The surreal scenes from Colombo that unfolded on television screens across the world on Saturday afternoon were painful, yet fascinating. The way people’s power took over was compelling to watch, driving out a stubborn President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who clung to power unmindful of people’s sentiment. This was, in a way, democracy stamping its authority for all to see — no leader, however tall he may be, is taller than the people he represents. Yet, it was also sad to see a proud country come to this pass; people overrunning the presidential palace, marauding through its beautiful chambers and gardens, grabbing food from its kitchen, lounging on its sofas in the living room and in the four-poster presidential bed, and even splashing in the presidential pool. All without any authority to question them as the President and his staff scooted to safety. Later in the evening, the protesters turned their attention to the prime minister’s residence, setting a part of it on fire. Clearly, the country is sliding into anarchy. This is a situation that neither President Rajapaksa nor Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe would have imagined. The anti-government protests that have been on for more than three months were for the large part good-natured and peaceful. But the ongoing rationing of fuel and the widespread food shortage seem to have catalysed the people’s movement into taking power into their hands. They had had enough.

The troubles actually begin now for the island nation. The removal of President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremasinghe should appear relatively the easier part compared to what may be in store for the country. The Opposition is in disarray and there is little visibility on who will take power after President Rajapaksa resigns, hopefully on July 13. The vacuum at the top is a dangerous situation, more so because of the economic breakdown. Important decisions need to be taken on the economic front, including engaging with multilateral agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, for emergency aid. Aid agencies will want to deal with an authority that has the will of the people but that seems a distant hope at the moment. A caretaker government with representation from all parties may yet be installed in the next few days but polls to elect a fresh set of leaders may not happen in the near future. Among the political objectives of the protestors is the important one of amending the Constitution to jettison the presidential system and reverting to the earlier Westminster style. That will have to wait for a new government elected by the people.

The paralysis in Sri Lanka is not good news for India, the dominant power in the region. To be sure, India did play an important role in keeping the Sri Lankan economy afloat with its steady supplies of fuel, food and medicines, not to speak of a $3.5 billion line of credit. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman even spoke with multilateral agencies in Washington DC on Sri Lanka’s behalf during the recent Spring meetings. Yet, there seems to be an absolute lack of a sense of urgency among the multilateral agencies in lending a helping hand to the troubled island nation. India should do its utmost to help the suffering people of Sri Lanka with more assistance in kind in the form of food and fuel. This is the time to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their people. India should also lean on the multilateral aid agencies and push them to rescue the troubled nation that is literally staring down the barrel.

comment COMMENT NOW