Protesters toppled barricades near the home of the president, whose resignation they have been calling for weeks.
Article written by
Posted
Reading time : 1 min.
Water cannons, then tear gas. Sri Lankan police on Sunday May 29 dispersed thousands of students who were trying to storm the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Protesters toppled yellow metal barricades on a street leading to the presidential residence in Colombo. Nearby, thousands of women and men marched for the 51st day in a row. They demand the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reached out to protesters on Sunday evening during an address on national television. He announced the creation of 15 committees that will work with parliament to decide future national policies. “I propose to appoint four young representatives in each of the 15 committees”he added, specifying that they could be chosen from among the current protesters.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was named prime minister after his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s older brother, resigned on May 9 after weeks of protests. No other politician wanted the job. He is the only member of the United National Party (UNP), a once powerful formation, but which had almost disappeared in the August 2020 legislative elections. Sri Lanka, which has 22 million inhabitants, is plunged into the worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948.