Angry Sri Lankans want President to go

Sri Lanka’s cabinet and central bank governor have all quit as anger grows over rising food and fuel prices. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has invited all parties to be a part of a new government. But as the economic crisis worsens in the country, those who’ve taken to the streets in protest say they won’t stop until Mr Rajapaksa resigns.

Across an island bubbling with anger and desperation, the chants and the placards are mostly directed at one man.

“Go Gota Go,” “Go Gota Go,” they say.

Gota is short for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country’s controversial president who many blame for the dire situation people are facing.

“He needs to go, he’s robbed everything from us,” said Nadhie Wandurgala who defied a country-wide curfew to protest on Sunday with her husband and two daughters.

As she clutched a handmade poster she explained how her family had gone from living comfortable lives to daily discomfort – power cuts of up to 17 hours, a daily scramble to find gas to cook with, and long queues to get petrol for their car.

“Even hospitals are running out of medicine, schools are running out of paper for exams, but the politicians get electricity every day.”

“They’ve never stood in long queues to get gas or kerosene,” she said, her voice full of contempt for those in power.

Nadhie isn’t an activist or a seasoned protestor. She works for the city’s clergy and prefers to stay away from politics. But she’s typical of the groundswell of anti-government opinion which is uniting people from all backgrounds, faiths and ages.

As Sri Lanka runs low on foreign currency reserves, it has been unable to pay for imports of essentials such as fuel. A drop in tourism due to the pandemic is one factor, but many say the president has mismanaged this crisis.

Experts say policies introduced by Mr Rajapaksa after he was elected in 2019 – steep tax cuts and an import ban – have exacerbated the crisis, as has his reluctance to get help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr Rajapaksa has blamed previous administrations for the current state of affairs, but many like Nadhie’s daughter Anjalee say it’s time for him to resign immediately and accept full responsibility.

And as frustration grows, so have fears that his government is trying to stifle any criticism directed towards it.

Sunday’s curfew is just one measure designed to stop people from gathering. There was also a social media blackout and a special presidential notification prohibiting people from ” being on any public road, in a park, on trains or on the seashore” unless they have written permission from the authorities.

Nadhie and Anjalee were just some of the hundreds who risked arrest to attend a demonstration, taking to the streets despite the order to stay home.

“I came out today because my rights have been taken away. We have nothing to lose at this point.”

“Why have they even introduced this curfew ? Is it to protect us?” Anjalee mused. “It doesn’t make sense at all”.

“I would call these dictatorial, autocratic and draconian steps,” opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told me at an impromptu protest on Sunday.

 

Source: BBC