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As the protesters took over the capital, leaders of opposition parties called on Rajapaksa to resign and advocated for an all-party government to be appointed. Wickremesinghe, who had been appointed prime minister in May, said on Twitter that he would step down.
“To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government,” Wickremesinghe wrote in a tweet.
Earlier in the day, thousands of people carrying the yellow and red Sri Lankan flag marched toward the president’s home chanting “Gota, go home.” The police fired tear gas to deter the surging crowds. The crowd swept past the policemen and breached the barricades to break into the president’s office and residence. Visuals from local media showed people roaming through the president’s house taking selfies and a dip in the swimming pool. Others made their way into the kitchen and were seen cooking.
“We are desperate,” said Himantha Wickremerathne, a 34-year-old lawyer who joined the protests. “People from all walks of life have united with one intention — to demand that the corrupt president who clearly does not have a mandate, to step down.”
Yasas Ratnayake, another protester described it as a “historic moment” for the country. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
By the afternoon, people began to pour into Colombo from other regions traveling by train. Sanath Jayasuriya, a former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team joined protesters at a major protest site. Asking the president to step down he said, “The siege is over. Your bastion has fallen.”
Outside the imposing presidential office, the crowd chanted: “You thought you could stop us, but here we are.” Police and security forces abandoned their posts as the gathered crowd stood atop water cannons and police vehicles.
Sri Lanka has been in the grip of an unprecedented economic crisis as fuel has nearly run out and food inflation has shot up to 80 percent. It’s defaulted on its foreign debt repayment and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package. But the country was struggling in the negotiations. Wickremesinghe told parliament recently the country was “bankrupt.”
“We are now participating in the negotiations as a bankrupt country. Therefore, we have to face a more difficult and complicated situation than previous negotiations,” Wickremesinghe said.
Last week, Rajapaksa dialed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to request a credit line to purchase fuel. Neighbors like India have stepped in to help Sri Lanka with food, fuel and humanitarian aid.
For ordinary citizens, survival has become challenging. More than 6 million people or about a fourth of the country’s population is unsure of where the next meal will come from, the World Food Program said last week.
In May, the president’s brother, Mahinda, was forced to resign as the prime minister after his supporters clashed with anti-government protesters. A new prime minister and cabinet were sworn in but as the economic situation worsens, anger is beginning to spill over again.
The specter of more political instability threatens to send the embattled country into a deeper crisis and could undermine its efforts to secure a bailout.
Masih reported from New Delhi.
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