A presidential resignation letter is underway shortly after an escalated protest that was gradually fueled by the economic crisis in Sri Lanka hit a climax on Saturday July 9.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in the city of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka to demand the presidential office take responsibility for the country’s recent slippery slope into a severe recession. The crowd stormed the private residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and also set ablaze Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private home. Protesters threw a pool party of triumph at Rajapaksa house, which can be viewed in a coverage clip published by USA Today.
“The president has been escorted to a safe place,” a military personnel told AFP. “He is still the president and he is under the protection of a military unit,” she added.
The president and prime minister have both vowed to step down after fleeing their residencies. To ensure a smooth transition of power, a statement released by the Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in compliance with the president and parliament announced that Rajapaksa will officially resign on Wednesday, July 13.
Rajapaksa advised Abeywardena to inform the public “he will make his resignation on Wednesday, July 13 because there is a need to hand over power peacefully.”
“Therefore there is no need for further disturbances in the country and I urge everyone for the sake of the country to maintain peace to enable a smooth transition,” the speaker added.
Sri Lanka’s economy has plunged into its lowest in decades with more than 22 million of its population forced to skip a meal a day. Shortages of fuel, electricity, and food. A situation that exacerbated when the Covid-19 pandemic halted the economic stimulation the country usually obtained from the tourism sector.
An attempt was made by the government to curb the depletion of the economy. It implemented a four-day work week for public sector workers and maintained their pay, so they could grow their own crops. These measures lacked effective economic crisis preparation and were insignificant, thus stood no chance at competing with a rapidly declining economy.
Fuel lines are persistently long, emergency patients are unable to reach a hospital due to fuel shortages, there is a significant reduction in train frequencies, food prices are soaring, and supermarket food shelves are often empty. Stores are having to close down because of a lack of electricity and gas that keeps produce fresh.
Last month Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his discontent towards the idleness of the previous government. “It is no easy task to revive a country with a completely collapsed economy, especially one that is dangerously low on foreign reserves. If steps had at least been taken to slow down the collapse of the economy at the beginning, we would not be facing this difficult situation today,” were his comments.
Wickremesinghe took office shortly after Mahinda Rajapaksa, his predecessor, was forced out of office by protesters in May, 2022.
The south Asian nation has received economic assistance from its neighboring India. Before the exit of Wickremesinghe, he admitted that Sri Lanka “has received $4 billion in credit lines — but that too might not be enough.” The country has filed for bankruptcy, and is discussing economic aid with the IMF.
Prior to his hasty exit, Mr. Wickremesinghe additionally stated that they were in “discussion with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the United States to ‘secure interim short-term loans’ ” until IMF aid arrives.
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