World News | Take Steps to Ensure Law and Order: Sri Lanka's Ruling SLPP Party to Acting President Wickremesinghe

Colombo, Jul 13 (PTI) Sri Lanka's ruling party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna on Wednesday called upon acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the country's armed forces to maintain law and order and appealed to the protesters not to vandalise state or private property.

Sri Lanka is witnessing an escalating political crisis and a fresh wave of protests triggered by the fleeing of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the country to the Maldives.

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Defying the emergency, thousands of protesters waving Lankan flags surrounded the building of the Prime Minister's Office earlier in the day.

The police fired tear gas on protesters who broke through a barricade and stormed the prime minister's office, calling for his resignation as well as that of the president.

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“Violent behaviour of unruly groups must be taken into serious consideration. In doing so, we pledge our fullest support to these efforts,” Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) said in a statement.

The party said these groups have murdered a parliamentarian and destroyed personal properties and such actions are being repeated.

In order to ensure public peace and safety the security and the right to life must be protected, it added.

SLPP's statement comes after embattled President Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet in the morning, hours before he was supposed to quit in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.

From the Maldives, the 73-year-old leader appointed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe as the Acting President, citing Article 37(1) of the Constitution that allows a premier to "discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office of president" when the president is ill or "absent" from the country.

Speaker Abeywardena has said President Rajapaksa has informed him over telephone that he will resign today as promised.

He said the vote for the new president will take place on July 20. Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency in the country and a curfew in the Western province has been imposed as protesters gathered near his office at Flower Road in Colombo.

In his first televised address since his appointment, Wickremesinghe said he had ordered military commanders and the police chief to do what is necessary to restore order.

“We must end this fascist threat to democracy. We can't allow the destruction of state property. The President's Office, the President's Secretariat and the Prime Minister's official residence must be returned to proper custody,” he said.

“Those who are in my office want to stop m e from discharging my responsibilities as acting president. We can't let them tear up our Constitution. We can't allow fascists to take over. Some mainstream politicians too seem to be supporting these extremists. That is why I declared a nation-wide emergency and a curfew,” he added.

Meanwhile, the powerful Bar Association of Sri Lanka, in a statement, urged the protesters to hand over all occupied premises to Government authorities and allow room for a peaceful transition of power which the leaders of the country have promised.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)