DEFAULT, DESPERATION
Protesters nevertheless occupying the president palace said upon Sunday they would not depart until Rajapaksa actually leaves office.
“Our battle is not over, ” student leader Lahiru Weerasekara told reporters.
“When we all moved to the last barrier, we knew the fact that military might open fire. We risked our lives, ” he said.
“We won’t give up this struggle until this individual actually leaves. inch
Student activists say they discovered 17. 8 million rupees (US$49, 000) in cash in Rajapaksa’s room and passed it over to police.
Sri Lanka has suffered months of disadvantages of basic products, lengthy blackouts and galloping inflation after running out of foreign exchange to import necessities.
The government provides defaulted on its US$51 billion external financial debt and it is seeking an International Monetary Fund bailout.
The IMF stated on Sunday it hopes for “a quality of the current circumstance that will allow for resumption of our dialogue”.
Sri Lanka has almost exhausted its currently scarce supplies associated with petrol, and people not able to travel to the capital held protests in other towns across the island on Saturday.
Demonstrators had already taken care of a months-long demonstration camp outside Rajapaksa’s office demanding his resignation.
The particular camp was the picture of clashes in May when a gang associated with Rajapaksa loyalists attacked peaceful protesters.
Nine people were slain and hundreds had been wounded after the assault sparked reprisals against pro-government mobs plus arson attacks on the homes of lawmakers.