COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose family has dominated Sri Lankan politics for much of the past two decades, was urged by the country’s political leaders to stand down on Saturday after months of protests accusing him of to drive the island nation’s economy into the terrain through corruption and mismanagement.
The call for the departure of Mr. Rajapaksa was confirmed by of them legislators and came after protesters entered the president’s residence and office, and thousands more descended on the capital, Colombo, to register their growing fury at his government’s failure to deal with crippling economic crisis.
Subsequently, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who only took office in May and was also facing demands to resign, announced that he would step down.
Sri Lanka has depleted its foreign exchange reserves for imports of essential items like fuel and medicine, and the United Nations has warned that more than a quarter of Sri Lanka’s 21 million people are at risk of food shortages.
The economic crisis is a major setback for the island nation which was still grappling with the legacy of a bloody three-decade civil war. This conflict, between the government and the Tamil Tiger insurgents who had championed the cause of discrimination against the Tamil ethnic minority, ended in 2009. But many of its underlying causes remained, with the Rajapaksa family continuing to s caring for the majority of Sinhalese Buddhists. .
At least 42 people were injured in clashes with security forces in the city, health officials said, after police used tear gas and water cannons against protesters and fired shots. fire in the air to try to disperse them.
Local media showed footage of protesters entering parts of the presidential residence as well as his secretariat, a separate building that houses his office.
Videos on social media showed protesters jumping into the swimming pool at Mr Rajapaksa’s residence, resting in bedrooms and frying snacks in the presidential kitchen.
“I came here today to send the president home,” said Wasantha Kiruwaththuduwa, 50, who had traveled 10 miles to join the protest. “Now the president must resign. If he wants peace to prevail, he must resign.
Mr. Rajapaksa’s fate was unclear.
Demonstrations have been taking place for months, but Saturday’s demonstration appears to be one of the largest yet, even as authorities imposed an overnight curfew and halted trains in an attempt to keep people out. reach the capital.
On Friday, the United Nations urged the “Sri Lankan authorities to exercise restraint in policing gatherings and to make every effort to prevent violence”.