Amid deepening political turmoil and economic crisis in the beleaguered country, Sri Lanka’s state-owned television channel Roopavihini on Wednesday suspended its broadcast as protesters stormed the building.
The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) said that its engineers have suspended their live and recorded telecasts as the corporation premises are surrounded by protesters.
Later, the channel resumed its broadcast.
Meanwhile, anti-government protesters demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe broke down the gates of the PM’s office.
Police fired tear gas at the protesters, who broke a barricade and stormed the prime minister’s office.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has already said he is ready to resign and make way for an all-party government.
Protesters stand on the wall of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office complex, amid the country’s economic crisis, during a protest in Colombo, Sri Lanka on July 13, 2022. (Reuters)
He has ordered the security forces to arrest the people who instigated the riots.
Protesters who stormed three main buildings in the capital, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President’s Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, on Saturday, demanding the resignation of President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, are still being held.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is in the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.