As Sri Lanka plunges into its worst financial crisis since independence, with food, fuel, medicine and electricity becoming increasingly scarce, it is calling on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa – often referred to as Gota – to resign. , 50-year-old Upul, who lives in a poor northern suburb of the city, is among those pushed to the brink of survival. As gasoline became scarce and expensive, Upul could no longer afford to pay for his rental rickshaw and lost his only average income. Now he and his four children survive on rice and water alone. Vegetables and powdered milk are very expensive these days. “The only thing we can do now is drink poison, we’re done,” Upul said. “I voted for Gotha thinking he was a lion, now I see he is worse than a dog. “I love my country, but I do not know if it will remain a country for my children.” The effects of Sri Lanka’s economic collapse have not left a corner of the country untouched. There are power outages that darken homes and storefronts for up to eight hours daily, forcing people to cook on cracked wood, and queues of many kilometers form outside gas stations. School exams and newspapers had to be canceled because the government and the media could not afford the paper to print them. Doctors have declared a medical crisis as pharmacies and hospitals are empty of critical medicines and warnings have been issued that famine could be imminent for the country’s 22 million people as food stocks dwindle. In Colombo, police are standing at junctions because the traffic lights have gone out. But nowhere can the seismic shift be felt more in the country than on the streets. In recent weeks, unprecedented protests in Sri Lankan history have taken place across the country, not led by an organized movement but fueled by a collective outrage over politicians who accuse them of driving their country to the ground. with the result that many describe it as the “Arab Spring of Sri Lanka”. Protesters in Colombo demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Photo: Chamila Karunarathne / EPA Some of those taking to the streets are the younger generation of Sri Lankans, furious at what they see as their own future being fueled by the divisions and incompetences of the older generation. Vasi Samudra Devi, a 26-year-old artist, said she was “incredibly afraid of what might happen”. “It’s everyone’s duty to protest, the situation here is so bleak for young people,” Devi said. “These corrupt politicians have stolen our money and ruined our future. “We deserve better than that.” Jehan Perera, executive director of the Sri Lankan National Peace Council, described the scale and scale of the protests as “absolutely unprecedented”. “I have never seen the way people from all communities take to the streets,” he said. “And it happens organically, there is no brain or political party behind it all. “It is very much led by the youth, but you have a middle class, old people, rich businessmen, families, people who have never protested before.” “Anger and excitement do not go away,” Perera added. “These protests are not going to end any time soon.” The anger of protesters across the country has mainly targeted Rajapaksa, the powerful male president of the country who was elected in 2019 at the back of a tough nationalist agenda. Part of Sri Lanka’s most powerful family dynasty and in charge of the army during the last years of the civil war, in which he is accused of committing war crimes, he has long been the most feared man in national politics. For the past two years, he has amended the constitution to bolster his own executive powers, and five of his family members have held senior government positions, including Mahinda’s brother, who is prime minister. But his government’s disastrous economic decisions since taking office – including the abolition of austerity measures when he came to power, tax cuts to 8% of GDP, the printing of huge sums of money pushing inflation, the refusal to restructure The country’s growing foreign debt and depletion of all foreign exchange reserves – have now made him the most ridiculed man in Sri Lankan politics. The protest rally was “Gota go home”, a reference to his previous dual US citizenship. His entire cabinet resigned last week and more than 40 politicians withdrew from his governing coalition to become independent, warning that “if we do not act now, there will be a river of blood in the country.” But Rajapaksa insisted he had no intention of resigning. “Obviously he can not run a government,” said Thiyagaraja Waradas, a 35-year-old senior lecturer at Columbus University who attended a rally organized by the LGBT community. “The president must leave: that is the only way.” Protest near the official residence of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo. Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters Waradas gestured to the crowds, where national flags mingled with rainbow LGBT banners and union placards to demonstrate the diversity and non-partisan nature of the demonstrations, unusual in a country still divided by ethnic lines. Nearby, members of the Buddhist clergy stood in their orange robes, formally demanding political responsibility, and on the street, hundreds of IT workers were heard shouting “Bug 404: Democracy was not found.” Later that day, the LGBT protest would merge with a Muslim-led rally where rainbow flags were flown as Muslim families broke the Ramadan fast and distributed samosas. “The nature of this crisis is that no one is left unaffected,” Waradas said. “Most of my friends find it difficult to pay rent, they have lost their jobs, they have no food or medicine. “They have almost let our people die.” Charu, a 24-year-old student, also expressed outrage at the Rajapaksa dynasty, which has ruled Sri Lanka continuously since 2002. “People are starving, we have terrible debts because of it and we can not even turn on the lights. But he does not take responsibility. ” Like many around him, the Tsar shook his head sadly as he spoke of the future. “I have no hope,” he said. Many fear that Sri Lanka is facing a political stalemate as, according to its system, Rajapaksa cannot be voted on by parliament. However, the main opposition party is preparing a motion of censure against its party in Parliament. The opposition’s goal is to weaken the president, either to resign or to pass legislation that would reduce his powers, allowing them to form a new government out of his hands. “Gotabaya has lost the trust and legitimacy of the people, it is impossible for him to continue,” said Sanakian Rasamanikkam, of the opposition National Alliance Tamil party. On Saturday, thousands took part in one of the largest demonstrations in Colombo to date, covering sidewalks along the sidewalk where many luxury works have been built, which are now considered inaccessible monuments of insults in recent years. Friends Nelum Leanage, 69, and Manel Rajakaruna, 72, stood among the crowds wrapped in Sri Lankan flags. “We want the president to return all the money he stole from us, then give up politics and leave this country,” Leanage said. “He does not belong here yet, he has stolen billions from us, he has a luxurious life while we have nothing. “Unlike him, we have no other country to go to.” Rajakaruna shook her head. “Even during 26 years of war things have never been so bad,” he said. “This is the worst I have ever seen in the country.”
