Sri Lankan President Promises to Quit in Face of Protests
Protesters say they won’t back down until Gotabaya Rajapaska, thought to have taken refuge on a navy ship, actually leaves office.
DINUKA LIYANAWATTE
The president of Sri Lanka has apparently promised to resign in the face of nationwide protests, although people remain skeptical that he will actually go. Protesters have been demanding the resignation of both President Gotabaya Rajapaska and the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, blaming the two men for economic mismanagement that has seen shortages of food, fuel, and medicine in the island nation. Wickremesinghe said Monday he was stepping down and his office said the president had confirmed his intention to step down later this week. It’s not quite clear, however, where Rajapaska actually is—the BBC said it had been told he was holed up in a naval vessel at sea—and he has not publicly confirmed his departure. “Our struggle is not over,” said student protest leader Lahiru Weerasekara. “We won’t give up this struggle until [President Rajapaksa] actually leaves,” he said.
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