When Gota Has Nowhere to Go

Sri Lanka defaulted on its sovereign debt payments in May 2022 experiencing its worst financial crisis in over 70 years. Unable to make ends meet with hyperinflation, power outages, fuel and gas shortages in the nation, the citizens are protesting against the government demanding resignations from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. With his recent resignation from office, the nature, composition, and objectives of the citizens’ movement at the “Gota Go Gama” (Sinhalese for “Gota Go Home”) protest site have come under scrutiny—signalling not only the end of a political dynasty but also a call for a systemic overhaul. Nevertheless, varying interests of the protesters and group differences may surface in the near future as Sri Lanka struggles to choose its leaders. 

The protests, which began in early March 2022 trending as #gotagohome, were in full momentum with frustrated and angry mobs aggressively demanding resignations from both President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. By 9 July, the protestors had stormed into the presidential palace and set fire to the private residence of the Prime Minister. Due to mounting pressures, Rajapaksa resigned by sending his resignation by email to the speaker of Parliament from Singapore. Reports surfaced of him fleeing to the Maldives, being rejected landings in India, Dubai, and with the United States denying him a visa. Rajapaksa, who won the votes of 69 lakh people in 2019, was spat out from his own home country and has now got nowhere to go.