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Administrator- Joined
- May 11, 2013
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(The Guardian) Sri Lanka was engulfed in turmoil on Saturday as the prime minister’s house was set on fire and thousands of protesters stormed the house of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and took over his offices as he continued to defy demands to resign.
In extraordinary scenes, protesters demanding Rajapaksa step down – as the country continues to struggle through its worst economic crisis since independence – charged into the president’s official residence on Saturday morning.
Images and witness accounts showed protesters flooding up the grand staircase of the colonial-era building, with chants calling for the president to go. The property was ransacked, with protesters seen rifling through the president’s possessions, helping themselves to food in the kitchen, lying down on beds, lifting weights in his private gym and jumping into the outdoor pool. The president was not at home, having fled the night before under military protection. His location was unknown on Saturday amid rumours he was fleeing the country.
Rajith, 50, said he had come to take part in the protests as he had two young children and “there’s no food to eat”. He spoke of his shock at entering the president’s home and seeing that, while Sri Lankans were suffering, “they didn’t lack anything. We saw their luxury rooms, their AC, their cooking gas. They even have so many pedigree pets.”
Dhanu was also among those who stormed into the president’s residence, having cycled for more than six hours from the city of Galle to attend the protest. “I came because there’s something terribly wrong happening here,” she said. “I saw at the president’s house how he enjoyed his life using taxpayers’ money and now he is hiding like a coward dog. The president has fled because he’s a thief.”
Much of the anger and blame for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has been directed at the president and the Rajapaksa family, who are Sri Lanka’s most powerful political dynasty, and since late 2019 have held the positions of president, prime minister, finance ministers and several other senior cabinet posts.
www.theguardian.com
In extraordinary scenes, protesters demanding Rajapaksa step down – as the country continues to struggle through its worst economic crisis since independence – charged into the president’s official residence on Saturday morning.
Images and witness accounts showed protesters flooding up the grand staircase of the colonial-era building, with chants calling for the president to go. The property was ransacked, with protesters seen rifling through the president’s possessions, helping themselves to food in the kitchen, lying down on beds, lifting weights in his private gym and jumping into the outdoor pool. The president was not at home, having fled the night before under military protection. His location was unknown on Saturday amid rumours he was fleeing the country.
Rajith, 50, said he had come to take part in the protests as he had two young children and “there’s no food to eat”. He spoke of his shock at entering the president’s home and seeing that, while Sri Lankans were suffering, “they didn’t lack anything. We saw their luxury rooms, their AC, their cooking gas. They even have so many pedigree pets.”
Dhanu was also among those who stormed into the president’s residence, having cycled for more than six hours from the city of Galle to attend the protest. “I came because there’s something terribly wrong happening here,” she said. “I saw at the president’s house how he enjoyed his life using taxpayers’ money and now he is hiding like a coward dog. The president has fled because he’s a thief.”
Much of the anger and blame for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has been directed at the president and the Rajapaksa family, who are Sri Lanka’s most powerful political dynasty, and since late 2019 have held the positions of president, prime minister, finance ministers and several other senior cabinet posts.
Sri Lanka: protesters set prime minister’s house on fire in Colombo
Capital in turmoil after demonstrators also broke into residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is refusing to resign
www.theguardian.com
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