President Rajapaksa flees Sri Lanka

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday fled to the Maldives from where he appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the acting President, escalating political crisis and triggering a fresh wave of protests in the country reeling under the worst financial crisis in decades. Rajapaksa, the 73-year-old leader who had promised to resign on Wednesday, appointed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe as the acting President, citing Article 37(1) of the Constitution that allows a premier to "discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office of president" when the president is ill or "absent" from the country.

Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced that President Rajapaksa has appointed Wickremesinghe to act to perform his functions while he is abroad. Abeywardena also said that President Rajapaksa has informed him over telephone that he will resign today as promised. He said the vote for the new president will take place on July 20.

Wickremesinghe, who is now acting President, has declared a state of emergency in the country and a curfew in the Western province has been imposed as protesters gathered near his office at Flower Road in Colombo.

"I am now imposing a State of Emergency and a Curfew," he said in a special televised statement adding that threats by fascists must be countered.

Wickremesinghe said he has instructed the security forces to enforce the emergency and curfew to bring the situation to normalcy, adding that a committee comprising the heads of armed forces have been given the responsibility in doing so with zero political intervention. He also pledged that he would step down as Prime Minister when an all-party government is formed.

However, the development enraged anti-government protesters, who wanted both the President and Prime Minister to quit over mishandling the economy. Thousands of protesters waving Lankan flags defied the emergency and surrounded the building of the PM Office. The police fired tear gas on protesters who broke through a barricade and stormed the prime minister's office, calling for his resignation.

Wickremesinghe said he was alarmed by the inputs received by the intelligence services. "Despite the President leaving, and measures taken to elect a new President, some groups in the struggle have organised to take over the Prime Minister's Office and surround the Air Force Commander's residence for providing an Air Force plane for the President to fly to the Maldives.

They had also decided to surround the Navy Commander's residence and Army Commander's residence. These groups tried to obtain control of the country," he added. He ordered the security forces to arrest people acting in a riotous manner.