Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign while in hiding

The chaos that has engulfed Sri Lanka sent the President fleeing and saw protesters swamp his home. From hiding, he made this statement.

A demonstrator tries to douse a tear gas canister fired by police as protests raged over the country’s crippling economic crisis. Picture: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP

Two days after protesters stormed the Presidential Palace and made it their own, Sri Lanka’s President has officially announced he will resign.

Local reports say President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will be resigning on Wednesday.

He has been in hiding after fleeing the country on a Navy vessel when crowds in their hundreds of thousands descended on his home in Colombo.

The news is expected to be welcomed by protesters who said they would not leave the official residence despite forcing their leader to take refuge on a vessel offshore.

BREAKING NEWS: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has officially informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will be resigning as previously announced - PM Media#SriLanka#lka#CrisisLK#GotabayaRajapaksa

— Easwaran Rutnam (@easwaranrutnam) July 11, 2022

Protestors demanding the resignation of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa swim in a pool inside the compound of Sri Lanka's Presidential Palace in Colombo on July 9, 2022. Picture: AFP

Protestors demanding the resignation of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa gather near the compound of the Presidential Palace. Picture: AFP

The dramatic events on Saturday were the culmination of months of protests by people enraged by the South Asian island nation’s unprecedented economic crisis and the Rajapaksa clan’s incompetence and corruption.

Hundreds of thousands massed in Colombo demanding Rajapaksa take responsibility for shortages of medicines, food and fuel that have brought the once-relatively rich economy to its knees and caused misery for ordinary people.

After storming the gates of the colonial-era presidential palace, protesters lounged in its opulent rooms, somersaulting into the compound’s pool and rummaging through Rajapaksa’s clothes.

At a clock tower near the palace, activists hung an effigy of Rajapaksa on Sunday evening as thousands of onlookers cheered.

The streets leading to the palace were choked with people, some carrying toddlers and wheeling along the elderly.

Colombo, Sri Lanka right now. The Presidential Palace has been stormed, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is said to have fled. Unbelievable scenes. Live reports on @IndiaToday: https://t.co/p6JV6FzCubpic.twitter.com/8zlJdBfN2P

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) July 9, 2022

People crowd inside the official residence of Sri Lanka's President on July 10. Picture: AFP

Troops had fired in the air to help Rajapaksa escape on Saturday. The president then boarded a naval craft which steamed to the safety of the island’s southern waters.

On Sunday the presidential palace was a free-for-all, with children and parents plonking on a grand piano, admiring the expensive artwork, picnicking and taking it in turns to sit in the president’s chair.

From the naval ship, 73-year-old Rajapaksa — who had clung to power even after deadly nationwide violence in May forced his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa to quit as prime minister — told the speaker of parliament he would step down on Wednesday.

Security forces on Saturday had attempted to disperse the huge crowds that mobbed Colombo’s administrative district, triggering clashes.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (R) and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa. Picture: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP

Colombo National Hospital said 105 people were brought in Saturday and that 55 remained under treatment on Sunday, including one in a “very critical” state with a gunshot wound.

A defence source said Rajapaksa, along with one of his brothers — Basil — was heading to a naval base in the northeast of the island. However, there was no official word their whereabouts.

Washington urged Sri Lankan leaders to act quickly to address the situation “with a commitment to the betterment of the nation -- not any one political party”.

— with AFP