Colombo, May 12 (BNA) Several Sri Lankans packed buses in the main city of Colombo on Thursday to return to their hometown with leaders of political parties scheduled to meet after the prime minister’s resignation and disappearance and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa warned of chaos.
Hundreds of people gathered at the main bus station in the commercial capital after authorities lifted an indefinite curfew at 7 am (0130 GMT). The curfew will be re-imposed at 2 pm
The island nation, which is grappling with its worst economic crisis since independence, witnessed violence earlier this week after supporters of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s older brother, attacked an anti-government protest camp in the commercial capital Colombo on Monday, according to the newspaper. British Guardian. Reuters.
Days of violent reprisals against government figures allied with the powerful Rajapaksa tribe ensued. Police said nine people were killed and more than 300 wounded during the clashes.
Protesters sprayed graffiti on Mahinda Rajapaksa’s home in a southern town and looted a museum dedicated to his father. They vowed to continue the protests until the president resigns as well. Read more
Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from his position after the outbreak of fighting and is hiding in a military base in the northeast of the country. On Wednesday, his brother said he would appoint a new prime minister and a new government this week “to prevent the country from falling into chaos as well as to preserve the government’s affairs that have been frozen”.
The streets of the capital Colombo remained calm on Thursday and some people risked going out to buy basic supplies. Later in the day, the leaders of the political parties are scheduled to meet with the speaker of the country’s parliament to discuss the current situation.
President Rajapaksa has repeatedly called for a unity government to find a way out of the crisis, but opposition leaders say they will not serve until he resigns over his handling of the crisis.
The island nation, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, high oil prices and tax cuts by the populist Rajapaksa government, has been hit by its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948.
Usable foreign exchange reserves stand at $50 million, inflation is rampant and fuel shortages have driven thousands into the streets in more than a month of anti-government protests, which remained mostly peaceful as of Monday.
The governor of Sri Lanka’s central bank said on Wednesday that failure to find a solution to the crisis in the next week or two will lead to power outages of up to 10 to 12 hours a day, as well as his resignation.
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