Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Flees as Protesters Invade his Residence

GG News Bureau

Colombo, 9^th July. On Saturday, just before protesters enraged by an unprecedented economic crisis stormed and overran the compound, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled from his official residence.

Massive crowds had gathered outside the leader’s house and were yelling for him to resign, blaming the painful economic downturn on poor government management.

Under the condition of anonymity, a senior defence source told AFP that as protesters surged at the gates of the President’s Palace, troops guarding the compound fired in the air to hold back the tide until Mr. Rajapaksa was safely removed.

The source continued, “The president was escorted to safety.” “He is still the president, and a military unit is guarding him.”

While protesters flocked to Galle Face in Colombo, with some even occupying the Presidential Secretariat, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held preliminary talks with several party leaders. All party leaders are expected to meet soon at a meeting organised by the Speaker of Parliament to decide on the next steps to be taken to resolve the country’s situation. Mr. Wickremesinghe would take over the presidency if Mr. Rajapaksa resigned.

Members of the crowd shared live footage of hundreds of people walking through the President’s Palace on social media.

The colonial-era state mansion is a key symbol of state power in Sri Lanka, and officials said Mr. Rajapaksa’s departure raised questions about whether he intended to remain in office.

“We’re waiting for orders,” a senior civil servant told AFP. “We still don’t know where he is, but we know he’s safe with the Sri Lanka navy.”

After running out of foreign currency to import essential goods, Sri Lanka has faced months of food and fuel shortages, lengthy blackouts, and skyrocketing inflation.

Thousands of people had flocked to the capital for the protest, which was the latest manifestation of unrest sparked by the crisis.

After opposition parties, human rights activists, and the bar association threatened to sue the police chief, police withdrew a curfew order issued on Friday.

Thousands of anti-government protesters defied the order, forcing railway authorities to operate trains to transport them to Colombo for Saturday’s rally, according to officials.

“The curfew was not a deterrent, in fact it encouraged more people to get on the streets in defiance,” the defence official said.

“Passengers had commandeered trains to reach Colombo.”

The country’s already limited supplies of fuel have nearly run out, but protesters backed by the main opposition parties hired private buses to travel to the capital.

Demonstrators have camped out in front of Rajapaksa’s seafront office, demanding his resignation for the government’s handling of the crisis.

On Friday, soldiers armed with assault rifles were bused into Colombo to supplement police guarding Mr. Rajapaksa’s official residence.

Authorities said nearly 20,000 troops and police officers had been deployed for a security operation to protect the President.

Sri Lanka has gone into default on its $51 billion external debt and is negotiating a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

When Rajapaksa supporters attacked peaceful protesters outside the President’s office in May, nine people were killed and hundreds were injured.