Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa announced his resignation on Monday. after several clashes between supporters of the Government and the demonstrators who have been demanding his departure for weeks as a result of the severe economic crisis that the country has been going through for weeks.
The protests caused three deaths, one of them a deputy, and more than 150 injuries.
The 76-year-old official sent his letter of resignation to his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, paving the way for a “new unity government”, said his spokesman Rohan Weliwita.
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The president’s resignation comes after clashes in the country between people close to the government and protesters who have shown their opposition to the government for mismanagement of the economic crisis.
Thousands of government supporters, armed with sticks and batons, attacked protesters who have camped since April 9 in front of the presidential office on Monday.
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Hours earlier, at Temple Tree, in his residence very close to the presidential offices, Mahinda Rajapaksa had promised to “protect the interests of the nation” before some 3,000 supporters, brought in buses from rural areas. On their way out, they attacked protesters’ tents and burned their banners.
Police fired tear gas and used water cannons, and the authorities immediately decreed a curfew.
During the riots, on the outskirts of the capital, a ruling party MP, Amarakeerthi Athukorala, opened fire on protesters blocking his car, killing one of them, according to police.
He then tried to take refuge in a nearby building, where he was found dead after committing suicide. His bodyguard was also found dead at the scene, police added.
More than 150 injured have been hospitalized, Colombo national hospital spokesman Pushpa Soysa told AFP.
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Calls to calm
President Rajapaksa condemned the violent acts and those who incite them “regardless of their political leanings”, according to a message on Twitter. “Violence will not solve current problems.”
For her part, the United States ambassador to the island, Julie Chung, condemned the violence perpetrated “against peaceful protesters” and urged the government to open an in-depth investigation of the events.
For months, this small island country of 22 million inhabitants in South Asia, independent since 1948, it suffers from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
The economic collapse began to be felt after the coronavirus pandemic cut off income from tourism and remittances.
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The enormous external debt, estimated at 51,000 million dollars, led the government to decree a payment moratorium on April 12.
The demonstrators reproach the Rajapaksa brothers in power for having plunged the country into this crisis and call for their resignation.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa attempted to approach the area of the fighting but was attacked by the crowd and had to be quickly evacuated by security personnel.
On Friday, the president declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks, granting expanded powers to security forces, including authorizing the detention of suspects for long periods without judicial oversight. He also authorized the deployment of the military to maintain order, as a reinforcement of the police.
However, the protests intensified over the weekend due to the lack of supplies and gas for cooking.
Union leader Ravi Kumudesh warned this weekend that he would mobilize public and private sector workers to storm the national parliament at its opening on May 17.
AFP
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