As Sri Lanka’s crisis reached its climax this weekend, two men in the center of the turmoil brought about by the country’s economic collapse promised they would heed the call of tens of thousands of angry protesters and resign.
NEW DELHI —
On Saturday, massive crowds descended on the capital, Colombo, broke into Rajapaksa’s official residence and occupied his seaside office. Hours later, as leaders of political parties in Parliament called for both leaders to step down, protesters also stormed Wickremesinghe’s residence and set it on fire.
He vowed to bring back the muscular nationalism that had made his family popular with the Buddhist majority, and to lead the country out of an economic slump with a message of stability and development.
But Gotabaya refused to go, triggering chants in the streets of “Gota Go Home!“ Instead, he saw his savior in Ranil Wickremesinghe.A six-time prime minister, Wickremesinghe’s latest stint was arguably the most challenging. Appointed in May by Rajapaksa, he was brought in to help restore international credibility as his government negotiated a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund.
In his new job, he left little doubt about the grave future ahead. “The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives,” he told Sri Lankans in early June, a few weeks before he said in Parliament that the country had hit rock bottom. “Our economy has completely collapsed,” he said.
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