Sri Lanka has moved Mahinda Rajapaksa to a naval base for his safety after he quit two days ago as prime minister, the defence secretary of Sri Lanka said on Wednesday, following violence targeting the family for its role in the country’s worst economic crisis.
Sri Lankans blame the Rajapaksa dynasty for a meltdown in the Indian Ocean nation that reduced reserves to just about $50 million, stalling most imports and bringing massive shortages of key items of food, fuel and medicine that unleashed protests, reports Reuters.
“The prime minister was evacuated to the Trincomalee naval base for security reasons,” Kamal Gunaratne told a news conference, referring to the base on the northeastern coast.
“He will remain there for the next couple of days and when the situation is normalised, he can be moved to a location of his choice.”
Wednesday’s move comes after protesters set ablaze this week a museum in the family’s ancestral base in the south that had been dedicated to their father, leaving it in ruins, with exhibits smashed or looted.
Police and soldiers patrolled the streets of Weerakettiya, the town that is home to the Rajapaksas, where shops and businesses were shut by a curfew that will run until Thursday morning.
Rajapaksa’s younger brother continues as president despite street clashes this week, triggered by the massive shortages of essentials, which killed nine people.
With the army deployed to keep the peace and troops ordered to shoot at anyone damaging public property or threatening lives, soldiers in armoured vehicles patrolled the streets of Colombo, the commercial capital.
“This is the time for all Sri Lankans to join hands as one, to overcome the economic, social and political challenges,” President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Twitter.
“I urge all Sri Lankans to reject the subversive attempts to push you towards racial and religious disharmony. Promoting moderation, toleration and coexistence is vital.”
It was not immediately clear what prompted his warning, but Sri Lanka has a long and bloody history of ethnic tension, with Sinhalese Buddhists forming the bulk of a population of 22 million sprinkled with Muslim, Hindu and Christian minorities.
The two Rajapaksas held key government positions when a 26-year civil war ended in 2009 after security forces overcame militants from the minority Tamil community. At least five members of the family held ministerial positions until recently.
Analysts say the president can be impeached if he refuses to step down, though the opposition, which has rejected his calls for a unity government, lacks the necessary two-thirds majority in parliament.
No president has ever been successfully impeached and removed from office in Sri Lanka.
