Why Sri Lanka’s ‘Aragalaya’ protesters are divided on backing President Ranil Wickremesinghe
- The debt-ridden country saw more than four months of protests this year over the mismanaged economy and major shortages of necessities
- Analysts said former protesters are divided on what to do next; some are keen to continue protesting, others want to give new leader a chance
Dushantha, 28, who set up the protest group Black Cap Movement in March with 1,000 members said he and his colleagues laid out “a series of demands related to constitutional reforms for the next six months”. “At this stage, we want to deal with the government and not disrupt it,” he added.
However, not everyone is happy to work with the new president. Maths tutor Thisara Anuruddha Bandara, also 28, was arrested twice during the months-long protests and left his job in May to be part of the movement 24/7.
“We, the ‘Galle Face protesters’, are soon going to reorganise the protests, which will be much bigger and more effective than the previous one,” he said.
Both Dushantha and Bandara were part of ‘Aragalaya’ (the struggle) that started in March, calling for the removal of Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda, the former prime minister, because of a severe financial crisis that led to major shortages of fuel, food, and medicines.
But now the Rajapaksa brothers are no longer in charge, the protesters look divided, according to analysts.
