Prime minister agrees to step down as economic crisis triggers severe shortage of foreign currency
A demonstrator walks in the garden at the prime minister's residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Picture: DINUKA LIYANAWATT/REUTERS
The International Monetary Fund , which has been in talks with the Sri Lankan government for a possible $3bn bailout, said on Sunday it was monitoring events closely. Rajapaksa has not been seen in public since Friday and he has not directly said anything about resigning. Wickremesinghe’s office said he would also quit, though neither he nor Rajapaksa could be contacted.Frustration with the economic crisis boiled over on Saturday when a huge crowd of protesters surged passed armed guards into the presidential palace and took it over. Furniture and artefacts were smashed, and some took the opportunity to frolic in the swimming pool.
“I’ve never seen a place like this in my life,” Chandrawathi told Reuters as she tried out a plush sofa. It has been compounded by large and growing government debt, rising oil prices and a seven-month ban on importing chemical fertilisers last year that devastated agriculture. Sprawled on an ornately carved wooden sofa, Wasantha Kumara said he had spent the night in the president’s house, where a section of the main sweeping staircase was damaged.
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