Sri Lanka’s new president vows to crackdown on ‘fascist’ protests

Sri Lanka‘s newly sworn-in president Ranil Wickremesinghe have vowed to crackdown on “fascist” protests.

Wickremesinghe, 73, said he would not tolerate demonstrations after they toppled his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country last week.

The former six-time prime minister said anyone trying to whip up violence would be dealt with “firmly according to the law”.

“If you try to topple the government, occupy the president’s office and the prime minister’s office, that is not democracy; it is against the law,” he said.

“We will deal with them firmly according to the law. We will not allow a minority of protesters to suppress the aspirations of the silent majority clamouring for a change in the political system.”

He was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president on Thursday, a day after winning a vote in parliament and urging the south Asian nation to come together to find a way out of its worst economic crisis in decades.

Wickremesinghe succeeded Rajapaksa, who resigned last week after angry protests over his handling of the economy.

The country of 22 million people has been crippled by its financial crisis, with a lack of foreign currency leading to shortages of essentials including fuel, food and medicines.

Wickremesinghe’s swearing in ceremony was conducted in parliament, and presided over by the country’s chief justice.

Only a handful of people were present outside the presidential secretariat on Thursday, a colonial-era building that was stormed by a sea of protesters earlier this month along with the president and prime minister’s official residences.

A state of emergency has been declared in response to the protests, which Wickremesinghe has made clear he will crack down on.

Shortly after he was declared president on Wednesday, a court order was issued prohibiting anyone from congregating within a 50-metre radius of a statue that stands at Galle Face in Colombo.

However, protesters who have been camped out there for months, defied the order while dozens gathered on the steps of the president’s offices, which remain occupied.

“We won’t give up because what the country needs is a total system change,” said Pratibha Fernando, a protester at the secretariat.

“We want to get rid of these corrupted politicians, so that’s what we are doing.”

Hours after winning the parliamentary vote on Wednesday, Wickremesinghe appeared to distance himself from the powerful Rajapaksa family that has dominated politics in Sri Lanka for decades.

“I am not a friend of the Rajapaksas. I am a friend of the people,” he told reporters after praying at a Buddhist temple in the commercial capital Colombo.

Wickremesinghe is due to serve for the rest of Rajapaksa’s term, until November 2024.