The presidential and prime ministerial homes in Sri Lanka will remain occupied until both leaders formally retire, according to protesters. protests in Sri Lanka to continue
protests in Sri Lanka to continue. According to a statement issued by the speaker of the house on Saturday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that he would stand down on July 13. However, neither the president nor a representative of him has been seen in public.
According to military sources who spoke to the BBC, he is currently in Sri Lankan waters aboard a Navy ship. According to the sources, his brother, the former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, is stationed in the nation at a naval facility. After months of protests, thousands descended on Colombo on Saturday calling for his resignation.
Food, gasoline, and pharmaceutical shortages have been ongoing for months as a result of the country’s poor economic management, which has been laid at the feet of the president. Following the protests on Saturday, during which his private mansion was set ablaze, the current prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also declared his intention to resign. However, the protesters are still dubious of the leaders’ motives.
Currently, it is being led by regular people uniting with a wide range of interest groups in order to remove Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother Mahinda, and the rest of their family from power. These groups include unionists, farmers, artists, students, and socialists. The only one of these who is still in office is the president.
The protest movement’s hydra-headed strength, however, has also turned out to be a weakness because there hasn’t really been a charismatic leader for people to rally around.
But protest organisers the BBC spoke to on Tuesday said they saw the movement remaining as a check on any future government, and we’re optimistic it could play a role in moving the country out of its current political and economic deadlock.
