Sri Lanka: Protesters in troubled Sri Lanka surrounded the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday. President Rajapaksa has fled his residence. Defense sources have claimed that President Rajapaksa has fled. The protesters vandalized the residence. Violent clashes erupted between police and protesters during the demonstration. More than 100 people have been reported injured in the violence. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has also resigned. He has given information about this on social media. On the other hand, 16 MPs from the Sri Lanka People’s Front have appealed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign immediately.
To bring the situation under control, the current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe called an emergency meeting of party leaders. He also appealed to the Speaker to convene a session of Parliament. Meanwhile, 16 MPs from Sri Lanka’s Poduja Paramuna (SLPP) have written a letter to President Gotabaya urging him to resign immediately. Earlier on May 11, the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa also fled with his family. Outraged mobs surrounded the Rajapaksa’s official residence in Colombo. The ‘GOTA GO GAMA’ movement has been going on for a long time in Sri Lanka against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
All schools, 4 universities closed till 15th July
Sri Lanka’s economic and political crisis is deepening. As a precaution, the government has temporarily closed all schools as well as four state universities till July 15. With this, a meeting of the Prime Minister has been held. At the meeting, all the leaders urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign.
I will accept whatever decision is taken at the meeting: President
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has allegedly said that whatever decision is taken at the meeting of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, he will respect it. According to media reports, the Prime Minister’s Office said the President had informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of his decision.
The protesters bathed in the swimming pool
Protesters have taken over the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This was followed by several videos showing him bathing in the swimming pool. Not only that, they went to the bedroom inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan and made a commotion on the bed inside. They sabotaged the building.
Protesters reportedly surrounded the presidential residence in Colombo in the afternoon. Protesters then also vandalized the Rajapaksa’s official residence. Amid a worsening economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the government is holding a protest rally today demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
An indefinite curfew was imposed in Sri Lanka on Friday. The army is also on high alert. A curfew has been imposed in the capital and surrounding areas since 9 pm on Friday, police chief Chandana Vikramaratne said. He said thousands of government protesters had entered Colombo on Friday to oust the president, and a curfew was then imposed to bring the situation under control.
Police fired tear gas and water cannons in front of student protesters in Colombo before imposing a curfew on Friday. The anti-government protests reportedly involved religious leaders, political parties, teachers, farmers, doctors, fishermen and social workers.
The MP shot himself
Amarkirthi Athukorala, an MP from the ruling party (Sri Lanka Poduja’s Peramuna), died on May 10. According to reports, anti-government protesters surrounded his car in Nittambuwa. People said the MP’s SUV was shot at in the meantime. Seeing this, the crowd became agitated. The MPs then fled and hid in a building, which was surrounded by thousands of people. It is said that the MP then shot himself with his own revolver out of fear of the crowd.