The economic and political crisis that Sri Lanka is going through worsened yesterday with the assault on the office of the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, after he assumed the interim presidency of the country after the flight to the Maldives of the head of state, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The 73-year-old politician put land in the middle after protesters who blame him for national bankruptcy occupied his official residence last Saturday.
The anguish continued this Thursday morning in Sri Lanka after President Rajapaksa failed to tender his resignation on Wednesday, a deadline he himself promised, leaving the country in political limbo. The president, who is blamed for leading the country into bankruptcy, plans to travel to Singapore as his final destination this Thursday, according to local media.
One of his first measures that Wickremesinghe took was yesterday to declare a state of emergency throughout the country, although the real scope of the measure is not clear, and a curfew in the western province, where the capital Colombo is located. Wickremesinghe also urged the security forces to do whatever is necessary to "restore order" and end the "fascist threat". Still, hundreds of protesters gathered outside his office to demand his resignation and forced their way into the building despite initial attempts by officers to repel them with tear gas. The protesters also occupied state television and took control of its broadcasts.
The protesters accuse Wickremesinghe, who took over as prime minister just two months ago, of supporting the Rajapaksa regime and demand that he resign immediately to make way for a new government. In principle, Parliament plans to appoint a new president on July 20 to take the reins of the nation, which is going through its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948, although it is feared that the instability of the situation could degenerate into acts of violence.
