Protests since March against the disastrous socio-economic situation in Sri Lanka
escalated into a full-scale uprising on 9 July. Huge crowds of demonstratorsseized the presidential palace and set fire to the house of the country's primeminister. ---- In Sri Lanka, a country brought to a state of economic collapse,there is not enough food, fuel, and medicines. Tourism revenues have fallen dueto sanitary "coronavirus" repression. External debt reached $50 billion;inflation has exceeded 50%. The authorities banned the sale of fuel for allvehicles except buses, trains and emergency vehicles. Schools are closed, cancertreatment and other routine medical procedures have been halted, and manyfamilies are struggling to get one meal a day. In May, the authorities defaulted,and President Rajapaksa appointed the leader of the right-wing opposition UnitedNational Party, who is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund, asprime minister. He, in turn, as usual demands that the population tighten theirbelts even tighter, and this causes even greater anger of the inhabitants. TheIMF is seeking further destruction of the public sector, privatization ofstate-owned enterprises and services, and higher taxes. All this will inevitablylead to a new drop in wages, cuts in social services and rising prices forelectricity and water.Social media activists who are leading protests at the city's Galle Face Greenwaterfront have called for a "massive popular protest" on July 9, three monthsinto the protests, saying it will be "the biggest uprising in Sri Lanka'shistory". ". However, the "Plan of Action for the Future Struggle," announced bythe leaders on July 5, did not contain any real program for resolving the mostacute social crisis. Demanding the resignation of the president and the primeminister, he provided only for the creation of an "all-party" interim government,including, among other things, the left opposition parties. The authors of theplan suggest that such a government would have to accept the "economic, socialand political goals and hopes of the people's struggle", including ensuring thesupply of people with the most necessary, including fuel and food, but do notmention how this could be achieved. It is also proposed to create a "People'sCouncil" with the participation of representatives of the "fighting people",which will have to put pressure on the new government. Then, a referendum on anew constitution abolishing the presidential republic and free elections arescheduled throughout the year. There is no talk of changing the system.On July 9, people from all over the country came to participate in anunprecedented protest march demanding the resignation of the president and primeminister. The curfew announced the day before only increased the indignation, andit had to be canceled. Protesters traveled to the center of Colombo in cars andvans, others on trains they seized. At least 100 thousand people gathered. Thepolice tried to stop the demonstrators with tear gas and water cannons, but wererebuffed. 33 people, including police officers, were taken to the NationalHospital with injuries. Protesters under state and black flags filled thedistrict of the capital, where government buildings are located, and brokethrough police cordons. The guards of the capitalist order even fired into theair, but this could not stop anyone.Thousands of people broke into the official residence of the president, whobarely had time to leave it and take refuge in a military base. Many were wearinghelmets. The demonstrators settled in rooms and bedrooms, stretched out onluxurious presidential beds. Hundreds of people settled on the lawns, manysplashed in the presidential pool. The hungry finally got the opportunity to eatplenty from the reserves of the palace kitchen. Some made tea or did gymnastics.Others made statements in the conference room, echoing the demands for thedeparture of those in power. The atmosphere of a national holiday reigned. It wasa real popular expropriation!The people who seized the palace refused to leave until the authorities in thecountry were gone. Another group of demonstrators broke into the prime minister'sprivate residence and set it on fire in the evening.Sources: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/08/mwrb-j08.html;https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-62105708;https://www.npr.org/2022/07/09/1110663578/sri-lanka-protest-president-re...https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/430153.wirtschaftskrise-fordert-tribut- ...FOLK HOLIDAYThe symbol of colonial-era power in Colombo provided a picture of "people'spower" on Saturday, as masses of citizens stormed the presidential palace andtook over every corner of the house. The president took refuge on a warship andpromised to resign on 13 July. Thousands of men, women and children poured intothe imposing state mansion, lining up to sit in the presidential chair on the topfloor, while children and parents drummed on the piano below..."We expressed our displeasure by holding the flag, saying that the system thatthey have maintained for 74 years is repressive in relation to our people, ourrights. They oppressed people. They simply clung to power using the military,which is why our sign was the black flag, showing the fall of the government. Theyouth is against this system," the ANI news agency quoted one of the protesters.People at the president's house took selfies with expensive cars, some stretchedout comfortably on bedding in the bedroom. Videos surfaced of people swimming inthe pool, and some were sharing a meal. Someone was making tea. Others madestatements at the press conference. Laughing families picnicked in the imposingGordon Garden. And Buddhist monks with shaved heads in saffron robes admired themarble floors and marveled at the central air conditioning system."We are now free from corruption; everything is peaceful. Came here to celebratewith family, with children. We all had lunch here at the presidential palace,"says a local resident.The leaders of the protest movement in Sri Lanka, who ousted the president andprime minister from their official residences, said Sunday they would occupy thebuildings until they left their posts. "I go to the protest camp every day andwill not stop until Gotabaya leaves his post," Chamari Wickremasinghe, 49, amother of two daughters, told the AFP news agency. "We're not going to leavehere," she said in the lobby of the President's Secretariat, which until 1982 wasthe national parliament. "Promising to leave by July 13 is not enough. He mustleave now."Meanwhile, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Shavendra Silva urged protestersto remain calm and cooperate with the military and police (https://www.livemint.com/news/world/sri-lanka-protest-picnic-piano-pool-. .. )POWER MANEUVERSShortly after the fall of the presidential palace, Rajapaksa announced that hewould resign on July 13. On July 11, he tried twice to leave the country, but wasbanned both times because he refused to join the immigration queue. Rajapaksa'saides arrived at Colombo airport on Monday with 15 passports belonging to thepresident and his family, including First Lady Yoma Rajapaksa, who had bookedseats on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Dubai at 6:25 p.m. by local time. Butimmigration officials refused to process the passports submitted to them bypresidential aides because Rajapaksa and his family were not physically presentat the cross-checks. As a result, the flight left without the president and hisfamily on board. Another attempt was made to put the family on an Etihad flight,which was scheduled to fly from Colombo to Abu Dhabi at 9:20 pm, however the sameproblem arose as Rajapaksa's family refused to join the immigration queue for theflight. On both occasions, the family was in a nearby airport lounge awaitingconfirmation that they could skip the public queue on board. On July 12, a videoreleased by a former police officer claimed that Rajapaksa was staying at aprivate home belonging to a high-ranking Air Force commander. The Sri Lankan AirForce denied the claim, calling it propaganda intended to tarnish the image ofthe corps and its commander. that they can get on board without queuing amongmembers of the public. On July 12, a video released by a former police officerclaimed that Rajapaksa was staying at a private home belonging to a high-rankingAir Force commander. The Sri Lankan Air Force denied the claim, calling itpropaganda intended to tarnish the image of the corps and its commander. thatthey can get on board without queuing among members of the public. On July 12, avideo released by a former police officer claimed that Rajapaksa was staying at aprivate home belonging to a high-ranking Air Force commander. The Sri Lankan AirForce denied the claim, calling it propaganda intended to tarnish the image ofthe corps and its commander.After the events of July 9, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe also promised toresign. Continuous party and inter-party political consultations began.In the end, the authorities decided to regroup their forces. On the morning ofJuly 13, without formally announcing his resignation, Rajapaksa left the country,flying on an AN-32 military aircraft to the Maldives along with his wife and twobodyguards. Air traffic control in the Maldives denied the landing request untilthe Speaker of Parliament and former president of the Nasheed Islands intervened.During the "absence" of the president, power, according to the constitution,temporarily passed to the outgoing prime minister, Wickremasinghe, the person whonegotiates with the IMF. He took the oath of interim head of state and promisedto transfer power to the "all-party government." Such a reshuffle caused a newoutburst of anger among the protesters, which fell upon the prime minister, who,shortly after the oath, declared a state of emergency and a curfew. He declared,Thousands of demonstrators marched to Wickremasinghe's office, demanding hisresignation, and broke into the premises, demolishing the entrance and breakingthe fence. The police used tear gas; bottles flew at the guardians of thecapitalist order. People kept arriving along the streets and lanes. Ashelicopters appeared overhead, the demonstrators raised their middle fingers.After a battle with armed police at the gate, the protesters occupied theterritory of the bureau. According to the National Hospital, at least 30 peoplewere injured. A nurse at the hospital told CNN that many were gassed and othershad cuts and bruises, possibly from storming the fence. On the balcony of anoffice building dating back to the colonial era, people could be seen lightingfirecrackers and waving the flag of Sri Lanka. The demonstrators outside werechanting that neither the President, no prime minister should be spared.According to other sources, at least 84 people were injured.The whereabouts of the prime minister is unknown. As the demonstrators took tothe streets, Wickremasinghe appointed a committee of senior military commanders,headed by the Chief of the Defense Staff, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, to"restore law and order" in the country. The interim president declared a state ofemergency throughout Sri Lanka and a curfew in Colombo, but later canceled theseorders. Near the former official residence of Rajapaksa, which the protestersstormed on July 9, there are military patrols.In Colombo, a group of protesters broke into the building of the state radiocompany Rupavahini and negotiated with employees, persuading them not to provideairtime to Wickremasingha and other politicians. Instead, programs on history andculture were broadcast.In the morning, residents continued to flock to the presidential palace. Agrowing line was waiting to enter. Many people came from outside the capital. Theprotesters danced and chanted anti-Rajapaksa slogans. At dawn they broke offtheir chant as the national anthem blared from the radio speakers; some startedwaving flags.Malik D'Silva, a 25-year-old demonstrator who was in the president's office, saysRajapaksa "destroyed this country and stole our money." He said he voted forRajapaksa in 2019, believing his military background would keep the country safeafter more than 260 people were killed in Islamic State bombings earlier that year.Nearby, Sitara Sedaralianage, 28, and her mother, 49, wear black banners on theirforeheads reading "Gotha, go home," the rallying cry of demonstrators. "Weexpected him to be behind bars and not on a tropical island! What is thisjustice? Sedaralianage says. "This is the first time the people in Sri Lanka haverebelled against a president. We want some accountability."As protests escalated on Wednesday near the prime minister's compound, his officedeclared a state of emergency that gives greater powers to the military andpolice and announced an immediate 24-hour curfew in the western province thatincludes Colombo. Later it was extended to the whole country. But people ignorethe bans and continue to take to the streets."Gotabai's resignation is a solution to one problem, but there are many more,"says Bhasura Wikremesinghe, a 24-year-old marine electrical engineering student(no relation to the prime minister). He complained that Sri Lankan politics hadbeen dominated for years by "old politicians" who all needed to go. "Politicsshould be treated like a job - you should have the qualifications to get hired,not because of your last name," he said, referring to the Rajapaksa family (https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel /430550.regierungskrise-politisches-st%C...https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/12/asia/sri-lanka-crisis-gotabaya-rajapa...https://www.npr .org/2022/07/13/1111246100/protesters-in-sri-lanka-brave-...https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/14/jsud-j14.html )What naivete! And how much more will the working people of Sri Lanka have toendure before they are convinced by their bitter experience that there are nogood politicians, since all of them are not "servants of the people", but theirmasters?https://aitrus.info/node/5988_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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