Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa intends to resign next Wednesday. Rajapaksa had previously fled the presidential palace in the capital, Colombo, just before hundreds of protesters stormed the compound and building.
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa intends to resign next Wednesday, according to the Speaker of Parliament. “In order to ensure a peaceful transition, the President has stated that he will step down on July 13,” Mahinda Abeywardana said in a televised address on Saturday. Rajapaksa had previously fled the presidential palace in the capital, Colombo, just before hundreds of protesters stormed the compound and building.
After ongoing protests against the serious economic crisis in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared his willingness to resign. This was announced by his office in the capital Colombo on Saturday. The prime minister informed the speaker of parliament that he was ready to resign in favor of the formation of an all-party government.
Severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka
The island state south of India with its approximately 22 million inhabitants is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades. The anger of the demonstrators is directed, among other things, against a lack of fuel, gas for cooking, but also medicine and food, which has existed for months, as well as against high inflation and hour-long power outages. One reason for this is that income from tourism, which is important for Sri Lanka, has collapsed in the wake of the corona pandemic. The heavily indebted country lacks the money to import important goods. There are regularly long queues in front of gas stations.
Because of the lack of fuel, the government recently banned sales to private individuals for two weeks, which triggered additional resentment among the population. Until July 10th, fuel may only be used for vehicle services that are absolutely necessary, for example in the health sector, at ports and airports and for food delivery. On Friday, the government had promised to improve the supply of fuel, but this did not appease the demonstrators.
Hunger crisis looms in Sri Lanka
The government has asked the International Monetary Fund and several countries, such as India, China and Russia, for help. The UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA) warned in June that the severe economic crisis could exacerbate a looming hunger crisis in Sri Lanka. The country had previously been on a good development path for ten years and did not need UN humanitarian aid.
In view of the protests, the government imposed an indefinite curfew on Friday. However, under pressure from civil rights groups, lawyers and Buddhist monks who support the demonstrations, she withdrew the measure. Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena called a meeting with party leaders to discuss the situation.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President’s brother, resigned in May amid months of unrest. Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as his successor, who now offered his resignation. At that time, according to the police, at least nine people were killed and more than 250 injured in protests. In June, Basil Rajapaksa, another of the president’s brothers, resigned as finance minister.
