COLOMBO: Protesters in Sri Lanka who brought down the previous government announced they were dismantling their main demonstration site near the president’s office on Wednesday in the wake of a crackdown against their leaders.
The group led by university students and leftist parties said they were clearing out their tents along the Galle Face seafront promenade in the capital.
A spokesman said they had also withdrawn four court challenges against a police order for them to vacate the area that claimed their tents were a hindrance to nearby hotels.
Activists were seen taking down their tents and removing other structures they had put up supporting their struggle against the administration.
The demonstrations began on April 9 as a protest against shortages of essentials such as fuel, food and medicines in Sri Lanka’s worst ever economic crisis.
They peaked when tens of thousands poured into Colombo and overran Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential palace on July 9, forcing him to flee and eventually resign.
Days after Rajapaksa fled to Singapore and announced his resignation, troops evicted protesters occupying the palace as well as the home and office of the prime minister.
Security forces were accused of using excessive force to evict the demonstrators, with more than 80 people suffering injuries that required hospitalisation.
Since then, dozens of activists have been arrested on charges of damaging state property.
A top trade union leader, Joseph Stalin, was released on bail on Monday following international criticism over his arrest last week on a charge of causing $90 worth of damage.
Rajapaksa’s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has drawn a distinction between “protesters” and “rioters” and vowed tough action against “any troublemakers”.
Soon after protesters overran the palace, there were social media posts of them frolicking in the pool and bouncing on four-poster beds inside the sprawling compound.
But protesters also turned over to authorities around 17.5 million rupees ($46,000) in cash found in one of the rooms.
GOTABAYA SEEKS THAILAND ENTRY
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is seeking a new safe haven in Thailand as his Singapore visa runs out, a source and the Thai foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
“His Singapore visa runs out on Thursday,” a close associate of Rajapaksa said in Colombo.
“He had applied for an extension, but it had not come through as of Wednesday morning.”
The source said Rajapaksa now planned to go to Thailand for a short stay and return to Singapore.
The Thai foreign ministry confirmed it had received a request from Colombo for the 73-year-old deposed leader to visit Thailand and an assurance that he would not seek political asylum there.
“The Thai side received a request for the former president to enter Thailand from the current government of Sri Lanka,” ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said in a statement.
“The stay is temporary in nature with the aim of onward travel. No political asylum has been sought.”
There was no immediate comment from the Sri Lankan embassy in Singapore, which had supported Rajapaksa’s attempt to stay for longer in the city-state.
Sri Lankans arriving in Singapore get a 30-day visa, but Singapore authorities said they had initially given Rajapaksa only two weeks and later extended the visa by another two weeks.
The Rajapaksa confidant said that he was keen to return home as protests against his administration had fizzled out, but his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe had advised him against an early return. — AFP
