Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic and political crisis has created new kinds of solidarities among citizens, as they try and help each other ride through fuel and food shortages in the absence of assistance or information from the government. Take the fuel queues that stretch for a kilometer or more outside petrol pumps in every direction, for example. Vehicles have to[Read More...]
To quote Ahilan Kadirgamar, a political economist at the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, the uprising is “a revolt and not yet a revolution, because it doesn’t want to change fundamental social relations… or property relations.”1 As was the case with the massive upheaval in Egypt in 2011 (https://multiracialunity.org/2021/02/24/revolt-in-india-does-a-seismic-…,
Anoli Perera (Sri Lanka), Dream 1, 2017. On 9 July 2022, remarkable images floated across social media from Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. Thousands of people rushed into the presidential palace and chased out former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing him to flee to Singapore. In early May, Gotabaya’s brother Mahinda, also a former president, resigned from […]
Face à un effondrement complet de l'économie Sri Lankaise, impossibilisant l'import de produits de première nécessité, les citoyens se révoltent. C'est l'une des pires crises que le pays ait connue depuis son indépendance en 1948. Celle-ci est due à deux causes majeures. Un État quasi-mafieux qui amasse toutes les richesses du pays laissant son peuple dans une très grande pauvreté. Et la décision saugrenue du président de passer, du jour au lendemain, à une économie 100% (...)
Face à un effondrement complet de l'économie Sri Lankaise, impossibilisant l'import de produits de première nécessité, les citoyens se révoltent. C'est l'une des pires crises que le pays ait connue depuis son indépendance en 1948. Celle-ci est due à deux causes majeures. Un État quasi-mafieux qui amasse toutes les richesses du pays laissant son peuple dans une très grande pauvreté. Et la décision saugrenue du président de passer, du jour au lendemain, à une économie 100% (...)
People following the 2022 Sri Lanka political-economy crisis will be able to decipher that the two are closely linked. Political eruptions in Sri Lanka since April have usually followed intense periods of economic shortages. In March there were crippling 12-hour power cuts, resulting in small demonstrations that culminated on 9 April when thousands gathered at the Galle Face Greens. This[Read More...]
Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to return to the country from Singapore, a Sri Lankan lawmaker says. Cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena told reporters on Tuesday that G Rajapaksa was not in hiding but the date of his return was not known. The former president fled Sri Lanka after mass unrest over an economic crisis. Many protesters say[Read More...]
Guest post by MAYA JOHN [This article is based on a talk delivered at the online session organised by International Solidarity with the People’s Movement in Sri Lanka on a 23.07.2022] The people’s movement in Sri Lanka has entered into a deadlock with the ‘(s)election’ of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President. Within hours of him assuming … Continue reading Burning Questions before the Sri Lankan People’s Movement: Maya John →
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe won the presidential elections conducted by the Parliament on Thursday after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad amidst intense agitation over the economic crisis. He will serve the remaining tenure of Gotabaya Rajapaksa till November 2024. Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Sri Lankan Politician who is also currently the 9th President of Sri Lanka since July 21,[Read More...]
(This article is based on a talk delivered at the online session organised by International Solidarity with the People’s Movement in Sri Lanka on a 23.07.2022) The people’s movement in Sri Lanka has entered into a deadlock with the ‘(s)election’ of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President. Within hours of him assuming office, a mid-night crackdown on the Galle Face protest camp[Read More...]
