COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, who fled his country early Wednesday after months of fervent protests blaming him for the country’s economic collapse and widespread hardship, officially resigned on Thursday and began celebrations in his home country.
Mr Rajapaksa submitted his resignation by email from Singapore, where he traveled after fleeing first to the Maldives. Rajapaksa went into hiding on Saturday as protesters stormed his official residence in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, before leaving the country on Wednesday.
Even as news of the president’s resignation filtered out, the protest movement that ousted the island nation… powerful political dynasty The country’s financial ruin largely continued as it has been for months. Speeches and music blared from a main stage in Colombo as protesters made strategic plans in tents along the scenic coast.
In another corner, tempers flared. A large number of protesters clashed overnight with security forces and seized the weapons of at least two soldiers as they attempted to break into parliament, the center of what appears to be a protracted political crisis.
Activists struggled on Thursday to keep things calm and ensure that a mass civil movement doesn’t help send a country still struggling with the legacy of a decades-long civil war into outright anarchy. During the three months of protest, they have stubbornly protected their reputation as a peaceful movement. But the power struggle of the political elite over the power vacuum created by the flight of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is now testing their patience.
In an effort to ease tensions, protest organizers announced on Thursday that they were withdrawing from most of the government buildings they had occupied, including the presidential mansion. They have kept the historic buildings intact, recruited volunteers to clear up the hordes of visitors and discouraged rowdy youth from climbing the mango trees in the yard or damaging the antique furniture.
“We are moving out of the occupied buildings because we want to preserve these places, and we don’t want people to vandalize these places, nor do we want the state or other actors to use vandalism as a reason to defame us and the movement,” said Buwanaka Perera. , an organizer of the protest camp that has been running in an oceanfront park for more than three months.
“So it’s better to hand it over to the state,” Mr. Perera said. “The state of Sri Lanka, not the president, not the prime minister, but the state.”
Mr Rajapaksa had refused an orderly transfer of power amid mounting protests, but is now handing over the reins to the highly unpopular Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe† Succession plans would have been complicated had it not been for Mr Rajapaksa’s resignation, which he had promised to file on Wednesday and end his term in office.
Demonstrators blame the Rajapaksa dynasty for the mismanagement of the country’s economy, which is essentially out of money and short on fuel, food and essential medicines.
Protests also followed Mr Rajapaksa to the Maldives. About 100 Sri Lankan migrant workers gathered in the capital Malé, carrying placards and signs urging officials not to protect him. “Dear Maldivian friends, urge your government not to protect criminals,” one banner read. “Throw him out of here,” read another.
Understand what is happening in Sri Lanka
A president deposed. Sri Lanka entered a deep crisis when protesters, pushing for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation, stormed his home and forced him to flee the country. Here’s what you need to know:
Officials in the Maldives confirmed that Mr. Rajapaksa had left around noon on a Saudi flight to Singapore, a regular commercial flight between the two countries passing through the Maldives. They could not say whether Mr Rajapaksa’s final destination was Singapore or Saudi Arabia.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Mr Rajapaksa entered Singapore during a private visit. It said he had neither been granted nor applied for asylum, and that this is a request Singapore rarely grants.
Both destinations — one the site of Islam’s holiest site and the other an economic powerhouse — are proving uncomfortable for Mr Rajapaksa, social media users were quick to say. He was accused of Islamophobic policies during his tenure while failing to turn Sri Lanka into another Singapore, a goal he had mentioned in speeches.
In the absence of Mr Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has assumed the role of Acting President. But protesters have also long demanded his resignation, and he is a very divisive figure in parliament, where he has no support. A successor to complete the remaining two years of Mr Rajapaksa’s tenure must go through a parliamentary vote.
When he took charge, Mr Wickremesinghe, whose private home had been set on fire, ordered a state of emergency to rid the country of what he called “a fascist threat.” He also asked the security forces to restore law and order.
The defense ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the two army soldiers whose weapons had been stolen outside parliament were “relentlessly attacked” with iron bars and stakes, and that the armed forces would work together to “ensure national security”.
If true, the attack would reflect a sharp departure from the peaceful roots of the movement against the Rajapaksa family and its allies, which began with small candlelight vigils and culminated in a takeover of the country’s highest offices. It received support from broad sections of the population: students and trade unionists, Catholic nuns and Buddhist monks, farmers and middle-class professionals. It lacks clear leaders; a group of activists tries at best to coordinate its movements and consolidate its disparate goals.
In the protest camp, the mood was a bit shaky. The crowd had thinned and the protest chant had changed from denouncing Mr. Gotabaya to calling on Mr. Wickremesinghe to go.
As a grassroots movement of citizens, there are many stakeholders with different goals, some of whom are ready for a compromised solution brokered through parliament, and others who want to change the constitution first.
Some admitted that a largely leaderless effort also made it difficult to contain the protests in moments of tension – especially after Mr Rajapaksa’s promised resignation failed to materialize.
“We have no control over the anger of the people, especially after they have been mocked in this way,” said Namal Jayaweera, a retired human resources professional, who joined the movement over a 13-hour blackout and a policy to reduce the citizens’ access to foreign currency that prevented him from paying his son’s tuition in Canada.
While the takeover of the presidential residence and office this weekend was largely peaceful, with protesters clearing trash and clearing the hallways, subsequent occupations were more hectic.
Protesters on Wednesday carried out a forceful takeover of the offices of Mr. Wickremesinghe, penetrating files of security forces constantly firing tear gas, in addition to the earlier arson attack at his private home. It was followed by nighttime clashes in parliament, actions that threatened a stronger police response and the loss of a seat at the table as political leaders discussed next steps.
The day after the clashes outside the parliament building, the place was barren, save for a handful of soldiers erecting reinforced steel barricades. At the presidential mansion and the prime minister’s official residence, known as Temple Trees, protesters let in one last trickle of tourists as they prepared to leave the buildings.
The organizers of the protest movement said they would continue to hold on to the old parliament building, which recently served as the president’s office, and the scenic Galle Face, their campsite for the past 100 days to exert pressure.
“People have gathered in the old parliament to send a very clear message to not only the executive but also the legislature – that we want you to do your job,” said Swasthika Arulingam, one of the organizers of the protests, in a statement on behalf of the movement. “We will continue to protest until we achieve the goals of our struggle.”
Ms Arulingam was scathing in her criticism of political leaders who bickered over how to fill the vacuum left by Mr Rajapaksa rather than relocate to meet the people’s most important demands: most immediate, uninterrupted supply of essential items, such as fuel and food, and then reform the political system to provide better checks and balances.
“For the past three days, these politicians have acted as if this land is their private property,” she said. “They have endangered our country; they have endangered our national security.”
Skandha Gunasekara and Emily Schmall reported from Colombo, and Mujib Mashal from New Delhi. Uwin Lugoda contributed from Colombo, Sui-Lee Wee from Phuket, Thailand, and Maahil Mohamed from Malé, Maldives.