Sri Lanka's PM encourages protesting youth to join government

Police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of students protestors trying to storm the Sri Lankan president's home

Police fire water cannon on students during an anti-government demonstration demanding the resignation of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo, Sri Lanka. AFP

Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Sunday said that youth protest groups will be invited to be part of governance under reforms he is proposing to solve a political crisis triggered by an economic collapse.

In a televised statement to the nation, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that under proposed constitutional reforms, powers of the president will be limited and those of Parliament strengthened.

“The youth are calling for a change in the existing system. They also want to know the current issues. Therefore, I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of these 15 committees,” Mr Wickremesinghe said.

The 15 committees would work with Parliament to decide national policies, he said. That governance will be broad-based through parliamentary committees where lawmakers, youth and experts will work together.

Protesters consisting of mainly young people have camped out outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office for more than 50 days.

They are demanding the resignation of Mr Rajapaksa, holding him and his family responsible for the country’s worst economic crisis yet.

They also want an overhaul of a system of governance, saying successive administrations since independence from Britain in 1948 have misgoverned Sri Lanka, resulting in economic and social crises.

According to Mr Wickremesinghe’s proposal, one of the youth representatives will be appointed by the so-called youth parliament and the other three will come from protest groups and other campaign organisations.

“The methodology used to choose these individuals can be decided by the youth organisations themselves,” he said.

There has been no comment from youth groups to his proposal.

Setting up new broad-based parliamentary committees can be done under the current constitution, but broader reforms such as reducing presidential powers would need approval of the Supreme Court and a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

It is not clear when the bill for the debate will be introduced.

Police fired teargas on Sunday to disperse thousands of students trying to storm the president's residence as the government offered a concession to demonstrators demanding his resignation.

Anti-riot squads used water cannon followed by teargas, as protesters pulled down yellow iron barricades across a road leading to Mr Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo.

Several men were seen picking up canisters and throwing them back towards the police who fired them.

Female medical and science students joined the protests, when authorities unleashed water cannon.

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  Violence raged across Sri Lanka late into the night on Monday, with five people dead and some 180 injured. AFP

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  Sri Lanka's pro-government supporters vandalise camps of anti government protestors outside the president's office in Colombo. AP Photo

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  Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa quit on May 9 after a day of violence saw four people, including an MP, killed. AFP

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  Government supporters armed with sticks and clubs attack protestors. AFP

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  Demonstrators scuffle with police outside the president's office in Colombo. AFP

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  Demonstrators and government supporters clash. AFP

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  Police personnel stand guard outside the president's office. AFP

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  Destroyed vehicles litter the street after anti-government protesters rioted in Colombo. AFP

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  Pro-government supporters hold Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's portrait while protesting. AFP

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  A bus burns close to Sri Lanka's outgoing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo. AFP

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  Anti-government protesters destroy a bus in Colombo. AFP

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  Army personnel stand guard outside the president's office in Colombo. AFP

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  Supporters of the Sri Lankan government attempt to block a police water canon truck. AFP

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  People gather near a burning bus in Colombo. AFP

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  Anti-government demonstrators set fire to the house owned by Cabinet Minister Sanath Nishantha. Reuters

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  Sri Lankans push a bus, transporting government supporters who attacked anti-government protesters, into a lake in Colombo. AP Photo

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  A policeman fires tear gas during a clash. AFP

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  Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday over the country’s dire economic state and violence at mass protests outside his home in Colombo, his spokesman Rohan Weliwita said. AP

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  Demonstrators and government supporters clash outside the official residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, who offered his resignation to his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. AFP

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  A man suffers after being sprayed with tear gas as cars burn on the streets of Colombo, Sri Lanka. AP

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  Paramilitary police arrive as demonstrators and government supporters clash. AFP

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  Sri Lankan government supporters cheer outside the prime minister's residence in Colombo. AP

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  Supporters of the ruling party run as riot police fire tear gas during clashes in Colombo, amid the country's economic crisis. Reuters

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  A policeman stands guard in riot gear. AP

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  Water cannon are fired during a confrontation with anti-government demonstrators. Reuters

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  Supporters of Sri Lanka's ruling party run in Colombo as police fire tear gas during a clash with anti-government demonstrators. Reuters

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  A Sri Lankan Catholic priest, centre in a white robe, is among anti-government protesters being attacked by supporters of the ruling party outside the prime minister's residence. AP

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  Tears after anti-government protesters were attacked by supporters of the ruling party in Colombo. AP

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  Violence flares between demonstrators and government supporters outside the president's office in Colombo. AFP

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  Activists stage a mock ritual to 'exorcise demons' outside the official residence of Sri Lanka's prime minister. AFP

Meanwhile, thousands of men and women demonstrated for the 51st day in a row outside Mr Rajapaksa's office, demanding he step down.

The demonstrations led to tense scenes on the streets of Colombo, where authorities struggled to disperse large crowds and a pall of chemical irritants hung over the streets.

A shortage of foreign exchange to import even the most essential supplies, including food, fuel and medicines, has led to severe hardships for the country's 22 million people.

Mr Wickremesinghe has said that he will have an economic reform plan ready within two weeks to seek approval from the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package.

The country has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt.

Students have led nearly daily protests in Colombo and elsewhere as Sri Lanka teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.

It has already defaulted on its foreign loans. People have been forced to wait for hours in long lines to try to buy goods and many still go empty-handed.

Agencies have contributed to this report.