- President ordered police to stop a mass of ruling party supporters marching towards activists protesting against a terrible economic crisis.
- Despite the president’s orders, protests protesting inflation, power outages, and food shortages became deadly.
- The escalation of violence signalled a turning point in the conflict.
It was the point at which two brothers who had ruled Sri Lankan politics for over two decades suddenly parted ways.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered police to stop a mass of ruling party supporters marching towards activists protesting against a terrible economic crisis on May 9, fearing violence.
Former media minister Nalaka Godahewa, who was with the president at the time, stated, “He was screaming at the police to disperse the throng.”
Despite the president’s orders, protests protesting inflation, power outages, and food shortages became deadly. Nine people were killed, hundreds were injured, and Rajapaksa supporters’ property was attacked.
The escalation of violence signalled a turning point in the conflict. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya’s older brother, had addressed the government supporters earlier in the day. According to a source with direct knowledge of events at the prime minister’s mansion in the commercial hub of Colombo, he was sitting down for lunch when an aide showed him a video of the violence.
“He knew what he was going to do next,” the person claimed.
The 76-year-old, who was once one of Sri Lanka’s most popular politicians, finished his lunch and napped, according to the source. He announced his resignation as prime minister at 5.02 p.m., exposing a schism in Sri Lanka’s ruling dynasty.
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The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to fear retaliation, said the president had been pressuring the prime minister to resign since early April as a concession to protestors who had demanded both men’s removal over their handling of the island’s economic crisis.
“GR (had) told MR to go,” claimed another family source, who also sought anonymity. The president and prime minister are referred to by their initials.
For this report, neither Mahinda Rajapaksa nor the president responded to calls for comment. They haven’t made any public statements regarding their disputes.
Because of the demonstrators’ rage, Mahinda went into hiding at a naval facility and remained under the protection of the armed forces for several days after resigning. Gotabaya, 72, remains president despite widespread opposition from Sri Lankans, and political leaders are debating whether to limit his administrative powers.
The Rajapaksas, on the other hand, aren’t finished yet.
According to at least five persons who talked to Reuters, including Godahewa and two other former ministers, a third brother, Basil, holds significant influence over the country through his control of the ruling party, which dominates parliament.
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