With tired faces but a smile on their lips, the demonstrators stroll on the lawn of the offices of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinga. Victorious, they take possession of the premises. The armed soldiers, who violently faced them a few hours earlier, observe the scene, dumbfounded.
The Sri Lankans don’t seem to want to let go anymore. Despite tear gas, water canals and police charges, they managed to invade, on Wednesday July 13, a new symbol of power in Colombo, the country’s capital. After having stormed, on Saturday, the palace and the office of the President of the Republic, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then the official residence of the head of government, they therefore invited themselves to the offices of Ranil Wickremesinga, the Prime Minister.
In a small room at the back of the building, around 30 people crowd together to watch the latest news on the head of government’s flat screen, suspended in a corner of the room. Some are comfortably seated on soft white sofas or on pretty wooden chairs covered in soft blue velvet. Others simply sat cross-legged, on the floor.
When Ranil Wickremesinga’s face appears on television, protesters immediately boo him. The middle finger stretched vertically, in the direction of the screen. Then silence falls, everyone listening religiously to his statement. The leader’s words resonate in Sinhalese. “We cannot allow the fascists to take over, he throws. The groups that have come to the Prime Minister’s office have no reason to be there, they are causing trouble. »
Yet within these walls, some demonstrators are busy packing up valuables and taking down historic black and white photographs. “They do an inventory and then they will record everything in order to protect these objects from the crowd. Starting tomorrow, many people will want to come and visit the offices.”comments Tharindu, a man in his thirties.
The ‘Terminator’ president has fled
Curious people who have learned of the taking of the building by social networks or the media are already beginning to flock. Many arrive on foot, due to severe fuel shortages on the island. Within a few hours, a long queue had already formed to enter and visit the colonial-era building.
On Wednesday, citizens had waited in vain for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The latter had promised on Saturday to leave power on July 13. But the country woke up to the news of his escape. « Terminator »as he is nicknamed here, had taken off from Bandaranaïke International Airport in Colombo, early in the morning, aboard an air force plane.
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