Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka on April 13, 2022 in front of the Presidential Secretariat. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka on April 13, 2022 in front of the Presidential Secretariat. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Months of anti-government protests, fuelled by an unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka culminated in protesters storming President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence, and setting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's house on fire.
Over the weekend, social media was filled with videos of a rejoicing crowd swimming in the presidential mansion, and lying on luxurious beds. BOOM has not independently verified these videos.
Neither of the two leaders were present at their respective residents. At least a dozen people were injured after clashes with security forces who attempted to disperse the crowd.
Just four days ago, on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe declared the island nation as 'bankrupt', after years of debilitating economic crisis. The country has essentially ran out of fuel, and electricity is now sparse. With the value of the Sri Lankan rupee plummeting since March, prices of essential goods such as food, medication and transportation have sky-rocketed, disrupting the lives of most people.
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The International Monetary Fund said that it was closely monitoring the situation, and hoped for a resolution to the political crisis to resume dialogue with the country to reach an agreement on how to proceed.
"We hope for a resolution of the current situation that will allow for resumption of our dialogue on an IMF-supported program, while we plan to continue technical discussions with our counterparts in the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Sri Lanka," the IMF said in a statement to the media on Sunday.
However, a political resolution does not seem to be in sights yet. After months of protests, and the deposing of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, protesters had demanded the resignation of President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
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While Rajapaksa said he would resign on July 13, Wickremesinghe said he was ready to resign as soon as an all-party government was there to take over. However, this irked the protesters further.
In 2009, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa became a hero for the majority Sinhalese population after ending decades of bloody civil war and defeating the Tamil separatists. Since then, the Rajapaksas have essentially dominated the country, taking over top leadership positions. While they have blamed the current economic situation on the COVID-19 pandemic, protesters have blamed them for political and economic mismanagement and corruption.
While President Rajapaksa's whereabouts are currently unknown, videos had surfaced over the weekend showing suitcases being loaded on a naval ship, which the local media claims belongs to the president.