Lagatar24 Desk
Colombo, July 10: Dhammika Perera, the minister of investment promotion, has resigned amid the escalating economic crisis in Sri Lanka. He follows Bandula Gunawardena, Manusha Nanayakkara, and Harin Fernando as the fourth minister to leave the Cabinet.
Local media reported on Sunday, that the police had detained three people for setting Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s home on fire, a day after anti-government protestors invaded the home of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
General Shavendra Silva, the head of Sri Lanka’s armed forces, made a plea to the public to assist the military in ensuring that the situation is resolved peacefully.
Earlier in the day, the protesters have claimed to found millions of rupees inside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s mansion. The recovered money was handed over to security forces, a Lankan daily reported.
The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, stated that it was closely observing the current events in the money-strapped nation and hoped that the political crisis would end quickly to allow for the continuation of negotiations on an IMF-supported programme.
Meanwhile, the United States has urged Sri Lanka’s officials to step forward and ‘work swiftly’ to find lasting answers to the country’s populace’s unhappiness. While condemning the violence on Saturday, the nation also issued a warning to the island nation about any future attacks on journalists and protestors.
Notably, on Saturday, thousands of Lankan demonstrators stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official mansion to demand his resignation. Even when the prime minister volunteered to resign, his house was also set on fire.
President Rajapaksa informed Speaker of the House Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that he would stand down on July 13 as a result of the protests, while Prime Minister Wickremesinghe declared that he would step down as soon as an all-party government was prepared to assume office. When Rajapaksa steps down, the Speaker will take over as president. According to sources, a vote among MPs would be placed later to choose a new President.
The current location of President Rajapaksa is unclear. Videos of luggage being hauled onto a Sri Lanka Navy ship surfaced on Saturday. According to local media, President Rajapaksa’s luggage was involved.
