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Sri Lankan President Flees, Protesters Storm PM’s Office

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled for the Maldives Wednesday to escape a major anti-government uprising in his country.

The president placed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in control of the country before leaving, angering protesters further.

Police deployed¹ outside the prime minister's offices used tear gas against a large crowd of activists². But the protesters climbed over barriers and entered the area. Some entered the office. Others waved the national flag from the top of the building.

"We need both ... to go home," Supun Eranga, a 28-year-old government worker told Reuters. "Ranil couldn't deliver what he promised during his two months, so he should quit. All Ranil did was try to protect the Rajapaksas."

Standing³ next to a broken door to the office, college student Sanchuka Kavinda added, "No matter what, everyone in this crowd will be here until Ranil also steps down."

Wickremesinghe, as acting⁴ president, appeared on television to declare a state of emergency and an immediate⁵ curfew. He said a committee of police and military chiefs will return order and security to the country.

He also said he would not leave office until a new government was in place. It was not clear when that would happen as the opposition⁶ is still trying to form a government.

New leader to come

Parliament speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena says he spoke⁷ to Rajapaksa on the phone. He reported the president said his official resignation letter would arrive later Wednesday.

The Parliament is expected to meet on Friday to name a new president sometime next week. A top ruling party official told Reuters that Wickremesinghe was the party's first choice, although no decision had been made.

An attempt by Wickremesinghe to stay in power would anger the protesters. They say he is a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, which has controlled the country since 2004.

"An MP [member of parliament] with one seat is appointed as PM [prime minister]. Now the same person is appointed as acting President," opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said on Twitter. The tweet called the political process a "Rajapaksa style of democracy."

"What a tragedy," Premadasa wrote.

Family rule

Sri Lanka has been run by the powerful Rajapaksa family for almost 20 years. D.A. Rajapaksa was a lawmaker in the 1950s and ‘60s. His son, Mahinda Rajapaksa, served as prime minister and president from 2004 to 2015.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a younger brother, became president in 2019. He brought Mahinda back as prime minister and appointed other family members to important government positions.

After several weeks of anti-government protests that turned violent, Mahinda resigned in May and was replaced by Wickremesinghe. Government officials said the president's brothers, Mahinda and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, remain in Sri Lanka.

Wickremesinghe, whose private home in Colombo was burned on Saturday, had offered to resign as prime minister. But he did not repeat that offer after he became acting president on Wednesday. If he does go, the speaker would be acting president until a new president is elected. The voting is to take place on July 20.

Economic crisis

Economists⁸ say the crisis in Sri Lanka comes from years of poor leadership and corruption⁹. They also say it comes from other troubles, such as growing debt, the effects of the pandemic and terror attacks that hurt the tourism industry.

The World Food Program said that nearly nine out of 10 families in Sri Lanka are decreasing their food consumption. The government has been seeking help from the International Monetary¹⁰ Fund and neighboring India and China to pay for food and fuel. And the country has $51 billion in foreign debts that it cannot repay.

Madusanka Perera is a laborer¹¹ who came to Colombo the first day protesters began their occupation of government buildings. He lost his job, and his father, a driver, cannot do his because of fuel shortages.

He told the Associated Press, "Not only Gotabaya and Ranil, all 225 members of Parliament should go home... family politics have ruined our country."

"I'm 29 years old — I should be having the best time of life but instead I don't have a job, no money and no life," he added.

Words in This Story

deliver - v. to do what you say you will do

tourism - n. the business of providing hotels, restaurants, entertainment, etc.. for travelers

consumption - n. the use of something

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。