KAMALIKA PIERIS

There were demonstrations at Colombo, Kandy, Galle,   Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Dambulla, Gampaha Matara, Panadura, Ratnapura, Welimada Nuwara Eliya, and Ampara.  There were protests also at Homagama, Piliyandala, Polgahawela , Ragama Minuwangoda Nittambuwa, Jaela, Kantale, Nikaweratiya and Peradeniya,

The public  also protested at  Bogawantalawa and Deraniyagala, at Dehiattakandiya and Galnewa, at Kochichikade, and  Meerigama, at Dodangoda,  Gorakana, Wadduwa, Embilipitya,  Karandeniya, Nagoda, and Suriyawewa  and at  Pannipitiya , Rajagiriya Kadawatha, Kottawa, Malabe, Modera, and  Wijerama..

Within Colombo  they assembled at Nelum Pokuna, Park Road,  Panchikawatta , Wanathamulla, Dematagoda and Armour Street. Staff of National Hospital .Colombo  had a separate demonstration. They had gathered from 7 am at  Independence Square and were still there in the late evening. The NGOs who usually demonstrate at the drop of a hat,  were missing .

Undergraduates of the universities of Moratuwa, Sri Jayawardenpura, Kelaniya and Peradeniya  held their own processions. At Peradeniya they were tear  gassed. The police got tear  gassed as well. Actors, film stars, singers and other performers had their own protests. They assembled  at Diyath Uyana and  Galle Face .

There was a significant support from the Bar Association Eight President’s Counsel appeared pro bono on behalf of those arrested at Mirihana the magistrate was informed that some 400 other lawyers, too, were appearing on behalf of them.

Sri Lankans abroad also  supported.. There were demonstration in  four cities in Australia ( Melbourne, Perth, Canberra,  Hobart)  at Auckland in New Zealand, Alberta in Canada,    New York, Boston  Washington and California in USA.  Sri Lankans working in Japan, South Korea, Germany and Estonia also demonstrated.

The public were not satisfied  with demonstrations only. They started to go after the politicians individually.  MPs are now scared to appear in public, reported the media. Their personal safety is at stake. Many of them are forced to remain in their residences or official bungalows.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Parliamentarian Jayantha Samaraweera was turned back at Moratuwa when he was on his way to attend a ceremony in his electorate. In Nuwara Eliya, Shiranthi Rajapaksa was  to declare open Wasantha Udanaya in Nuwara Eliya .She was escorted out as  a crowd of angry people the public invaded the venue. Minister C.B. Ratnayake, State Minister Jeevan Thondaman and others who were due to  attend stayed away. Shashindra Rajapakse stayed away from another function which he was to open.

The angry public   have also  demonstrated before the   private residences of  leading  politicians. They started with the  Mirigama residence of President Gotabaya. .Crowds then tried to attack the Tangalle residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa . They also went to the   Deberawewa residence of Chamal Rajapaksa, Moneragala residence of Shashindra Rajapaksa ,Dambulla residence of  Janaka Bandara  and Kithulampitiya residence of Ramesh Pathirana.

However, it appears that President Gotabaya and his government are not prepared to leave. They intend to dig in and continue to ruin the country. The  interim cabinet is an odd mixture. Energy is excluded but Foreign affairs and Highways are included.

Three vital position were vacant  on the night of     5h March, . Minister of Finance, Permanent secretary to Ministry of Finance and the post of Governor, Central Bank. All  three officers had resigned.  Committee on Public Finance said it was considering bringing Ajit Cabraal before the Watchdog committee.

Parliament argues that the financial situation of Sri Lanka is very complicated and  that it  is going to be very difficult  to find a solution. This is nonsense. Sri Lanka    is a  small country, with a compact 25,000 square km of territory and  a  23 million population. That is well above the carriage rate for the island, but the birth rate is falling rapidly. The economic management of such a unit cannot be difficult. Other countries are administering economies for populations of  1.4 billion, 300 million,   67 million, without any difficulty. Pohottu’s  argument is nonsense.

If the government does not resign, the protests will have to continue. These protests can  then be hijacked  by interested parties, and the country  brought to a point of anarchy. This  is what the US is hoping for and what  US funded NGOs will be asked to do. They were put into place to carry out just this type of  disruptive activity.

Newspaper editorials have already issued a warning. Many of the protests, catalyzed by despair, are spontaneous. But they can be used by sinister elements with hidden agendas, masquerading as liberators, the  editorials said. They could  make the country slide into anarchy.

 However, the public in Sri Lanka are watchful and any attempt to hijack the protest movement will be noted and squashed. The Sri Lanka public mean business this time. They want  a smooth transfer of power, they want good governance and a well functioning economy. They are unlikely to tolerate an externally created anarchy.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa impressed  as Secretary, Defence and as head of the UDA. He was   efficient and he delivered on projects. But he did not show these qualities as President. People were dissatisfied with him.

Thousands flocked to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official Facebook page, said the media and urged the President to just resign from office and go back to the United States.”  Catholic Church and the Maha Sangha,  also have separately asked President Gotabaya to leave .

When an unpopular President refuses to leave, it means that he  is backed by an external force, said analysts.  If Gotabaya Rajapaksa  continues to stay, he may have to  take refuge in the US embassy and be ignominiously airlifted to USA. Instead he should resign and leave Sri Lanka  taking brother Basil with him. He will  be hooted all the way to Katunayake.

The present economic crisis is not  economic, it is political. It was done to  bring the country under the control of the west. That must be understood, otherwise we will never get out  of this situation.

When Britain left Sri Lanka in 1948,   it handed the baton over to the USA. USA was the  leading power in the west at the time. USA was in low profile but was never inactive in Sri Lanka . US has meddled in Sri Lanka,  periodically, though the majority of the population do not know this. 

.JVP and the LTTE are both creations of    USA. Thereafter Yahapalana and Pohottu were created to bring Sri Lanka firmly under the control of USA.

USA has decided to  use Pohottu, to bring Sri Lanka under the economic heel of USA. Basil Rajapaksa, who succeeded his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa as  Pohottu’s Finance Minister,  came   from the USA armed with    an energy contract.

At midnight on Sept 17,  2021, Pohottu signed a deal with USA’s  New Fortress Energy Company, giving US 40 % stake in Yugadanavi and the  exclusive gas supply rights to the Kerawalapitya Power Complex.

There is deep animosity to USA  in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka reacted badly to this deal. Supreme Court dismissed the fundamental rights petitions, filed against the Yugadanavi deal, without giving reasons.

Sri Lanka must understand that the west never lost its interest in Sri Lanka . Sri Lanka is strategically placed in the Indian Ocean with access to the Bay of Bengal. Its Eastern province has the deepwater harbor of Trincomalee .As long as the Indian Ocean remains politically  important, Sri Lanka   cannot escape the attention of the big powers. Sri Lanka must accept this and decide accordingly.

Sri Lanka cannot stay neutral. Sri Lanka must forget Non-Aligned. It must link with one of the big powers. It has no alternative. Sri Lanka must now decide whether to link with a rising power, (China) or a fading power (USA). Obviously, a country must link with the rising power, not a fading power.

Economist (2021) has described USA as a weary superpower.  USA is no longer the confident hegemon of the 1990s, Economist said. China on the other hand is rising and rising. It will be the leading economy soon, if it is not so already.

China will be welcome in Sri Lanka .It is part of the Asian civilization and it has Buddhist links. Therefore it is culturally acceptable. China had cordial diplomatic relations during Sri Lanka’s monarchical period. Today, China   is well liked in Sri Lanka. There is no deep animosity, unlike USA. That is because China helped us win the Eelam war and also because it has not meddled in the internal politics of Sri Lanka. The statement that we are indebted to China is nonsense. Our debt  to China is only about 10% of the whole external debt. (Concluded)