As Sri Lankans awoke to news on Wednesday morning that their embattled president had jetted off to the Maldives on the day he had promised to finally step down after months of protests, the mood in the country was one of part relief and part anger. “What an absolute coward,” said Sinéth Hiddle, 27. “Gotabaya filled his pockets with our money, bankrupted our county and then ran away. He must be held accountable.” According to Rajapaksa’s assurances, Wednesday would be the day he would step down, after months of protests calling for him to do so. However, as morning turned into night, there was still no word on the absentee president’s promised resignation, putting the country in an unprecedented state of political limbo. Late in the evening, Rajapaksa was reported to be on his way to Singapore. On the streets of Colombo, where people gathered by the thousands to pressure both the president and the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, to step down to make way for a new government, frustration grew as the day wore on. A protester helps another after police fired tear gas to disperse them. Photo: Eranga Jayawardena/AP “We will be here all night: for days, even years if necessary, to make sure that President Rajapaksa resigns,” said Nilaksika Chamanthi, 32, who sat on the grass outside the presidential compound. As a flight attendant for Sri Lankan Airlines he said he had seen over the years the privileges available to the Rajapaksa family. first Mahinda who was president between 2005 and 2015 and then Gotabaya who was elected in 2019. “They had two fleets of planes at their disposal whenever they wanted, all the luxuries and VIP comfort one could dream of,” Hamanthi said. “They have always wasted the money of this country on themselves, without caring for others. I voted for him but now I see that he is nothing more than a thief who brought this country to its darkest depths.” As president since November 2019, Rajapaksa, along with his powerful family, have been accused of mismanaging the economy, imposing ultra-nationalist policies that have divided the country along ethnic lines, and indulging in widespread corruption that effectively bankrupted the once-prosperous island in the process. There is hardly a citizen who does not suffer. Desperate tuk-tuk drivers talk of five-day queues for petrol and NGOs have issued warnings that the country could soon face a famine situation, so worrying are the problems of food shortages and inflation. On the night Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives, where he was being kept in luxury at a five-star island resort, the price of bread rose another 20 rupees, putting it out of reach for even more Sri Lankans. It was fuel and food shortages that first drove Sri Lankans to the streets in April. But he gradually became part of an unprecedentedly diverse grassroots movement, now known as Aragalaya, demanding systemic political and social change for a country that has for so long been divided along ethnic lines. On Wednesday, anger began to rise after it was announced that caretaker Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, who has been in office for just two months, had been considered by Rajapaksa to be the “acting president” before he left. Protesters wait to enter Ranil Wickremasinghe’s office. Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters Some noted the irony that after months of public calls for the abolition of the executive presidency, instead on Wednesday the country now appeared to have two presidents, both without legitimacy and support. Wickremesinghe, who has been a stalwart of Sri Lankan politics for more than four decades and served as prime minister five times in the past, is accused of being a protector and apologist for the Rajapaksa family. By afternoon, crowds in Colombo began flocking to the prime minister’s office to make it clear that a Wickremesinghe presidency, however temporary, was not acceptable to the Sri Lankan people. They faced a thick wall of military and police, who began firing water cannons and tear gas into the crowds with abandon, while one protester died of respiratory problems. They have always wasted this country’s money on themselves But dousing their faces with water, the protesters persisted and within hours, they had climbed over the gates, poured into the hallowed corridors and claimed the prime minister’s offices as their own, just as they had done with the president’s residential palace and offices on Saturday, a move that forced Rajapaksa to resign. “Ranil is a fraud, that’s why we came here and took over his office,” said Shaskia Sylvester, 33, as she stood triumphantly on the porch. “There were a lot of tear gas, water cannons, a lot of police and military, but we overcame them all. We stand here to send a message that we will not stop fighting for our rights and our freedom from corrupt leaders.” By late Wednesday night, Wickremesinghe had said he would hand over power to a prime minister candidate nominated by opposition parties, but not before describing the protesters as “fascists” and “extremists.” Large crowds also gathered outside Sri Lanka’s parliament, where protesters were also teargassed by police. But inside the presidential palace, where Rajapaksa lived until he fled to a military base on Saturday morning, the mood was calm. Sri Lanka: thousands of protesters storm the official residence of the president – video report Footage of protesters occupying the palace on Saturday, jumping into its swimming pool and exercising on its bikes, is some of the most defining images of Sri Lanka’s protracted protest movement, and people have continued to line up. some travel hundreds of miles to catch a glimpse of the interior. Among them were four nuns from a convent in Colombo, who were among many members of the Sri Lankan clergy proactive in the anti-government protests. “This is a huge moment in Sri Lankan history and it is important that we have the opportunity to visit this historic place when we get the chance,” said Sister Kathleen. “This was not only the home of Gotabaya, but of so many leaders. But when we see the luxurious life they lived, of course we feel sad when we compare it to the fact that people in this country are now starving and dying in gas lines. I feel very proud that this has been reclaimed by the world.” Protest outside Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office in Colombo. Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Namal Gunawardhana, 22, was among the group who had appointed themselves guardians of the property, limiting the number of people entering at any one time and sleeping on the floor to make sure nothing was stolen. “If the president resigns, we will immediately evacuate the palace and give it back: this belongs to the government, we know that,” he said. “But until that happens, we’re going to stay here.” As night approached, the steps of the presidential compound, formerly Rajapaksa’s office, became a makeshift concert stage and platform for speeches that showed no sign of abating. “We are for peaceful protest: that is our right,” roared one protester into the microphone. “We stand for love: love for this country, not like Ranil Wickremesinghe’s love for power and the presidency. We will continue this fight, to finally build a country that we can collectively be proud of.”
