At Galle Face Green on Colombo’s waterfront on Saturday, students, teachers, lawyers, actors and architects – many of whom said they were protesting for the first time – shouted “Crazy Gotha” and “Go home Gotha”, in a quote from Parachu of the president as they gathered under a puffy sun. They waved the Sri Lankan flag and held handwritten placards in Sinhala and English that carried messages such as “No more corrupt politicians” and “Save Sri Lanka from the Rajapaksa family.” “This is a moment to do or die,” said 29-year-old Buddhi Karunatne, who works in advertising. “For the first time, people of all political and social persuasions are coming together, with non-negotiable demands from the president to step down and hand over power to people who are able to pull us out of this socio-economic crisis.” The outburst of anger marked a staggering turn for Rajapaksa, 72, who won the presidency by a wide margin in 2019 and whose party secured a two-thirds majority in parliament less than a year later. These victories allowed Rajapaksa to nominate his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister and amend the constitution to strengthen the president’s powers. He also handed over three other members of the Rajapaksa family key positions in his cabinet, including portfolios of finance, agriculture and sports. Severe food and fuel shortages, along with long power outages, have led to weeks of widespread anti-government protests – with calls for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign. [Ishara S Kodikara/ AFP] At the time, many voters said they believed Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa would boost security and stabilize the country after a series of ISIL-inspired bombings that killed at least 250 people in 2019. This is partly because the brothers had overseen the Tamil separatists’ military defeat in 2009 after 26 years of bloody conflict. Mahida was then president and Gotambaya, his younger brother, was defense minister. But instead of improving things, the Rajapaksas “proved incapable and incapable of making the right decisions,” one protester said at a rally on Saturday. “Getta just can’t run a country,” said another. “He has no mind to deal with this kind of crisis.”
“There should be no Rajapaksa”
Sparked by a currency crisis, the recession is the worst in Sri Lanka in decades. This resulted in skyrocketing inflation that left the poor struggling to afford enough to eat and caused fuel shortages and long power outages that threatened to shut down businesses. Protesters in Galle Face Green said the government’s mismanagement was responsible for the financial collapse. This included the introduction of tax cuts that depleted state revenues, as well as a delay in seeking help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), even when debt repayments depleted foreign exchange reserves. In the last two years – as the COVID-19 pandemic also decimated Sri Lanka’s main tourism sector – the country’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen by more than 70 percent. “What has Gotha done in the last two years? He has done nothing, “said Buddadasa Galappaththi, a 74-year-old author. “We no longer want the Rajapaksas in power. No Rajapaksa should be there. “ Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, left, and his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, appeared during the inauguration of the Prime Minister at the Kelaniya Buddhist Temple in Colombo on August 9, 2020. [File: Dinuka Liyanawatte/ Reuters] What has also plagued the protesters is what they described as the Rajapaksas’ refusal to listen to public concerns. When people took to the streets in early March, protesters said some in the government dismissed them as “terrorists”, while other officials downplayed the gravity of the crisis. As the protests spread in late March, the president declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew. But amid widespread opposition, he was forced to cancel the measures within days. Kumudguli Vikaramatantri, who wore a joker hat and played a tambourine, said the Rajapaksas had made people fools. “There should be no more jokes.” Others said they went out to protest the Rajapaksas’ corruption. “People are starving, while Rajapaksas and their allies are living a good life,” said Sean Stillman, 26. “I came because I could not tolerate this injustice… People will not stop until Gota goes home.” A protester carrying a sign saying “Give us back our stolen money” also demanded a freeze on Rajapaksas assets. “There are rumors that the Rajapaksa family owns more than $ 18 billion in assets. That is three times the amount owed by foreign debt this year, “said Tharindu Jayawardena, 32. “The Rajapaksa regime must be held accountable. “I am also here to warn all politicians that the world will revolt if you steal.” Al Jazeera contacted a Rajapaksas spokesman to respond to the protesters’ allegations, but he did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘Meaningless’
The government, however, insisted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa would not resign. Johnston Fernando, a member of the ruling party, told parliament on Wednesday that “the president will not resign under any circumstances” and that the government would “face” the current crisis. The president, meanwhile, fired Basil Rajapaksa’s brother as finance minister, appointed a new central bank governor and set up a new council to advise the government on IMF consultations. But many in Saturday’s protest mocked the president’s actions. Holding a sign reading “Which part of homecoming do you not understand?”, Nituna Jayathunge said that the Rajapaksas in power “do not make sense.” “When people ask them to leave, they refuse to do so. “They insist that the people who led the country to this situation must be part of the solution.” “They are trying to stay in power and they are trying to avoid the consequences.” Sandhun Thudhugala, an activist with the nonprofit Law and Society Trust, described the government’s response as “arrogant.” But he was confident that the protesters would prevail. “We have been waiting all our lives for this moment, for the Sri Lankans to come together, for all walks of life to change something,” he said. “It’s not just about sending Gota home, it’s about changing the system that brought him there.” He added that “the protests will only intensify.”
