Hundreds of soldiers are going into action on the night of Friday, local time, against the main protest camp in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.
Updated less than 20 minutes ago
–
The action comes barely a day after Sri Lanka’s National Assembly elected Ranil Wickremeshinge as the new president. The demonstrators had announced in advance that they would not accept this election.
–Earlier in July escaped then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the country as a result of many thousands of protesters surrounding his home. A few hours later, the protesters allegedly set fire to the home of the then prime minister, who has now been elected president.
It is said to have been the first time in Sri Lanka’s history that a president has resigned, according to Al Jazeera.
The demonstrators are said to have set up tents because they have been protesting outside the president’s office and in the streets of Colombo for over 100 days.
According to an AFP reporter, the soldiers allegedly began tearing down the tents and beating the unarmed protesters. This is reported by NTB.
The demonstrators have held several peaceful demonstrations.
–Sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president
On Thursday morning, President Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country’s new head of state.
In recent months, Sri Lanka has been characterized by much unrest following the worst economic crisis in 70 years. One of the first things he did after taking the oath was to warn the protesters who gathered in Colombo, according to Tamil Guardian.
– If you try to overthrow the authorities, occupy the office of the President or the Prime Minister, you will be dealt with according to the law.
– We will not let a minority of protesters oppress a silent majority who want a change in the political system.
–The National Assembly, which consists of 225 elected politicians, has elected Wickremeshinge as president, although it is usually citizens of Sri Lanka who vote. It becomes the National Assembly’s responsibility when a president resigns in the middle of a term. That is what NTB writes.
Wasantha Mudalige, leader of a student union, addressed the masses on Wednesday:
– Ranil is not our president. The people’s mandate is in the streets.
Mudalige refers to the protesters who have taken to the streets of Colombo.
–The protests are largely led by young citizens who claim that the Rajapaksa family is largely to blame for the crisis facing the country. The New York Times writes that the last two decades have been The Rajapaksa family which has governed the politics of the country.
– Ranil was elected as president to defend the Rajapaksa family, says a protester today Al Jazeera.
Sri Lanka has been characterized by severe inflation and lack of essential goods such as food, medicines and fuel.
–Wickremesinghe, who has now been elected as president, will declare a state of emergency earlier this week in an attempt to stop the public unrest that has characterized the country for several weeks.
– It is an attempt to intimidate the protesters, one of the leaders of the protests, Rev Father Jeewantha Peiris, told Al Jazeera.
Some protesters are said to have referred to Wickremesinghe as a more cunning person than the former president Rajapaksa, and used the crisis conditions as an example.
–
