Sri Lanka was preparing for more upheaval as the newly appointed president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, threatened to crack down on the rallies that led to the ouster of his predecessor, deeming them "illegal."

Wickremesinghe made it plain that he would not allow anyone he considered to be inciting violence after being selected as Gotabaya Rajapaksa's successor by the parliament.

"If you attempt to overthrow the government and occupy the president's and prime minister's offices, you are violating the law," he stated.

"We will punish them in accordance with the law. We will not permit a minority of protesters to stifle the demands of the silent majority for a political system overhaul."

On Thursday, Wickremesinghe is expected to designate parliament leader and former classmate Dinesh Gunewardena as prime minister. Gunawardena is a well-known Rajapaksa supporter who served as a cabinet member throughout the administrations of both Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe, who proclaimed a state of emergency this week, has previously made statements branding demonstrators "fascists" and hinting he would not hesitate to suppress the demonstrations.

Less than an hour after he was elected president on Wednesday, a court order was issued preventing anyone from congregating inside a 50-meter radius of a statue at Colombo's Galle Face, where protesters have been camped for months.

People disobeyed the order, and hundreds gathered on the steps of the president's offices, which are still seized by the protest movement, to chant "deal Ranil" and "Ranil bank robber" in allusion to Wickremesinghe's reputation as a calculating politician and his involvement in a bank bond scam. Hundreds of police and military personnel surrounded the gathering but did not interfere.

Wickremesinghe called for an "end to division" and said he intended to "bring everyone together so that a national consensus can be reached on the way forward" after being voted president by parliamentarians.

However, questions remain as to whether Wickremesinghe can form a cross-party unity government acceptable to the people, given that the major opposition parties expressed their support for the failed presidential candidate.

Wickremesinghe is close to the Rajapaksa family and has served as prime minister six times. Protesters are concerned that he will shield the Rajapaksas from accountability, as he has been accused of doing in the past, and that he will not initiate the constitutional change required by the protest movement, including the abolition of the executive presidency.

Wickremesinghe is expected to serve until November 2024, the remainder of Rajapaksa's mandate.

Anura Goonaratna, 53, an exporter of toys, stated, "Ranil will be expelled because he is a crook without a mandate." This protest movement will deteriorate. There must be an end to this, and the only conclusion we will accept is Ranil's expulsion, no matter what."

Wednesday, the CIA director joined in on the Lankan implosion controversy by blaming "stupid bets" on high-debt Chinese investment.

American intelligence chief Bill Burns stated at the Aspen security summit in Colorado, "The Chinese have a lot of clout to throw around, and they can make a very compelling case for their investments."

But he argued that governments should look at "a place like Sri Lanka today, which is heavily indebted to China and is suffering catastrophic economic and political consequences as a result of making some really stupid bets about their economic future."

I believe this should serve as a cautionary tale for many other parties — not only in the Middle East or South Asia but worldwide – regarding the importance of remaining vigilant in such transactions.

China has made substantial investments in Sri Lanka, strategically placed in the Indian Ocean and off the coast of India and is frequently viewed as a rival of Beijing, and has worked closely with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

However, Sri Lankan scholars have contested the China debt trap theory. China is only responsible for 10% of Sri Lanka's obligations, the majority of which were concessionary loans, and repayments accounted for less than 5% of the country's annual foreign debt service.

Much more of the country's foreign exchange reserves were depleted by its high-interest loans for international sovereign bonds, most of which were issued by the United States. Due to over $1.5 billion in 2022, these bond repayments depleted Sri Lanka's reserves and ultimately compelled the country to default in May, as it was effectively insolvent.

Last week, Rajapaksa departed the nation and resigned amidst massive protests over catastrophic economic conditions. The island's food and fuel supplies were practically depleted due to a lack of foreign currency to pay for essential imports.