Reproduction/World Economic Forum 7/15/2022
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister and current interim President Ranil Wickremesinghe attended the World Economic Forum in May this year
Sri Lanka’s newly appointed interim President Ranil Wickremesinghe has vowed to quell the protests that toppled his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, accusing the protesters of “lawless” and “fascists”.
Less than an hour after it was elected by Parliament for a buffer period until November 2024 a court order was issued banning all citizens from gathering within 50 meters of the Presidential Palace in Colombo, where protesters, spurred by the country’s economic collapse, have been camping for months.
Not only was the order ignored by the populace, but dozens of people continued to gather on the steps of the President’s office, shouting slogans such as “Deal Ranil” a nod to Wickremesinghe’s reputation as a wily politician and also “Ranil bank robber”. Reference to a bank securities fraud in which he was involved.
Unrest continues in the country and the President is expected to appoint the Speaker of Parliament and his former schoolmate Dinesh Gunawardena as Prime Minister on Thursday. According to a report in The Guardian, Gunawardena is known for being fiercely loyal to former President Rajapaksa, which could fuel further protests amid suspicions that the new government is nothing more than a continuation of what was toppled.
Current exPresident Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned in early July amid mass protests over Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis the nation is nearly running out of food and fuel supplies as it runs out of foreign currency to pay for essential imports .
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