After several months of deteriorating economic crisis in Sri Lanka in about seven decades, thousands of Protesters in the country’s capital, Colombo, have stormed the presidential palace or residence on Saturday, 9th July, in a show of force amidst the galloping inflation.

Some of the protesters were spotted waving Sri Lankan flag while others wore helmets.

Despite the military and security presence, thousands of protesters managed to break open the gates of the presidential Secretariat and the finance ministry. These places had been the sites of a sit-in protest for several months.

President Rajapaksa asked to step down.

The protesting crowd chanted slogans asking the President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to step down. 

The adamant president has however clang to power hoping that the protest would die out eventually. But with living conditions worsening by day, people have called for his unconditional vacation of power.

President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe whizzed away for safety concerns

According to the defense ministry, President Rajapaksa had been moved from the official residence on Friday ahead of the planned demonstration due to concerns for his safety. 

The prime Minister Wickremesinghe has also been moved to a secure location. Viral video footage showed protesters standing with some even bathing in the swimming pool inside the President’s residence.

The protesters received little or no resistance as there were no visible security presence.

How did we get here?

Sri Lanka is an island nation located in South Asia. The island has a population of 22 million people. The country has been suffocating under severe foreign exchange shortage. This has crippled the entire economy as it has put a leash on imports of fuel, food and medicine. Experts say it’s the country’s worst economic crisis since its Independence in 1948 from Britain.

Inflation soared to a record 54.6% in June alone and experts predict it will hit 70% in few months ahead. This has visited untold hardship on the people.

Coronavirus dealt a big blow to the tourism sector

Sri Lanka’s economy is extremely dependent on tourism. The coronavirus  pandemic battered the Sri Lanka’s tourism-dependent economy. There’s also a drastic reduction in remittances from foreign workers. 

By the end of February this year, Sri Lanka’s $7.5 billion foreign reserves had drained to $2.3 billion.

Economic mismanagement

Although government is quick to point to the effect of the coronavirus, many believe the current economic hardship is as a result of economic mismanagement and corruption by  President Rajapaksa’s government.

The IMF to the rescue?

Earlier, the Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had confirmed that his country would seek  an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.

The country has ran out of dollars to finance imports of fuel, food and other necessities.  

But with the current political instability rearing its head, it’s likely to undermine the South Asian country’s talks with the International Monetary Fund. 

The country has asked for a $3 billion bailout from the IMF. It has also planned a restructuring of some foreign debt and fund-raising from multilateral and bilateral sources to help stem the dollar famine. 

“Subsequent to my discussions with the International Monetary Fund, I have decided to work with them,” Rajapaksa told the people in a nation address a day after meeting with an IMF delegation in Colombo.