There is a new Sri Lanka emerging from the streets. A concoction of optimism and frustration, anger and excitement, hopelessness and resilience in an emotionally charged people, bears testimony to the repressive rule by the Rajapakse’s for little under two decades. The Sinhalese man who was once suspicious of the Muslim man, the Tamil man who was skeptical of the Sinhalese man, the Muslim man who thought Burghers only ate pork are all standing together arm in arm with great understanding and conviction in every corner of Sri Lanka to make their voices heard- GotaGoHome. Some are repenting for electing this government, others lamenting, “we told you so!” and some others who were pocket friends of the Rajapakses (and I say this literally) frantically distancing themselves through Facebook statements and not so eloquent speeches. They are the opportunists who have filled their coffers and got their favours done and will lay prey on the next. What has become of the Rajapakses to be rejected, betrayed and spat upon so outrageously? Here are some indicators.
The path to a revolution takes many routes but this one came past food and fuel shortages, the fertiliser crisis, currency depreciation, inflation, power cuts, emergency rule, state robbery and sponsored thuggery, the latter of which is so colourfully displayed in Parliament in the dying moments of their reign. The people are at their wits end and for the Rajapakse machinery it is, The End. Their days are numbered as the people will not let-up on their call for equality, justice and proper governance. There won’t be one race more superior than the other anymore but there will be a sentiment of one race that will emerge – the Sri Lankan race. Rare scenes of togetherness which the Rajapakses so tirelessly worked to keep apart are getting to know each other on the streets. The deep suspicions they once had of each other is shifting towards the first family and their cohorts. It’s so ironical that Gotabaya Rajapakse recently stood on the steps of the Ruwanwelisaya and proclaimed that his priority was to protect 6.9 million Sinhala Buddhists who voted for him. It is those same Sinhala Buddhists who are now standing on the steps of Pangiriwatte and asking him to go. They are now brothers in arms with the rest of their communities coming to the stark realisation that all this racial farce was in vain. Karma is indeed a bitch for the Rajapakses. The cause is common, the slogan is common, the flag is common and all this was possible because the Rajapakses enabled it. Despite being in darkness, Sri Lanka is at her brightest best.
Now that the revolution is underway and has found it’s way to the streets let’s focus on the characteristics of the counter reaction of the ruling party’s dissent. Emergency rule, superficial cabinet reshuffles, curfew, avant-guard style thuggery they are all actions laced with desperation and calculated manipulation which succumbed quickly, the same way it had all started and that too at the very feet of the protesters.
The revolution is witnessing flamboyant loyalists going silent and quickening their steps to the exit of a sinking ship. There are staged Twitter duels, a performance better suited for the Lionel Wendt to mislead people for their own survival. These my friends are all consistent signs of a full blown revolution in motion and the people should not be alarmed and need to know that these must happen before a revolution is won. The time is near and Gota must go.
18 years since the Rajapakses were first elected and 24 months since Gota came into power, nobody in their wildest dreams would have imagined that this egoistical and maniacal juggernaut would come to an end. Once you make a pact with evil it lets you enjoy the spoils only for a limited time before it turns on you. Today’s economic tragedy has the finger prints of Gota on it who has unknowingly written his own eulogy and it is no coincidence that Lasantha too wrote his own. But the difference is Lasantha knew what was going to befall him and who would eventually pull the trigger but Gota didn’t and perhaps never will. Sri Lanka is at her finest moment, don’t let her down.
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