A ‘mayday call’ is an emergency message received by the traffic control department from the aviation and shipping sectors during emergencies. After receiving this message three times, if it is a plane, the necessary equipment for emergency landing will be prepared…
A ‘mayday call’ is an emergency message received by the traffic control department from the aviation and shipping sectors during emergencies. The rule is that after receiving this message three times, if it is a plane, the necessary equipment for an emergency landing should be prepared. The Sri Lankan people, who are suffering due to the economic crisis and political instability, have been giving a strong warning to the Sri Lankan government for the past five months through many agitations and protests. But the world is seeing that the Rajapaksa government, which considered these protests as isolated incidents, is using ‘Poozhikadakan’ to hold them back.
The Sri Lankan people, who have been suffering for months, stormed into the official residence of the President last week and took full control of the palace. As a result of this, the president who had to go into hiding tried to leave the country several times through various means, but there were reports that the attempt failed. Protesters set fire to the Prime Minister’s official residence. Former Prime Minister Basil Rajapaksa made an unsuccessful attempt to escape to Dubai the other day. The people who rocked in the bedroom, swimming pool and kitchen of the president’s residence took selfies and posted them on the social media, creating a new atmosphere of protest, including in the international media. Former cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya was also in the news.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has dramatically flown to the Maldives on a military plane without resigning in the wake of the growing protests. This has further complicated the situation. With this, the protesters have encroached on the official offices of the President and hoisted black flags. In the current situation, the all-party meeting led by the opposition was trying to elect a new president by July 20. But Gotabaya’s sudden escape fueled the protests.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe may become interim president until a new president is elected in the wake of the president’s absconding. According to the constitution, the interim president can continue for 30 days. Meanwhile, the protesters have also occupied the President’s office.
Sri Lanka has been going through a severe financial crisis since the country became independent in 1948. Due to severe shortage of fuel, people’s lives are in misery as they are unable to meet their basic needs. This brought the people to the streets with protests. The former central bank governor opined that the basic problem is that it is not possible to buy fuel from foreign countries due to scarcity of foreign exchange reserves. Due to the worsening economic crisis, Gotabaya held talks with Russia about financial assistance. Apart from that, the former prime minister has sought help from the IMF to get help in solving the ongoing food and grain crisis. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently stated that he is taking the political situation in Sri Lanka seriously. Likewise, Pope Francis has expressed deep concern over the crisis Sri Lanka is facing and is praying for Sri Lanka. Political observers have already raised the alarm that aid from international organizations and agencies will take time to reach Sri Lanka amid the current escalating protests.
Sri Lanka has had to suspend foreign debt repayments since April due to shortage of foreign exchange reserves. About $7 billion is due this year. And $28 billion is due to be repaid by the end of 2027. Even if a solution to the current political instability is found, foreign debt will surely remain a problem. This is because a total of $51 million in foreign debt has already been repaid. The current fuel shortage has severely affected all areas of Sri Lanka. Kerosene, petrol, diesel and cooking gas are now available. There are also reports that Sri Lankan planes have arrived in Kerala and are refueling now. Shortage of foreign exchange reserves has severely affected imports of medicines and food grains. If this situation continues, it is estimated that the level of hunger will increase at an alarming rate in the not-too-distant future.
Lanka, where Mukashree went, has become a school of warnings and experiences before the nations of the world. The most important lesson for other countries to learn is that the present day Sinhala kingdom is a combination of extremism, mismanagement, inverted administrative reforms and policies, family rule, liberal borrowing policies and failures of internal cohesion and credibility. The vision of the same Sinhalese people who roused radical Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism and brought Gotabaya to power in a heroic guise, ousting them from power is a reenactment of poetic justice preserved by time. One by one, the people in the streets surrounding the positions of power and institutions that have been ascribed to the Rajapakse family and their cronies for ages should be understood as an irrepressible protest against family rule. The rioters who stormed into the President’s residence while the armed police and army were watching is also a warning to those who rule Lanka in the future.
It can be hoped that the protesting voices of the people who rushed from different parts of the country without anyone’s call, raising the slogan ‘Together to Colombo’, will open the eyes of the new government. The slogan ‘Return the money stolen from us’, which the protestors wrote on the walls and outside of vehicles in Sri Lankan streets, points to another important direction. One can see the helplessness of a government that is struggling to keep up with billions of dollars in debt without studying and considering the level of national income, borrowing from wherever it can and spending as it sees fit. When the reality beyond the inflated PR campaigns was revealed to the public, a grim picture of a country in debt has appeared as a reminder to the world. In short, Sri Lanka is a school of many lessons. There is much to learn, evaluate and analyze from the Sinhala kingdom now.