Sri Lanka angry crowd tries to storm president’s office over economic woes
- Frustration flared over runaway prices during major financial crisis, with long queues outside petrol stations and rolling blackouts the norm
- People marshalled by the main opposition party surrounded the Presidential Secretariat and clashed with heavily armed police
A huge crowd tried to storm the Sri Lankan president’s seaside office on Tuesday as anger flared over runaway prices brought about by the worst financial crisis in the island’s modern history.
The cost of food, medicine and other essential goods have risen dramatically across the South Asian nation, with long queues outside petrol stations and rolling blackouts now the norm.
A critical foreign currency shortage has left traders unable to pay for imports, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa spoke with a visiting International Monetary Fund delegation to discuss solutions to the worsening economic situation.
Soon after the meeting, several busy streets in Colombo were blocked by protesters, who poured into the centre of the capital despite weeks of severe disruptions to public transport caused by fuel shortages.
A crowd marshalled by the main opposition party, the SJB, surrounded the Presidential Secretariat and clashed with heavily armed police, who pushed back efforts to barge into the building.
“These people have come here to tell the president to go home if he can’t solve the unprecedented economic problems faced by ordinary people,” said SJB lawmaker Harin Fernando, as the crowd chanted calls for Rajapaksa’s resignation.
