People adamant on Rajapaksa's resignation, people are gathering food for the protesters
The people of Sri Lanka, who are
facing financial crisis, have united against the Rajapaksa family. For the past
fortnight, thousands of protesters have been frozen just 300 meters from the
Rashtrapati Bhavan. The president is raising slogans against Gotabaya and his
family members. Their placards read, 'Return our stolen money.'
Shantha Silva, 38, father of two
children protesting outside Gelsa Hills (Rashtrapati Bhavan), says, “Rajapaksa
has brought the nation to its knees. The situation is so bad that even the very
poorest sections of India are sending help. Rajapaksa has sold many properties
to China to borrow money, he says. Now we are all suffering. We all will not
leave here without removing the Rajapaksa family and forming a new government.
People are collecting
food and water for the protesters
Many people are reaching the
protest site in their private vehicles. Voluntarily expressing solidarity by
mobilizing food and water for the protesters. Among the protesters are Buddhist
monks, women from all communities, retired military personnel along with
students.
Lawyers fighting cases
for free
Police arrested 53 people during
a demonstration on March 31 near the private residence of President Rajapaksa.
On this, more than 300 lawyers reached the police station and court for his
bail. The lawyers said that they would be available to help the countrymen
against any injustice without charging any fees. Later, more than 100 lawyers
surrounded the country's Attorney General (AG) department and asked why the AG
withdrew the case filed by the same department against many of Rajapaksa's
supporters and ruling SLPP members.
Bandara, a 40-year-old teacher at
a school in Colombo, says that my monthly salary is now able to cover only half
a month's needs. Apart from teaching, I also do tuition in school. But still
the money is not enough for my five member family. All this happened because we
had elected a president who knows nothing about policies. He only knows
military rules.
No less accepted than
Rajapaksa's resignation
In view of the demonstration, on
Wednesday, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had offered talks to the
protesters. However, Sampath Veerasinghe, a shopkeeper, says that we do not
approve of anything less than the removal of President Rajapaksa and his
ministers. This government has lost its credibility and we do not believe it
can do anything good except manipulate everything. They always lie.
He said that there would be no
shortage of LPG and fuel. But the shortage came only the next week. He said
that there will be no power cut in February, but we are still struggling with
power cuts. So you can't trust Gotabaya (Rajapaksa). He should step down and
give the post to a credible leader who can take wise decisions on behalf of the
people.
Monks also joined the
protest
Along with the general public,
Buddhist monks are also joining the protest against the Rajapaksa government in
Colombo. The monks on the Gelsa Hills also performed.
Earlier the status of
the Rajapaksa family was like the gods
The Rajapaksa family has
dominated Sri Lankan politics for almost 18 years. The members of the Rajapaksa
family were once worshiped as gods by their supporters. Mahinda had liberated
the country from LTTE from 2004 to 2014 as President. The people of
Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka considered this a great achievement. Now this is
the first time that people are standing against the Rajapaksa family.
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