Hundreds of people formed a human chain in the heart of Colombo to repeat their months long call for President Gotabaya to step down.
The human chain with men, women and children, started opposite Temple Trees and stretched to Galle Face green. The protestors then marched to the gates of the struggle which is near the presidential secretariat to show their solidarity with the peoples struggle.
President Rajapaksa has dug in his heels and is refusing to step down. The President’s statement to Bloomberg news last week that he has been given a mandate for five years and that he will not contest after that is seen as a hint that he will sit out his term.
Sri Lankans say the President has consolidated himself after the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister. State backed violence on protesters on the 9th of May which led to the resignation of then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa left a vacuum which Wickremesinghe stepped in to fill. Soon after his appointment Wickremesinghe pledged to deliver solutions instead of engaging in petty politics and said the country’s economy has to be rescued.
Since Wickremesinghe’s appointment the shortage of fuel and gas has become acute. People having to stay in long queues for days at a time is resulting in fraught nerves. On Friday the police used disproportionate force against civilians as tensions rode high between them and the police at fuel stations. In Athurugiriya, the police assaulted a man at a fuel station and in Kurunegala, a policeman put a man in a choke hold and pulled out a pistol after he claimed that fuel station employees were hoarding fuel. Meanwhile yesterday, the army fired into the air after tension near a fuel station in Vishwamadu, Mullaitivu where people had been queuing up for hours. Some reports said that two people were injured and between two and four people have been arrested. According to unconfirmed reports live rounds had been fired into the air. Army spokesman Brigadier Nilantha Premaratne said the army was forced to fire after one of their guard posts near the fuel station was stoned.
Meanwhile, the country’s fuel stocks are almost on red. Mid last week 46, 000 MT of diesel arrived in the country which was paid for with India’s line of credit which is now over. It is unclear when and how the next shipment of diesel will be obtained. According to reliable sources, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has 4000 MT of fuel which will mostly be for priority users. Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that fuel distribution will be streamlined to prioritise three wheelers, private buses, school and office transport services and commercial transport vehicles. The Lanka India Oil Company, will reportedly get about 20, 000 MT by the 20th of this month. A Letter of Credit for USD 42.6 million was opened by the Peoples Bank to purchase 300, 000 barrels of 92 Octane petrol which is expected in the country by the 22nd of this month.
