quick solution”. Parliament has also been convened and it is possible that the top leader will resign if the situation worsens.
The Defense Ministry has stated that Rajapasksa “remains the president of the nation” and is “protected” by a unit of the naval forces. Initial information suggests the soldiers guarding the official residence must have fired into the air to stop the protesters and give the president time to evacuate in a “safe” manner. The television channels show thousands of people surrounding the palace, going through the doors and walls and even videos already circulating on social networks of hundreds of protesters through the corridors and halls of the imposing colonial building. It is not known at this time whether there have been any casualties, although it has been confirmed that nearly 20 civilians have been treated at health centers due to the effect of tear gas.
The demonstration was called to protest the economic crisis, an inflation that has left thousands of people with food insecurity and power cuts. The march brought together tens of thousands of people in Colombo, who demanded the president’s resignation, convinced that his mismanagement has not only alleviated but exacerbated the dramatic effects of the pandemic. The corona virus has left a country that makes a living from this sector and export of products such as coffee, tea and clothing for two years without tourism. All this has plunged him into the worst crisis of recent decades.
Even the 20,000 police and military personnel deployed in the capital have failed to stop the protesters. Nor could authorities’ attempt this Friday to impose a curfew, which was later overturned over the threat of a cascade of complaints from opposition parties and civil rights groups, nor the blockade of the railways. Many of them moved demonstrators who had organized themselves in groups in the villages to the city.
The UN and several international organizations are closely following the incidents in this independent country in 1984, which last April was forced to suspend foreign debt payments and registered a wave of protests in May that left nine people dead and hundreds injured. The first student demonstration took place on Friday, imposing the short curfew, although the strong point of the mobilization this Saturday is keeping the Human Rights Commission alert due to the massive presence of military units on the streets of Colombo.
Source: La Verdad
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