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Pictures from inside the building showed hundreds of protesters gathering in rooms and corridors
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his intention to step down, a few hours after protesters stormed his official residence and set the prime minister’s house on fire.
Neither the president nor the prime minister were in the two buildings.
Thousands of angry protesters flocked to the capital, Colombo, to demand the president’s resignation, after months of protests over the mismanagement of the economic crisis plaguing Sri Lanka.
Rajapaksa will step down on the 13th of this month.
Parliament Speaker Mahinda Abiordana said the president was resigning to “ensure a peaceful transition”. Hours before the announcement, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s home was set ablaze after protesters stormed the venue and set it on fire. Videos circulating on social media show flames lighting up the night sky.
This comes after the Prime Minister announced his intention to resign to pave the way for the formation of a national unity government.
Parliament Speaker Mahinda Abiordana said the president was resigning “to ensure a peaceful transition”.
Protesters swim in the presidential palace swimming pool after storming it
It was reported that the president had already been moved to a safer place after protesters stormed his official residence in the capital, Colombo.
Sri Lanka is experiencing rising inflation and is struggling to import food, fuel and medicine.
Thousands of anti-government protesters traveled to the capital. Officials told AFP that some had “hijacked” the trains to get there.
Two Defense Ministry sources said Rajapaksa left his official residence on Friday, as a precaution ahead of the planned protests. The BBC was unable to confirm the president’s whereabouts. A source close to the prime minister said he was in a “safe place”.
photo released, EPA
Crowds of protesters demand the resignation of President Rajapaksa near his home in Colombo, on Saturday 9 July 2022.
The demonstrators poured into the government area in Colombo, chanting slogans such as “Gotta, go!” They broke through several police barriers to reach the president’s house.
Police fired shots into the air and used tear gas to try to prevent the angry crowd from storming the house, but they were unable to stop some of the crowds from entering.
A senior defense ministry source told AFP earlier on Saturday that “the president was escorted to a safe place. He is still the president, and he is protected by a military unit.”
photo released, Getty Images
The authorities tried to stop the protests by imposing a curfew, but were forced to lift it
Facebook Live footage from inside the building showed hundreds of protesters gathering in rooms and corridors, while hundreds also wandered outside the building’s courtyard.
BBC footage showed dozens of people taking a dip in the palace’s swimming pool. Some can be seen emptying a chest of drawers of its contents. Although it is the official residence of the president, he usually sleeps in a separate house nearby.
Protesters at another location also managed to enter the president’s office, which has been the focus of demonstrations for months.
A spokesman for the National Hospital in Colombo told the BBC that at least 33 people, including members of the security forces, were injured and were receiving treatment at the hospital.
‘Ready to quit’
Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, announced his readiness to resign from his post to make way for an all-party government.
photo released, EPA
Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters
This came after Wickremesinghe held talks with several leaders of the country’s political parties, to determine the steps that should be taken to resolve the crisis.
A government source told Archyde.com news agency that Wickremesinghe had been “also moved to a safe place”.
But shortly after the prime minister’s announcement, videos began circulating of his house on fire.
photo released, Getty Images
Citizens take pictures from inside the presidential palace halls
The Prime Minister lives with his family in a private house known as Fifth Lane. His residence uses the drawing, called Temple Trees, for official business only. One protester, Fiona Sirmana, who was at the protest at the president’s house, said it was time “to get rid of the president and prime minister and to start a new era for Sri Lanka.” Too much because they’ve never gone before.”
The authorities in Sri Lanka tried to stop the protests by imposing a curfew on Friday evening. But the protesters did not back down, and the curfew was lifted after civil society groups and opposition parties strongly objected to it.
Basic information about Sri Lanka:
- Sri Lanka is an island off southern India. It gained independence from British rule in 1948. Three ethnic groups – Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims – make up 99 percent of the country’s population of 22 million.
- For years, one family of brothers dominated the country. Mahinda Rajapaksa became a hero among the Sinhalese majority in 2009, when his government defeated the Tamil rebels after years of bitter and bloody civil war. His brother Gotabaya, who was defense minister at the time, is now president.
- The recent economic crisis has led to anger in the streets. Rising inflation has left some food, medicine and fuel in short supply as well as power cuts, and ordinary people have taken to the streets in anger as many blame the Rajapaksa family and their government for the crisis.
photo released, Getty Images
Protesters blame Gotabaya (right) and Mahinda Rajapaksa for the current crisis
The authorities suspended sales of gasoline and diesel for non-essential vehicles last week, in an attempt to maintain the country’s dwindling fuel stock.
The government is trying to secure fuel on credit from countries including Russia – so far without success.
She has requested emergency financial assistance and is blaming the crisis on the Corona pandemic, which nearly wiped out Sri Lanka’s tourism sector – one of the largest sources of foreign currency income.
But many experts say economic mismanagement is the main cause of the crisis.
The demonstrations, which began in March, are demanding the resignation of President Rajapaksa.
The deepening economic crisis forced the president’s older brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to resign as prime minister last May.