The situation in Sri Lanka remains uncertain. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was forced from his palace by protestors in Colombo following the devastating crisis in Sri Lanka, agreed to resign this week.
A spokesperson for the United States said that Sunday's call to action came from the United States asking future leaders of the country to work quickly to find solutions to the country's declining economic conditions. The State Department.
"To ensure peaceful transition, president has said that he will step down from office on July 13," Speaker Mahinda Abeywardana stated on Saturday via television.
The president's two relatives, Sudewa Hettiarachchi, the head press service, and Bandula Gunawardana (media minister), resigned immediately. He also resigned as head of presidential party.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of India, tried to make way for a government that would be national unity by calling a crisis meeting with opposition parties and proposing his resignation.
However, that did not stop the angry protestors from occupying his home in his absence and setting it on fire without inflicting any injuries.
After being in hot water for several months, President Rajapaksa (73), was able to flee before hundreds of protesters entered his palace. This is normally reserved for receptions, but where he had moved in April after his private residence was stormed.
Guards protecting the official residence fired in the air in an attempt to stop protestors from entering the palace. The vessel was then evacuated and taken to the territorial waters south of the island.
According to Defense sources, Gotabaya Rajapaksa will reach Trincomalee Naval Base in the northeast corner of the island on Sunday.
General Shavendra Silva (Chief of the Defense Staff) appealed to calm after Saturday's midnight, assuring that there was a chance of resolving this crisis constitutionally and peacefully.
Colombo National Hospital in the capital reported that 105 people were admitted following Saturday's protests and that 55 more were still being treated on Sunday. Seven journalists are among the wounded. Pushpa Soysa, a spokeswoman for AFP, said that one person was in very serious condition following a gunshot injury.
Protesters occupied the presidential palace on Sunday and said that they would not leave the building until the president resigns. Reporters were told by Lahiru Weerasekara, a student leader. "Until it truly leaves, we won't stop fighting this fight."
Student activists claimed that they found 17.8 Million rupees (48,000 Euros) in Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s bedroom and gave them to the police.
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Colombo to demand his resignation. Demonstrators were repelled by police officers who attempted to disperse them using tear gas.
Images of hundreds of people scaling the presidential palace gates were shown on local television stations. Live streaming was provided by protesters via social media. Videos of the crowds marching in were shown on television, with some scattered in the presidential pool and in the bedrooms.
On Saturday, protesters also seized the presidential offices nearby. They had been camping there for three months.
Sri Lanka was once a country of middle income with a standard living comparable to India. However, the loss of tourist revenue in Sri Lanka following the 2019 jihadist attack and the subsequent Covid-19 pandemic has caused severe damage. According to economists, the crisis, which is unprecedented since 1948 independence of Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, was exacerbated by a series bad political decisions, of which the president's clan has been accused by the population.
The country is currently negotiating a rescue package with the International Monetary Fund, which said on Sunday that it hoped for "a resolution to the current situation in order to allow the resumption our dialogue".
During protests in May, nine people were murdered and many more were injured.
