Colombo: Protesters in Sri Lanka’s Colombo discovered over 17.8 million rupees ($49,100) in the residence of the country’s ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and handed the money over to the police, GotaGoGama protest movement said on Sunday.
On Saturday, Colombo was rocked by a new wave of riots, with people protesting the rapidly deteriorating living conditions caused by a collapse of the country's economy. The crowds tore through the barricades surrounding the presidential residence, climbed over the fence and took control of the area.
The president reportedly fled the country and is now expected to resign on July 13, according to Sri Lankan newspaper Adaderana.
Parliamentary Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana has informed Rajapaksa of the decisions made at a Saturday emergency meeting of the party leaders, which was convened in response to the critical situation. The letter called for the immediate resignation of Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and provided for convening the parliament within seven days to appoint an acting president.
Sri Lanka is now facing a political and economic crisis considered the worst since gaining independence in 1948. In mid-April, Sri Lanka defaulted on its external debt for an interim period, pending a restructuring of the obligations under an IMF-supported economic adjustment program.
The recession is attributed to ineffective government policies and foreign exchange shortages caused by a clampdown on tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. It left the country unable to buy enough fuel, with people facing an acute scarcity of food and basic necessities, heating fuel, and gas. Many regions have power outages. (UNI)