Turbulent Sri Lanka - Economic Turmoil, Innumerable Infiltrations

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• May 10, 2022 | digital desk

The 76-year-old had to resign from the post of the Prime Minister on Monday (May 9) as Sri Lanka is currently facing unprecedented economic turmoil.

Digital Desk: On Friday (May 6), a massive strike spurred up in Sri Lanka by the workers of the private and public sectors against the president of the country and the former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The 76-year-old had to resign from the post of the Prime Minister on Monday (May 9) as Sri Lanka is currently facing unprecedented economic turmoil.

The current Sri Lankan protest 2022 is a series of continuous protests by non-partisan protesters. Both the general public and the opposition political parties are protesting against the present ruling government as it cannot resolve the economic turmoil. The current president of Sri Lanka is Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The core accusation of the people of Sri Lanka against the government and their current president is of mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy. This mismanagement has resulted in a massive economic crisis and innumerable infiltration. Blackouts for 10 to 13 hours, a fuel crisis, and many vital commodities have become a day-to-day affaire. 

Reportedly, the anti-government protesters are instigating the authorities to impose a massive campaign against the existing government, following which the peace and tranquility of Sri Lanka have plummeted. The ancestral home of the Rajpaksas in Hambantola has been set on fire by a group of anti-national protesters. The core demand of the protestors is the resignation of the Rajapaksha family immediately. The protesters are chanting slogans such as “Go home Gota”, “Go Home Rajapaksas”, and “Gota pissek”. The protestors include people from various sectors such as doctors, nurses, teachers, students, farmers, IT professionals, lawyers, social activists, sportspersons, and engineers. Sri Lanka youths have played a vital role in carrying out the protest. The youths of Sri Lanka are chanting blood-boiling slogans such as “Don’t play with our future” and “You have messed with the wrong generation”.   

Mahindra Rajapaksa is continuously facing treating calls from the opposition politicians for his arrest regarding the allegation of inciting violence against peaceful anti-government protesters. This clearly depicts that the country is under a massive crisis period. The supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked anti-government protestors. They are also instigating the authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy army troops in the capital. Popular hashtags are spurring up and are trending on Twitter, such as #GoHomeGota2022 #SriLankaEconomicalCrisis, #SriLanka #GotabayaRajapaksa and many others.  

The government of Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency, which has allowed the military to do many things, such as arresting civilians and imposing restrictions on social media usage. In place of stopping the agitation, these restrictions acted as a catalyst to increase the fire to burn more brightly in the minds of the Sri Lankans. The rate of protest increased upto great heights.

On April 3, 2022, 26 members of the second Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet resigned. In this resignation process, demerits were also spotted as the resignations don’t follow the constitutional protocols. The protestors have set the ancestral home of the Rajapaksha family on fire. Violent clashes broke out between the pro and anti-government protestors just outside the president’s office in Colombo. 

For the last one month, Sri Lanka has faced an acute shortage of the necessary commodities such as fuel, medicines, and electric supply. The price of necessary commodities has shot up. There is an acute lack of foreign currency, so the country cannot buy from other countries.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s house was set on fire by the protestors. A frenzied mob destroyed the DA Rajapaksa Memorial, which was constructed in memory of the father of Mahinda and Gotabaya in Medamulana, Hambantola. Initially, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s supporters also attacked the anti-government protestors at the protest sites, namely, MynaGoGama and GotaGaGama at Colombo. Even the properties of ministers and lawmakers of the ruling party have perished to the protestors. A massive fire broke out near the back gate of the Temple Trees. Police water cannons are being used, but the furious protesters also attack water cannon vehicles. The frenzied mob has attacked the house of Badulla District parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiarachch and further set it on fire.

The house of Santha Nishantha, the MP of Puttalam, was completely destroyed due to an arson attack. Arson attack is nothing but the willful or malicious burning of property, especially with criminal and fraudulent intent.     

Now the questions are, when will these crises come to an end? How and when will peace prevail in Sri Lanka? Who will take the lead to stop the violence and the instability? Only the fate of Sri Lanka has the answer for it, and to know that we have to wait and watch as a silent viewers until and unless peace prevails in the turbulent country.