Gotabaya Rajapaksa Moves To Singapore; Sri Lanka Soldiers Authorised To Use Force As Protests Intensify

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country, have now moved to Singapore from Maldives. He is yet to step down from the top post as protests intensified across the country. 

New Delhi: Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country without stepping down, is yet to resign from the top post on Thursday as protests grew stronger back home. Gotabaya Rajapaksa headed to Singapore from Maldives, where he moved along with his family after fleeing from his country. Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Tuesday night, plunging a country already reeling from economic chaos into more political turmoil.

Sri Lanka crisis – Top developments

• Although he fled, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has yet to officially resign, but the speaker of the parliament said the president assured him he would do so on Thursday. “Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament is yet to receive the Letter of Resignation from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” Sri Lankan Speaker’s office said.

#WATCH | Sri Lanka: Amid nationwide unrest in the country and raging protests, military armoured vehicles seen on the roads of capital Colombo pic.twitter.com/hosAiOkiqX

— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2022

• Sri Lanka soldiers have been “authorised to use necessary force to prevent the destruction of property and life”, the Army said in a statement, according to new agency Reuters.
• Gotabaya Rajapaksa reportedly moved to Singapore from Maldives. Protests also broke out in Maldives after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was allegedly “harboured” by the Male government.

• Angry protesters on Wednesday stormed into Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office and home. Thousands of protesters who wanted PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to go had anticipated that he would be put in charge. They rallied outside his office compound, and some scaled the walls. The crowd roared its support for the people charging in and tossed water bottles to them. Amid chaos, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the acting president. He declared a state of emergency even as protests turned violent in Colombo.
• The political impasse only threatened to worsen the bankrupt nation’s economic collapse since the absence of an alternative government could delay a hoped-for bailout from the International Monetary Fund. In the meantime, the country is relying on aid from neighboring India and from China.
• Police initially used tear gas to try to disperse the protesters outside the prime minister’s office but failed, and more and more marched down the lane toward the compound. As helicopters flew overhead, some demonstrators held up their middle fingers.
• Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defense Staff General Shavendra Silva issued another call for calm and asked the public to cooperate with security forces. Similar comments in recent days rankled opposition lawmakers, who insisted that civilian leaders would be the ones to find a solution.
• Over the weekend, protesters seized the president’s home and office and the official residence of the prime minister following months of demonstrations that have all but dismantled the Rajapaksa family’s political dynasty, which ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades.
• Protesters accuse the president and his relatives of siphoning money from government coffers for years and Rajapaksa’s administration of hastening the country’s collapse by mismanaging the economy. The family has denied the corruption allegations, but Rajapaksa acknowledged some of his policies contributed to the meltdown, which has left the island nation laden wit.
• Leaders of political parties met on Wednesday and decided that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should resign immediately to resolve the current situation in the country. It was discussed at the special meeting held in Parliament this afternoon (13) with the participation of the members of the Committee on Parliamentary Business and the party leaders that the Prime Minister should resign from his position as soon as possible to resolve the current crisis situation in the country.
• Sri Lanka is facing a severe shortage of fuel and other essential supplies and is in the throes of its worst economic crisis with soaring inflation. The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice.

Brief: Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa may step down on Thursday as protests intensified in the country.