Sri Lanka deploys military to quell anti-govt protests amid calls for Ranil's resignation

A day after Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed new Sri Lanka President, hundreds of troops and police commandos stormed anti-government protest sites to dismantle camps holding a large number of protestors in Colombo. The Lankan forces blocked entry to the main protest site Galle Face and barricaded the area amid a late-night crackdown on protestors, ANI reported. Visuals from the vicinity of the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat showed security personnel pulling down tents and beating up demonstrators to drive them away, in the second such clampdown in the three-month-long protests amid a simmering economic crisis.

This came after subdued demonstrations took major turns on Wednesday after Wickremesinghe was announced President of the crisis-wracked island nation. The widespread discontent among demonstrators grew after he assumed office on Thursday. "Wickremesinghe wants to destroy us, they are again doing this, but we will never give up. We want to make our country free of such nasty politics," said a protestor demonstrating at Galle Face, as quoted by ANI.

Wickremesinghe vows to quell 'illegal' protests

Notably, the troop deployment comes after Wickremesinghe during his presidential acceptance speech on Wednesday vowed to clamp down "illegal" agitators who allegedly ignited the otherwise silent protests on the island, further condemning them as undemocratic and "against the law." The newly- elected President to lead the debt-ridden nation issued a stern warning, saying "If you (protestors) try to occupy President's and Prime Minister's office... that's not democracy, it is against the law...we will deal with them firmly."

Wickremesinghe said: "We will not allow a minority of protestors to suppress the aspirations of the silent majority clamouring for a change in the political system."

Protests continue in Sri Lanka

Mass unrest, which began in May in Colombo, continued with demonstrators defiant of curfew and tear gas shells fired by security forces. The demonstrations escalated Friday morning as citizens for weeks also have been calling for Wickremesinghe's resignation, considering he is an ally of Rajapaksa. The President's elect now faces a long road ahead for the remaining term until November 2024 as Sri Lanka continues to struggle crippled by the economic crisis and deepened public mistrust in the Parliament.

Around 22 million citizens are struggling to make ends meet on the island. Protestors blame the Rajapaksas for mishandling the state finances, by imposing ill-timed taxes and engaging in reckless borrowings that emptied foreign reserves of the island which is mostly import-dependent. Triggered by anti-government uprisings, the country faced weeks of political instability after Mahinda Rajapaksa's cabinet resigned, two months after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was also forced to step down. As of now, the protestors demanding for a political solution see Wickremesinghe as part of the problem as he has long been an ally of the Rajapaksas, despite his recent critical remarks against them.

(Image: @RanilWickremesinghe/Facebook/ANI)