Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday said he was willing to resign and make way for an all-party government to take over, shortly after protesters reportedly breached his official residence in Colombo during demonstrations over the country’s worsening economic crisis.
“To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government,” Wickremesinghe wrote on Twitter.
“To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister.”
Protesters then also breached Wickremesinghe’s official residence in Colombo, known as Temple Trees, according to local media reports, while video of protesters entering the gates to Wickremesinghe’s residence circulated on social media on Saturday.
Crowds demonstrating over the country’s dire economic crisis have set fire to the Prime Minister’s private home and stormed President’s House, swimming in the pool
Demonstrators also broke into Wickremesinghe’s private residence, on Fifth Lane, and set it on fire, according to his office. Live video streamed by local media and seen by CNN showed the residence engulfed in flames as crowds gathered at the scene.
It is unclear how many security personnel are at the Sri Lankan leader’s official residence, where more than 100,000 amassed outside, police said.
Demonstrators also broke into Wickremesinghe’s private residence, on Fifth Lane, and set it on fire, according to his office. Live video streamed by local media and seen by CNN showed the residence engulfed in flames as crowds gathered at the scene.
Jeff,
An opening paragraph from May explains how the initial spark for the flames now burning in Sri Lanka can be traced to food and fuel shortages:
Unprecedented shortages of food and fuel along with record inflation and blackouts have inflicted widespread misery in Sri Lanka’s most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.
It would be a mistake for governments in the USA, Germany, and other developed nations to ignore the deep resentment, anger, and volatility caused by the following “little things,” which can pile up in the minds of the public and ignite a conflagration in any country:
As parents struggle to find baby formula, desperation and anger mount: ‘What am I going to do?’
A big part of the food problem in Sri Lanka is the decision last year to force the country’s farmers to go “organic”. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides were banned. The result was as predictable as it is tragic. Yields on crops such as rice plummeted, and now there isn’t enough to eat.
From the link… Last spring, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa put a ban on agrochemicals. His goal was an ambitious one: to transform Sri Lanka into the first nation with 100-percent organic agriculture. Less than a year later, the country is left in an economic and supply shortage crisis as a result.
later in the article… Now, Sri Lanka will pay farmers across the country 40,000 million rupees ($200 million) to compensate for their barren harvests and crop failures. In addition to the funding, the Sri Lankan government will pay $149 million in price subsidies to rice farmers impacted by the loss.
Finally… The ripple effect of the ban impacted the entire country. According to Foreign Policy, after the ban and the pandemic, nearly half a million Sri Lankans have sunken below the poverty line.
“I cannot recall any time in the past when we had to struggle so much to get a decent harvest,” said Seneviratne, a lean 65-year-old with a shock of silver hair, who has been farming since he was a child.
“Last year, we got 60 bags from these two acres. But this time it was just 10,” he added.
The dramatic fall in yields follows a decision last April by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to ban all chemical fertilisers in Sri Lanka…