For months, Sri Lanka has suffered severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine. The population has been demonstrating for several weeks accusing the ruling Rajapaksa brothers of having precipitated the country into this crisis.
A ruling party MP in Sri Lanka committed suicide on Monday May 9 after shooting at anti-government protesters in the provinces, police said.
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Police said MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala opened fire on two people who were blocking his car and seriously injured them in Nittambuwa, about 50 kilometers from the capital. One of the two victims succumbed to his injuries, police added. “The deputy fled the scene and took refuge in a nearby building“, a police official told AFP by telephone, “thousands of people surrounded the building and he then ended his life with his revolver“.
Earlier on Monday, supporters of the Rajapaksa government had destroyed encampments and placards of anti-government protesters erected outside the office of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo since April 9. These clashes left at least 138 injured who were hospitalized, said a spokesman for the hospital.
Resignation of Prime Minister
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned shortly after the violent attacks on Monday. The 76-year-old leader addressed his resignation letter to his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, paving the way for a “new unity governmentsaid his spokesperson Rohan Weliwita. A little earlier Monday, at Temple Tree, in his residence very close to the presidential office, Mahinda Rajapaksa had promised to “protect the interests of the nationto some 3,000 of his supporters, bussed in from rural areas. On leaving, they had attacked the tents of demonstrators calling for the departure of the Prime Minister, setting fire to their banners and placards. An immediate and indefinite curfew was decreed by the authorities before being extended to the rest of the island.
Police fired tear gas and water cannons after government supporters broke through police ranks to destroy encampments of thousands of anti-government protesters demanding Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s departure. “We condemn the violence perpetrated against peaceful protesters today and call on the government to conduct a thorough investigation, including the arrest and prosecution of anyone who incited violence“, declared on Twitter, Julie Chung, the ambassador of the United States calling for calm and restraint on the island. At least 78 injured people have been hospitalized, hospital spokesman Pushpa Soysa told AFP.
Call to the “detention»
“We strongly condemn the violent acts perpetrated by those who incite and participate, regardless of their political allegiances“, President Rajapaksa said on Twitter, “violence will not solve the current problems“. According to the authorities, the riot squad of the army was, for the first time, called in to reinforce the police. Troops have been deployed regularly in recent weeks, but to protect deliveries of fuel among other essentials. Earlier Monday, the Prime Minister had urged “people to exercise restraint and remember that violence only begets violence“.
For months, the island of 22 million people has suffered severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine. This unprecedented crisis, blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic which deprived the country of foreign currency for the tourism sector, has been aggravated by a series of bad political decisions, according to economists. The population has been demonstrating for several weeks accusing the ruling Rajapaksa brothers of having precipitated the country into this crisis, and is demanding their resignation. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa tried to get to the area of the clashes but was attacked by mobs and he was pushed into a car by his security staff and drove off.
Read alsoSri Lanka on the brink
On Friday, President Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks, granting sweeping powers to security forces, including authorizing them to arrest suspects and detain them for long periods without judicial supervision. It also authorizes the deployment of soldiers to maintain order, in support of the police. The police force, numbering 85,000 men, reinforced security around all the deputies of the ruling party. Labor leader Ravi Kumudesh warned in a statement over the weekend that he would mobilize public and private sector workers to storm the national parliament when it opens its next session on May 17. “What we want is for the president and his family to go“, he added.
SEE ALSO – “This is the worst crisis since independence»: Clashes in Sri Lanka after power cuts and food shortages