Sri Lankan university students mob PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s home over economic crisis

Thousands of Sri Lankan university students on Sunday mobbed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s home demanding his resignation over the island nation’s worsening economic crisis.

Months of lengthy blackouts, record inflation and acute food and fuel shortages have sparked increasing public discontent in Sri Lanka, which is dealing with its worst economic downturn since independence in 1948.

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In today’s protest, student leaders were seen scaling the fence of Rajapaksa’s compound in Colombo after police erected barricades on various roads around the capital to stop them from linking up with demonstrators elsewhere.

“You can block the road, but can’t stop our struggle until the entire government goes home,” AFP reported as one unidentified student leader saying while standing on top of the walls.

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Facing off against rows of police holding riot shields, protesters tried to pull down the barricades preventing them from entering the residence.

Some carried signs that said “Go Home Gota” while others wore the Guy Fawkes mask that have become synonymous with anti-establishment movements.

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Police said Mahinda Rajapaksa, the head of Sri Lanka’s ruling clan, was not on the premises at the time and the crowd left peacefully.

More than two weeks, several protesters have been camped daily outside the seafront office of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, demanding for him and his brother to step down.

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Nationwide demonstrations have seen crowds attempt to storm the homes and offices of government figures.

Recently, a man was shot dead when police fired on a road blockade in the central town of Rambukkana. This incident was reported as the first fatality since protests last month.

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Sri Lanka’s economic collapse began to be felt after the coronavirus pandemic torpedoed vital revenue from tourism and remittances.

The country is unable to finance essential imports, which has left rice, milk powder, sugar, wheat flour, and pharmaceuticals in short supply, while runaway inflation has worsened hardships.

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Utilities unable to pay for fuel have imposed long daily blackouts to ration power, while long lines snake around service stations each morning as people queue for scant supplies of petrol and kerosene.