Lanka: PM quits after Prez flees

Sri Lanka plunged into a deep political crisis with the resignation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe a few hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence on Saturday.

Later in the night, the protesters set Wickeremesinghe's private residence on fire. Wickremesinghe said he resigned to make way for an all-party government. The demand for Wickremsinghe’s resignation grew louder after a group of MPs on Saturday wrote to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In their letter, the MPs not only demanded that Wickremsinghe quit but also asked Rajapaksa to step down and appoint an all-party government.

Violent clashes have erupted in Sri Lanka between supporters of Rajapaksa’s party and the anti-government demonstrators since April, when the country’s economic crisis deepened. In May, 10 persons had died in the clashes. Rajapaksa fled his official residence on Saturday shortly before protesters stormed and overran the compound.

As protesters surged at the gates of the President's Palace, troops guarding the compound fired in the air to hold back the tide until Rajapaksa was safely removed, AFP reported, quoting defence sources. His current whereabouts are unknown.Members of the crowd broadcast live footage on social media showing hundreds of people walking through the President's Palace. Colombo's main hospital said 14 people were being treated there after being hit by tear gas canisters

Sri Lanka’s influential lawyers’ body on Saturday questioned embattled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ability to function and remain in power after thousands of irate anti-government protesters stormed into his official residence in central Colombo, demanding his resignation over the island nation’s worst economic crisis in recent memory.

At least 30 people, including two policemen, were injured in clashes between security personnel and protesters – some of them holding Sri Lankan flags and helmets. Rajapaksa, who was facing calls for resignation since March, was using the President’s House as his residence and office since protesters came to occupy the entrance to his office early April.

“The Bar Association of Sri Lanka calls upon President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to consider whether he can continue to fulfill his obligations and the powers and duties as the President of Sri Lanka any longer,” web portal Lanka First reported, citing the Bar Association’s statement on Saturday.

According to sources, the President had been moved out of his residence on Friday, in anticipation of Saturday’s protests. A group of his own parliamentarians have addressed a letter to him urging him to step down and appoint a new Prime Minister and an allparty government.

The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) calls upon the Prime Minister, Speaker, Cabinet of Ministers, and Members of Parliament to immediately ensure that the political stability of the nation is secured forthwith, it said.

“We call upon the police and the armed forces to ensure that no further harm is caused to the people who are engaged in the protest,” it said. The lawyers’ body also urged the public to refrain from damaging public properties, especially the Presidential Secretariat and the President’s House.

“We call upon the members of the public to protect public property – especially the Presidential Secretariat and the President’s House which are historical sites in Sri Lanka and to ensure that no harm is caused to any person,” it added. —PTI