After several months of crisis, on Saturday July 9, 2022, the Sri Lankans took power in the capital, Colombo. At midday, tens of thousands of men, women and children invaded the residence of the Head of State. They enter his marble-floored lounges, take their picture at his desk or in his four-poster bed… All day long, some dive and dive back into the swimming pool, others play on the grand piano or to eat in the kitchens. With rising prices and shortages, they haven’t had enough to eat for several months.
Protesters take advantage of the President’s swimming pool #SriLanka after invading his residence #GoHomeGota #SriLankaProtests pic.twitter.com/i36Mi5mFyZ
— Anonymous Citizen (@AnonymousCitizen) July 9, 2022
The occupiers promise to stay until the official resignation of the president who, after fleeing, pledged to leave power by July 14, 2022. In the meantime, Gotabaya Rajapaksa still remains under the protection of the military.
>> Sri Lanka: what we know about the protests that prompted the president to announce his resignation
Can his resignation really help resolve the crisis? Three days, in times of crisis, is an eternity. The demonstrators remain suspicious: they are facing an incompetent and corrupt clan which, for 15 years, has held the whole country. Until a few weeks ago, brothers, cousins and nephews Rajapaksa shared everything: the presidency, the post of Prime Minister, the main portfolios within the government and high positions in the administration. It’s hard to imagine them letting go of power in a few days. Especially since the opposition, supposed to take over, is extremely fragmented.
However, the country must imperatively regain a certain stability. Sri Lanka is bankrupt, unable to repay its debt. If it has started to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it still has to submit a debt reduction plan by the end of July.
It will take time anyway to get out of the economic crisis. The country is in such a state that there is no miracle solution. It is true that the Rajapaksa have taken calamitous decisions in recent years: lower taxes which have deprived the State of significant revenue, massive borrowing from China for disputed investments, failed agricultural reform which was to lead the country towards 100% organic, but which has above all led to catastrophic reductions in yield. To this was added the Covid, which reduced tourism to zero and deprived the country of foreign currency, and the war in Ukraine, which was with Russia one of the biggest buyers of Sri Lankan tea.
Food, medicine, gasoline… Today, the 22 million inhabitants of the island, located at the southern tip of India, lack everything. The United Nations warned on Sunday that Sri Lanka is at risk of “serious humanitarian crisis“.