He had been picked on the back of a sexist roar of ultranationalism. But in the end, Sri Lanka’s strongman president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was reduced to escaping meekly and humiliating under the cover of darkness, refusing even to go to his own village before fleeing.
When Sri Lankans woke up Wednesday morning with the news that their harassed president had left for the Maldives on an air force plane the day he had promised to finally resign after months of protests, the mood in the country it was partly relief and partly rage.
“What an absolute coward,” said 27-year-old Sineth Hindle. “Gotabaya filled his pockets with our money, bankrupted our county and then fled. He must be held accountable.”
According to guarantees made by Rajapaksa, Wednesday would be the day he would resign, after months of protests calling for him to do so. However, as the morning dragged on into the night, there was still no word on the promise of the absent president’s resignation, putting the country in a state of unprecedented political limbo. Late at night, it was reported that Rajapaksa was on his way to Singapore.
On the streets of Colombo, where thousands of people gathered to pressure both President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to resign to give way to a new government, frustration increased as the day progressed.
One protester helps another after police fired tear gas to disperse them. Photo: Eranga Jayawardena / AP
“We will be here all night: for days, even years, if necessary, to make sure President Rajapaksa resigns,” said Nilakshika Chamanthi, 32, who sat on the grass in front of the executive. presidential.
As a flight attendant for Sri Lankan airlines he said he had seen over the years the privileges that were available to the Rajapaksa family; first Mahinda, who was president between 2005 and 2015, and then Gotabaya who was elected in 2019.
“They had two fleets of planes waiting at their disposal whenever they wanted, all the luxuries and VIP comfort that anyone could dream of,” Chamanthi said. “They have always wasted this country’s money with themselves, without caring for others. I voted for him, but now I see that he is nothing more than a thief who has taken this country to the darkest depths. “
As president since November 2019, Rajapaksa, along with his powerful family, are accused of mismanaging the economy, imposing ultranationalist policies that divided the country by ethnic lines and indulging in widespread corruption that virtually did. bankrupt the island before prosperous in the process.
There is hardly a citizen who has not been left suffering; Desperate tuk-tuk drivers talk of spending five days in the petrol queue and NGOs have issued warnings that the country could soon face a famine-like situation, so the problems of the state are worrying. food shortages and inflation. The night Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives, where he was kept in luxury in a five-star resort on the island, the price of bread rose another 20 rupees, leaving him out of reach for even more so Sri Lanka.
It was fuel and food shortages that took to the streets of Sri Lanka for the first time in April. But it has gradually been incorporated into an unprecedented diverse popular movement, now known as Aragalaya, which calls for systemic political and social change for a country that has so long been fractured by ethnic lines.
On Wednesday, anger began to mount after it was announced that interim Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, who has only been in office for two months, had been considered “acting president” by Rajapaksa before he left.
Protesters are waiting to enter Ranil Wickremasinghe’s office. Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters
Some pointed to the irony that after months of public demands to abolish the executive presidency, by contrast, on Wednesday the country now appeared to have two presidents, both lacking legitimacy and support. Wickremesinghe, who has been a constant in Sri Lankan politics for more than four decades and has been prime minister five times before, is accused of being a protector and apologist of the Rajapaksa family.
In the afternoon, crowds in Colombo began to rise towards the prime minister’s office to make it clear that a Wickremesinghe presidency, however temporary, was not acceptable to the people of Sri Lanka. They came across a thick wall of military and police, who began firing water cannons and throwing tear gas at the abandoned crowd, with a protester dying of respiratory problems.
They have always wasted this country’s money with themselves
But they took their faces with water, the protesters persisted and, within hours, had slammed the doors, entered the sacred corridors and claimed the prime minister’s offices as their own, as they had done with the President’s residential palace and offices on Saturday, a move that forced Rajapaksa to resign.
“Ranil is a fraud, that’s why we came here and took care of his office,” said 33-year-old Shaskika Sylvester as he was triumphant on the porch. “There were a lot of tear gas, water cannons, a lot of police and military, but we overcame everything. We are here to send a message that we will not stop fighting for our rights and our freedom in the face of corrupt leaders. “
Late on Wednesday evening, Wickremesinghe had said he would hand over power to a prime ministerial candidate nominated by opposition parties, but not before calling the protesters “fascists” and “extremists”.
Large crowds also gathered in front of the Sri Lankan parliament, where protesters were also beaten with tear gas by police. But inside the presidential palace, where Rajapaksa had lived until he fled to a military base on Saturday morning, the atmosphere was calm.
Sri Lanka: Thousands of protesters storm the president’s official residence – video report
Images of protesters who have taken over the palace on Saturday, jumping into their pool and training with their running machines, have been some of the most defining images of the protracted protest movement in Sri Lanka, and people are going continue queuing en masse. some travel hundreds of miles to take a look inside.
In the queue patiently to see the pool were four nuns from a Colombo convent, who were among many members of the Sri Lankan clergy who have been proactive in anti-government protests.
“This is an important moment in the history of Sri Lanka and it feels important to have the opportunity to visit this historic place when we have the opportunity,” Sister Kathleen said. “This was not just the house of Gotabaya, but so many leaders. But when we see the luxury life they were living, of course, we feel sad when we compare it to the fact that the people of this country are now starving and dying in the queues for gasoline. I’m very proud that this has been recovered by the people. “
Protest in front of the office of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, in Colombo. Photography: Adnan Abidi / Reuters
Namal Gunawardhana, 22, was among the team that had been appointed guardians of the property, restricting the number of people entering and sleeping on the floor at the same time to make sure nothing was stolen.
“If the president resigns, we will immediately evacuate the palace and return it: this is from the government, we know that,” he said. “But until that happens, we’ll stay here.”
As night approached, the footsteps of the presidential executive, formerly Rajapaksa’s office, became an impromptu concert stage and a platform for speeches that showed no sign of abandonment.
“We defend the peaceful protest: this is our right,” a protester roared into the microphone. “We stand for love: love for this country, not like Ranil Wickremesinghe’s love for power and the presidency. We will continue this struggle, to finally build a country we can be proud of collectively.”