|
|
Post by Admin on Jul 9, 2022 19:31:38 GMT
Revolution in Sri Lanka: President Rajapaksa flees as protestors storm his palace 5,081 views Jul 10, 2022 Extraordinary scenes in Sri Lanka as crowds storm the presidential palace in Colombo and force the President to flee. It's the culmination of months of protests over the dire economic situation. Sri Lanka is in a state of collapse, running short of food and fuel and defaulting on its international loans. The whereabouts of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains unknown tonight. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has announced he will step down after protesters stormed his official residence and set the prime minister's house on fire. Neither the PM nor the president were in the buildings.  Hundreds of thousands descended on the capital Colombo, calling for Mr Rajapaksa to resign after months of protests over economic mismanagement. Mr Rajapaksa will step down on 13 July. PM Wickremesinghe has agreed to resign. Parliamentary speaker Mahinda Abeywardana said the president decided to step down "to ensure a peaceful handover of power". "I therefore request the public to respect the law and maintain peace," he said. Just hours earlier, Ranil Wickremesinghe's home was on fire after protesters broke in and set it alight. Videos circulating on social media show flames lighting up the night sky. Crowds had earlier overrun the official residence of Mr Rajapaksa, lounging in its state rooms and jumping in his pool. The country is suffering rampant inflation and is struggling to import food, fuel and medicine. Large numbers of protesters travelled to the capital from across the country, with officials telling AFP news agency that some had even "commandeered" trains to get there. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jul 9, 2022 20:46:28 GMT
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister agreed to resign Saturday after the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s severe economic crisis. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday. Pressure on both men grew as the economic meltdown set off severe shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to buy food, fuel and other necessities. Police had attempted to thwart promised protests with a curfew, then lifted it as lawyers and opposition politicians denounced it as illegal. Thousands of protesters entered the capital, Colombo, and swarmed into Rajapaksa’s fortified residence. Video images showed jubilant crowds taking a dip in the garden pool. Some people lay on the home’s beds, while others made tea and issued statements from a conference room demanding that the president and prime minister go. It was not clear if Rajapaksa was there at the time, and government spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said he had no information about the president’s movements. Protesters later broke into the prime minister’s private residence and set it on fire, Wickremesinghe’s office said. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was there when the incursion happened.  Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a televised statement that he informed Rajapaksa that parliamentary leaders had met and decided to request he leave office, and the president agreed. However Rajapaksa will remain temporarily to ensure a smooth transfer of power, Abeywardena added. “He asked me to inform the country that he will make his resignation on Wednesday the 13th, because there is a need to hand over power peacefully,” Abeywardena said. “Therefore there is no need for further disturbances in the country, and I urge everyone for the sake of the country to maintain peace to enable a smooth transition,” the speaker continued. Opposition lawmaker Rauff Hakeem said a consensus was reached for the speaker of Parliament to take over as temporary president and work on an interim government. Wickremesinghe announced his own impending resignation but said he would not step down until a new government is formed, angering protesters who demanded his immediate departure. “Today in this country we have a fuel crisis, a food shortage, we have the head of the World Food Program coming here and we have several matters to discuss with the IMF,” Wickremesinghe said. “Therefore, if this government leaves there should be another government.” |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jul 10, 2022 1:08:07 GMT
Protesters swim in the Sri Lankan president's pool after storming his home
30,615 views Jul 9, 2022 Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo shortly before protesters gathered to demand his resignation and stormed the compound.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jul 10, 2022 1:39:01 GMT
Thousands of protesters have stormed the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo.
There have been months of protests over his handling of the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka’s history
The country has run out of foreign currency and is struggling to import basics like fuel, food and medicine.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jul 10, 2022 6:39:44 GMT
Colombo, Sri Lanka — President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to resign in the coming days, the speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament said on a tumultuous Saturday that also saw the prime minister say he would step down and the storming of both leaders' residences by protesters angry over the nation's severe economic crisis. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a televised statement that he informed Rajapaksa that parliamentary leaders had met and decided to request he leave office, and the president agreed. However Rajapaksa will remain until Wednesday to ensure a smooth transfer of power, Abeywardena added. "He asked me to inform the country that he will make his resignation on Wednesday the 13th because there is a need to hand over power peacefully," Abeywardena said. "Therefore there is no need for further disturbances in the country and I urge everyone for the sake of the country to maintain peace to enable a smooth transition," the speaker continued.  Opposition lawmaker Rauff Hakeem said a consensus was reached for the speaker of Parliament to take over as temporary president and work on an interim government. The announcement of the president's resignation came hours after protesters swarmed into his fortified residence in Colombo. Video images showed jubilant crowds taking a dip in the garden pool. Some people lay on the home's beds, while others made tea and issued statements from a conference room demanding the departure of both Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. It was not clear if Rajapaksa was there at the time, and government spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said he had no information about the president's movements. |
|
