‘We don’t know who runs the country’

First modification: 07/13/2022 – 11:15

An Antonov-32 military plane left early this Wednesday, July 13, bound for the Maldives. On board was Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was preparing his departure from the airport the day before. After his departure, Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency in the face of the political crisis.

The 73-year-old leader, who promised to resign to achieve a “peaceful transition of power” and left the country by plane, was held for more than an hour on the airport tarmac awaiting authorization to land in the Maldives.

The Sri Lankan president left behind a suitcase full of documents and almost 18 million rupees (50,000 euros) in cash, which have been confiscated.

“Because of his absence in the country, President Rajapaksa told me that he appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to serve as president according to the Constitution,” said the head of parliament.

Disappointment among protesters

The protesters have been demanding these weeks the resignation of the president, but also that of the prime minister. Tens of thousands of people gathered in front of his office in Colombo, where security forces fired tear gas to prevent them from invading the building, as happened with the presidential palace last Saturday. However, the mob managed to break into his office.

Some protesters also broke into the headquarters of the national television network, to ask that only events related to the protests be broadcast.

RFI’s special envoys in the country say that Sri Lankans are very divided after the escape of the president. Many are relieved as they see his departure as confirming his resignation. Others are angry, saying the Rajapaksa clan deserved to be tried for corruption and authoritarianism.

Furthermore, they know that the departure of the president is only the first step towards a complex formation of an interim government.

“It is a very uncertain situation. We don’t know who runs the country. The president was never there to respond to the demands of our protest movement and now he is running away. It is the first time that a president has left Sri Lanka like this. we are in the midst of an economic and social crisis,” a protester told RFI.

“We will call new elections,” the opposition told RFI

Meanwhile, the main opposition party, the SJB, is preparing to seize power and has started talks with the protesters. With a quarter of the seats in the Assembly, it is the second political force, after the Rajapaksa clan, which has always refused to collaborate with the president.

If the Prime Minister resigns in the next few days as expected, the SJB should form a new government. “Our goal is to form a government of national unity, bringing together the majority of the parties, to get the country out of the crisis,” Tissa Attanayake, a deputy for the SJB, explained to RFI. “Then, in a year, we will call new elections.” , he added.

The deputy assured that his party will hold the former leaders to account: “We have started working on legal actions against the Rajapaksa. We are going to ask for international help for this, and in the meantime we are doing everything possible so that they cannot leave the country.” , he detailed.