After a week of open revolt that saw protesting Sri Lankans storming into the Presidential Palace and other Government buildings in Colombo, the island nation’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was finally forced to go.
And the end was as unceremonious as was his notorious reign in power. Instead of gracefully resigning, as he had promised, the embattled President fled the country like a thief, first flying to Maldives and from there to Singapore on way to a safer haven somewhere, yet unknown.
Rajapaksa’s departure has left Sri Lanka, already suffering under the weight of an enormous economic crisis, in political limbo. Though Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has claimed acting presidency and ordered the military to restore “law and order”, neither the growing number of protesters, who had ransacked his office, nor the Opposition is accepting it. As demonstrators surrounded the Parliament building, Wickremesinghe declared a countrywide curfew on July 13.
The resultant anarchy has already led to violent clashes between the military and the protesters, who had, till now, remained peaceful, resulting in firing of teargas shells and shots in the air which left at least one person dead and hundreds injured.
While a shocked world watched tanks and armed military men march on Colombo’s streets, speculation was rife whether Gutabaya’s stormtroopers were planning a military coup or an aggressive crackdown on the peaceful protesters. There was, however, no sign of the public uprising abating as thousands of protesters stayed put after voluntary vacating some Government officers they had occupied during the last few days.
As the island nation seemed to implode, an all-party meeting convened by the Opposition legislators, called by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, explored the possibility of an interim government.
The continued public outrage is aimed squarely at the fugitive President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose administration has left Sri Lanka begging for a cash bailout from the International Monetary Fund after defaulting on foreign debt for the first time since it became independent from the British colonial rule in 1948.
Gotabaya and some of his supporters face war crime allegations in addition to charges of presiding over gross economic and political mismanagement, which ultimately bankrupted the country of 22 million people.
There is a big question mark over what happens next in Sri Lanka. Discussions on who would succeed the President are afoot, with the Speaker of parliament being considered the likely candidate. There is no doubt that a democratically elected political leadership is needed to restore some stability, but before that happens, the Opposition needs to secure an agreement between parliamentary parties for a transitional plan.
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The first step in such a plan would be the appointment of a President and a Prime Minister for a limited time frame, which could in turn herald a process to abolish the executive presidency, which would then be followed by dissolution of Parliament.
At every step the opposition needs to ensure accountability to law and to the Sri Lankan people. According to latest reports, the main opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB, or United People’s Power), which has 50 seats in the 225-member House, was making desperate attempts to bring other parties into a consensus agreement.
There will be no easy solutions to mend the broken economy and heal a country that has for more than four decades lived the multiple traumas of conflict, natural disasters and economic collapse.
With poverty deepening, whoever takes over control of the Government will need to put in effect immediate solutions, such as cash transfers for poor people, to address the burning issues the country is facing.
Neighbours such as India have already signalled their readiness to help. The IMF may also come to bail out, with strings attached. Ultimately Sri Lanka will need to put in place a system of good fiscal governance and anti-corruption measures to win back international credibility and trust.
