Sri Lanka crisis: Curfew lifted, Ranil Wickremesinghe asks Speaker to nominate PM acceptable to all
With President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing to Maldives overnight with his family, a state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka.
Amid widespread protests, acting President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday imposed nationwide curfew till 5 am on Thursday. This comes after angry protesters reached the Parliament and the PM’s office.
Meanwhile, in a late-evening development, Ranil Wickremesinghe asked Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to nominate a Prime Minister who is acceptable to both the government and the Opposition. On the other hand, Rajapaksa has tendered his resignation after 139 days of protest.
However, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said he does not have the resignation letter of Gotabaya Rajapaksa who departed from Sri Lanka hours before he was expected to resign. In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Abeywardena said, “We haven’t received President Gotabaya’s resignation yet, but we hope to get one in a day.”
Present ministers of Sri Lanka are of the opinion that as soon as there is an agreement to form an all-party government, they will hand over the responsibilities to it. The protesters who stormed Wickremesinghe’s office earlier in the day attempted to enter the Parliament compound.
A 26-year-old protester died of breathing difficulties after being admitted to hospital. He was part of the group that stormed the Prime Minister’s office. On the other hand, during protests two groups also clashed, due to which 12 people were injured.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reacts
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said that it is important to addressed the root causes of the conflict and protestors’ grievances.
Gotabaya flees to Maldives by Sri Lankan Air Force aircraft
The Sri Lankan Air Force Media Director said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the First Lady and two bodyguards were given full permission from the Defence Ministry regarding immigration, customs and other laws to travel to the Maldives. On the morning of July 13, he was provided with an Air Force aircraft.
Sri Lanka’s National TV Off Air
Protesters occupied the studio of national TV Roopvahini, after which the channel went off air. According to the report of Colombo News, a protester came and sat there instead of the news anchor and came live and started speaking. After this the TV channel had to stop broadcasting.
Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed as Acting President
Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and Member of Parliament, has been made the Acting President. Under the Sri Lankan Constitution, if both the President and the Prime Minister resign, the Speaker of the Parliament will serve as the Acting President for a maximum period of 30 days.
Parliament will elect a new Speaker from amongst its members within 30 days, who will hold office for the remaining two years of the current term.
Sri Lankan army lowers weapons in front of civilians
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan army has also lowered its weapons in front of its citizens. In some places, of course, there have been clashes between the police and the public. Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades.
Sri Lanka was declared bankrupt on July 5
Millions in Sri Lanka are struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe last week said Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt country. Wickremesinghe said that the situation in Sri Lanka will worsen by the end of this year. There will continue to be acute shortage of food, fuel and medicine in the country.