Monks’ role in Sri Lanka protests raises familiar questions
2 years, 4 months ago

Monks’ role in Sri Lanka protests raises familiar questions

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The street protests that drove Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office last month brought together people from across the country’s diverse and sometimes warring ethno-religious groups: Tamils, Muslims, Christians and Sinhala Buddhists — including, unmistakably, the saffron-robed Buddhist monks who are fixtures of Sri Lanka’s political scene. ___ Political involvement by the monks — easy to spot in the protests against Rajapaksa’s inaction on Sri Lanka’s economic woes — also includes taking seats in Parliament and joining political parties. People don’t view them as religious leaders anymore,” said Venerable Mahayaye Vineetha, a Sri Lankan monk living in Kandy, a city in Sri Lanka’s central highlands. Theravada Buddhist monks have been both spiritual and practical advisers to Sri Lankan political leaders for centuries, starting with the country’s kings.

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History of this topic

Protests ousted Sri Lanka’s last president. Ahead of new election, many are still waiting for change
3 months ago

Protests ousted Sri Lanka’s last president. Ahead of new election, many are still waiting for change

Associated Press  

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Two years ago, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans rose up against their president and forced him to flee the country. Days after Rajapaksa fled the country, Sri Lanka’s parliament replaced him with then-prime minister Ranil Wickremensignhe in a vote that many protesters saw as a victory for the status quo. Pathum Kerner, a 42-year-old physician …

Shunyata: the influence of Buddhism on life in Sri Lanka
5 months, 1 week ago

Shunyata: the influence of Buddhism on life in Sri Lanka

Hindustan Times  

Poson Poya, the full moon day on which Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka by Ashoka’s son Mahinda in 236BC was celebrated in Sri Lanka on 21st June. I found Buddha instead.” The Seema Malaka Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Vesak night. From Kerala’s appams to Lanka’s string hoppers, from the dreaded rahu ketu in India to the rahu …

Sri Lankans are squabbling over monuments
10 months, 1 week ago

Sri Lankans are squabbling over monuments

Hindustan Times  

On a wooded hill edged by rice fields in Sri Lanka’s northern Mullaitivu district sit the ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery. For Sinhalese nationalists such as Ellawala Medhananda, a Buddhist monk and author of a popular book on the Buddhist heritage of Sri Lanka’s north and east, such ruins serve a keen political purpose. At the heart of the …

A voice of reason during Sri Lanka’s crisis
2 years, 5 months ago

A voice of reason during Sri Lanka’s crisis

The Hindu  

In the midst of an economic collapse, Sri Lanka witnessed unprecedented mass resistance, leading to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation last week. In Sri Lanka, an economic crisis foretold In March, the BASL filed two fundamental rights petitions in the Supreme Court, arguing that the acute shortages of fuel, electricity, gas, food, milk powder and medicines resulted in a violation of …

Sri Lanka Crisis: Plan Handed Over by Peaceful Protesters Good, Says Acting President Wickremesinghe
2 years, 5 months ago

Sri Lanka Crisis: Plan Handed Over by Peaceful Protesters Good, Says Acting President Wickremesinghe

News 18  

Sri Lanka?s acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, main Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa are among the four leaders who have joined the race to become the country?s next President as the lawmakers met on Saturday to start the process of electing a new president to succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after unprecedented protests against his government over the country?s economic collapse. Sri …

Sri Lankan politicians meet to choose a new leader after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns
2 years, 5 months ago

Sri Lankan politicians meet to choose a new leader after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns

ABC  

Sri Lankan politicians have met to start choosing a new leader to serve the rest of the term abandoned by the president who fled abroad and resigned after mass protests over the country's economic collapse. Key points: The parliament's speaker promised a quick and transparent process that should be done within a week Nominations for the election of the new …

DC Edit | Sri Lanka: Rajapaksas are history but chaos reigns
2 years, 5 months ago

DC Edit | Sri Lanka: Rajapaksas are history but chaos reigns

Deccan Chronicle  

Sri Lanka’s political impasse must end for the nation to address the economic collapse. A sordid chapter of authoritarian rule by a single family whose members may have looted Sri Lanka systematically may have ended but a political vacuum created in the wake of the Rajapaksas bending finally to the people’s will is likely to hold up the move towards …

A brief history of the rise, fall of Sri Lanka’s president
2 years, 5 months ago

A brief history of the rise, fall of Sri Lanka’s president

Associated Press  

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Before he fled Sri Lanka on Wednesday amid a crushing economic crisis, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the last of six members of the country’s most influential family still clinging to power. Appealing to the nationalist sentiment of the island’s Buddhist-Sinhalese majority, he led Sri Lanka into a triumphant victory over ethnic Tamil rebels in 2009, ending …

In Sri Lanka, no quiet after the storm
2 years, 5 months ago

In Sri Lanka, no quiet after the storm

The Hindu  

Even after the fall of his official residence and the Presidential Secretariat into the hands of protesting citizens, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa tried to defy the massive public pressure on him to resign. Abolishing Sri Lanka’s much-hated executive presidential system of government through a comprehensive package of political reforms will have to be a priority in the policy agenda …

‘Don’t safeguard criminals’: Fleeing Sri Lankan president faces protests in Maldives
2 years, 5 months ago

‘Don’t safeguard criminals’: Fleeing Sri Lankan president faces protests in Maldives

The Hindu  

Escaping Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa faced protests in the Maldives on July 13 with dozens of compatriots urging Male not to provide him safe heaven. Sri Lankan expatriates carrying flags and placards denounced Mr. Rajapaksa, who fled his country early on July 13 after protesters overran his Colombo residence at the weekend over the worsening economic crisis in the …

A crescendo that felled Lanka’s most powerful
2 years, 5 months ago

A crescendo that felled Lanka’s most powerful

Hindustan Times  

July 9 was a watershed day in Sri Lanka’s political history when tens of thousands of its citizens flooded Colombo, breached three iconic seats of political power, and pushed the president and prime minister to agree to resign from office. July 13, however, brought forth a more volatile mix of emotions – relief at the exit of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who …

Explained: What led to the fall of Sri Lanka’s powerful Rajapaksa clan?
2 years, 5 months ago

Explained: What led to the fall of Sri Lanka’s powerful Rajapaksa clan?

Firstpost  

The Rajapaksa brothers, Mahinda and Gotabaya, were hailed as war heroes when they led the fight against the LTTE. But today, they are considered the big villains responsible for Sri Lanka’s economic collapse The anger against the Sri Lankan leadership boiled over, as tens and thousands of protesters took to the streets of Colombo over the weekend, storming into President …

Sri Lankan protestors start cooking in PM's house, hit the gym at President's house | Watch
2 years, 5 months ago

Sri Lankan protestors start cooking in PM's house, hit the gym at President's house | Watch

India TV News  

Protestors on Sunday were seen having a gala time in Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence as well as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe house after taking them over on Saturday. Protesters enter Resident Gotabaya Rajapaksa's house On Saturday, thousands of protesters barged into the Lankan President's residence and office to vent their fury against a leader they hold responsible for …

Bolster democratic forces in Sri Lanka
2 years, 5 months ago

Bolster democratic forces in Sri Lanka

Hindustan Times  

A weeks-long simmering protest in Sri Lanka boiled over this weekend as groups of protesters broke through police and law enforcement barricades and barged into the presidential palace, forcing president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to announce that he will be resigning later this week. With Mr Rajapaksa out, former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa forced to flee his residence weeks ago, and former …

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down
2 years, 5 months ago

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down

Al Jazeera  

Embattled president to resign on July 13, the announcement came after a tumultuous day in which protesters stormed his residence and set the prime minister’s home on fire. Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to step down next week, an official said, after protesters stormed the presidential palace and set fire to the prime minister’s home to vent their …

Sri Lanka’s ‘picturesque’ protests
2 years, 6 months ago

Sri Lanka’s ‘picturesque’ protests

Al Jazeera  

Every time there is a crisis in the Global South, Western news organisations parachute their correspondents and photographers in to document the developments. This has largely been the case with the international coverage of Sri Lanka’s ongoing protests demanding that the ruling Rajapaksa family leave office. This is nothing unique to Sri Lanka – we often see similar narratives of …

Rajapaksa dynasty crumbles as Sri Lanka economy tanks
2 years, 7 months ago

Rajapaksa dynasty crumbles as Sri Lanka economy tanks

Firstpost  

With soaring prices, fuel and food shortages and lengthy power cuts, Sri Lankans have been protesting for weeks, calling for both the Rajapaksas to step down. Mahinda resigned on 9 May New Delhi: With one brother president, another prime minister and three more family members cabinet ministers, it appeared that the Rajapaksa clan had consolidated its grip on power in …

As unrest spreads across Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appeals for peace
2 years, 7 months ago

As unrest spreads across Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appeals for peace

Hindustan Times  

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday appealed for peace, as the mostly peaceful anti-government protests on the island nation took an extremely violent turn. A worker sweeps the street alongside the burnt buses near Sri Lanka's former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence 'Temple Trees', a day after they were torched by protesters in Colombo on May 10, 2022. …

Sri Lanka’s worker unions go on mass strike asking govt to quit
2 years, 7 months ago

Sri Lanka’s worker unions go on mass strike asking govt to quit

The Hindu  

Several hundred worker unions in Sri Lanka on Thursday went on a mass strike, backing ongoing citizens’ protests calling for the resignation of the ruling Rajapaksa brothers, as the country battles one of its worst economic crises. “If President Gotabaya Rajapaksa does not heed the call of the people’s struggle within seven days, we will continue agitating until he steps …

A political reckoning in Sri Lanka as debt crisis grows
2 years, 7 months ago

A political reckoning in Sri Lanka as debt crisis grows

Associated Press  

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sherry Fonseka joined millions in 2019 in electing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a military strategist whose brutal campaign helped end Sri Lanka’s 30-year civil war 10 years earlier. The protests highlight the dramatic fall of the Rajapaksas from Sri Lanka’s most powerful political dynasty in decades to a family grasping to retain power. Just days into his …

Sri Lanka President willing to form interim govt, says Buddhist monk: Report
2 years, 7 months ago

Sri Lanka President willing to form interim govt, says Buddhist monk: Report

Live Mint  

Amid ongoing severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has expressed the will to form an interim government in order to resolve the ongoing crisis. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the island country Sri Lanka slipped into a dire economic crisis due to debt troubles, liquidity problems, and minimum foreign reserves leading to long power outages, and scarcity of …

Sri Lankan President ready to form interim govt, claims senior Buddhist monk
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lankan President ready to form interim govt, claims senior Buddhist monk

India TV News  

Highlights The debt-ridden country has stepped up efforts to keep the economy afloat Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, as the government ran out of money Rajapaksa expressed his intention to form interim govt in a letter to the powerful Buddhist clergy Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to form an interim government to …

‘Failed state’: Sri Lanka’s Buddhist leaders want gov’t to resign
2 years, 8 months ago

‘Failed state’: Sri Lanka’s Buddhist leaders want gov’t to resign

Al Jazeera  

The island’s most influential Buddhist clerics now join a growing list of former allies calling for the government’s resignation. Sri Lanka’s beleaguered government faces new pressure to resign from influential Buddhist leaders over the island’s escalating economic crisis. As the crisis triggers nationwide protests, the country’s most influential Buddhist clerics have now joined a growing list of former allies, calling …

A chance to hit refresh in Sri Lanka
2 years, 8 months ago

A chance to hit refresh in Sri Lanka

The Hindu  

Having swept to power in a landslide victory in late 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time declaring unequivocally that his would be a Sinhalese ethno-nationalist state. But I did not receive the response I anticipated.” Eroding support Less than three years later, Mr. Rajapaksa is as unpopular a head of state as has ever held office in …

Sri Lankan Protesters Justified, Govt Should Have Communicated Better: PM’s Son Namal Rajapaksa
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lankan Protesters Justified, Govt Should Have Communicated Better: PM’s Son Namal Rajapaksa

News 18  

Protesters in Sri Lanka are totally justified in their expression of anger and demanding answers after a debilitating mix of escalating commodity rates and severe shortage of essentials pushed them to the brink, Namal Rajapaksa, former Youth and Sports Minister and son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, told CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview. Facing international condemnation, the government has promised …

Sri Lanka’s Youths Won’t Let Island Nation Maroon in Financial Crisis, Change Course in 7 Days
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka’s Youths Won’t Let Island Nation Maroon in Financial Crisis, Change Course in 7 Days

News 18  

For Sri Lankans, the scenario is surreal – The top political leadership has collapsed overnight. The young agitators have made the most powerful ruling Rajapaksa family irrelevant, and brought in a group of professionals, comprising the Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Treasury secretary and a three-member economic advisory committee, to fix the crumbling economy of the island nation. …

Voice from Sri Lanka: The Sea of Protesters is Not Going Home Until Rajapaksa Does
2 years, 8 months ago

Voice from Sri Lanka: The Sea of Protesters is Not Going Home Until Rajapaksa Does

News 18  

Sri Lanka, an island of 22 million, still deeply fractured only 13 years since the end of a civil war, has united as never before. The primary rallying cry “go home Gota” has been accompanied by “go home Rajapaksas” — a fierce rebuke of the family that has dominated Sri Lankan politics this century. Galle Face Green, a seafront public …

Economic crisis threatens hold of Sri Lanka’s most powerful family
2 years, 8 months ago

Economic crisis threatens hold of Sri Lanka’s most powerful family

Live Mint  

Sri Lanka’s politics have been dominated for much of the past two decades by a single family. Mr. Rajapaksa, who was once widely revered among Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority as a war hero, is now battling to stay in power. “People respected him as a god, as a saint, in those days," said Ubayamath Rajasekaram, a 49-year-old homeopath who …

Sri Lankan opposition not ready to push Rajapaksa out of power
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lankan opposition not ready to push Rajapaksa out of power

Hindustan Times  

The Sri Lankan economic and political crisis is far from over, with the pressure mounting on president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign amid widespread protests. The protesters on Wednesday staged demonstrations outside the office of the chief government whip Johnston Fernando who had stated that the president won't resign in any circumstances. People hold placards as they demand Sri Lanka's President …

Sri Lanka Mayhem: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Loses Parliament Majority as Protests Mount
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka Mayhem: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Loses Parliament Majority as Protests Mount

News 18  

In a major setback, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday lost his parliamentary majority as his former allies demanded his resignation with the island nations reeling under a crippling economic crisis. “We have to forget party politics and ensure an interim government.” Tuesday’s parliamentary session was the first since dozens of MPs withdrew their support for Rajapaksa’s government, including …

Sri Lanka president loses parliament majority as protests mount over crippling economic crisis
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka president loses parliament majority as protests mount over crippling economic crisis

Firstpost  

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s once-powerful ruling coalition is in turmoil after a string of defections, capped Tuesday by the announcement of the new finance minister’s resignation just one day after taking office Colombo: Sri Lanka’s president lost his parliamentary majority Tuesday as former allies urged his resignation, following days of street protests over the island nation’s crippling economic crisis. President Gotabaya …

Sri Lanka: Gota needs to go – but so does the ethnocratic state
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka: Gota needs to go – but so does the ethnocratic state

Al Jazeera  

At least in the eyes of the long-suffering Tamils, the demands being made at the ongoing protests are not going far enough. Engineered economic hardship was part of the Sri Lankan state’s wartime strategy. That Gota’s responsibility for mass atrocities is not playing a part in the protest movement is indicative of the deep-rooted problem in Sri Lanka, one that …

Sri Lanka: How interim government may be the best way out for stability, continuity and fiscal management
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka: How interim government may be the best way out for stability, continuity and fiscal management

Firstpost  

The weekend protests across the nation, purportedly launched as a people’s movement but had the unveiled support and organisational inputs of the Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya, may have been the best thing that could have happened to Sri Lanka, caught in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis, snowballing into a political stalemate. The list included all three of Gota’s …

Entire Sri Lankan cabinet resigns, social media ban lifted as country's economic crisis worsens
2 years, 8 months ago

Entire Sri Lankan cabinet resigns, social media ban lifted as country's economic crisis worsens

ABC  

The entire Sri Lankan cabinet has resigned from their positions, as anti-government protesters defy curfews in the country's worsening economic crisis. Key points: Coalition parties are demanding that a caretaker cabinet be appointed The nationwide social media ban ended at 6am today For months, Sri Lankans have endured significant fuel, food and medicine shortage All 26 ministers, except for President …

Ministers quit in Sri Lanka
2 years, 8 months ago

Ministers quit in Sri Lanka

The Hindu  

All Cabinet Ministers in Sri Lanka resigned late on Sunday, amid raging protests by citizens asking the Rajapaksa administration to quit for “failing” the country in its crisis response. Earlier, defying a curfew imposed by the government, Sri Lanka’s Opposition parties, several student groups and citizens took to the streets on Sunday, as public outrage swells over the Rajapaksa administration’s …

Watch | Sri Lanka Crisis: Opposition holds protest defying curfew
2 years, 8 months ago

Watch | Sri Lanka Crisis: Opposition holds protest defying curfew

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka’s main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya on Sunday held a protest at Colombo’s Independence Square, defying a curfew imposed by the government that faces sharp criticism over its response to the country’s worsening economic crisis. Over the past week, citizen’s protests have intensified across Sri Lanka, amid a persisting shortage of food supplies and fuel, soaring prices of …

As Sri Lanka crisis worsens, hundreds march to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s house
2 years, 8 months ago

As Sri Lanka crisis worsens, hundreds march to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s house

The Hindu  

Hundreds of angry protestors gathered outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s private residence in Colombo late on Thursday night, after the island experienced a 13-hour-long power cut amid Sri Lanka’s worsening economic meltdown. Triggered by a long-brewing Balance of Payments problem, that heightened after the pandemic and led to a dollar crunch late last year, the crisis swiftly escalated from the beginning …

How India is building ties with nations that share Buddhist heritage
3 years, 2 months ago

How India is building ties with nations that share Buddhist heritage

Hindustan Times  

In September 2019, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the teachings of “Buddh” rather than the message of “yuddh” were India’s contribution to the world. The PM believes that rekindling India’s ties with Buddhist countries and building strong relationships with them, given our shared values and outlook, is his moral responsibility. …

The Rajapaksa Dynasty in Sri Lanka: Democracy in Decline
3 years, 4 months ago

The Rajapaksa Dynasty in Sri Lanka: Democracy in Decline

The Diplomat  

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was swept into power with 6.9 million votes in November 2019 and subsequently saw his party’s control bolstered with a two-thirds majority in Parliament in the general election of August 2020. The confrontationist orientation of Sri Lankan foreign policy, backstopped by the Chinese, has also resulted in a severe resolution on Sri Lanka in the …

What is behind the anti-Muslim measures in Sri Lanka?
3 years, 8 months ago

What is behind the anti-Muslim measures in Sri Lanka?

Al Jazeera  

On March 13, Sarath Weerasekara, Sri Lanka’s minister of public security, announced that the government will ban wearing of the burqa and close more than 1,000 Islamic schools in the country. During their political campaigning after 2015, the Rajapaksas’ new party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, took on a Sinhala supremacist position, accommodating activist monks and anti-Muslim movement stalwarts. When …

Why does Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election matter?
4 years, 4 months ago

Why does Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election matter?

Al Jazeera  

The Rajapaksa family aims to strengthen its grip as voters go to polls in Sri Lanka. Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa have long shaped Sri Lanka’s politics. President Gotabaya’s party aims to win a two-thirds majority in Wednesday’s parliamentary election, to be able to amend the constitution and restore presidential powers curbed under changes to legislation in 2015. Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra …

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