Sri Lanka’s government, with the exception of the president and prime minister, resigned on Sunday evening after a social media blockade failed to prevent rallies against power and the unprecedented economic crisis hitting the country.
The protests in the Southeast Asian country of 22 million people are being sparked by severe shortages of essential goods, high inflation and long power cuts.
At a meeting on Sunday evening, all 26 ministers tendered their resignations to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters.
“All the ministers presented their resignation letter so that the president can form a new government,” Gunawardena said, adding that the decision was taken after discussions on the economic crisis.
Three other members of the powerful Rajapaksa family are among the resigners: the youngest brother Rajapaksa, Basil, Minister of Finance, the eldest, Chamal, Minister of Agriculture, and the heir to the family, Namal, Minister of Sports .
This drama comes as thousands of people defied the curfew on Sunday, decreed until Monday morning by the government, to protest and demand the departure of the Rajapaksa family, who returned to power in November 2019.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had imposed a state of emergency on Friday, the day after mobs attempted to storm his residence in the capital Colombo.
Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, YouTube and Instagram had been made inaccessible throughout the country, a blockage denounced by the main opposition alliance, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Before the blocking took effect, anonymous activists had launched calls for further massive protests on the internet on Sunday.
Despite censorship, several hundred people, led by opposition MPs, gathered outside the residence of opposition leader Sajith Premadasa on Sunday and marched towards Independence Square in Colombo, defying the curfew.
They were quickly prevented from advancing by soldiers and police armed with assault rifles. A tense face-to-face opposed them for about two hours, before the crowd dispersed peacefully.
“President Rajapaska had better realize that the tide has already turned against his autocratic rule,” said SJB MP Harsha de Silva, warning: “We cannot tolerate a military takeover.”
Monday protests
The blocking of Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, YouTube and Instagram was lifted later in the day as the Human Rights Commission ruled that the Ministry of Defense lacked the power to impose censorship.
The blocking of social networks did not prevent small demonstrations from taking place in other cities of the country, in general in the calm. Police used tear gas to disperse students in the city of Peradeniya (center).
The streets of Colombo remained largely deserted on Sunday except for the opposition protest and lines of vehicles outside gas stations.
A man died of electrocution after climbing a high-voltage pylon near President Rajapaksa’s home, police said. According to neighbors, he was protesting against the continuous power cuts.
Mass protests scheduled for Sunday were postponed until Monday, after the curfew was lifted.
Differences in power
The crisis has caused differences within the government. “I will never condone the blocking of social networks”, had thus criticized the former Minister of Sports and nephew of the President, Namal Rajapaksa.
The Rajapaksa family was once beloved by much of the country’s Sinhalese majority for bringing an abrupt end to the long-running ethnic civil war against the Tamil Tigers in 2009. But its popularity collapsed with the economic crisis, the most serious since independence in 1948.
Tourism and remittances from the diaspora, vital for the economy, have collapsed during the pandemic. The authorities have imposed a virtual ban on imports in an attempt to save foreign currency.
Poor policy decisions have compounded the problems, economists say. Misguided tax cuts just before the pandemic starved the state of revenue and sent debt soaring. And the current crisis threatens to wipe out hopes for a revival in the tourism sector.
Sri Lanka has asked for help from the International Monetary Fund, but negotiations could last until the end of the year.