The world must stand with the people of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is undergoing unprecedented turmoil these days. The economy has collapsed and the people have been saddled with an executive president who has no popular mandate and a government that is not representative of their will. It is not the first time in post-independence history that Sri Lanka has faced existential crises, but that is little comfort when the current challenges have the potential to unravel the whole State itself and plunge the nation towards decades of chaos.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe now at the helm of affairs has got off to the worst start possible under the circumstances. Rather than winning over the masses who see him as a mere usurper, he has opted for a militaristic response against civil unrest. Within hours of assuming high office the President declared a State of Emergency, called on the military and commenced a clampdown of peaceful protestors. President Wickremesinghe is a man without a constituency having obtained a measly 30,000 votes at the last general election only to lose his seat in Parliament and lead the grand old United National Party to its worst electoral defeat in 80 years. If humility, patience, foresight and astuteness were the need of the hour, President Wickremesinghe has failed to demonstrate those.

What he does not care for in Sri Lankan public opinion however, Wickremesinghe supplements with an excessive focus on international perceptions. This was once again visible last week soon after the brutal assault at Galle Face Green. Despite the numerous criticisms across the civil society spectrum at home, including from the State’s own Human Rights Commission and numerous professional organisations including the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, there was hardly any response from the Government. Yet, true to form, the President is reported to have admonished the Colombo based diplomatic corps for issuing statements against State brutality without “clarifying” with his officials.

It seems all that matters and all that stands in the way of the Sri Lankan President plummeting the country back into the dark years of the 1980s is international opinion and pressure concerning excesses. It is for this very reason that Sri Lanka’s international friends, especially those representing the democratic peoples of the world, must at this moment in time stand with the people of Sri Lanka rather than an alarmingly authoritarian regime.

In October 2018, when then President Maithripala Sirisena precipitated a constitutional coup by sacking then prime minister Wickremesinghe, the interim administration established under Mahinda Rajapaksa soon lost credibility and legitimacy when it was not recognised by other countries and international organisations. While President Wickremesinghe has been legally elected by Parliament he is yet to establish his legitimacy among the people of Sri Lanka. It is imperative at this moment for Sri Lanka’s international partners not to give this legitimacy so desperately sought by Wickremesinghe if he continues on a path that endeavours to discard the values of democracy, individual freedoms of citizens and human rights.In this context Sri Lanka’s international partners must not be in a hurry to embrace the new administration. High level visits and meetings, especially by foreign dignitaries should be avoided at this stage which would give an unnecessary propaganda opportunity for the regime. They should not shy away from holding the administration accountable for their excesses, especially those that curtail the freedoms of the people.. At this tragic moment in history Sri Lanka needs all the goodwill and assistance from the international community. Yet this assistance should not be at the cost of the will and aspirations of the people. 

The Sri Lankan people are fighting for the very soul of our nation. Once the dust settles on this traumatic chapter, the people will remember those who stood by the values that inspire a popular movement as witnessed in the last few months. They will also remember those who aided and abetted a regime sans popular legitimacy in what is Asia’s oldest continuous democracy.