Thousands of Sri Lankan protesters broke through police barricades and entered President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence in Colombo today in one of the largest anti-government marches in the country. After this, the protesters set Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe private house on fire.
Protesters holding Sri Lankan flags and helmets broke into the president’s residence demanding his resignation. Sri Lanka is reeling under a severe foreign exchange shortage which has resulted in the worst financial crisis in almost seven decades although the protests in the crisis-hit country, since March, have largely remained peaceful.
Videos shared on social media today showed the angry protesters inside the president’s house shouting slogans and drinking.
A new hilarious video that has now come to the attention of social media users shows protesters wrestling on the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s bed with an added commentary of WWE playing in the backdrop. The intruders can be seen imitating wrestling moves while others surrounding the “arena” have a laugh about it.
Significantly, Sri Lanka is facing severe foreign exchange shortage. The country has limited essential imports of fuel, food and medicine. Due to which Sri Lanka is going through the worst financial situation in seven decades. Many people are blaming President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the country’s decline. Since the march, largely peaceful protests have led to demands for his resignation.
On the other hand, the President left his residence and fled. The protesters also vandalized the official residence of Rajapaksa. On the other hand, during the rally, there was a violent clash between the Sri Lankan police and the protesters. About 30 people were injured in this.
To bring the situation under control, an emergency meeting of party leaders was called, in which the leaders unanimously demanded the resignation of the President and the PM. At the same time, the PM announced a conditional resignation.