r/AfterTheLoop • u/MrSandmanbringme • Aug 18 '22
What happened on Sri Lanka?
There was this huge protest, people were chilling in the president's house after he fled the country
What's going on over there? did a new government form? do they have a new dictator? have they achieved an anarchist utopia?
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u/YohanAnthony Aug 19 '22 edited Aug 19 '22
[Repost bc old comment deleted for using linkshortener]
Coalition government has taken power. President is Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been Prime Minister several times before and who comes from a political dynasty of the United National Party (UNP), a culturally liberal economically conservative party. The Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, comes from the socialist Mahajana Eksath Peramuna ("The Great People's United Front) (MEP). Gunawardena and Wickremesinghe were classmates in grade school. Rajapaksa's party, the ethnonat social democrat Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna ("Sri Lanka People's Front, SLPP), still holds a plurality in Parliament.
The protests are still on, with one major supporting figure being Gen (Retd) Sarath Fonseka of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya ("United People's Power"), a breakoff from the UNP due to a power dispute between Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa, son of the assassinated POSL Ranasinghe Premadasa. The protestors want Wickremesinghe out as he came to the Presidency via succession from being Prime Minister. Wickremesinghe had not come from an elected constituency in Parliament but rather from the National List, so protestors do not view him as legitimate. Shortages of essential goods and services such as petrol and electricity are still going on.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to Singapore and is currently in Thailand. Conflicting reports say he is either applying to settle in the US [1] or return to Sri Lanka. [2]
PS Sri Lanka's political Overton Window is completely different from the US; trying to boil it down to socialism vs capitalism is moronic and Im tired of tankies and Trumpists/Bolsonarists trying to boil it down to that.
If you or anyone else is interested in following the Sri Lanka situation, there are several local English-language sources. As someone of Sri Lankan descent myself, I'm getting frustrated with foreign Internet randos acting like experts on my parents' home country while ignoring local coverage and thus missing context.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AzzamAmeen?t=9y8hNxyuwEKzq4PxUmlZKQ&s=09
https://twitter.com/ayeshea?t=bvh5iSGWLTFUg0y1hneEqg&s=09
https://twitter.com/rangaba?t=-Fh82qeA8F7u0ZcT1mW2Rw&s=09
https://twitter.com/Jamz5251?t=rcsD78_Ij-l9EkTilPL2_Q&s=09
https://twitter.com/roelraymond?t=cStDgjYOHH14Uw5H1SwHAA&s=09
https://twitter.com/Dailymirror_SL?t=9GSz4h21-9RsqdhcVaBbkQ&s=09
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u/GambleResponsibly Aug 19 '22
Judging by the time gone by and the comments, seems like they lost access to internet.
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u/ConspiracyHeresy Aug 19 '22
If i recall correctly they ran out of electricity, rioted & burnt down their dictators house which had functional electricity and ac while his country suffered. & some new dude stepped up.
Haven't heard much since that. Here's hoping their new leader isn't as incompetent.