Sri Lanka Economic Crisis: Protest Escalate After President Rajapaksa Refuses To Resign, One Dead

The Sri Lanka economic crisis is escalating every minute with the decision of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa not to resign. After he fled to Male, Maldives, on Wednesday with his wife and two staffers, he appointed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe as the acting president. The decision of Rajapaksa has once again sparked a nationwide protest where the protesters have taken control of the PM's office and house, the Presidential palace, and the state broadcasters' office.

Reportedly, the president has sought a private jet to fly from the Maldives to Singapore. The Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena's office has also confirmed that they have not received any resignation letter from him, and they're still waiting for the same. Many citizens have expressed their disappointment with the denial behaviour of Rajapaksa as he's 'not worried about the country.'

Protesters Railed Against Government

The Lankan police force has said in a statement that protesters at Polduwa junction had seized 60 bullets, T-56 firearms and two magazines from an army officer. During the protest, the cops allegedly fired CS gas and attacked the protesters, which left one dead and several severely wounded. Following this, a nationwide curfew was imposed on Wednesday, which remained in effect till 5 am today. The curfew circular mentioned that no one should be on the public road, public park, railway, public recreation ground, or other public ground or the seashore during the scheduled national curfew.

US & UN Intervenes As Crisis Deepens

After the protesters intensified nationwide unrest in the island nation, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, "It is important that the root causes of the protestors' grievances and conflict are addressed. I urge all party leaders of Sri Lanka to embrace the spirit of compromise for a peaceful and democratic transition."

The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, said, "I urge for the peaceful transfer of power within the country's constitutional framework, and the US condemns all violence and calls for the rule of law to be upheld in the crisis-hit nation," reported India Today.

The protesters mentioned that they didn't want to see PM Wickremesinghe at the president's post as he was handpicked for the Prime Minister post by President Rajapaksha. Furthermore, the parliament is waiting for the resignation of Rajapaksa, and the Speaker of parliament informed that an election would be conducted on July 20 to elect the new president of Sri Lanka.

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