On Saturday, tens of thousands of men and women overran Rajapaksa’s official mansion, forcing him to flee to a military installation.
Crisis-hit On Wednesday, hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country, Sri Lanka announced an indefinite national state of emergency, according to the prime minister’s office.
Dinouk Colombage, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, told AFP that “an emergency has been proclaimed to cope with the situation in the country because the president is out of the country.”
The Western Province, which encompasses the nation’s capital Colombo, will also be subject to an indefinite curfew, according to police, in an effort to quell the mounting protests that followed Rajapaksa’s flight to the Maldives in a military jet.
Police used tear gas to stop thousands of protesters from overrunning the property after they surrounded the premier’s office.
A senior police officer told AFP that “there are ongoing protests outside the prime minister’s office in Colombo and we need the curfew to handle the situation.”
He claimed that they had been told to take harsh action against demonstrators who were interfering with government operations.
On a military plane, President Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives with his wife and two bodyguards.
After a humiliating airport confrontation in Colombo, when immigration officials refused to provide VIP services and insisted that all travellers go through public counters, he eventually left.
The 22 million-person nation has seen its worst economic crisis ever, with months-long blackouts, severe food and fuel shortages, and soaring prices.
President Rajapaksa’s administration has been held accountable for the ongoing financial mismanagement of the nation, and the residents of Sri Lanka have continued to call for his resignation.
