Protests erupted in Sri Lanka on Wednesday after the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled to the Maldives on a military jet – but neither he nor the prime minster officially resigned, throwing the country into political chaos.
After Gotabaya’s clandestine departure, a Sri Lankan official said that the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, had been appointed by Rajapaksa to be acting president.
Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency as protesters breached the prime minister’s offices and took over the state television broadcaster. He said he had given orders for police and military to do what was necessary to maintain order.
In a speech on Wednesday afternoon, the speaker of the parliament said president Rajapaksa would submit his resignation by the end of the day, but as midnight approached, no resignation letter had appeared.
Protesters, who have demanded that both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe step down, were infuriated by the announcement that Wickremesinghe was now acting president. Thousands congregated outside the prime minister’s office, where they were hit with dozens of rounds of teargas by police as they tried to break through the gates. People could be seen running with their eyes streaming and blood oozing from their heads.
Wickremesinghe took over as a caretaker prime minister just two months ago but has been accused of propping up the Rajapaksa regime. The demand from protesters is that he resign immediately to make way for a new government.
In scenes reminiscent of the weekend, when protesters took over the president’s residential palace and offices, on Wednesday the crowds managed to breach the army barriers and stormed into Wickremesinghe’s offices. As the armed forces were overrun, people poured into the corridors and waved flags from the balconies.
In response, in his first address as acting president, Wickremesinge described the protesters occupying his office as “fascists” and “extremists” who were trying to “tear up the constitution”.
“We must end this fascist threat to democracy,” said Wickremesinge as he ordered the army to step in..
Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, an MP from the Tamil National Alliance, called on the international community to intervene. “They can not just watch and wait until this descends into violence, they need to urge the prime minister to step down so someone who has the trust of the people can take over,” he said.
Protesters also took over the offices of the Rupavahini state media centre in Colombo. “Until the struggle is over, the Sri Lanka Rupavahini corporation will only telecast programmes of the Jana Aragalaya,” said a protester, referring to the people’s protest movement, before the channel went off air.
By late Wednesday, protesters had surrounded the parliament building, where there were clashes between police and protesters, and teargas was used on the crowds.
President Rajapaksa, his wife and two security guards had fled the country in the early hours of Wednesday morning after he invoked executive powers and boarded a military aircraft to the Maldives. “Under the provisions of the constitution and on a request by the government, the Sri Lanka air force provided a plane early today to fly the president, his wife and two security officials to the Maldives,” a statement said. They arrived in Malé, the Maldives capital, at 3am.
Protesters, activists and lawyers have called for the president to be prosecuted, along with various Rajapaksa family members, over alleged corruption and human rights abuses. However, while he is still president, Rajapaksa enjoys immunity from arrest. It is believed he will not officially resign until he reaches his final destination, which by Wednesday evening was reported by officials to be Singapore.
There was much anger among people on the streets that the president had fled, leaving Sri Lanka in an economic mess. “I am so angry, have no words,” said Sonali Udara, 27. “He has left us a country where we can’t afford to eat or look after our families. I want a better future than this.”
Rajapaksa’s escape followed a dramatic 24 hours in which he had unsuccessfully tried various means of leaving the country. He was blocked from boarding a commercial flight to Dubai on Monday night after airport staff refused to stamp his passport in the VIP area of the airport. India also refused to give permission for his plane to land on its soil.
The president’s younger brother Basil Rajapaksa, who served as finance minister, was also prevented from boarding a flight to Dubai en route to the US, where he is a dual citizen. Basil, too, was reported to have left Sri Lanka on Tuesday night.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected in 2019, has been resisting calls for his resignation for months, as Sri Lanka has sunk deeper and deeper into a financial crisis for which he is widely blamed. Rajapaksa and five family members who held senior government posts stand accused of widespread corruption and economic mismanagement that left the country without any foreign currency to import food, fuel and medicines, and pushed inflation to record levels. According to the UN, the island of 22 million people is facing a humanitarian crisis.
Rajapaksa was forced at the weekend to announce his intention to step down from power this week, after the storming of his presidential palace and offices, as well as the official residence of the prime minister. Protesters have refused to leave the buildings until both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe have stepped down. Wickremesinghe said on Saturday he would resign once an all-party unity government had been formed.
Opposition parties said the unity government had been agreed in principle, though it was not clear who the new prime minister would be. If Rajapaksa’s resignation goes ahead as planned, parliament will reconvene on 15 July and MPs will vote on 20 July to decide the new president.
