Protesters have said they will continue to occupy the Sri Lankan presidential and prime ministerial residences until both leaders officially resign. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he would step down on 13 July, according to an announcement made by the parliaments speaker on Saturday. But the president has not been seen or made a public statement himself. Thousands descended on Colombo on Saturday demanding his resignation after months of protests. The president has been blamed for the countrys economic mismanagement, which has caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine for months. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also said he would step down following Saturdays protests, in which his private residence was set on fire. But protesters remain sceptical about the leaders intentions. Our struggle is not over, student protest leader Lahiru Weerasekara said, quoted by AFP. We wont give up this struggle until [President Rajapaksa] actually leaves, he said. The next couple of days are going to be extremely uncertain times as to see what transpires politically, political analyst and human rights lawyer Bhavani Fonseka told Reuters, adding that it would be interesting to see if the two leaders actually resign. Political leaders are due to hold further meetings to discuss a smooth transition of power on Sunday. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said that any new government needed to immediately focus on long-term economic stability.
