It is said that the darkest hour is just before dawn and yesterday, Saturday, 9 July 2022, will go down in history as the day on which the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka saw its darkest hours give way to a new dawn, with the promise of a new, more enlightened nation in the making. The writing was on the wall for a long time that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s days in office were numbered and we in these very columns echoed those sentiments week after week. But the President, whose ego had got the better of him, was adamant to stay put and chose to turn a deaf ear to rising public anger over the breakdown of even the most essential of services and galloping cost of living, which has resulted in millions of people going hungry. That Sri Lanka was at breaking point was a globally known fact, and it was only a matter of time before the people in this country drew the line and said ‘enough is enough’.
That line was drawn yesterday around noon, when the biggest gathering of people ever witnessed in this country barged through the heavily-guarded gates of the President’s House and minutes later, through the equally fortified gates of the Presidential Secretariat to symbolically announce that people power had taken over the reins of the country and that the presidency was now redundant. It was the sweetest of victories for an unprecedented People’s Struggle that first began on 31 March at the President’s private residence in Mirihana. Over the course of the next three months, despite every effort and dirty trick – including physical assault – to destroy the People’s Struggle at GotaGoGama, the movement grew into a mass movement fuelled by economic strife and suffocation that attracted little to no empathy from the administration.
For a President and Government that were determined to stay the course for all the wrong reasons, there were just two options left; to either fix things or get out. With both of those not taking place despite three different Cabinets being appointed in quick succession and the country sinking further into the abyss with each passing minute, the only option left was for the people to assert themselves as the sovereign, and that is exactly what transpired yesterday. It is the height of ironies that for a regime that thrived on division – dividing people on religious, ethnic, and party lines – it was the coming together of all people that ultimately hastened its fall.
9 July 2022 will go down in history as the day on which, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, people irrespective of religious, ethnic, or political affiliation gathered at the gates of the President’s House and demanded the resignation of its incumbent. At no time in the four decades since the presidency was established has such an event ever taken place. This new unity pioneered by the Aragalaya youth needs to be carefully nurtured to ensure that no politician nor political party will ever be able to cause such divisions in future. It was an unprecedented sight to see the youth leaders of the Aragalaya addressing the nation from the President’s podium at the Presidential Secretariat and calling for the President’s immediate resignation. It epitomised the climax of a spectacular People’s Struggle that not only achieved its main objective but also offered a much-needed ray of hope to a battered nation – that the days of corrupt politicians ruling the roost were now well and truly over.
Among the other key demands made by the Aragalaya leaders last afternoon was the resignation of the Prime Minister as well (along with the entire Cabinet of ministers and all other ministers and deputies), formation of an all-party interim government leading to an election at the earliest opportunity, immediate measures to ensure social welfare, revision of tax policy, investigations into allegations of corruption and steps to recover stolen assets, restoration of essential services, ensuring the freedom of expression, and most notably, taking all necessary steps to strengthen the prevailing unity among all sections of society.
The historic Senkadagala Declaration by the Maha Sangha on Friday (8) paved the way for what was to follow on Saturday, where for the first time in the country’s post-independence history, the Maha Sangha directly demanded the resignation of a Head of State. The previous day, the Catholic Church and the Church of Ceylon had also directly called for the President’s resignation. Unprecedented to say the least, these calls by the venerated clergy should at the very least have been acknowledged by the Executive, or in the alternate, the submission of exit plans with specific dates would have mitigated the events that followed. The human tsunami that flooded Colombo yesterday served as a stark reminder that no politician hereafter will be able to take the will of the people for granted or attempt to stifle it through recourse to extra-legal measures, which ended up in miserable failure in the run-up to Saturday.
It was MP Harin Fernando – while being an Opposition member – who first spoke of an Arab Spring style people’s uprising in the making just a few months ago in Parliament. Now, Sri Lanka has had its own moment in history with its own organically grown ‘spring,’ which history will record as a copybook example of people power. However it is Fernando’s misfortune that, having seen what was coming much earlier than most, he chose to stand on the wrong side of history. Also, it is to the eternal credit of the people, millions of them who formed this ‘spring,’ that they have put Sri Lanka on the right track by reminding the leaders that they serve exclusively at the people’s pleasure and when they no longer enjoy that privilege, it is time to depart.
The lion in the people finally seems to have awakened and issued notice to the rest of the 225 Members of Parliament that their days of reckoning are not too far off. People were determined to the extent that they chose to throw caution to the wind and travel to Colombo at a time when fuel was unavailable and public transport was more or less at a standstill, yet walking miles on foot or hanging precariously on any vehicle travelling in that direction simply to make a statement with their presence. The loud echoes of “Gota pissek” from within the confines of the President’s House was not only symbolic of what the people thought of their leader, but also more importantly that no amount of security personnel, guns, bullets, tear gas, or water cannons can deter the will of the people. The President, even at this late hour, must bow to the will of the people and prevent this country from sinking further into the abyss. The Prime Minister must also follow suit and pave the way for the establishment of an all-party interim government without further delay.
Yesterday’s historic event came just two months after the peaceful protesters at GotaGoGama, Galle Face were hounded and attacked by political goons that came from Temple Trees after attending an event hosted by then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. It is noteworthy that all parties represented in Parliament extended their collective support to the people’s uprising yesterday except for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). It was history in the making all the way when for the first time ordinary people took the lead and every political party followed, in an unprecedented reversal of what usually takes place. This new culture where people set the agenda for parties to follow must be carried forward if Sri Lanka is to see the system change that it has been crying out for.
In November 2019, basking in the aftermath of a resounding election victory, little would the President have imagined that just two-and-a-half years down the line, he in fact would be the catalyst that would unite a fractured nation and that unity would be built around his own ouster from office. The President in his last interview with an international news agency was insistent that he was not prepared to leave office as a failed president. Now, by letting his ego get the better of him, he has no option but to bow out as a failed leader and the first to be thrown out of office by the people. Two-and-a-half years of hardship and untold misery endured by the people have now come to what is being described as the end game.
In order to get back on our feet, the nation needs a huge confidence booster and what could be better than an administration of the people, for the people, by the people? Such a booster – if and when it happens – will once again nudge international benefactors to return to the table. The way forward for this nation is for the first time being chartered by its own people devoid of political affiliation. At the end of the day, what better way than for a people-centric leadership that will necessarily have as part of its DNA the drive to usher in the change which political parties have promised but failed to deliver for 70 odd years? While the struggle must not lose sight of this fundamental principle that has sustained it thus far, it must be wary of the Trojan horses that will inevitably come its way from parties whose relevance in the current context is in serious question.
The winds of change blowing across the length and breadth of Galle Face must necessarily spread to the rest of the island and evolve into the creation of a new country with a new moral compass and political culture that will render impotent the designs of political parties to prey on ethnic, religious, and party differences. The dirtied canvas is being wiped clean by an unprecedented people’s movement which hopefully will not leave room for political vultures to target innocent people and to rob them of their wealth ever again.
The mother of all ironies is that a nation that never really fought for its independence 74 years ago is today fighting the good fight for a slightly different kind of independence from the overarching shadow of its rulers who have failed them time and time again. It is in this backdrop, with little or no options left, that the People’s Struggle or Aragalaya has taken upon itself the task of saving what’s left of years of political vandalism by pushing for change all round.A new dawn for Lanka
10 Jul 2022
A new dawn for Lanka
10 Jul 2022
It is said that the darkest hour is just before dawn and yesterday, Saturday, 9 July 2022, will go down in history as the day on which the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka saw its darkest hours give way to a new dawn, with the promise of a new, more enlightened nation in the making. The writing was on the wall for a long time that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s days in office were numbered and we in these very columns echoed those sentiments week after week. But the President, whose ego had got the better of him, was adamant to stay put and chose to turn a deaf ear to rising public anger over the breakdown of even the most essential of services and galloping cost of living, which has resulted in millions of people going hungry. That Sri Lanka was at breaking point was a globally known fact, and it was only a matter of time before the people in this country drew the line and said ‘enough is enough’.
That line was drawn yesterday around noon, when the biggest gathering of people ever witnessed in this country barged through the heavily-guarded gates of the President’s House and minutes later, through the equally fortified gates of the Presidential Secretariat to symbolically announce that people power had taken over the reins of the country and that the presidency was now redundant. It was the sweetest of victories for an unprecedented People’s Struggle that first began on 31 March at the President’s private residence in Mirihana. Over the course of the next three months, despite every effort and dirty trick – including physical assault – to destroy the People’s Struggle at GotaGoGama, the movement grew into a mass movement fuelled by economic strife and suffocation that attracted little to no empathy from the administration.
For a President and Government that were determined to stay the course for all the wrong reasons, there were just two options left; to either fix things or get out. With both of those not taking place despite three different Cabinets being appointed in quick succession and the country sinking further into the abyss with each passing minute, the only option left was for the people to assert themselves as the sovereign, and that is exactly what transpired yesterday. It is the height of ironies that for a regime that thrived on division – dividing people on religious, ethnic, and party lines – it was the coming together of all people that ultimately hastened its fall.
9 July 2022 will go down in history as the day on which, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, people irrespective of religious, ethnic, or political affiliation gathered at the gates of the President’s House and demanded the resignation of its incumbent. At no time in the four decades since the presidency was established has such an event ever taken place. This new unity pioneered by the Aragalaya youth needs to be carefully nurtured to ensure that no politician nor political party will ever be able to cause such divisions in future. It was an unprecedented sight to see the youth leaders of the Aragalaya addressing the nation from the President’s podium at the Presidential Secretariat and calling for the President’s immediate resignation. It epitomised the climax of a spectacular People’s Struggle that not only achieved its main objective but also offered a much-needed ray of hope to a battered nation – that the days of corrupt politicians ruling the roost were now well and truly over.
Among the other key demands made by the Aragalaya leaders last afternoon was the resignation of the Prime Minister as well (along with the entire Cabinet of ministers and all other ministers and deputies), formation of an all-party interim government leading to an election at the earliest opportunity, immediate measures to ensure social welfare, revision of tax policy, investigations into allegations of corruption and steps to recover stolen assets, restoration of essential services, ensuring the freedom of expression, and most notably, taking all necessary steps to strengthen the prevailing unity among all sections of society.
The historic Senkadagala Declaration by the Maha Sangha on Friday (8) paved the way for what was to follow on Saturday, where for the first time in the country’s post-independence history, the Maha Sangha directly demanded the resignation of a Head of State. The previous day, the Catholic Church and the Church of Ceylon had also directly called for the President’s resignation. Unprecedented to say the least, these calls by the venerated clergy should at the very least have been acknowledged by the Executive, or in the alternate, the submission of exit plans with specific dates would have mitigated the events that followed. The human tsunami that flooded Colombo yesterday served as a stark reminder that no politician hereafter will be able to take the will of the people for granted or attempt to stifle it through recourse to extra-legal measures, which ended up in miserable failure in the run-up to Saturday.
It was MP Harin Fernando – while being an Opposition member – who first spoke of an Arab Spring style people’s uprising in the making just a few months ago in Parliament. Now, Sri Lanka has had its own moment in history with its own organically grown ‘spring,’ which history will record as a copybook example of people power. However it is Fernando’s misfortune that, having seen what was coming much earlier than most, he chose to stand on the wrong side of history. Also, it is to the eternal credit of the people, millions of them who formed this ‘spring,’ that they have put Sri Lanka on the right track by reminding the leaders that they serve exclusively at the people’s pleasure and when they no longer enjoy that privilege, it is time to depart.
The lion in the people finally seems to have awakened and issued notice to the rest of the 225 Members of Parliament that their days of reckoning are not too far off. People were determined to the extent that they chose to throw caution to the wind and travel to Colombo at a time when fuel was unavailable and public transport was more or less at a standstill, yet walking miles on foot or hanging precariously on any vehicle travelling in that direction simply to make a statement with their presence. The loud echoes of “Gota pissek” from within the confines of the President’s House was not only symbolic of what the people thought of their leader, but also more importantly that no amount of security personnel, guns, bullets, tear gas, or water cannons can deter the will of the people. The President, even at this late hour, must bow to the will of the people and prevent this country from sinking further into the abyss. The Prime Minister must also follow suit and pave the way for the establishment of an all-party interim government without further delay.
Yesterday’s historic event came just two months after the peaceful protesters at GotaGoGama, Galle Face were hounded and attacked by political goons that came from Temple Trees after attending an event hosted by then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. It is noteworthy that all parties represented in Parliament extended their collective support to the people’s uprising yesterday except for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). It was history in the making all the way when for the first time ordinary people took the lead and every political party followed, in an unprecedented reversal of what usually takes place. This new culture where people set the agenda for parties to follow must be carried forward if Sri Lanka is to see the system change that it has been crying out for.
In November 2019, basking in the aftermath of a resounding election victory, little would the President have imagined that just two-and-a-half years down the line, he in fact would be the catalyst that would unite a fractured nation and that unity would be built around his own ouster from office. The President in his last interview with an international news agency was insistent that he was not prepared to leave office as a failed president. Now, by letting his ego get the better of him, he has no option but to bow out as a failed leader and the first to be thrown out of office by the people. Two-and-a-half years of hardship and untold misery endured by the people have now come to what is being described as the end game.
In order to get back on our feet, the nation needs a huge confidence booster and what could be better than an administration of the people, for the people, by the people? Such a booster – if and when it happens – will once again nudge international benefactors to return to the table. The way forward for this nation is for the first time being chartered by its own people devoid of political affiliation. At the end of the day, what better way than for a people-centric leadership that will necessarily have as part of its DNA the drive to usher in the change which political parties have promised but failed to deliver for 70 odd years? While the struggle must not lose sight of this fundamental principle that has sustained it thus far, it must be wary of the Trojan horses that will inevitably come its way from parties whose relevance in the current context is in serious question.
The winds of change blowing across the length and breadth of Galle Face must necessarily spread to the rest of the island and evolve into the creation of a new country with a new moral compass and political culture that will render impotent the designs of political parties to prey on ethnic, religious, and party differences. The dirtied canvas is being wiped clean by an unprecedented people’s movement which hopefully will not leave room for political vultures to target innocent people and to rob them of their wealth ever again.
The mother of all ironies is that a nation that never really fought for its independence 74 years ago is today fighting the good fight for a slightly different kind of independence from the overarching shadow of its rulers who have failed them time and time again. It is in this backdrop, with little or no options left, that the People’s Struggle or Aragalaya has taken upon itself the task of saving what’s left of years of political vandalism by pushing for change all round.Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!