Go Home Gota: Sri Lanka's weekend of chaos ends with Prez, PM agreeing to resign
Sri Lanka is reeling under chaos due to its economic fallout. On July 9, 2022, Saturday, a massive crowd of protesters stormed the Presidential palace and the Prime Minister’s private residence in Colombo. The protesters set the Prime Minister’s residence on fire and continued to take over the Presidential palace. The protesters have continued to occupy the two buildings. They have refused to vacate the places till the two heads of the state resign.
The chaos: According to CNN, at least 55 people have been injured in weekend protests so far. Reports said that the crowd was so massive that security personnel could only stand on the side and watch.
Protesters, young and old, families, etc. were seen taking pictures inside the Presidential palace, having picnics in the garden, and taking a dip in the swimming pool. The irony of the opulence of the palace and how the government heads lived compared to the current state of the country and its people was not lost on the protesters.
Graffiti outside the buildings demanded that the Rajapaksa family and other politicians return the money they stole from the people of Sri Lanka.
Where is the Sri Lankan government? Following the chaos of Saturday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe confirmed that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to step down from the post on July 13, 2022, Wednesday. Wickremesinghe himself also promised to resign as soon as a new government is formed. A new coalition government is in talks to take over the bankrupt island nation.
It was unknown whether the President and the Prime Minister were in the affected residences when the crowd stormed the places. Al Jazeera reported that Rajapaksa was evacuated before the protesters stormed the place. BBC News also reported that President Rajapaksa is on a navy vessel in Sri Lankan waters.
A bit of context: For years, Sri Lanka has been largely ruled by one family – the Rajapaksas. They came to prominence during the civil war of the early 2000s, winning the majority Sinhalese community’s support. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s brother, recently resigned as the Prime Minister of the country after pressure from the people. The government has long been accused of corruption and blamed for the current economic fallout.
Why the protests: Common people in the country are living under long blackouts of electricity, skipping meals as food becomes inaccessible, standing in unending queues to get fuel, medicines, etc. In simpler terms, the country has gone bankrupt.
AP quoting the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry said that the country had only “$25 million in usable foreign reserves”, while it is billions of dollars in debt. Its currency has tanked more than 80% so far, making imports much more expensive. Sri Lanka is hoping for a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, but reports say the international body needs assurance that the aid will not be squandered away.
There are multiple reasons for Sri Lanka’s current state. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war sure did make matters worse for the country, but the island nation itself had sabotaged its economy long before these global events.
- Sri Lanka’s tourism-dependent economy took a hit after the 2019 terror attacks;
- The massive tax cuts depleted the nation’s reserves;
- The country soon started defaulting on its hefty loans;
- The decision to stop importing fertilisers and make agriculture completely organic overnight led to a huge food production shortage;
- And the unfettered corruption in the government meant public funds were squandered away.
Where does India figure? India has been extending billions of dollars of credit and sending aid in terms of food, fuel, and medicine. India has said that it stands with its neighbour in this difficult period. India wants to cut off China’s influence and aid to Sri Lanka, fearing the hostile country’s presence closer to the Indian coast.
Sri Lanka is an important shipping route for the world. Experts say that the IMF or the international community cannot let the country drown in chaos being such a strategic point of contact for trade.