SRI LANKA: In the midst of the economic unrest, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa escaped after demonstrators besieged his home.
Reports indicate that his opponent wants him to step down as President.
High-security personnel erected barricades, and the protesters were restrained from entering the presidential palace using water cannons and tear gas. The incumbent President has two more years to serve the country. Sri Lanka is witnessing a sudden crash in the economy, hence wanting to have a new President.
In a statement, Rajapaksa said, “I can’t go as a failed president”(He can’t resign as a failed President). He makes one thing clear by his statement that he has been given a mandate for five years, so he won’t contest again.
Defiances come up with slogans like “Gota Go Home,” with protesters blaming Rajapaksa and his family for decisions that led to a crisis of everything from petrol to pharmacy, inflation stricken to 40% emerging to a historic pretentiousness.
The economy is yet sustained because of PM Wickremesinghe; his contribution worked as oxygen to the economy. This economic crisis turned into a political war with the resignation of the President’s elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa.
President in power and his new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are said to have taken a loan of about $4 billion this year from the International Monetary Fund, including India and China.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa overlooked the urban development authority and previously served as Sri Lanka’s defence secretary under the supervision of last President Mahinda Rajapaksa, soon indulging in a 30-year civil war in 2009. Requests have been asked from neighbouring countries like China and India, but this current economic challenge is yet to be fixed.
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