Protesters raid Sri Lanka PM’s office after president flees abroad

COLOMBO: The protesters in Sri Lanka defied tear gas, water cannon and a state of emergency to storm the prime minister’s office on Wednesday after the country’s embattled president fled overseas, with the crowd demanding both the men step down in the face of an economic crisis.

In a televised statement, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he had instructed the military and police to do “what is necessary to restore order.”But, the armed security personnel stood by in the grounds of his office as the protesters, some holding national flags, milled and took pictures.

Other demonstrators atone point broke into state television studios, as the country’s months-long political and economic crisis appeared to be moving towards a climax.President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 73, promised at the weekend to resign on Wednesday after escaping his own official residence in Colombo just before tens of thousands of protesters overran it.

He flew to the neighbouring Maldives early Wednesday as being president, he enjoys immunity from arrest, and he is believed to have wanted to go abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of being detained. But, midnight passed with no announcement he had stepped down.

In his absence, he named as acting president Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose own office was soon afterwards mobbed by thousands of demonstrators demanding both the officeholders should go. “Go home Ranil, Go home Gota,” they shouted.

Tear gas and water cannon fired by the police and the declaration of both a nationwide state of emergency and a curfew failed to disperse them and the crowd poured into the building.One protester was killed due to suffocation from tear gas, the police said.

Wickremesinghe, also 73, would automatically become acting president, if Rajapaksa steps down, but has himself announced his willingness to resign if consensus is reached on forming a unity government.

“We can’t tear up our Constitution,” he said in his statement. “We can’t allow fascists to take over. We must end this fascist threat to democracy,” he said, adding that the state had to re-establish control over the official buildings occupied by the protesters.

The protesters’ actions were a repeat of the capture of the president’s home and office on Saturday, when Wickremesinghe’s private home was also set ablaze.The presidential succession process could take between three days — the minimum time needed for the parliament to elect an MP to serve out Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in November 2024 — and a maximum of 30 days allowed under the statute.