November 15, 2024
Sri-Linka

In 2020, Mahinda Rajapaksa won elections to become Sri Lanka’s prime minister, serving under his brother and president Gotabaya. In 2021, another sibling, Basil, was named finance minister, tightening the family’s hold on power.

Less than a year later, the country’s pre-eminent political dynasty is in trouble, as protesters take to the streets making demands that would have been unthinkable before the economic crisis struck: that the president steps down.

“Gota go home!” hundreds of people chanted along a leafy boulevard in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo this week as cars drove past, honking their horns in support.

From beachside towns in the south to the Tamil-speaking north, more than 100 demonstrations have broken out across the island nation since last week, according to the WatchDog research collective.

The unprecedented wave of spontaneous protests reflects people’s anger at spiralling inflation, fuel shortages, power cuts and what they see as rulers’ mismanagement of the crisis that has made it worse.

“Sri Lankans are very, very patient. You’ve really got to push them into a corner before they react,” said Chantal Cooke, a protester, holding a banner demanding that the Rajapaksas resign.

Within parliament, too, the family is losing ground.

Basil resigned on Sunday along with other members of the cabinet, and on Tuesday at least 41 lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition, leaving the government with a minority in the 225-member house and opening up the possibility of a no-confidence motion.

“The more it (the crisis) gets dragged on, the worse it will be for the Rajapaksa family,” said political analyst Kusal Perera, who has written a book on Mahinda, himself a former president.

The president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the crisis and on calls for him to resign.

But chief government whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said Gotabaya, now 72, had been given a mandate to govern by 6.9 million voters, the number who supported him in presidential elections in 2019.

“As a government, we are clearly saying the president will not resign under any circumstances,” Fernando told parliament on Wednesday. “We will face this.”

NINE SIBLINGS

The fifth of nine siblings born to a political family in Sri Lanka’s Buddhist-dominated south, Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa joined the Sri Lankan military in 1971 and took part in operations against the Tamil insurgency during the country’s 26-year civil war.

In 2005, years after he retired and emigrated to the United States, Gotabaya returned to Sri Lanka and joined Mahinda’s government as defence secretary, overseeing the brutal end of a civil war that killed between 80,000-100,000 people overall.

The United Nations has accused both sides of war crimes during the conflict, and Gotabaya faced civil prosecution for alleged wartime atrocities. He has maintained his innocence, and the case was dismissed due to political immunity.

Riding a nationalist wave in the wake of deadly attacks by Islamist militants earlier that year, Gotabaya swept to power in 2019 with a landslide mandate.

Months later, the Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party crushed the opposition in parliamentary elections, helping his brother Mahinda become prime minister.

“We will ensure (Sri Lanka) will not stand disappointed during our tenure,” Mahinda said after his victory in 2020. The island nation was already on the path to crisis by then.

DEBT AND DEMONSTRATIONS

Historically Sri Lanka has had weak finances where expenditure has exceeded income.

Some critics say that frailty was compounded when Gotabaya enacted deep tax cuts soon after taking office, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to further decimate the tourism-reliant economy.

Despite vocal appeals from some experts and opposition leaders, the government declined help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for months, even as the financial crisis worsened, leaving foreign exchange reserves perilously low.

They stood at around $2.31 billion as of February, while Sri Lanka faces debt payments of around $4 billion during the rest of this year.

After a shift in stance, Sri Lanka is due to start talks with the IMF this month.

In a televised address in mid-March, Gotabaya said he understood the pain that ordinary Sri Lankans were facing, as imports stalled because of the lack of foreign exchange and as inflation rocketed.

“I am well aware of the shortages of essential items and increase in prices,” he said. “I am also aware of issues such as gas shortages, fuel shortage and power cuts.”

But he distanced himself from the problems, saying: “This crisis was not created by me.”

For some protesters and opposition politicians, that changes little.

“The red line has been crossed. Public confidence in this government has dropped to absolute zero,” said Udaya Gammanpila, a former cabinet minister in the Rajapaksa administration.

Back on Colombo’s streets, outside a theatre that bears Mahinda Rajapaksa’s name, protester Cooke said the Rajapaksas had to go.

“People are not going to settle for anything other than them all leaving,” she said. “They want all of them out.”

171 thoughts on “In stunning reversal, protests leave Sri Lanka’s ruling dynasty teetering

  1. Wonderful blog! Do you have any helpful hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any ideas? Thanks a lot!

  2. Howdy very nice website!! Guy .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally…I’m glad to seek out numerous useful info right here within the publish, we want develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.

  3. Greetings from Los angeles! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to browse your site on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the knowledge you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, wonderful blog!

  4. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

  5. Hey there! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when browsing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem. If you have any recommendations, please share. Many thanks!

  6. Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the pictures on this blog loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  7. Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It actually used to be a amusement account it. Glance complex to far brought agreeable from you! By the way, how can we keep in touch?

  8. I like what you guys are up too. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site :).

  9. Hey, you used to write great, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!

  10. Good day! I simply wish to give an enormous thumbs up for the good data you might have here on this post. I will be coming again to your weblog for more soon.

  11. I wish to get across my respect for your kindness for those people who require help with that issue. Your real dedication to getting the message all over came to be remarkably functional and has truly empowered guys and women much like me to arrive at their desired goals. Your own invaluable tips and hints denotes a lot to me and far more to my office colleagues. With thanks; from all of us.

  12. I have learn a few excellent stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much attempt you put to create one of these wonderful informative site.

  13. Thank you for another informative website. Where else may I am getting that kind of info written in such an ideal way? I’ve a mission that I’m simply now working on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such info.

  14. What Exactly is Tonic Greens? Tonic Greens is a dietary supplement that has proven effective in helping many people manage the herpes virus and boost their immune systems without adverse effects.

  15. There are certainly lots of details like that to take into consideration. That could be a great level to carry up. I offer the ideas above as general inspiration however clearly there are questions like the one you convey up where a very powerful thing will probably be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if finest practices have emerged around things like that, but I am certain that your job is clearly recognized as a fair game. Both girls and boys feel the influence of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

  16. What is Renew? Renew is a dietary supplement designed to support blood flow while also aiming to boost testosterone levels and provide an explosive energy drive

  17. What i do not understood is if truth be told how you’re no longer really a lot more well-appreciated than you might be now. You are very intelligent. You recognize therefore significantly on the subject of this matter, made me personally consider it from a lot of various angles. Its like men and women don’t seem to be interested except it is one thing to do with Lady gaga! Your individual stuffs outstanding. All the time handle it up!

  18. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road. All the best

  19. Really fantastic information can be found on web site. “You have to learn that if you start making sure you feel good, everything will be okay.” by Ruben Studdard.

  20. What Is FitSpresso? The effective weight management formula FitSpresso is designed to inherently support weight loss. It is made using a synergistic blend of ingredients chosen especially for their metabolism-boosting and fat-burning features.

  21. What Is FitSpresso? The effective weight management formula FitSpresso is designed to inherently support weight loss. It is made using a synergistic blend of ingredients chosen especially for their metabolism-boosting and fat-burning features.

  22. F*ckin’ amazing things here. I’m very happy to look your post. Thanks so much and i am having a look ahead to contact you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?

  23. What Is Sugar Defender? Sugar Defender is a meticulously crafted natural health supplement aimed at helping individuals maintain balanced blood sugar levels. Developed by Jeffrey Mitchell, this liquid formula contains 24 scientifically backed ingredients meticulously chosen to target the root causes of blood sugar imbalances.

  24. Great ?V I should certainly pronounce, impressed with your web site. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs as well as related info ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, web site theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Nice task..

  25. What Is LeanBiome? LeanBiome is a natural weight loss supplement that reverses bacterial imbalance in your gut microbiome with the help of nine science-backed lean bacteria species with Greenselect Phytosome, a caffeine-free green tea extract crafted with patented phytosome technology.

  26. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

  27. Hello my family member! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include approximately all important infos. I would like to look extra posts like this.

  28. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one these days..

  29. Hey There. I discovered your weblog the usage of msn. This is a very neatly written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your helpful info. Thank you for the post. I’ll definitely comeback.

  30. I just couldn’t depart your web site prior to suggesting that I extremely loved the standard info an individual provide on your visitors? Is gonna be again continuously in order to check up on new posts

  31. Generally I don’t learn post on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very forced me to check out and do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thanks, quite great post.

  32. What i don’t understood is in truth how you’re not really a lot more smartly-favored than you might be right now. You’re very intelligent. You recognize thus significantly in the case of this topic, produced me individually consider it from so many numerous angles. Its like women and men don’t seem to be involved until it’s something to accomplish with Girl gaga! Your own stuffs great. At all times take care of it up!

  33. Hi there, I discovered your website by way of Google at the same time as searching for a similar topic, your website came up, it appears to be like good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

  34. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d without a doubt donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  35. My wife and i have been comfortable Ervin could do his studies from your precious recommendations he gained through your web pages. It’s not at all simplistic to simply be releasing hints which usually some others could have been making money from. We know we need you to appreciate for this. All of the illustrations you made, the easy website navigation, the relationships your site help to instill – it is everything extraordinary, and it’s really letting our son in addition to the family believe that that theme is awesome, and that is particularly serious. Thanks for all the pieces!

  36. I’ve been browsing on-line greater than three hours today, yet I by no means found any attention-grabbing article like yours. It¦s beautiful price sufficient for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content material as you probably did, the net can be much more useful than ever before.

  37. You really make it seem really easy along with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something that I feel I’d never understand. It seems too complex and extremely wide for me. I am having a look forward to your next publish, I’ll attempt to get the dangle of it!

  38. Unlock the potential of your pineal gland with the potent Pineal XT Dietary supplements serve as a gateway to expanding one’s range of expression, and Pineal gland support supplements, in particular, can elevate mental and spiritual capabilities. Pineal XT vitamins offer a pathway to endless joy, prosperity, health, and love. These supplements are designed to bolster the pineal gland’s function, enhance overall body performance, and boost energy levels. It stands as a premier alternative for reducing the impact of fluoride, pollutants, and the natural aging process.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *