Sri Lanka crisis: Gen Shavendra urges citizens to support armed forces in restoring peace

Hours after the dramatic resignation of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Shavendra Silva, has appealed to the citizens to support the Armed Forces in maintaining law and order situation in the country. His remarks came as lakhs of protestors seized President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence and set ablaze the Colombo-based private residence of PM Wickremesinghe late on Saturday night. The arson came amid heavy military security at PM's residence. According to local media reports, the PM and his family members had already vacated the house amid threats of attack from the protestors.

As many as 30 people were reported to be injured during the protest. Amid reports of the President fleeing to some other place, a government spokesman, Mohana Samaranayake, said he had no information about Rajapaksa’s whereabouts.

In the television footage, it showed hundreds of people inside the well-fortified house and on the grounds outside, some taking a dip in the garden pool and others in a jubilant mood. The protestors were demanding the immediate removal of President Rajapaksa. The protestors chanted slogans against the President-- ‘Gota go gama’s or ‘Gota go’ villages, and blamed him for the entire mess ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.  

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agrees to resign on July 13

Amid this gloomy situation, the speaker of Parliament said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday, July 13. In a televised address on Saturday late at night, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said he informed Rajapaksa that parliamentary leaders had met and decided to oust him from the Presidential post. Abeywardena claimed the embattled President agreed to step down on Wednesday and added he would remain on the post till the country finds its new President. "He asked me to inform the country that he will prepare his resignation on Wednesday the 13th because there is a need to hand over power peacefully," Abeywardena said. The dramatic situation in Sri Lanka came as millions of protestors who have been protesting on the streets for the last three months entered the President's official residence despite heavily guarded military security. 

PM Ranil accuses the Rajapaksa govt of the Sri Lanka crisis

Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan PM blamed the earlier government for the food crisis in the country. According to him, the Mahinda Rajapaksa-led government had abruptly implemented a 100% organic agriculture model by banning chemical fertilisers. He said this resulted in the collapse of the agriculture sector. Moreover, he claimed that foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic were also a major reason for the current situation. However, this time, securing fertiliser and compiling a food security program were being given equal priority, he maintained.

Image: AP/Twitter/@Yugan