• Protestors stress the need for more power to be vested in the public, rather than Parliament
• Vow to increase pressure through peaceful protests until demands are met

By Sumudu Chamara In a context where the leaders of the Government, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, have directly rejected the people’s demands for their resignation, the Galle Face protests entered their 20th day yesterday (28). While the President earlier stated that he would not resign even though he is willing to hand over the Government to a party that can garner the support of 113 MPs, the Prime Minister recently stated that he will not resign even though he can be removed, and that him leaving office amidst the prevailing crisis will be tantamount to turning his back on the Constitution. Both statements have attracted severe criticism from the public. The big question now is whether the public will choose alternative means to win their main demand, i.e. the resignations of the President and the Prime Minister, or whether the protesters will halt their struggle until another Presidential or Parliamentary Election, to vote the two out. Even though there is now a discussion about tabling no-confidence motions (NCMs) in Parliament against the President and the Government, the extent to which the public supports or trusts these measures is another question that needs to be answered at this critical juncture. To discuss what protestors think about these matters, The Morning spoke to several of those engaged in the protest at the Galle Face, both as individuals and as members of various entities. Demands for the resignations of the President and Prime Minister  Most protesters are of the opinion that even though the President and the Prime Minister have shown a great reluctance to step down from their positions, the protests must continue until they are left with no option but to leave office.  “The President and the Prime Minister’s refusal to resign from their positions should not spell the end of the ongoing protests; if they refuse to leave now, the public must keep trying until they change their mind,” said Amith, a 57-year-old attending the protests. He opined that even though the ongoing activities pertaining to no-confidence motions are necessary and must continue, the public or the protests must not rely on them, because passing a no-confidence motion is a highly politicised process. Amith added that the protests will continue until either the protests or the no-confidence motions result in a proper outcome. He however expressed satisfaction about the Government’s decision to discuss the possibility of forming an interim Government and reshuffling the Cabinet of Ministers, which he said are the result of the protests. Meanwhile, Nethmi Sathsara of the Wenasata Tharunyayak organisation expressed similar opinions about the importance of the protests continuing, stating: “The President and the Prime Minister are not leaving due to their hunger for power. However, the public will not stop protesting, and they should not stop.” She also pointed out how protests are evolving in a context where the President and the Prime Minister’s refusal to leave office has spurred the continuation of the protests. The launch of the “Maina-Go-Gama” camp in front of the Prime Minister’s official residence, the Temple Trees, alongside the protests spreading rapidly in almost all parts of the country, she said, are signs that the protests are not only growing, but also evolving.  At the same, various activities such as discussions and awareness raising programmes that have complemented the ongoing protests will ensure they keep taking place until the protestors’ demands are met, according to her. “The public join these protests with an aim, i.e. changing the existing system, and they will continue until their demands are met. The protests are expanding because the public believe in what they want,” she emphasised, adding that the number of people joining protests keeps increasing despite the hardships they have had to face.  Another protester, 54-year-old L.V.R.S. Kumara, also vowed to not quit the protests until the leaders of the Government resign. “If they are allowed to remain in power, they will keep on stealing. Therefore, for the stealing to stop, they have to leave. The public want the Rajapaksa family gone,” he added.  Moreover, he said that the ongoing protests have already led to several small outcomes such as the proposal of an interim Government, and that therefore, the protests will continue in a peaceful manner until the protestors’ demands are met. He said that even though protestors have not thrown a single stone during the protests, the Government has felt the pressure, resulting in somewhat responding to the people’s demands. Speaking about the no-confidence motions, Kumara further said that MPs should be vigilant about who supports or opposes the no-confidence motion against the Government, and charged that those who do not support the said no-confidence motion can be identified as individuals who support the theft of public funds. He opined that the public should reject such MPs and should not allow them to visit their respective areas. Use of power and violence Those who spoke with The Morning also pointed out the importance of protestors remaining calm and acting responsible when dealing with various parties attempting to sabotage protests and inconvenience protestors. They all spoke of the infamous Rambukkana incident, where a man was shot dead by the law enforcement authorities during a protest.  In this regard, Sathsara said: “There have been various attempts to sabotage protests. Parking buses near the Temple Trees and the death of a man during a protest in Rambukkana are examples. In addition, a number of placards and posters were removed from the fence of the Presidential Secretariat recently.  “All these have taken place because the protests have caused a certain impact and it has caused fear among the leaders. Various activities amounting to oppressive acts against protestors are taking place even in the middle of protests. There are concerns about intelligence officers being at protests, and there were times when individuals’ mobile phones were stolen.” She stressed that these are attempts aimed at instilling fear in protestors and thereby discouraging the public from being a part of the ongoing protests. However, she noted, these attempts, including the risk of an attack on protesters, have only worked to encourage the people to express their opposition, instead of discouraging them from protests.  “If oppression really worked, the public would have stopped joining these protests, and the protests would have already died down. Despite the fact that these forms of struggles are new to Sri Lankans, they are very enthusiastic,” she noted. Meanwhile, Natasha, a protester who refused to mention her real name, but said that she represents the public sector, noted that the public are intelligent, and that they would not resort to violence. However, she added, even though the ongoing protests have been exceedingly peaceful as far as the protestors’ behaviour was concerned, if the prevailing situation continued without the President and the Prime Minister resigning, there is a considerable possibility of the protesters becoming violent or uncontrollable.  “If their demands are not addressed, the public’s patience might run out,” she opined, adding further that if the President and the Prime Minister do not resign, more and more people will gather to exert increased pressure on the Government.  A better governing system Even though the resignations of the President and the Prime Minister remain the most popular slogans during the ongoing protests, protestors also discussed what should happen after the resignations, as far as the governing structure and leaders of the Government are concerned. According to Sathsara, this is a time for a public-led governing structure, led by qualified and educated persons. She added: “The leaders say that an interim Government is needed, and that they would leave office only in the event of their removal. However, we are of the opinion that we, as a country, need another solution. We think that all 225 MPs should step down, regardless of their age or any other factor. A mechanism led by the public’s power should be introduced, and this should come from outside Parliament. The country needs a new form of governance instead of the Parliament-led governing structure. This will create a situation where people’s courts can be established, and it will help bring back stolen money in a trustworthy and responsible manner.” With regard to changes needed in the existing governing system, Natasha said that the public should have the power and right to remove, or demand the removal or resignation of, politicians that they elected. She opined that politicians should voluntarily leave office if they are failing to fulfil their duties, whether or not the people demand their resignation. Discussing the need to have a mechanism to remove politicians in the interim period between elections, she said that there should be some legal provision implemented to enable the public to do so without having to wait for an election. If there are no such laws in the country, she said, new laws should be formed to get rid of politicians that do not fulfil their responsibilities despite having received the public’s approval through elections. Meanwhile, a former military officer, who was engaged in the protests on behalf of disabled former military personnel, proposed several changes to the country’s governing system. He said that the country’s Judiciary should be above the Executive and the Legislature, and should be given powers to make laws. He made this statement while expressing concerns about the fact that any person who gets adequate votes can enter Parliament irrespective of their educational or other qualifications, pointing out that this system is unsuitable, as such MPs are tasked with the massive responsibility of forming laws for an entire nation. At the same time, he said that Parliament has too many MPs compared to the country’s size and resources, and that it should ideally be limited to around 100 MPs. That way, he said, more standards would be introduced to the process of selecting MPs, and it would also reduce costs incurred by the State due to the privileges granted to MPs. He also pointed out the importance of making available mechanisms to ensure that MPs cannot embezzle public money. He emphasised that Sri Lanka should look into the sort of changes he proposed, and that the ongoing struggles should not come to an end when the President and Prime Minister resign. With regard to assessing public support for elected politicians in the interim period between elections, the former military officer said that Sri Lanka should have in place a system that allows people to express their opposition if they feel that the public representatives they elected are not representing their interests in an active manner. To do this, he said, simple steps such as a small referendum-like vote can be taken at the Grama Niladhari level.  Protestors appear determined to continue the protests until their demands are met, while the President and the Prime Minister seem to be trying to do everything – except resigning – to appease them. Until the two parties commence discussions and arrive at some kind of agreement regarding what they want and can give, or the Opposition takes the initiative to table a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister or an impeachment resolution against the President, which, if succeeded, will deliver what the protestors want, it is crucial that the protests remain peaceful. That is, however, the responsibility of both the public and the Government.