Sri Lankan protesters continue to occupy President's Secretariat, vacate all other govt sites

Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 14 (ANI): All Sri Lankan government buildings have been vacated except for President's Secretariat, Danish Ali, a Sri Lankan protester said, adding that they held the protests peacefully and the ones who damaged the properties belonged to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Sri Lankan protester at a press conference said, "Everything (buildings stormed by protesters) is being cleared but President's Secretariat will still be for the people. We want to show we're capable. If we leave here, we can come back the next minute if we want."
Clarifying over the violence that was perpetuated in Sri Lanka in the past days, the protestor added, "Protestors did not damage any properties. All goons who damaged the properties belong to Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's house was set on fire but it was not by us but by PM's guy.. what we believe."
Meanwhile, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that ex-Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been allowed entry into Singapore on a private visit and has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 73, had gone into hiding after crowds of protesters stormed his residence on July 9 and he had announced that he will hand over his resignation letter on Wednesday.
Rajapaksa along with his wife escaped to the Maldives. Subsequently, the speaker appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the interim President of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the curfew has been imposed from 12 pm July 14 till 5 am July 15, within the Colombo District, the government information department announced.
Earlier in the day, "GotaGoGama" protesters announced that they will peacefully hand over government-occupied buildings including President's house, Presidential Secretariat, and Prime Minister's office, aiming to restore peace in the country.
Sri Lanka Army deployed tanks near Parliament on Thursday to prevent protesters from entering the Parliament.
Sri Lankan political parties after holding a discussion will reach a consensus and propose a name for the position of Prime Minister to the Speaker of the Parliament, local media reported.
Sri Lankan MP from Colombo Harsha de Silva said that after holding a discussion a name for the position of Prime Minister will be proposed to the Parliament Speaker tomorrow at 10 am.
Taking to Twitter, the MP wrote, "Responding to request by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker to propose a name by consensus for PM, opposition parties will today discuss with various parties and groups in government to get such consensus. We will propose this name to Speaker at 10 am tomorrow."
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Army soldiers are said to have been authorised to use the necessary force to prevent the destruction of property and life amid the ongoing protests in the Island nation in view of the severe economic and political crisis, Daily Mirror reported citing Army media.
On 9 July, demonstrators forcibly entered the office of the President and the Prime Minister and its resident, and a fierce face-off between protesters and security forces was reported in Colombo. (ANI)