<p>Police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of students trying to storm the Sri Lankan president's home Sunday as the government offered an olive branch to demonstrators demanding his resignation.</p>.<p>Anti-riot squads used water cannon followed by tear gas, as furious protesters pulled down yellow iron barricades across a road leading to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo.</p>.<p>Nearby, thousands of men and women demonstrated for the 51st straight day outside Rajapaksa's seafront office, demanding he step down over the country's worst economic crisis since independence.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe went on national television on Sunday evening offering young protesters a greater say in how the country is administered.</p>.<p>"The youth are calling for a change in the existing system," Wickremesinghe said, laying out plans for 15 committees that would work with parliament to decide national policies.</p>.<p>"I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of the 15 committees," he said, adding that they could be drawn from the current protesters.</p>.<p>The demonstrations led to tense scenes in Colombo, where authorities struggled to disperse large crowds and chemical irritants hung over the streets.</p>.<p>Several men were seen picking up canisters spewing tear gas and throwing them back towards the police who fired them.</p>.<p>Female medical and science students joined the protests, with many running for cover when authorities unleashed water cannon.</p>.<p>Wickremesinghe is not from Rajapaksa's party, but was given the job after the president's elder brother Mahinda resigned as prime minister on May 9 following weeks of protests, and when no other legislator agreed to step in.</p>.<p>Wickremesinghe is the sole parliamentary representative of the United National Party, a once-powerful political force that was nearly wiped out in Sri Lanka's last elections.</p>.<p>Rajapaksa's party, which has a majority in the legislature, has offered to provide him with the necessary support to run a government.</p>.<p>Sunday's student action came a day after a similar clash when protesters tried to storm Rajapaksa's heavily guarded colonial-era official residence, where he has bunkered down since thousands surrounded his private home on March 31.</p>.<p>An unprecedented 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.</p>.<p>The government last month asked the International Monetary Fund for urgent financial assistance. Talks are continuing.</p>.<p>The country has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt.</p>.<p>Its currency has depreciated by 44.2 per cent against the US dollar this year, while inflation hit a record 33.8 per cent last month.</p>
<p>Police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of students trying to storm the Sri Lankan president's home Sunday as the government offered an olive branch to demonstrators demanding his resignation.</p>.<p>Anti-riot squads used water cannon followed by tear gas, as furious protesters pulled down yellow iron barricades across a road leading to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo.</p>.<p>Nearby, thousands of men and women demonstrated for the 51st straight day outside Rajapaksa's seafront office, demanding he step down over the country's worst economic crisis since independence.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe went on national television on Sunday evening offering young protesters a greater say in how the country is administered.</p>.<p>"The youth are calling for a change in the existing system," Wickremesinghe said, laying out plans for 15 committees that would work with parliament to decide national policies.</p>.<p>"I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of the 15 committees," he said, adding that they could be drawn from the current protesters.</p>.<p>The demonstrations led to tense scenes in Colombo, where authorities struggled to disperse large crowds and chemical irritants hung over the streets.</p>.<p>Several men were seen picking up canisters spewing tear gas and throwing them back towards the police who fired them.</p>.<p>Female medical and science students joined the protests, with many running for cover when authorities unleashed water cannon.</p>.<p>Wickremesinghe is not from Rajapaksa's party, but was given the job after the president's elder brother Mahinda resigned as prime minister on May 9 following weeks of protests, and when no other legislator agreed to step in.</p>.<p>Wickremesinghe is the sole parliamentary representative of the United National Party, a once-powerful political force that was nearly wiped out in Sri Lanka's last elections.</p>.<p>Rajapaksa's party, which has a majority in the legislature, has offered to provide him with the necessary support to run a government.</p>.<p>Sunday's student action came a day after a similar clash when protesters tried to storm Rajapaksa's heavily guarded colonial-era official residence, where he has bunkered down since thousands surrounded his private home on March 31.</p>.<p>An unprecedented 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.</p>.<p>The government last month asked the International Monetary Fund for urgent financial assistance. Talks are continuing.</p>.<p>The country has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt.</p>.<p>Its currency has depreciated by 44.2 per cent against the US dollar this year, while inflation hit a record 33.8 per cent last month.</p>