Unprecedented shortages of food and fuel along with record inflation and blackouts have inflicted widespread misery in Sri Lanka’s most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.
Anger over the economic crisis and the government’s handling of the situation has led to weeks of unrest and calls for the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to step down from power. On Monday, his brother, the prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned and parliament was dissolved as political turmoil intensified and the ruling party further lost its grip on power.
Where are the protests?
Since March, demonstrations have spread across the country of 22 million people as people began to feel the bite of the economic crisis and blamed the government for mishandling the economy and overseeing rampant corruption which has pushed Sri Lanka to the brink of bankruptcy.
Many initially took to the streets despite emergency laws that made demonstrations illegal and gave the government sweeping powers. Over the weekend, the president reinstated the state of emergency he had repealed a few weeks before.
Thousands of people have been protesting on a daily basis, particularly in Colombo, where a vast protest camp was set up outside the office of the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, widely known as Gota. Crowds gathered every day calling for him to resign, with “Gota Go Home” the clarion call of the demonstrations.
Many of the protests have been peaceful, with Catholic clergy and nuns leading a procession in the capital.
However, there was the first death of a protester in April, when police in the small town of Rambukkana, 50 miles outside Colombo, fired on a crowd demonstrating against rising fuel prices.
On 9 May, protests in Colombo turned violent when pro-government supporters attacked demonstrators with iron bars and wooden rods and police responded with teargas and water cannon, leaving almost 200 people injured. Two ruling-party MPs were accused of shooting at anti-government protesters in different part of the country. In retaliation, houses and vehicles of several pro-Rajapaksa politicians and the residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa were set on fire.
What is the political situation?
The unrest and dissatisfaction with the government led to Sri Lanka’s entire cabinet apart from the president and, initially, the prime minister, resigning from their posts this week. Rajapaksa sought to form a unity government as public unrest surged over the ruling family’s handling of the economy. His once-powerful coalition is in turmoil after a string of defections, capped by the new finance minister’s resignation just one day after taking office.
President Rajapaksa revoked a state of emergency late on 10 May after dozens of lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition, leaving his government in a minority in parliament. The move was aimed at avoiding a vote on the extraordinary laws in parliament where the government is five short of the 113 seats required for a simple majority.
What will happen next?
Politically, the possible next steps could include the appointment of a new prime minister to replace the president’s elder brother, Mahinda, or snap parliamentary elections way ahead of a scheduled vote in 2025.
Although the government is now in a minority, there has been no clear signal that opposition legislators will attempt a no-confidence motion to topple it immediately. However, opposition parties have already rebuffed the president’s call to join a unity administration led by him and his brother.
Nimal Lanza, a former minister who has also abandoned Rajapaksa’s administration, conceded that the ruling party no longer had a mandate to govern. “I beg and appeal to you to take the side of the protesters,” he told parliament, addressing the prime minister, who attended the session but remained silent.
How bad is the economic crisis?
A critical lack of foreign currency has left Sri Lanka struggling to service its ballooning $51bn foreign debt, with the pandemic torpedoing vital revenue from tourism and remittances. There have been unprecedented shortages as a result, with no sign of an end to the economic woes.
Economists say Sri Lanka’s crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing and ill-advised tax cuts.
The foreign exchange shortage forced the government to announce the closure of three of its diplomatic missions in Norway, Iraq and Australia. Three others, in Nigeria, Germany and Cyprus, were shut in January.
A doctors’ body told the government there was an acute shortage of medicines that could collapse the health system. “Failure to assure a continuous and adequate supply of essential medical drugs will lead to collapse of the entire health system,” it told the health ministry in a letter. “This will create a life-threatening situation to our citizens, who are already facing an unprecedented crisis situation,” the Government Medical Officers Association said.
Has the international community responded?
During the protests in the capital, more than 60 people have been arrested and many have said they were tortured in police custody.
The UN Human Rights Council said it was closely watching the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka, which is already facing international censure over its human rights record.
“The drift towards militarisation and the weakening of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the state’s ability to effectively tackle the economic crisis,” the UNHRC said.
