‘Won’t leave until they quit!’

Leaders of the protest movement in Sri Lanka who have forced the president and prime minister out of their official residences said on Sunday they will occupy the buildings until the two quit officeldquoThe president has to resign the prime minister has to resign and the government has to gordquo said playwright Ruwanthie de Chickera at a news conference at the protest site flanked by other leaders helping coordinate the movement against the governmentPresident Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe plan to step down the countryrsquos parliamentary speaker said on Saturday bowing to intense pressure after a day of protests in which demonstrators stormed the presidentrsquos official residence and set fire to the prime ministerrsquos home in ColomboEmbattled President Gotabaya whose location is still unknown since the protesters overran both his office and the official residence has ordered officials to ensure the smooth distribution of cooking gas after the fuelstarved country received 3700 metric tonnes of LP gas his office said on SundayProtesters lsquofind cashrsquoThe protesters have claimed to have recovered 1785 million Sri Lankan rupees in Gotabayarsquos his mansion A video was being shared on social media showing the protesters counting the currency notes that were unearthed They have handed over the cash to the local policeHundreds of antigovernment protesters on Saturday stormed into Rajapaksarsquos residence in central Colomborsquos highsecurity Fort area after breaking the barricades as they demanded his resignation over the island nationrsquos worst economic crisis in recent memory Another group of protesters entered the private residence of PM Wickremesinghe and set it on fireThe Presidentrsquos only communication outside since the protesters stormed into the city has been with the Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena who announced late Saturday night that the President would resign on Wednesday The main Opposition parties on Sunday agreed to form an allparty interim government after the anticipated resignationIMF hopes for resolutionThe International Monetary Fund IMF said it is hoping for a resolution to Sri Lankarsquos political turmoil that will allow a resumption of talks for a bailout package after the violent day of protests Saturday ldquoWe hope for a resolution of the current situation that will allow for resumption of our dialogue on an IMFsupported programrdquo the IMF said in a statementPope expresses solidarity with people of Sri LankaPope Francis on Sunday expressed solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka who ldquocontinue to suffer from political and economic instabilityrdquo and appealed for peace in the country ldquoTogether with the bishops of the country I renew my appeal for peace I implore those in authority not to ignore the cry of the poor and the needs of the peoplerdquo the pontiff said in his Angelus message speaking from his balcony in St Peterrsquos SquareThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever