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Sri Lanka experienced a historic weekend with the flight and resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, under pressure from the protests. After receiving the support of a large part of the population, the former president became the main enemy of the people, who accused him of having destroyed the country’s economy. RFI spoke with the protesters.
With RFI’s correspondent in New Delhi, Eat Bastin, Y Jelena Tomic.
With the resignation of Gatabaya Rajapaksa as president, three months of struggle culminate for many protesters. The protests were provoked by the scarcity and inflation that plague the country, but very soon they focused on one and the same slogan: “Gota Out!”
President Rajapaksa fled and announced his resignation on Saturday, July 9. The prime minister confirmed this on Monday.
However, until the resignation is legally made official on Wednesday, July 13, the protesters will not rest since they distrust their leaders.
The most likely scenario now is the resignation of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. He would leave power to the president of Parliament for a period of one month to form a government of national unity.
“Rajapaksa said that he would resign on July 13 and the prime minister assured that he will also resign to allow the formation of a national unity government. But that is not what we demand in the protests. We ask for an interim government. In fact, we believe that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not keep his word, because he is not a person who can be trusted and we think it is a tactic to gain time,” Melanie Gunathilake, a Sri Lankan who has been occupying Galle’s central square for a month and a half, told RFI. in front of the president’s residence.”If they do not keep their word, the people will go to Parliament to force them to fulfill their commitments,” he adds.
Majority in Parliament
This week will be decisive for the country. It will be necessary to reconcile the people with their political class and this is not an easy task. Several meetings between political parties were organized on Sunday.
The SLPP, Rajapaksa’s party, still has a majority in Parliament. The opposition therefore refuses to participate in a coalition as such. The protesters demand deeper institutional reform.
After repeated rumors, the army ended up issuing a statement, assuring that it will not launch any kind of attack against the protesters in Colombo.
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