But all that changed on July 9, when protesters entered and took control, demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa before turning the palace upside down.
“This was the home of the most powerful man in the country,” said Sri Lankan author and analyst Asanga Abeyagoonasekera. “It had never been opened to the public.”
He has since moved to Singapore, arriving on a “private visit” confirmed by authorities. On Friday, the Sri Lankan parliament spokesman accepted Rajapaksa’s resignation, ending his nearly three-year term.
“Resignation was really the only option I had,” Abeyagoonasekera said. “People are tired, hungry and angry … And they demand change and responsibility because they are tired of seeing the same faces at the head.”
“We can’t afford to choose or choose”
Rajapaksa may have disappeared, but Sri Lanka is still struggling with a ruinous financial crisis and experts said things are likely to get worse before they get better.
Protests over daily power outages, rising fuel prices and severe shortages of commodities such as food and medicine began in March and showed few signs of attenuation.
“There is no zero political stability,” Abeyagoonasekera said. “We have seen three cabinets in two months, with a quarter on arrival. An urgent change is needed to restore the country.”
Despite a series of crisis control measures implemented by the government, the situation remains desperate for millions of people across the country. “We still lack food, medicine and fuel,” Colombo-based political analyst Amita Arudpragasam said. “Policies have also been inefficient and confusing.”
Analysts said the crisis began around 2019. But for many in Sri Lanka, the warning signs were evident even in 2010, when Mahinda, brother of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was re-elected president for a second term. mandate.
“It was a time bomb,” Arudpragasam said about the Rajapksa era. “The government was making big cuts to the rich elite and corporations when they should have raised taxes. The money that could have been reinvested in the population was used to pay off debt obligations, and none of that went. to help address the many weaknesses in our economy. “
Gotabaya Rajapaksa took power in late 2019, having previously held only the unelected post of defense secretary in his brother’s administration.
Critics say he mismanaged the economy, investing large sums in the military while implementing large tax cuts, despite international warnings, causing the government’s revenue to fall.
“Rajapaksa ignored anyone’s advice and received the support of people who did not understand how an economy like ours should work,” Arudpragasam said. “(The government) refused to admit that the economy was in crisis until it was too late.”
Urgent humanitarian aid is now needed, he said. “We are in a crisis situation in which we cannot afford to choose or choose.”
In 2020, the World Bank reclassified Sri Lanka as a low-middle-income country amid currency collapses and rising inflation rates.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe declared the country “bankrupt”. “Our economy has faced a total collapse,” he said.
“One of the best places in the world”
The crisis has shocked many in the international community, who remember a different Sri Lanka.
“In many ways, Sri Lanka is a success story in development,” said Philippe Le Houérou, former vice president of South Asia at the World Bank. “It stands out as a low-income country in a region that hosts the largest concentration of the world’s poor.”
After the end of Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war in 2009, the country entered a period of peace and stability. Trade flourished and international tourists returned to the country’s beaches, resorts and tea plantations.
Le Houérou highlighted Sri Lanka’s “impressive” social achievements after the war. “Economic growth has been robust and prosperity has spread widely,” he said, adding that life expectancy was also among the highest in the region.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) said Sri Lanka was the richest economy in South Asia. “The island is reaping the benefits of early investments in higher education and training … and should focus on the areas that are most important to activating efficiencies that will drive greater growth,” WEF said in a report. 2016. Experts said tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s most lucrative industries, never had a chance to recover after the 2019 Easter terrorist attacks followed by the pandemic, which affected the year Next.
“We had a solid agricultural base and one of the most exciting tourism industries in the world,” said Abeyagoonasekera, the author. “With the absence of proper governance, we went from being a fragile state to a state of crisis and now failed.”
But, he added, “Sri Lanka was one of the best places in the world to be and I think with the right guidelines and the institutions working, it can be that place again.”
In a statement on Saturday, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Beijing said the country was in talks with China for financial aid worth about $ 4 billion.
The sum includes a $ 1 billion loan to meet existing Chinese loan payments, a $ 1.5 billion exchange line and $ 1.5 billion in credit to buy goods in China, Ambassador Palitha said. Kohona.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on a bailout plan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has been “following closely” developments in the country since talks ended in June without an agreement. Government mismanagement has also further complicated the recovery, analysts said.
“The IMF will not give us financial support without political stability, not when the country is still on the needle,” said researcher Sanjana Hattotuwa. He added that although the protesters had achieved the first goals of getting Rajapaksa to resign, the country is now facing great uncertainty. “There is no easy solution to a broken economy,” he said. “But the first step would be a new government and elections are needed.”
“It’s time to change”
With Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of the country, public outrage has become Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, the current incumbent president.
“Wickremesinghe was the election of Rajapaksa as prime minister, that is the problem,” said Abeyagoonasekera, the author.
“He is politically connected to the Rajapaksas and his interest (always has been) in protecting them.”
Others reiterated the call for elections. “The protest movement is not slowing down and many Sri Lankan citizens have realized the importance of their role as citizens in holding those in power accountable,” said Ambika Satkunanathan, a lawyer. of human rights that once served the United Nations and the Commission on Human Rights. in Sri Lanka.
He also said he would not rule out the Rajapaksas returning to power. “They could have abandoned the ship while it was sinking, but they are smart and have been in the political game for decades,” he said.
“But now there is a window and it is time to change. The government must call elections sooner rather than later.”
Wickmenesinghe will continue as acting president until Parliament elects a new president. No date has yet been set for the vote, but according to the constitution Wickremesinghe will only be able to hold office for a maximum of 30 days.
Parliament will accept nominations for a new president on Monday, the spokesman said on Saturday.
Once elected, the new president will occupy the remaining two years initially allocated for Rajapaksa’s term.
The last parliamentary elections were held in 2020 and the presidential elections in 2019, months after the attacks on the Easter church took place. Gotabaya Rajapaksa won after a close fight against ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa.
Wickremesinghe’s appointment on Wednesday has not gone well with protesters who stormed his office demanding his resignation. Police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters and declared a state of emergency across the country.
On Friday, Sri Lanka’s ruling party confirmed that Wickremesinghe is its presidential candidate in the next election.
But Sri Lankan analysts remain determined and want to see new people and faces in government. “The interim president will be (the one) in charge of stabilizing the economy for a few months,” Abeyagoonasekera said. “But he wouldn’t be a leader elected by the people and that’s an obstacle.”
“Lack of responsibility”
The Rajapaksas drew much of their power from the “war hero” status granted to them by the majority population, following the declaration of victory of then-President Mahinda in 2009 in the 26-year civil war against the rebels. Tamil Eelam Liberation Tigers, a supervised campaign. by the then Secretary of Defense Gotabaya.
According to a 2011 United Nations report, Sri Lankan government troops were responsible for abuses, such as the deliberate bombing of civilians, summary executions, rapes and preventing food and medicine from reaching the affected communities. The UN report said “a number of credible sources have estimated that there could have been up to 40,000 civilian deaths.”
The Rajapaksas have always vehemently denied these accusations.
Satkunanathan, the human rights lawyer, said Sri Lanka’s next long-term leader must “address entrenched issues such as ethnic conflict, responsibility for human rights violations, as well as commitment and integrity. to rebuild public confidence. “
“Because we just can’t afford to fall back into a crisis like the one we’re facing today,” he said.
Global rights groups such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) also said the UN mandate should be maintained to investigate alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.
“Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other defendants should also be properly investigated and prosecuted,” said Elaine Pearson, HRW’s acting director for Asia.
Independent investigations and prosecutions on Sri Lanka’s economic mismanagement were also needed, he added.
“There should be investigations into alleged corruption that has contributed to this crisis, including any efforts to hide assets abroad,” he said …