New Delhi: Ranil Wickremesinghe has told the requested the Sri Lankan speaker to nominate a person agreeable to both the government and the opposition as the prime minister of the country under an all-party government, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.The development came as protestors on Wednesday evening breached the first line of barricades at the country’s parliament and anger brews against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country. Earlier in the day, the protesters had stormed the Wickremesinghe’s office, demanding that he quit. One person died in the protests outside the prime minister’s office.Rajapaksa said he would resign on July 13, but there was no confirmation as the day came to an end. Some reports suggest that he would resign after reaching Singapore, where is believed to be heading from Maldives.A nationwide curfew has been imposed until Thursday morning, as religious leaders called for people to remain calm.Wickremesinghe, who is now also the acting president, said in a special video statement on Wednesday afternoon that a committee comprising chiefs of the armed forces has been appointed to restore law and order, and that it will be empowered to declare Emergency and curfews if needed.Wickremesinghe claimed that “fascist” elements were taking over the country.Opposition party leaders have decided to call for Wickremesinghe’s resignation, Tamil National Alliance MP M. A. Sumanthiran has announced.The attempt by Wickremesinghe to cling on has infuriated protesters who say he is a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, which has dominated the country since Rajapaksa’s older brother Mahinda became president in 2005.Leader of the opposition, Sajith Premadasa, had tweeted that Wickremesinghe taking the title of ‘acting president’ is a ‘farce’.A MP with one seat is appointed as PM. Now the same person is appointed as acting President. This is the Rajapaksa style of democracy. What a farce. What a tragedy.— Sajith Premadasa (@sajithpremadasa) July 13, 2022Barely hours after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, hundreds of people demanded the resignation of the prime minister as well and fighting street battles with riot police.“Ranil go home!” they chanted as they stormed the office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.Protesters have taken over the Prime Ministers Office at Flower Road. #DailyMirror #SriLanka #SLnews pic.twitter.com/uyxXIZ9H7V— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) July 13, 2022Police fired repeated rounds of tear gas and Wickremesinghe, who was acting as the president in Gotabaya’s absence, declared a nationwide emergency and clamped a curfew in the city and surrounding areas.The protesters see him as an ally of the Rajapaksa clan and want him out. Gotabaya has reportedly told the speaker that he will be resigning today.“We want Ranil to step down,” said S. Shashidharan, a 30-year-old who said he was tear gassed outside the prime minister’s office. “Arrest all those who helped Gota (the president) to escape. We want our stolen money back.”In contrast to the street battles at the prime minister’s office, hundreds of people queued peacefully to tour Gotabaya’s official residence, just a few kilometres away.K.K. Subasinghe was one of those in the line waiting to go into the home of the once-feared former soldier, who boarded a Sri Lankan air force aircraft and fled to the Maldives early on Wednesday morning, accompanied by his wife and two bodyguards.After massive protests against his rule on July 9, Rajapaksa told the speaker of parliament that he would step down.Subasinghe said he too served in the Sri Lankan army, fighting in the country’s bloody civil war against Tamil Tiger guerrillas. The war ended in 2009, under the direction of Rajapaksa, then the defence secretary.But Subasinghe said he had little admiration for Rajapaksa, and had brought his family and brother along to show them the opulence of the presidential residence.“I wanted to give them a glimpse of their (the Rajapaksas’) luxurious lifestyle,” Subasinghe said, dressed in a collared t-shirt and khaki pants, holding a green plastic bag.“While we were suffering, they asked us to grow our own food and ride on cycles.”Subasinghe said he expected massive celebrations when Rajapaksa finally resigned, although there was still some trepidation among others in the queue that he would actually quit.“We’ll celebrate this momentous day,” he said. “I think that the protest will become stronger than July 9 if he doesn’t resign.”The crowds circled the gardens surrounding the two-storey colonial-era building, where some napped in the grass and others took selfies on their mobile phones.Volunteers guided groups past the president’s swimming pool, where protesters had partied last week. A lone young man was in the murky grey waters as they passed by.Inside the main building, Subasinghe and his family could only access a small portion of the ground floor. The rest, including the bedroom and large halls, had been roped off by protest organisers.Next to an adjoining building, a BMW 7 series luxury sedan stood parked, its fuel cap pried open.“I never expected this sort of luxury,” said Subasinghe’s elder brother, M.D. Chandradasa, as they finished their tour of the residence.“It’s okay if you’re the head of state but what about us poor people?”Also read: ‘Rajapaksas Lacked Vision, Worked for Themselves’: Erik Solheim, Peace Mediator in Sri Lanka WarThe country’s national television channel, Rupavahini, went off the air after a group of protestors forcibly entered the premises, The Morning LK reported. It then went back up a few minutes later, after security personnel intervened.Two Aragalaya Representatives were interviewed on Rupavahini before the channel went off air. #DailyMirror #SriLanka #SLnews pic.twitter.com/xD3lJMh4pZ— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) July 13, 2022(With Reuters inputs)Note: This article is being updated as new developments take place.
