SRI LANKA’S POLITICAL UPHEAVAL PERSISTS
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka
A weekend of political chaos in Sri Lanka stretched into Monday, with opposition leaders yet to agree on replacements for embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his prime minister whose residences remain occupied by protesters angered over the country’s economic collapse.
Crowds of demonstrators overran Rajapaksa’s home, his seaside office and the official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday and demanded they step down in the most dramatic day of the three-month crisis. Leaders of two opposition parties held talks Monday but could not agree on their choices for president and prime minister.
Corruption and mismanagement has left the island nation laden with debt, unable to pay for imports of food, fuel, medicine and other necessities, causing widespread shortages and despair among its 22 million people. The country is seeking help from neighboring India and China and from the International Monetary Fund.
Rajapaksa has said he will step down on Wednesday, according to the speaker of parliament. The protesters have vowed to stay until the resignations are official.
In a video statement Monday, the first since the weekend protests, Wickremesinghe reiterated he will stay on until a new government is in place because he wants to work within the constitution.
“A government has to function according to the law. I am here to protect the constitution and through it fulfill the people’s demands,” Wickremesinghe said.
The president hasn’t been seen or heard publicly since Saturday and his location is unknown. But his office said Sunday that he ordered the immediate distribution of a cooking gas consignment to the public, suggesting that he was still at work.