Covering troubled Sri Lanka may reveal many stories, some of which are more than half a century old
Covering troubled Sri Lanka may reveal many stories, some of which are more than half a century old
Sri Lanka’s ongoing cover Protest in Galle FaceColombo’s charming coastline tells me a lot about this pivotal moment in crisis-stricken Sri Lanka – the country’s changing dynamics ConflictEmanating out of this are the diverse demands, the diverse participants and their shared resolve, and the stubbornness of the leadership that is threatening the economic and political future of the country.
It has also revealed how a weak force can become a force in the face of resistance. Months after being elected to office with a thumping majority, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa designated an empty plot next to the colonial-era presidential secretariat as a “demonstration venue” to let the world know he was next door. But were not intolerable to come. In just two years, protesters have set up large and small tents in the same place they call ‘Gota Go Gama’ or ‘Gota Go Village’ and are refusing to leave until he resigns. Despite thunder and attacks from supporters of the ruling party, daily seaside demonstrations have forced at least some, including Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign, But Mr. Gotabaya remains in his position, unconcerned by the fury of the citizens.
Engaged in the many uncertainties and promises of a time where youth are demanding a radical departure from the country’s “corrupt”, “failed” political system, covering the protests also gives me many backstories, some halfway through. more than a century ago.
A recent massive labor strike in support of the protest brought the country to a standstill. Many compared it to the Ceylon strike of 1953, called by leftist parties against the government’s welfare cuts. This was the first major act of resistance by the people against the government in Sri Lanka’s post-colonial history. The spirit of the demands raised then is not much different from the protests today.
Many Tamils of the older generation clearly remember Colombo’s beach for another reason. It was here that members of the Federal Party, its icons and founders SJV Chelvanayakam, EMV Naganathan, and C. Vanniyasingham, were on a peaceful Satyagraha in 1956, protesting the Sinhala Only Act, one of the most racist laws to be passed in Sri Lanka. , “They were attacked and brutally beaten by thugs and miscreants, some were even torn their clothes, others were kicked and stamped, and many were brutally beaten up. [nearby] Beira Lake, while the police watched from the boundary of the old Parliament,” Sri Lankan legal scholar Nirmala Chandrahasan wrote in a 2012 piece,
Seeing young protesters in black, wearing ‘Gota go home’ headbands and shouting slogans in their hoarse voice for more than a month, I wonder what this country can become, none of the Sinhalese leaders in the past. fulfilling the legitimate demands of North, East and Hill Countries. Would the size of Sri Lanka’s economy have been different if the ruling class had reacted differently to the demands of the workers and the common people?
During my interviews with young participants, they often reflect on the country’s past as they re-imagine its future. He speaks of structural discrimination of Tamils and Muslims, state repression, militarization and justice for crimes committed during civil war and against dissidents. They demand an end to corruption, their “stolen money back” and economic justice.
Sometimes, these backstories come out when I least expect them—for example, during a recent interview a young man did three things while earning a degree. As I struggled to ask my grammatically challenging and likely questions in Sinhala, he reassured me, saying it was fine. “I wish I could speak to you in English. It is all because of this man,” he said with contempt. He was pointing to the colossal bronze statue of SWRD Bandaranaike, the former prime minister and the architect of the Sinhalese Keval Act, who visited the site.
meera.srinivasan@thehindu.co.in