Political quake in Sri Lanka

The anger of the people of this island-nation has been simmering for weeks. The people had reason to be angry. The country has run out of fuel, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared that the country was bankrupt, and it had no money to buy fuel. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa continued to be president, evading the demand to quit after his elder-brother and prime minster Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as did his younger brother Basil Rajapaksa. The appointment of Wickremesinghe as prime minister seemed to be a delaying tactic. So, the angry crowd broke into the president’s official residence, a colonial-era mansion, and saw for themselves the luxury in which the political leaders of the country lived even as the people in the country were struggling to get their daily bread. B.M.Chandrawathi, a handkerchief seller in Colombo told Reuters, “I’ve never seen a place like this in my life.” She brought her daughter and grandchildren to show the presidential palace which was out of bounds for them. She said, “They enjoyed superluxury while we suffered. We were hoodwinked. I wanted my kids and grandkids to see the luxurious lifestyles they were enjoying.”

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has now announced that he will quit on July 13. Wickremesinghe too is set to resign as the crowd entered his residence and burned it. The reason that the people are angry with Wickremesinghe is that he seemed to be playing along with the discredited Rajapaksa regime instead of putting them on notice on behalf of the people. He showed no energy or and he seemed to have no plan to put an end to the shortage of fuel, electricity, and other basic supplies. Gotabaya has now promised through the speaker of parliament that there will be an all-party government. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena is expected to be the interim president, following the constitutional provision.

The Rajapaksas had played havoc with the constitutional structure, with the president concentrating powers in his hands. Of course, this is not the first time that Sri Lankan leaders distorted the constitution to suit their personal whims. The people ignored the misuse of power, but the breaking point came when the country was reduced to bankruptcy by the Rajapaksa brothers. Their arrogance knew no bounds and they made fanciful policies like turning the country’s agriculture into an organic mode without any thought or preparation. The country ended in a debt trap with China, and the Rajapaksas walked into it with their eyes open. They were arrogant enough to believe that whatever they did was for the good of the country. And they brooked no criticism.

As there was no criticism of the government, and the government believed that there was no crisis worth speaking about, the Rajapaksas felt complacent that they were the unrivalled masters. The trouble began in April when Sri Lanka approached India and India extended $5 billion credit line. The talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4 billion bailout package began but the island-nation ran out of fuel literally and metaphorically. On Sunday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered the shipment of 3,700 metric tonnes of gas to be distributed among the people. Further shipments of 3,740 metric tonnes on July 11 and 3,200 metric tonnes on July 15 are due to arrive in Sri Lanka.

The location of President Rajapaksa is still not known. But it is clear now that the Rajapaksas have lost whatever credibility they had. And the country has to find new political leaders who will work to end the economic woes of Sri Lanka. The people will not believe the rhetoric, which has turned out to be false, that the Rajapaksa clan is the saviour of the country. The Rajapaksas have to leave the political stage.

That is the clear message from the people on Saturday.