Sri Lanka’s acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared yet another state of emergency, as lawmakers prepare to vote for a new head of state this week.
For the first time, the secretary general of Sri Lanka’s parliament, Dhammika Dasanayake, read aloud former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation letter in which he claimed that he “took all possible steps” to prevent the crisis and did his “utmost” for the country.
Singapore authorities have told Sri Lanka’s former President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, that they would not extend his leave beyond the 15 days they had initially granted.
The announcement follows Rajapaksa’s resignation on Thursday whilst in exile. The disgraced former President took flight over the weekend amidst mass protest in Colombo. Without diplomatic immunity, he may face prosecution for numerous crimes, including that of genocide.
Amidst Sri Lanka’s ongoing crisis, fractures emerge within Sri Lanka’s governing party as chairman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Prof. G.L Peiris, rebuke’s the general secretary’s claim that the SLPP would support Ranil Wickremesinghe’s bid for the Presidency.
In a letter to the general secretary, Sagara Kariyawasam, he asked:
Speaking to the Tamil Guardian in New York last week, Tamil civil society leader and human rights activist, Velan Swamigal reiterated his call to the international community and India to support a referendum in Tamil Eelam, so that Tamils on the island could determine their own political future.
As his first official visit as Sri Lanka’s Acting President, Ranil Wickremesinghe visited an army hospital in Narahenpita, Colombo where he met with two dozen soldiers injured during the protests in the city’s capital.
<p>Tamil participation in the Sri Lankan anti-government protests, known in Sinhalese as the 'Aragalaya', has been low as the movement has failed to take up their demands and is still dominated by Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism, Tamil Solidarity has said.</p>
<p>The UK-based left-wing group has put forward the following demands to the movement:</p>
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A formerly staunch Rajapaksa ally, Dullas Alahapperuma has declared his intention to run for president of Sri Lanka as Sinhala politicians have begun announcing their bids following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Whilst firecrackers were let off in Colombo to celebrate Rajapaksa’s resignation, he must not, however, be allowed to leave office without facing any consequences. The former defence secretary should be taken and tried at The Hague over his command responsibility for war crimes and genocide.
In a statement released to mark the resignation of Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party praised him for “ending terrorism” and blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the current economic crisis.
Lawyers for former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa informed the Sri Lankan Supreme Court that they will not flee the island until the Fundamental Rights petition filed against them has been heard.
As the credibly accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa submitted his letter of resignation as President, the announcement triggered jubilation in Colombo, as protestors gathered outside the presidential secretariat, defying a city-wide curfew to celebrate.
Crowds of protestors in the south set off firecrackers, shouted slogans and danced at the Gota Go Gama protest site, named in mockery of Rajapaksa's first name.
Amidst the chaos in Colombo, Sri Lankan war criminal and army commander Sarath Fonseka has claimed he is ready to become President if supported by the majority and may be supported by the formerly Rajapaksa-aligned Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
The Mullaitivu court has ordered the removal of all new constructions, including an illegally built Buddhist shrine, on Kurunthurmalai, a hill-top site of an ancient Tamil temple in the district’s Thannimurippu area.
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