Protesters stand on a vandalised police water canon truck and shout slogans at the entrance to presidents official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9. (AP)Sri Lanka protests Live Updates: Sri Lanka’s Opposition parties are set to meet Sunday to discuss the formation of the new government following the President and Prime Minister’s decision to resign from their posts.
According to the parliamentary speaker, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will step down on July 13, following violent protests that shook the capital on Saturday. Demonstrators stormed the president’s official residence and set fire to the prime minister’s home in Colombo. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also said he is willing to resign to make way for an all-party government, his office said in a statement on Saturday evening.
On Sunday, the Sri Lankan police arrested three people for setting Wickremesinghe’s private residence on fire during the Saturday violence. According to news reports quoted by PTI, protesters entered Wickremesinghe’s private residence at Cambridge Place and set it on fire, inflicting extensive damage to the property and damaging a luxury sedan.
Anti government protesters swim in a swimmingpool of the Sri lankan president's official residence after storming into it in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday. (AP)
On Sunday, the Sri Lankan police arrested three people for setting Wickremesinghe’s private residence on fire during the Saturday violence. According to news reports quoted by PTI, protesters entered Wickremesinghe’s private residence at Cambridge Place and set it on fire, inflicting extensive damage to the property and damaging a luxury sedan.
Among those arrested include a 19-year-old Mount Lavinia resident and two residents of Galle, aged 24 and 28 respectively, web portal Colombo Page reported, quoting the Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Talduwa. More arrests are on the anvil, as the police have widened their scope of investigations, he said.
The anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka who stormed embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence have claimed to have recovered millions of rupees inside his mansion, according to a media report on Sunday.
A video is being shared on social media showing the protesters counting the currency notes that were unearthed. The recovered money was said to be handed over to the security units, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
Authorities have informed that they will take steps to announce the ground situation after probing the relevant facts, the daily reported. (PTI)
The anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka continued to occupy the residences of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, a day after they stormed into the premises and set on fire one of the buildings protesting over the nation's severe economic crisis even as the island nation is still in the dark about the embattled President's whereabouts.
Rajapaksa's only communication outside since the protesters stormed into the city has been with the Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, who announced late Saturday night that the President would resign on Wednesday.
President Rajapaksa informed the Speaker about this decision to quit after Abeywardena wrote to him seeking his resignation following the all-party meeting of leaders held Saturday evening.
The Speaker would become the acting President in the absence of both the President and the Prime Minister. Later, an election among MPs must happen to elect a new President. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has also offered to resign. (PTI)
The United States urged Sri Lanka's political fraternity to come forward and work quickly to achieve long-term economic and political solutions to address the people's discontent, after thousands of irate protesters stormed the official residence of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and forced him to offer his resignation on Wednesday.
Rajapaksa would resign on July 13, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said on Saturday night, while Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has already expressed his willingness to resign amidst the worst economic and political crisis in the country.
The United States calls on “the Sri Lankan parliament to approach this juncture with a commitment to the betterment of the nation — not any one political party,” a US State Department spokesperson said on Sunday. “We urge this government or any new, constitutionally selected government to work quickly to identify and implement solutions that will achieve long-term economic stability and address the Sri Lankan people's discontent over the worsening economic conditions, including power, food and fuel shortages,” the spokesperson said. (PTI)
Sri Lankan Army chief General Shavendra Silva said that an opportunity to resolve the current political crisis in a peaceful manner is now available and sought the people's support to maintain peace in the island nation, hours after embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed to step down on July 13.
In a brief statement, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Silva said that an opportunity has arisen to resolve the current crisis in a peaceful manner. He requested all Sri Lankans to support the Armed Forces and the Police to ensure that peace is maintained in the country, Colombo Gazette news portal reported.
The IMF said that it was closely monitoring the ongoing developments in Sri Lanka and hoped that the political crisis will be resolved soon to allow for the resumption of dialogue on an IMF-supported programme in the cash-starved country.
The IMF has concluded a round of policy-level talks with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe who is also Finance Minister and there were some financial issues to be resolved. At the same time, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said the monetary programme targets were wrapped up.
“We are closely monitoring the ongoing developments in Sri Lanka,” Peter Breuer, IMF Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, and Masahiro Nozaki, IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka said in a statement on Sunday. “We hope to resolve the current situation that will allow for the resumption of our dialogue on an IMF-supported programme, while we plan to continue technical discussions with our counterparts in the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Sri Lanka,” Economy Next reported on Sunday.
An interim budget was also due in July or August. (PTI)
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to step down, the country's parliamentary speaker said, bowing to intense pressure after a violent day of protests in which demonstrators stormed the president's official residence and set fire to the prime minister's home in Colombo.
The announcement, following the dramatic escalation in months of largely peaceful anti-government protests over a dire economic crisis on the Indian Ocean island of 22 million people, triggered an eruption of celebratory fireworks in the city. There was no immediate word from the president himself.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a video statement that Rajapaksa had informed him that he would step down from his post on Wednesday. "The decision to step down on 13 July was taken to ensure a peaceful handover of power," Abeywardena said. "I therefore request the public to respect the law and maintain peace," he said.
Hours after Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe announced his resignation, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa too informed Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene that he will resign from his post on the July 13, the Daily Mirror reported. The anti-government protesters had been demanding the same as the country grappled with the worst economic crisis in its history.
The anti-government protesters have broken into the private residence of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and have set it on fire, the PM's office issues statement.
The private residence of Ranil Wickeremesinghe, who resigned as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Saturday, has been set on fire, news agency AFP reported. Wickremesinghe announced his resignation to make way for an all-party government to take over.
"Ranil Wickremesinghe expresses grave regret over the assault on journalists who are covering the ongoing protests, by security personnel. Freedom of media is paramount to Democracy in Sri Lanka," Sri Lankan PMO stated.
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday announced his resignation to make way for an all-party government to take over. “To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government. To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister,” he wrote on Twitter.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday offered to resign from his post and make way for an all-party government to take over, the prime minister's office in Sri Lanka said in a statement. Wickremesinghe had called an all-party meet to resolve the escalating crisis in the island nation.
Protesters at Gotabaya's residence taking a dip in the pool.
With protests against the Sri Lanka government intensifying over the country’s worst economic crisis, a number of demonstrators stormed the President’s official residence and his secretariat in commercial capital Colombo on Saturday.
Video clips of the same went viral on social media showing thousands of protesters marching towards the palatial building. According to news agency Reuters, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was removed from the official residence Friday for his safety ahead of the planned rally over the weekend. Watch more videos here
“I am a part of the protest and stand with the people’s demand… this protest has been going on for over three months,” Sri Lankan former cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya tells news agency ANI on the recent protest in Colombo.
Former Sri Lanka cricket team captain Kumar Sangakkara shares a video of the protests in Colombo, while writing: “This is for our future.”
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa tells PM Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will respect any decision taken at Party Leaders' meeting, the Prime Minister's office was quoted as saying by Sri Lanla-based media outlet Daily Mirror.