COLOMBO
\nSri Lanka\u2019s besieged presidential office will reopen on Monday (Jul 25), police said, days after anti-government demonstrators were flushed out in a military crackdown that triggered international condemnation.
\nWidespread public anger over the island\u2019s unprecedented economic crisis saw protesters storm and occupy the colonial-era building earlier this month.
\nSoldiers were forced to rescue then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from his nearby residence on the same day, with the leader fleeing to Singapore and resigning days later.
\nTroops armed with batons and automatic weapons cleared the 92-year-old presidential secretariat in a pre-dawn raid on Friday on the orders of Rajapaksa\u2019s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe.
\nAt least 48 people were wounded and nine arrested in the operation, during which security forces tore down tents set up by protesters outside the complex since April.
\n\u201cThe office is ready for reopening from Monday,\u201d said a police official on Sunday, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
\n\u201cThe siege of the secretariat, which lasted since May 9, has now been lifted.\u201d
\nPolice said forensic experts had been called in to check damage to the presidential secretariat and gather evidence.
\nWestern governments, the United Nations and human rights groups have condemned Wickremesinghe for using violence against unarmed protesters who had announced their intention to vacate the site later on Friday.
\nWickremesinghe defended the crackdown and said he had told Colombo-based diplomats on Friday that blocking government buildings was unacceptable.
\nPolice spokesman Nihal Talduwa said protesters were free to continue their demonstrations at a designated site near the presidential office.
\n\u201cThey can remain at the official protest site. The government may even open a few more places for demonstrators in the city,\u201d Talduwa said on Sunday.
\nThe military operation to clear the secretariat building and its immediate surroundings came less than 24 hours after Wickremesinghe was sworn in and just before a new Cabinet was appointed.
\nSri Lanka\u2019s 22 million people have also endured months of lengthy blackouts, record inflation and shortages of foods, fuel and petrol.
\nIts government is officially bankrupt, having defaulted on its US$51 billion foreign debt, and is currently in bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
\nThe economic crisis which fuelled the protest campaign shows no sign of easing, but the government announced on Sunday it would reopen schools which had remained shut for the better part of a month.
\nThe education ministry said students and teachers will be asked to return to school only for three days each week as transport is still hampered by a national fuel shortage.
\nMiles-long queues of motorists waiting to fill up were seen across the country Sunday despite the government introducing a rationing system.
\nNew president Wickremesinghe has said he will unveil a fresh budget for the rest of the year in August as previous revenue and expenditure estimates were unrealistic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
COLOMBO Sri Lanka\u2019s besieged presidential office will reopen on Monday (Jul 25), police said, days after anti-government demonstrators were flushed out in a military crackdown that triggered international condemnation. Widespread public anger over the island\u2019s unprecedented economic crisis saw protesters storm and occupy the colonial-era building earlier this month. Soldiers were forced to rescue then-president […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-273294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n