President Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a televised statement that he informed Rajapaksa that parliamentary leaders met and decided to ask him to step down and the president agreed. However, Rajapaksa will remain until Wednesday to ensure a smooth transition of power, Abeywardena added. “He asked me to inform the country that he will submit his resignation on Wednesday the 13th because there is a need to hand over power peacefully,” Abeywardena said. Protesters storm the official residence of Sri Lanka’s president, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Protesters stormed the private residence of Sri Lanka’s prime minister and set it on fire, hours after he said he would resign when a new government is formed due to worsening economic crisis. It was the longest day of protests that also saw crowds storm the president’s home and office. Eranga Jayawardena / AP “Therefore there is no need for further unrest in the country and I urge everyone for the sake of the country to maintain peace to enable a smooth transition,” the speaker continued. Opposition lawmaker Rauf Hakim said a consensus had been reached for the speaker of parliament to take over as interim president and work for an interim government. The announcement of the president’s resignation came hours after protesters stormed his fortified residence in Colombo. Video images showed jubilant crowds taking a dip in the garden pool. Some people lay on beds at home, while others made tea and issued statements from a conference room demanding the resignation of both Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. It was unclear whether Rajapaksa was there at the time, and government spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said he had no information about the president’s movements. Protesters also stormed the prime minister’s private residence and set it on fire, Wickremesinghe’s office said. It was not immediately clear if he was there when the break-in took place. Hours earlier Wickremesinghe had announced his own impending resignation, amid calls for him to step down. But he said he would not step down until a new government was formed, angering protesters who called for his immediate departure. A man raises a tear gas canister to throw after police fired it to disperse protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Sri Lanka’s prime minister agreed to resign on Saturday after party leaders in parliament asked the so did the embattled president resign on the day protesters stormed the president’s residence and office furious over the worsening economic crisis. Amitha Thennakoon / AP “Today in this country we have a fuel crisis, a food shortage, we have the head of the World Food Program coming here and we have many issues to discuss with the IMF,” Wickremesinghe said.. “Therefore, if this government leaves there. it must be another government”. Wickremesinghe said he suggested the president have an all-party government, but said nothing about Rajapaksa’s whereabouts. The opposition parties in Parliament were discussing the formation of a new government. Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May in the hope that the career politician would use his diplomacy and contacts to revive a battered economy. But people’s patience ran out as shortages of fuel, medicine and cooking gas increased and oil reserves ran low. The country is relying on aid from India and other nations as leaders try to negotiate a bailout with the International Monetary Fund. Months of protests have uprooted the Rajapaksa political dynasty, which has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades but is accused by protesters of dragging the country into chaos through mismanagement and alleged corruption. The president’s older brother resigned as prime minister in May after violent protests prompted him to seek safety at a naval base. Thousands of protesters entered the capital from the suburbs on Saturday after the lifting of an overnight curfew they denounced as illegal on lawyers and opposition politicians. As fuel supplies became scarce, many crowded into buses and trains, while others made their way on bicycles and on foot. At the president’s waterfront office, security personnel tried in vain to stop protesters who pushed through fences to cross the lawn and into the colonial-era building. A man throws back tear gas after being fired by police to disperse protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Sri Lankan protesters demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa forcibly stormed his official residence on Saturday. Amitha Thennakoon / AP At least 34 people, including two police officers, were injured in clashes. Two of the injured were in critical condition, while others suffered minor injuries, according to an official at the Colombo National Hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Private Sirasa TV reported that at least six of its workers, including four reporters, were hospitalized after being beaten by police while covering the demonstration at the prime minister’s house. The Sri Lanka Medical Council, the country’s top professional body, has warned that hospitals are running on minimal resources and will not be able to handle mass casualties from the riots. Protesters and religious leaders said Rajapaksa had lost his mandate and it was time for him to go. “His claim that he was voted by the Sinhala Buddhists does not hold true now,” Ven said. Omalpe Sobitha, a prominent Buddhist leader. He urged Parliament to convene immediately to choose an interim president. Wickremesinghe said last month that the country’s economy had collapsed and that negotiations with the IMF were complicated because Sri Lanka was now a bankrupt state. Sri Lanka announced in April that it had suspended repayment of foreign loans due to a shortage of foreign currency. Its total external debt is $51 billion, of which it must repay $28 billion by the end of 2027. US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung on Friday called on people to protest peacefully and called on the military and police to “give peaceful protesters the space and safety to do so”. “Chaos and force will not fix the economy or bring the political stability that Sri Lankans need right now,” Chung tweeted.
