Police said that the besieged presidential office in Sri Lanka would reopen on Monday, July 25, days after anti-government protesters were driven from the streets in a military response that drew international outrage.
Protesters stormed and occupied the colonial-era structure earlier this month as a result of widespread public outrage over the island's catastrophic economic crisis.
On the same day, soldiers had to rescue the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from his neighbouring mansion; the leader afterwards fled to Singapore and announced his resignation.
On instructions from Rajapaksa's successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, troops armed with automatic rifles and batons emptied the 92-year-old presidential secretariat Friday morning.
Security troops dismantled protestors' tents that had been up outside the facility since April during the operation, which left at least 48 people injured and nine people in custody.
An anonymous police official who was not authorised to speak to the media on Sunday said, "The office is ready for reopening on Monday."
"The secretariat is no longer under siege," was the statement made on May 9.
Police said forensic experts had been called in to check damage to the presidential secretariat and gather evidence.
Wickremesinghe has been under fire from Western nations, the UN, and human rights organisations for employing force against unarmed protestors who had made it known they intended to leave the area later on Friday.
Defending the raid, Wickremesinghe said that he had informed ambassadors located in Colombo on Friday that obstructing official facilities were unacceptable.
Protesters are free to carry on their rallies at a designated location close to the presidential office, according to police spokeswoman Nihal Talduwa.
"They may stay at the designated protest location. Even more locations in the city may be made available for protesters by the administration, Talduwa added on Sunday.
Less than 24 hours after Wickremesinghe took the oath of office and shortly before a new Cabinet was named, the military operation to clear the secretariat building and its immediate vicinity took place.
After defaulting on its US$51 billion in foreign debt, the government is now formally insolvent and is in rescue negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
The administration said on Sunday that it will reopen schools that had been closed for more than a month even though the economic crisis that drove the protest movement shows no signs of abating.
The education ministry said that because there is still a countrywide gasoline scarcity, students and instructors would only be required to attend class three days a week.
Despite the government instituting a system of rationing, Sunday saw miles-long lines of drivers waiting to fill up.
New 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.
In August, the new president Wickremesinghe will present a revised budget for the remainder of the year since the prior income and expense projections were too optimistic.
Protesters stormed and occupied the colonial-era structure earlier this month as a result of widespread public outrage over the island's catastrophic economic crisis.
On the same day, soldiers had to rescue the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from his neighbouring mansion; the leader afterwards fled to Singapore and announced his resignation.
On instructions from Rajapaksa's successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, troops armed with automatic rifles and batons emptied the 92-year-old presidential secretariat Friday morning.
Security troops dismantled protestors' tents that had been up outside the facility since April during the operation, which left at least 48 people injured and nine people in custody.
An anonymous police official who was not authorised to speak to the media on Sunday said, "The office is ready for reopening on Monday."
"The secretariat is no longer under siege," was the statement made on May 9.
Police said forensic experts had been called in to check damage to the presidential secretariat and gather evidence.
Wickremesinghe has been under fire from Western nations, the UN, and human rights organisations for employing force against unarmed protestors who had made it known they intended to leave the area later on Friday.
Defending the raid, Wickremesinghe said that he had informed ambassadors located in Colombo on Friday that obstructing official facilities were unacceptable.
Protesters are free to carry on their rallies at a designated location close to the presidential office, according to police spokeswoman Nihal Talduwa.
"They may stay at the designated protest location. Even more locations in the city may be made available for protesters by the administration, Talduwa added on Sunday.
Less than 24 hours after Wickremesinghe took the oath of office and shortly before a new Cabinet was named, the military operation to clear the secretariat building and its immediate vicinity took place.
Burning Fuel Emergency:
The 22 million residents of Sri Lanka have also had to deal with months-long outages, record inflation, and shortages of food, fuel, and gasoline.After defaulting on its US$51 billion in foreign debt, the government is now formally insolvent and is in rescue negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
The administration said on Sunday that it will reopen schools that had been closed for more than a month even though the economic crisis that drove the protest movement shows no signs of abating.
The education ministry said that because there is still a countrywide gasoline scarcity, students and instructors would only be required to attend class three days a week.
Despite the government instituting a system of rationing, Sunday saw miles-long lines of drivers waiting to fill up.
New 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.
In August, the new president Wickremesinghe will present a revised budget for the remainder of the year since the prior income and expense projections were too optimistic.