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‘GotaGoGama’ library shifted to Presidential Secretariat

11 Jul 2022

By Buddhika Samaraweera The library that was located at the “GotaGoGama” protest site in front of the Presidential Secretariat at the Galle Face Green demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was installed in the Presidential Secretariat building yesterday (10).  As the first step to install the library in the Presidential Secretariat, those who had gathered at the protest site yesterday took about 100 books out of the 5,000 books in the library to the Presidential Secretariat. Addressing a media briefing at that time, members of the library stated: “These buildings are maintained with public money, but the general public was never allowed to enter these buildings. The heads of state, ministers, and other bigwigs just lived a comfortable life inside. However, looking at the state of the country today, it is clear that the public money spent on maintaining these buildings has not been used properly.”  They said that the shortcomings in the education sector have been a major reason for the country to be in a state of crisis at present, and pointed out that libraries are a great help in raising the level of education of the citizens. They also mentioned that anyone who comes to “GotaGoGama” can visit the library located in the Presidential Secretariat and read the books.  “One of the reasons why the country is in a crisis is the problems in the education sector. While billions are spent on militarisation and the pleasure of the rulers, very little money is allocated for education. Therefore, we hope to do something for the progress of the education sector through this library. We, as the ‘GotaGoGama’ library, have also helped many libraries around the country, even those close to the Medamulana Walawwa (the ancestral home of the Rajapaksa family),” they added.  They also mentioned that the address of the library which used to be “Public Library, GotaGoGama, Colombo 2” would be changed to “Public Library, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo 1” with effect from yesterday. They said that anyone visiting the protest site could bring at least one book to the library, adding the books can also be sent via post.  Hundreds of thousands of people from different parts of the island protested on 9 July at the Galle Face Green demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Government. Although the security forces including the Police used various methods including teargassing to drive the protestors away, by the afternoon of 9 July, the people were able to seize power in the Presidential Secretariat, the President's House and the Prime Minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, which had been heavily guarded.


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