Sri Lanka has a new president, but here’s why many continue to protest : NPR
Eranga Jayawardena / AP
Sri Lanka’s parliament elected longtime politician Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new president in a secret ballot on Wednesday. He previously served as prime minister to former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country a week ago after months of protests calling for his resignation.
Due to Wickremesinghe’s close relationship with the former president, many protesters entered his home and set fire to his home last week, calling for his resignation.
Wickremesinghe took office as Sri Lanka’s economy continued to face high inflation and shortages of essential goods such as food, fuel and medicine. Many Sri Lankans are still waiting in line for hours for basic supplies, often at prices that have doubled or tripled in recent months. World food program most recent analysis reported that 86% of families skip meals, eat less or buy less food.
Eranga Jayawardena / AP
Sri Lankan historian at Oxford University Shamara Wettimuny said former president Rajapaksa’s rule was, “To put it bluntly, it’s a short-lived shipwreck.”
She talked to All things Considered about what the people of Sri Lanka are expecting from the new government and what has led to this moment.
Highlights of the interview
On whether Wickremesinghe signaled any plans to avert the country’s economic crisis
He has made some progress in negotiations with the IMF, who we hope will get some kind of bailout and he has been working to try to improve our fuel situation. I. But those changes are yet to be felt at the ground level. Walking around Colombo now, we only see busy lines of cars running around the city, where people have been queuing for days to get gas. So the crisis is still very real and needs to be addressed.
About the political journey of the former president of Sri Lanka, who is now in exile
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is new to electoral politics. He has a military background, and he later served as defense minister under his brother By Mahinda Rajapaksa government from 2005 to 2015.
The Rajapaksa government during the civil war is widely seen as ruthless in ending the conflict that has lasted more than 30 years, but there is still a large accountability gap. End of the bloody war, and a lot of Tamils killed or disappeared. And these vanished families are still there looking for answers.
The presidential campaign in 2019 was his first election campaign.
To put it bluntly, it was a shipwreck shortly. He took power in November 2019 on the basis of economic development as well as national security. And the fact is, he doesn’t deliver either.
I need to stress that his policy of “national security” actually refers to the persecution of minorities, especially the Muslim minority … in response to Muslim attacks. Catholic Church on Easter Sunday takes place in Sri Lanka in April 2019.
However, after the advent of COVID, the economy took a hit. Over the last year, one of the biggest mistakes this former president has made was to introduce, overnight, fertilizer ban and … organic fertilizer policy. But with little or no preparation, the farmer simply failed to prepare and our crops were damaged as a result. This failed fertilizer policy is part of the reason we are facing a huge food shortage at the moment and that has added to the crisis we are currently experiencing.
Rafiq Maqbool / AP
On where the regime has drawn support from within Sri Lankan society
The regime under Gotabaya Rajapaksa really was draw support from the Sinhalese Buddhist majority. The Sinhalese [are] the largest ethnic community, overwhelmingly identified as Buddhist, they make up about 70% of the population.
He came to power in November 2019, vowing to bring them economic prosperity, but also to protect them from minorities. His campaign is undeniably one that says he will put minorities back in their place.
About what led to then President Rajapaksa’s request to resign
The economy is probably the biggest problem. In terms of agriculture, the failure of the fertilizer policy means that we are actually facing a huge food shortage. We’re having huge food price inflation, and inflation in general. And recently, we had a prolonged power cut.
So, for example, from March to April, some people had power cuts for up to 10 hours. In the last few months, there has been a severe shortage of fuel and gas that has prevented people from finding the gas they need for cooking. Many families have reported that they have reduced to one meal a day.
As to whether she thinks the diverse coalition behind the protests will survive
The protesters were united around this idea which in Sinhala is called “Aragalaya”, which means “struggle.”
They responded to the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as president and they said they consider him an illegitimate president, and they will continue the protest. Of course, there will be others across Sri Lanka who will say “give Ranil a chance to do the job he’s done. He’s seen economic policy successes in the past, yes. He’s probably one of the people who can really help us navigate this course.”
But no, I don’t see the protests going away anytime soon.
On how Ranil Wickremesinghe can rule as the country’s next president
Starting on a negative note, since becoming acting president, after the resignation of President Rajapaksa, he introduced a curfew and declared a state of emergency.
Rafiq Maqbool / AP
Now, many would say the only emergency is the food crisis and the energy crisis. But that does not guarantee the state of emergency he has declared. And a lot of the public saw the state of emergency he declared and the regulations announced in the state of emergency like [a means] to protect yourself and the MPs that the public is protesting against. So that’s not really a hopeful sign.
However, he is negotiating with the IMF. A lot of the international community has agreed to work with Wickremesinghe. And so I think he will prioritize the economic sector going forward.
On whether recent protests have overcome the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka
I am afraid I will have to say that it is unlikely that ethnic divisions will be remedied so soon.
A lot of Sinhalese people who are taking to the streets right now have not come out yet because they are protesting the human rights abuses that have taken place under various Rajapaksa administrations.
They are there mainly for economic reasons. And that’s one reason so many minorities have been skeptical about joining the protests, even though they did. So I’m afraid to say that, once the immediate economic crisis is resolved, a lot of people doubt that the Sinhalese will return home again, and stop supporting claims of accountability. process and justice, as well as other grievances of minorities. featured as part of the protests.