Rajapaksa flees Sri Lanka, appoints PM as president
Sri Lanka’s president fled the country early on Wednesday, slipping away only hours before he promised to resign under pressure from protesters angry over a devastating economic crisis. But crowds quickly trained their ire on the prime minster, storming his office and demanding he also go. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his wife left aboard a Sri Lankan Air Force plane bound for the Maldives, the air force said in a statement. That brought little relief to the island nation gripped for months by an economic disaster that has triggered severe shortages of food and fuel – and now is beset by political chaos. Thousands of protesters demanding that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also step down rallied outside his office compound and some scaled the walls, as the crowd roared its support, waving Sri Lankan flags and tossing water bottles to those heading inside. As protesters feared, Rajapaksa appointed his prime minister as acting president in his absence, according to the speaker of the Parliament. Australian journalist Luke Hunt, who is in Colombo, told RTHK that Wickremesinghe resigned as prime minister saying he would make way for an all-party government which is currently being negotiated behind closed doors.   “No one expected Ranil Wickremesinghe to make a bid for the presidency. His name had been touted but so had a lot of other names,” Hunt said. “According to the prime minister’s resignation, the speaker was going to act as president for a maximum of 30 days. That would have given the politicians time enough to form an all-party government. “So somewhere along the line he’s decided that he wasn’t going to continue down this course,” he added. In the crowd outside Wickremesinghe's office was Supun Eranga. “We need both ... to go home," the 28-year-old civil servant said. “Ranil couldn’t deliver what he promised during his two months, so he should quit. All Ranil did was try to protect the Rajapaksas.” Police used tear gas to try to disperse the protesters but failed, and more and more marched down the lane and towards the prime minister's office. As helicopters flew overhead, some demonstrators held up their middle fingers. Video footage also showed that protesters had broken into the main state television station and briefly took over broadcasts. While Rajapaksa agreed under pressure to resign on Wednesday, Wickremesinghe has said he would only leave once a new government was in place. Protesters have already seized the president's home and office and the official residence of the prime minister following months of demonstrations. Luke Hunt said the protesters were unlikely to leave any time soon. “The protesters have set up camp, they’ve been well established for quite some time, they’ve established a rapport with the military, which is also out in force.” (RTHK/Agencies)______________________________
Last updated: 2022-07-13 HKT 17:30 