Chaos in Sri Lanka after protesters seize prime minister’s office

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Protesters stormed the office of Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Wednesday and took to the streets of the capital to demand the ouster of the island nation’s top leaders as a deadline for the president’s promised resignation arrived.

Tense confrontations broke out in the early afternoon as security forces in riot gear fired multiple rounds of tear gas at protesters who climbed onto the walls and security towers of the prime minister’s compound. Each time the forces fired tear gas, the crowd chanted, “Victory to the struggle!”

The crowd broke through metal fences and then through the front gate. The security forces - police and military - stepped aside as the throngs erupted in joy.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early Wednesday, accompanied by his wife on an air force plane that took them to the Maldives, defense officials said. “We are duty-bound to safeguard the constitution, and the request for the plane was within the constitutional powers vested in the president,” said Group Capt. Dushan Wijesinghe, an air force spokesman.

Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the speaker of Parliament, said at a news briefing that Rajapaksa appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president in his absence. Wickremesinghe had previously offered to step down as premier, although he did not provide a timeline.

The speaker reiterated Rajapaksa’s intent to resign Wednesday, but his decision to pass the buck to the prime minister added to the chaos engulfing the country.

The crowd outside the prime minister’s office was made up largely of young university students, including many who had come to Colombo from other cities. “We want all 225 (lawmakers) to go,” said Lahiru Madusanka, 24, who was at a gate when he was hit by tear gas. “We have seen the same people all our lives.”

Many said they came after seeing images of the crackdown on protesters.

“We expect cooking gas, but we are getting tear gas,” said Luke John, a pastor at a local church who was there with a friend to show solidarity to the movement. “The government has pushed us to do this.”

“Go home, Gota,” shouted Neyomal Wijesundara, 49, who had come with his wife. A former travel company executive, he lost his job during the economic downturn. “We want to rid our country of corrupt politicians.”

Even as celebrations broke out after the takeover of the prime minister’s office, volunteers formed human chains to let people inside in an orderly fashion. Excited citizens stepped into the corridors of power, most for the first time.

Some collected trash while others distributed biscuit packets. When rows of army personnel began to filter out of the office, there were loud boos and jeers.

Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the country’s western province that includes Colombo. He said he had asked the armed forces to take action to restore order, which only raised fears that violence could escalate. Responding to the takeover of his office, he said: “We can’t allow people who want to override the constitution to occupy the offices and houses. We have to protect the private citizens, too.”

Rajapaksa, 73, had refused to step aside for months even in the face of mounting public fury against his family, which many people blame for the country’s economic ruin. But the dramatic takeover of his residence last Saturday by thousands of protesters forced his decision. Ignoring concerns of possible arrests, the protesters frolicked in the president’s swimming pool and cooked meals in his kitchen.

The storied Rajapaksa dynasty has dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades. But the recent years of the family’s rule were marred by allegations of corruption and disastrous economic policies. The country is beset by record inflation and shortages of medicines, and it is nearly out of fuel and money to pay for it.

With a frustrated public seeking a reckoning, it’s unclear what will happen next to the Rajapaksa family. Many citizens are demanding that Rajapaksa and his relatives be tried for corruption.

“He fled like a coward without apologizing to the country,” said Hirushi Lakshika, a 25-year-old protester.

On Tuesday, the president’s brother, former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, was blocked from fleeing the country on a flight to Dubai. The Hindu newspaper reported that the United States rejected a recent visa request by the president. The U.S. State Department declined to comment.

Sri Lanka is undergoing its worst economic crisis in decades, with millions of people struggling for survival. The economy has “completely collapsed,” and the country is “bankrupt,” Wickremesinghe told Parliament in recent days.

Although the coronavirus pandemic was a huge factor, with lockdowns cratering the tourism industry on which many workers depend, policies of the Rajapaksa government also proved highly damaging. Among them were heavy tax cuts and an overnight ban on chemical fertilizers that paralyzed agricultural production.

Demonstrations against the government began months ago, first pushing out the president’s older brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as prime minister and then forcing other family members from cabinet positions.

But as fuel shortages grew, schools and offices were closed. In a desperate attempt to stave off impending food shortages, the government asked workers to grow food at home. Rajapaksa unsuccessfully asked Russia for fuel credit, and Wickremesinghe tried to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package.

Aid agencies have warned that the country needs millions of dollars of food aid. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on oil and grain prices globally have greatly exacerbated Sri Lanka’s woes

At the stately colonial-era compound where Rajapaksa lived amid elegance and lush gardens, the past few days resembled a carnival. The protesters who took over there remained past the weekend.

Prasad Sinniah, 40, a marketing professional, was there Monday night with his children. “We wanted them all gone,” he said of the Rajapaksa family. “We lived comfortably until all this happened. Now, it’s a daily struggle.”

A former military officer, Rajapaksa lived in the United States for several years before returning to Sri Lanka in 2005. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was then the president, appointed him as a senior defense official to oversee the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a Tamil separatist outfit in the country’s north.

By 2009, Sri Lankan forces had crushed the group, brought a 26-year-old civil war to an end and emerged as heroes for the Sinhala Buddhist majority. Human rights groups have accused the two brothers of committing war crimes, especially in the last and bloodiest phase of the war. The pair denied wrongdoing and were never charged.

The government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa lost power in 2015. Four years later, the family made a comeback.

Following suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State that killed more than 250 people, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected president after an aggressive campaign that focused on national security and hard-line Sinhala nationalism. As president, he sought to increase his power by amending the constitution to grant himself he authority to appoint judges and allow dual nationals to serve in Parliament.

The latter paved the way for his brother Basil, a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the United States, to take over as finance minister.