Colombo: A longtime ally of the Rajapaksa political family was appointed as Sri Lanka’s new prime minister on Friday after security forces stormed the main protest site occupied for months by protesters angry with Rajapaksa over the country’s economic collapse. had cleared.
New President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by lawmakers and sworn in earlier this week, appointed his schoolmate Dinesh Gunavardhan to succeed himself. Gunawardene is 73 years old and belongs to a prominent political family.
Sri Lankans have taken to the streets for months demanding their leaders to resign over an economic crisis that has left 22 million people in the island nation lacking essentials like medicine, food and fuel.
The protests ousted former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week. Several Rajapaksa siblings had resigned from ministry positions earlier in the crisis.
The ceremony came hours after security forces evacuated a protest camp near Rashtrapati Bhavan and made several arrests. At least two journalists and two lawyers were beaten up by the security forces.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka, the country’s premier body of lawyers, called for the armed forces to stop “unfair and disproportionate actions” against civilians.
Sri Lankan security forces arrested several people early Friday and the main camp was occupied by demonstrators for more than three months, demanding the resignation of the country’s leaders over the unprecedented economic fallout.
Army and police personnel arrived in trucks and buses around midnight, removed tents and protest banners at the site near the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the capital Colombo, where protesters have gathered for the past 104 days. They blocked the roads leading to the site and took long poles.
Security forces were seen beating up at least two journalists. The country’s leading body of lawyers, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, also said that at least two lawyers were assaulted when they went to the protest site to offer their counsel. Its statement on Friday called for the armed forces to stop “unfair and disproportionate actions” against civilians.
The move against the protesters came after the swearing-in on Thursday of new President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by lawmakers earlier this week to end the leader’s term, after protesters stormed his residence. had fled the country.
Now they have the power to choose the prime minister to make themselves successful.
Months of protests focused on the political lineage of ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family, but Wickremesinghe has also vented his anger as an alleged Rajapakse surrogate and an example of the country’s problematic political establishment.
Sri Lanka’s economic chaos has left the country’s 22 million people grappling with shortages of essentials, including medicine, fuel and food.
On Monday, in his role as acting president, Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency that gave him broad powers to act in the interest of public safety and order. Authorities have broad powers to search premises and detain people, and Wickremesinghe can change or suspend any law.
On Friday, he issued a notice calling upon the armed forces to maintain law and order under a state of emergency. The emergency should be reviewed regularly by Parliament to decide whether to extend it or allow it to lapse.
Wickremesinghe, 73, has vast experience in diplomatic and international affairs and is overseeing bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund. He said that on Monday those discussions were close to over and talks on help from other countries had also progressed. He also said that the government has taken steps to address the shortage of fuel and cooking gas.