A humane mass uprising against arrogance in Sri Lanka

Newshub18 :A humane mass uprising against arrogance in Sri Lanka.

Seeing the mass uprising in Sri Lanka on July 9, many may remember Fayez’s poem. Some people think that real rebellion often seems to go beyond the beauty of poetry. Young Sri Lankans stormed the presidential palace that day, overcoming military barricades without the slightest violence. The king as president did not have to chase them. He escaped on his own. Colombo on July 9 showed the world that real people become something more beautiful than art. Yet it cannot be called the ‘beginning of a new era’. This is called ‘light green’ fight with ‘black and brown’!
The place in Colombo that is commonly used for political gatherings, and again this time, is the Gale Face. Touching the Indian Ocean with its light green waters, this square is a source of pride for Colombo. Before and after the occupation of the Presidential Palace on July 9, Galle Face became an ocean of dark-brown people in the Sinhalese-Tamil mix. Besides, between the two oceans, the political people announced their new pride in the world once again.

Indian Ocean Witness: A Pure Tsunami of Non-Violent Protests on July 9 in Colombo. But this mass uprising did not give birth to any revolution. For him, the citizens of Sri Lanka are not suffering from any depression. They have broken eggs — but there is no active hand to fry the omelette.

People are returning home with the epic of non-violence

For almost six months, the media around the world has been writing about the Sri Lankan crisis. But the reports that they did not understand দিয়ে a group of mentally strong young people has been born in Lanka through the acute crisis. They were born on July 9.
But now the question is, what will happen after the ‘occupation of the palace’? What will the crowd do now? And what will be the next role of politicians? The most ruthless answer to these questions is that there is no immediate positive response to this mass uprising in Sri Lanka. The political structure of the country and the political parties do not have the courage to build a new society and state at the moment containing the aspirations of the people. Again, it is not possible for the aristocracy of Sri Lanka to establish a tank rule by twisting these people.
The people are curious to see what the political parties will do now, but they are not sitting with high hopes. They are not disappointed, they are proud to save the country from shame.
Not only was Sri Lanka economically immersed in the injustice, corruption and arrogance of the family under the influence of the influential monarch, but the self-esteem of its citizens was also questioned abroad. The Lankans are content to free themselves from that stigma. On July 9, they took an oath to restore the country’s sense of dignity. After completing the ‘assignment’, they flew the national flag and took to the streets. No political party gathered in front of the office.

It was a moment of rebirth of a society. People think they have saved themselves from the shame of bowing down to the next generation. It’s like being unaccountable to national history. July 9 is in this sense the biggest cultural leap in the history of Sri Lanka. On that day Hindu Tamils, Muslim Tamils, Buddhist Sinhalese were not interested in anyone’s religion and caste when they occupied the royal palace. They saw black and brown quite close colors. But it could be stronger than the green of the Arabian Sea!
In this way, the Lankans are enjoying the happiness of the victor by initiating a new aspiration after 64 years of independence of the country on the strength of non-violent faith. In a country where at least two decades have elapsed since the outbreak of civil war, the glorious rise of non-violence is a marvel of sociology.
However, Sri Lanka also understands that the roots of pro-palace politics could not be uprooted on July 9 no there was no such program. But the citizens want that. While walking shoulder to shoulder, chatting, shouting, they are also talking about ‘change of system’, he says. But the gap between what Sri Lankan political parties want and what people want is huge. Sri Lanka is calling for a revolution, but there is no political force for a revolutionary coup in the country. Egypt could not give anything to Tahrir Square in this way.

But there will still be a political government in Sri Lanka. Colombo is one step ahead of Cairo. The people did not allow the tankers to take to the streets by keeping the occupation of the presidential palace non-violent. The conspirators tried to provoke the military by stigmatizing peaceful protests by setting fire to the PM’s house, but the plan failed.
However, even if there are no Rajapaksas, their ‘cadres’ are at different levels. They are culturally sabotaging the movement that is going on at every moment. But in almost six months of mass movement, Sri Lanka’s middle class has also become politically sufficient. Especially that the middle class has preferred to keep themselves and their children away from politics in recent years. The grammar of the mass movement has caused a lot of surprise among politicians in the last few days.

Basically the situation is going towards elections

The royal family has been in Sri Lanka for so long as the oxygen of the aristocracy of politics and economy. At the moment, the other part of the aristocracy, the military bureaucracy and the international powers are trying to form the next government. The embassies are quite busy. Except for the Rajapaksas, an exercise is underway to bring everyone else to a compromise. There will be a new government soon. There, the two main opposition parties, Janata Bimukti Peramuna (JVP) and Sangi Jan Balawega, will play a major role.

Who will be the president and who will be the prime minister is important news at the moment, but the reality is that Sri Lanka will have to go to the polls soon. A coup d’etat that cannot give a gift must at least elect one to keep the people satisfied. In that possible election, the reformist forces will do better in the face of extremist nationalism — this expectation is only the result of the ongoing mass uprising.
If the current situation does not change radically, the post-election situation will be in the hands of JVP’s unmarried Kumar Deshnayake and Sajith Premadasa of the ‘Sangi Jan Balawega’ party. Between these two forces, the JVP has a mix of Sinhalese nationalism with an old leftist tradition. And Premadasa wants a combination of Sinhalese moderates with Tamil moderates. Sri Lanka’s next political battle will be between these two streams. If Field Marshal Sharath Fonseka forms an alliance with any of them, it will be disastrous for others. However, all this is far from over. Now it will be a time of instability. The IMF will be the inevitable villain at this time.
After the expulsion of Gotabaya from the palace, the political hunger of the people was satisfied. With the rest of the dissatisfaction, they will now be satisfied with dollars, gas and electricity. The IMF is now waiting unbearably for the kitchen and the highway.

The rise of the individual Fonseca

In Sri Lanka, ‘July 9’ was created through a mass movement that was about six months old. At this time the Lankans are looking forward to a new political upsurge. But nothing like that happened from within the old power-equation. Although the JVP has made some progress as a party, they have not yet had the courage and strength to form a government. Only Fonseka remarkably advanced in between. Former army chief Fonseka, who led the civil war against the Tamils, is enjoying great popularity at the moment. He was the main courage of Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa in the anti-Tamil civil war. As a result, the Tamils ​​have the deepest wounds for him. But there is nothing that seems to be the last word in politics. Fonseka himself showed that by standing against the Rajapaksas.
Gotabaya-Mahinda-Fonseka was another name for the Sinhalese Jighangsa during the Civil War. But this time the people have sided with Fonseka against the Rajapaksas uncompromisingly. If he can create acceptance among Tamils, it will be difficult for any other Sinhalese to deal with him in any upcoming presidential election. On the other hand, the social alliance of the Tamils ​​with the Sinhalese with a strong personality like him could give birth to an irresistible Sri Lankan — for whom raising billions of dollars to save the country would not be a big match. How freely geopolitics will allow this small island to make decisions is also a matter for consideration.

The small country under the naked clutches of the Cold War

The festivities have been going on in Sri Lanka for several days now. Especially in Colombo. This is like a celebration of national liberation. But it is also true that the July 9 coup has not been able to reciprocate what Sri Lanka needs now. The country needs to raise at least বিল 25 billion of its ৫০ 50 billion foreign debt over the next five years. They do not have the energy they need every day to revive the economy. Schools-colleges, offices-courts are almost completely closed. There is no medicine in the hospital.
The United States, Europe, China and India can stand by Sri Lanka to get all this. But they are engaged in a three-pronged silent wrestling in the country. These three forces are willing to be fully loyal to any possible government. It has become a big condition for help and cooperation. The biggest example of the global Cold War’s brutal and naked appearance in South Asia is the pull of international powers in Sri Lanka.
But the people of the country have two kinds of bitter experiences with China and India. However, the major politicians continue to respect the wishes of the ambassadors of these two countries. On the other hand, the new government in Colombo needs the strong support of Washington to get along with the IMF. Only then can the next finance minister get the necessary dollars together.

In the next two to three weeks, the political developments in Sri Lanka will make clear how the country’s military bureaucracy and political elites will place their future in the geopolitical table. But to get the political economy out of the ICU, Lanka must first make geopolitical choices. He can no longer avoid this historical misfortune.
The historic coup of July 9 came here helpless. But it is also true that every coup d’etat spreads the seeds of change. Fertile soil and rain keep some seeds alive. The national unity that has emerged among Sri Lankan youth this time around will be a red card for any future arrogant politician. Even beyond the borders of Sri Lanka, the cultural implications of July 9 can be felt in the surrounding areas. People may not wait forever for political leadership to protect the self-respect of hostages in the hands of arrogance.

Altaf Parvez: Author of the book Tamil-Ilam (Tradition, 2017) of Sri Lanka