Sri Lanka is facing a severe economic crisis these days. Inflation is sky high and there is acute shortage of essential commodities. Meanwhile, there is news that people have started protesting outside the Sri Lankan President’s residence. During this demonstration, people clashed with the police, after which the crowd started arson fiercely.
Thursday performance According to the information received, people protested late Thursday evening in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. More than 5,000 people took out a protest march in the Sri Lankan capital demanding the president to step down. During this he clashed with the police. A special task force of the paramilitary police unit had to be called in to stop the demonstration.
Power with one family It is being told that on Thursday evening people gathered on the road near the house of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. His demand was that he and his family should give up power and go back home. While the President’s elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa is the Prime Minister, Tulsi Rajapaksa, the youngest, looks after the Finance Department. The eldest brother Chamal Rajapakse is the Agriculture Minister while the nephew Namal Rajapaksa holds the Sports Ministry.
Trouble started when the police tried to disperse the protesters who were waving posters and shouting slogans. After this people threw bottles and stones at the police. After which the police fired tear gas shells and controlled the crowd with water cannons.
What did the police say? A police spokesman in Colombo said- “45 people have been arrested, including 44 men and 1 woman. In this encounter 5 police officers including an ASP have been injured. While a police bus, 1 police jeep, 2 motorbikes were burnt and a water cannon truck damaged”.
The government says the protests were organized by an extremist group. On behalf of the government, it has been said that most of the criminals have been arrested.
The current crisis is said to have its roots in the Sri Lankan government’s move to ban imports in March 2020. The move was taken by the government to save foreign exchange for a debt of $51 billion. But this led to widespread shortages of essential commodities and skyrocketed prices.