2022 Sri Lankan Protests
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The 2022 Sri Lankan protests, commonly known as Aragalaya (), were a series of mass protests that began in March 2022 against the
government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...
. The government was heavily criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy, which led to a subsequent economic crisis involving severe inflation, daily blackouts, and a shortage of fuel, domestic gas, and other essential goods. The protesters' main demand was the resignation of President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...
and key officials from the Rajapaksa family. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties, most protesters considered themselves to be
apolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased p ...
, with many expressing discontent with the parliamentary opposition. Protesters chanted slogans such as "Go Home Gota", "Go Home Rajapaksas", and "Aragalayata Jaya Wewa" ("Victory to the struggle"). Most protests were organized by the general public, with youths playing a major part by carrying out protests at
Galle Face Green Galle Face Green is a ocean-side urban park, which stretches for along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, alth ...
. The government reacted to the protests with authoritarian methods, such as declaring a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
, allowing the military to arrest civilians, imposing
curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...
s, and restricting access to social media. The government violated the law and the
Sri Lankan constitution The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (, ) has been the constitution of the island nation of Sri Lanka since its original promulgation by the National State Assembly on 7 September 1978. it has been formally amended ...
by attempting to suppress the protests. The
Sri Lankan diaspora The Sri Lankan diaspora are Sri Lankan emigrants and expatriates from Sri Lanka that reside in a foreign country. An estimate in 2013 by the United Nations concluded that the diaspora numbered around three million, with large concentrations ...
also began demonstrations against the suppression of basic human rights in the country. In April, the government's ban on social media was perceived to have backfired;
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...
s such as #GoHomeGota, which is believed to have been coined by an activist called Pathum Kerner in December 2021, had begun trending on Twitter internationally. The government's ban was lifted later that day. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka condemned the government's actions and summoned officials responsible for the blocking and abuse of protesters. On 3 April, all 26 members of the Second Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet resigned with the exception of Prime Minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...
. Critics said that the resignation was not valid as they did not follow constitutional protocol and several of the ministers who "resigned" were reinstated in different ministries the next day. Chief government whip Johnston Fernando insisted that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would not resign under any circumstances. The protests, however, led to the removal of officials and ministers, including members of the Rajapaksa family and their close associates, and to the appointment of more qualified and veteran officials and the creation of the Advisory Group on Multilateral Engagement and Debt Sustainability. In July 2022, protesters occupied the President's House in
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
, causing Rajapaksa to flee and Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe (; ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 a ...
to announce his own willingness to resign. About a week later, on 20 July, Parliament elected Wickremesinghe as President. By November 2022, the protests had largely cooled off due to improvement in economic conditions. While the protests were mostly over, it was noted that it would take until 2026 for full economic recovery to be achieved.


Background

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
has witnessed a sharp rise in foreign debt since 2010, reaching 42.6% of the country's GDP in 2019. By February 2022, the country had only $2.31 billion left in its reserves to repay around $4 billion of debt, including a $1 billion maturing international
sovereign bond A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments'','' and to repay the face value on the maturity da ...
(ISB) in July. According to official data released by the Sri Lankan government, ISBs accounted for almost half of the country's external debt by the end of April 2022. The
Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...
(13%), Japan (10%) and China (10%) were among the other major lenders. Sri Lanka's economic crisis was further accelerated by global impacts including the
global recession A global recession is a recession that affects many countries around the world—that is, a period of global economic slowdown or declining economic output. Definitions The International Monetary Fund defines a global recession as "a decline ...
caused by the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in 2020, and the
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...
and energy shortage and price hike following
Russia's invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in early 2022. An unsuccessful move to prohibit the use of synthetic fertilizer and pesticides also contributed to a major decline in the yields of Sri Lanka's
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
and
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
industries, which are, respectively, a
staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...
and major international export. The drop in tea production from the fertilizer ban alone resulted in economic losses of around $425 million. The ban also contributed to a 20% drop in rice production within the first six months. As a result, Sri Lanka went from being self-sufficient in rice production to having to import rice at a cost of US$450 million. By 2021, the foreign debt had risen to 101% of the nation's GDP. The incumbent
Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...
under president
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...
made continuous cascading policy errors that resulted in a severe economic crisis for Sri Lanka. These included significant
tax cut A tax cut typically represents a decrease in the amount of money taken from taxpayers to go towards government revenue. This decreases the revenue of the government and increases the disposable income of taxpayers. Tax rate cuts usually refer ...
s that affected
fiscal policies In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variables d ...
, and reduced government revenue, which intensified the budget deficit as well as inflation. To cover government spending, the Central Bank began printing money in record amounts, ignoring the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
's (IMF) advice to increase interest rates and taxes while decreasing spending instead. The IMF warned that continued money printing would lead to an economic implosion. Instead, the country pursued an economic policy that kept exports low and imports high, which depleted the country's
foreign currency reserves Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold and silver held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, ...
. According to the government, Sri Lanka's tourist trade, a major source of foreign currency for the country, was affected by both the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and a series of terrorist attacks in 2019 that scared off tourists. With brothers Basil Rajapaksa as Finance Minister and
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...
as Prime Minister, the sense of nepotism and mismanagement deepened among critics. While members of the Rajapaksa family had previously been charged with corruption locally, authorities have failed to prove these charges in court. In 2021, the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C., with ...
released the
Pandora Papers The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 35 ...
, which included information about Nirupama Rajapaksa, who had used offshore shell companies and trusts to secretly stash the family's wealth around the world. In 2022, as protests began growing in Sri Lanka, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, former Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States and Mexico, and a cousin of the Rajapaksa brothers, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for defrauding $332,027 from the Sri Lankan government during the purchase of a new embassy building in 2013. Government supporters and allies also began to blame the economic crisis on Basil Rajapaksa, who gained a reputation as "Mr. Ten Percent" due to his alleged commission from government contracts. Additionally, despite being the finance minister, he did not attend parliament sessions during the economic crisis. Udaya Gammanpila, the leader of the government-aligned ''Pivithuru Hela Urumaya'', claimed that the party has no intention of re-electing a Rajapaksa, which would end of the nepotism that has plagued Sri Lankan politics.


Timeline


March

Initial protests began in early March with small candlelight vigils, including notable gatherings in Kohuwala led by activists like Vimukthi Dushantha. These protests quickly spread countrywide, amassing increasing numbers of attendees. As protests began to grow, government MPs refused to acknowledge them, fueling the rapid growth of unorganized, non-partisan demonstrations where hundreds of citizens would gather after work to voice their dissent. On 15 March, tens of thousands of supporters of the largest opposition party, the
Samagi Jana Balawegaya The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB; , , ) is a centrist political alliance led by Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa. It is the largest opposition coalition in the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2020. The alliance was formed with the approva ...
(SJB) led by
Sajith Premadasa Sajith Premadasa (, ; born 12 January 1967) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka and a Member of Parliament for the Colombo District. He is the current leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. Saji ...
, carried out protests in front of the President's office, demanding that the President resign. On 30 March, Mahinda Rajapaksa's son
Namal Rajapaksa Lakshman Namal Rajapaksa (, ; born 10 April 1986; known as Namal Rajapaksa) is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is the eldest son of former President of Sri Lanka, President and former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Mahinda Ra ...
arrived for the opening ceremony of a sports ground in Bandarawela. During the opening, locals blocked the road and demanded fuel. This resulted in Rajapaksa avoiding the area and the mayor opening the grounds instead. On Thursday, 31 March, hundreds of protesters held a demonstration at Pangiriwatte Road, Mirihana, where the president's private residence was situated. The silent candlelight protest initially started at the Jubilee Post Junction, only a few hundred meters away from the President's private residence. Later, as more people gathered, protesters began marching towards his residence. Hundreds of people swarmed the President's house throughout the night, demanding his resignation. The protest was initially spontaneous and peaceful until the police attacked the protesters with
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
and
water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining. ...
s. Protesters then set fire to two military buses and a police jeep, threw stones at officers, and blocked Colombo's main highway by burning tires. The curfew imposed on Thursday night was lifted on Friday morning, but police and army reinforcements in the city increased. The protest was broadcast live by a private television channel but the broadcast was halted due to what journalists described as pressure from the government. Official sources said that Rajapaksa was not present in the house during the protest. A statement from the president's office the next morning said, "Thursday night's protests are being led by extremist forces who are inviting the
Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
to destabilize the country." The
Samagi Jana Balawegaya The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB; , , ) is a centrist political alliance led by Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa. It is the largest opposition coalition in the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2020. The alliance was formed with the approva ...
accused the government of sending loyalists to infiltrate and sabotage the protests by burning vehicles and initiating acts of violence. They also disputed the government's claims that the protesters were armed, as videos of the event did not show armed protesters. Nearly 50 people, including journalists, were injured and hospitalized during the protest, and 45 people were arrested. The day following the protest saw over 300 lawyers at the Mirihana police station volunteering to represent the arrested protesters
pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...
.


April

On 1 April, Shashseendra Rajapaksa, nephew of former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...
, was forced to avoid a ceremony in Wellawaya due to protesters waving black flags. Chamara Sampath Dassanayake attended the ceremony in his place but had to change vehicles and flee due to protesters pelting him with eggs. The same day, the ''Samagi Vanitha Balawegaya'', headed by the SJB politician and former parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra, staged a march from
Point Pedro Point Pedro, also known as Paruthithurai (; ) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. I ...
in
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
in protest of the economic hardships faced by the public. During the protest, Hirunika was reportedly involved in a heated exchange with political activist Arun Siddharth. The situation in the area later became tense and police officers intervened. The
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka is the episcopal conference of Sri Lanka. As of June 2022 the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka is Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Kurunega ...
requested that political leaders save the country from becoming a failed state, while ''Gnanartha Pradeepaya'', a Catholic weekly, blamed the situation on corruption, which had forced the country to borrow money to buy essential items.
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith (; born 15 November 1947) is a Sri Lankan Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Colombo since 2009. He was made a cardinal in 2010. Ranjith previously served as auxiliary bishop of Colombo (1 ...
blamed the situation on political leaders and "us '' ic' citizens who have allowed ourselves to be used by vested political and cultural interests in choosing the persons to whom we have entrusted the country and its destiny over all these years". The US citizens referred to in the statement were the President, who had to forfeit his dual citizenship to become the president, and his brother Basil Rajapaksa, the Finance Minister. The Cardinal also condemned the government's classification of protesters as "extremists" and "terrorists" as not being empathetic to the pain and fear of the people.


Declaration of state of emergency

On 1 April, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a nationwide public emergency. However, protests persisted as private bus drivers in Anuradhapura, carpenters in Moratuwa and fishermen in Galle joined demonstrations. A 36-hour island-wide curfew was imposed from 6:00 pm on 2 April until 6:00 am on 4 April. The move was intended to prevent or at least minimize new protests. The sudden announcement of a curfew resulted in
panic buying Panic buying (alternatively hyphenated as panic-buying; also known as panic purchasing) occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large p ...
, which created long lines of people outside supermarkets and pharmacies. Many began chanting anti-government slogans. People who came to work from distant areas were unable to return to their homes, forcing some to sleep on the streets. Celebrities also joined in the condemnation of the government, with Roshan Mahanama accusing "incompetent power-hungry rulers" of creating an economic depression. Other Sri Lankan cricketers, including
Kumar Sangakkara Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer who represented Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2015. A former captain in all formats. He was born in Matale, Central Province. In first-class cricke ...
,
Mahela Jayawardene Denagamage Praboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene (; born 27 May 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Sri Lankan national cricket team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
,
Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (, ; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, captain, cricket administrator and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all rounders ever to play in ODI cricket. A left arm orthodox sp ...
, Arjuna Ranatunga, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga,
Dimuth Karunaratne Frank Dimuth Madushanka Karunaratne (born 21 April 1988; ), popularly known as Dimuth Karunaratne, is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer and former captain of Test cricket, Test and One Day International, ODI team of Sri Lanka national cr ...
,
Angelo Mathews Angelo Davis Mathews (; ; born 2 June 1987) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer and a former captain of the national cricket team in all formats. Mathews plays all formats for Sri Lanka. Mathews was a member of the team that won the 2014 I ...
,
Muttiah Muralitharan Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan (born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, businessman and former professional cricketer. Averaging over six wickets per Test match, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the ...
,
Rangana Herath Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath (; ; born 19 March 1978), known as Rangana Herath is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all forms of cricket game and a former Test cricket captain for Sri Lanka. Considered as one of the ...
,
Dhammika Prasad Kariyawasam Tirana Gamage Dhammika Prasad (; born 30 May 1983), or simply Dhammika Prasad, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and coach. He was most recently bowling coach of the Nepal national cricket team. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler ...
and
Marvan Atapattu Deshabandu Marvan Samson Atapattu (, , born 22 November 1970) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, commentator and former professional cricketer. He played international cricket for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1990 to 2007. A top-order batsman, ...
, also took to social media and online forums to express support of and advocate for the rights of the public during the crisis. Sanath Jayasuriya, Roshan Mahanama and Marvan Atapattu, all holding placards, were among those who physically attended protests. Hirunika Premachandra led a group of women in a march toward the residence of popular fortune teller Gnana Akka (Gnanakka) in Anuradhapura. Premachandra and the other women protested in front of Gnanakka's shrine, but police blocked them from entering it. Thisara Anuruddha Bandara, the social media activist who was arrested by the police on 2 April and held in police custody in Modara before being brought before a court. He was deemed to be in violation of section 120 of the Penal Code, which forbids criminal conspiracy. A riot also broke out in front of the residence of Saman Lal Fernando, Mayor of Moratuwa, a Colombo suburb that lies under the administrative province of Sri Lanka. Angry protesters threw stones at Fernando's residence, demanding electricity.


Social media blocks

On 3 April, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) announced that service providers had blocked social media platforms such as Facebook,
WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
,
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
, Twitter, and YouTube due to a request from the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
. Oshada Senanayake, the Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka, tendered his resignation amidst the social media blackout, stating that he was standing by his ethos and principles. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) requested that the TRCSL and service providers immediately restore all social media platforms, as it prevented them from informing consumers about impending power cuts as electricity has been declared an essential service. The social media blackout ended 15 hours after it had started. Multiple protests in violation of the curfew were reported. Sajith Premadasa,
Sarath Fonseka Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka (born 18 December 1950) is a Sri Lankan retired army officer. He was the eighteenth Commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 2005 to 2009, and under his command the Sri Lankan Army ended the 26- ...
and Patali Champika Ranawaka led an SJB-affiliated protest in Colombo where they were blocked by the police. A protest led by the students of the
University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya (, ) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, University Grants Commission. It is the largest university in Sri Lanka, which was origin ...
in Kandy was dispersed after the police used water cannons and tear gas.


Cabinet resignation

On 3 April, several Rajapaksa cabinet ministers submitted their resignations. Those who resigned included Namal Rajapaksa, who had criticized the social media blackout. Two ministers from the Rajapaksa family,
Chamal Rajapaksa Chamal Jayantha Rajapaksa (; ; born 30 October 1942) is a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. Previously he served as Minister of Ports and Aviation and the Minister for Irrigation and Water M ...
and Basil Rajapaksa, also resigned. The President was to announce the new cabinet the following day. However, the opposition noted that Article 47(2)(a) of the Constitution required that resignations be submitted to the President. The resignations in this case were submitted to the Prime Minister instead, which voided their validity. The opposition also denied that they would join an interim government, as it was not practical to join a government under President Rajapaksa without the parliamentary majority needed to pass substantial economic reforms. Despite this, on 4 April, President Rajapaksa reshuffled the ministerial portfolios by swearing-in Ali Sabry as Finance Minister, G. L. Peiris as Foreign Minister,
Dinesh Gunawardena Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena (, ; born 2 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He also held the positions of Ministry of Home Affairs (Sri Lanka), Minister of Public Administ ...
as Education Minister, and Johnston Fernando as Minister of Highways. Protests continued on 4 April, including one on the Tangalle-Kataragama Main Road close to the
Carlton House Carlton House, sometimes Carlton Palace, was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV, during the regency era and his time as prince regent, before he took the throne as king. It faced the south side of Pall M ...
in Tangalle, the residence of the Rajapaksa family. President Rajapaksa invited the opposition to join his proposed unity government to find a solution to the crisis. The governor of the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; ), known until 1985 as the Central Bank of Ceylon, is the central bank of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA) and in terms of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ac ...
, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, also resigned as a result of growing public anger. The swearing-in of the same ministers from the former cabinet caused protests to intensify, leading protesters to surround the houses of government MPs such as Keheliya Rambukwella, Gamini Lokuge, Ramesh Pathirana, Kanchana Wijesekera, Roshan Ranasinghe, Nimal Lanza, and Janaka Bandara Tennakoon. Protesters surrounded
Douglas Devananda Kathiravelu Nythiananda Devananda, commonly known as Douglas Devananda (), is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Cabinet Minister and leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party. Originally a Sri Lanka Tamil militant who fought against the Sri L ...
's office in Jaffna while he was in the building. Despite police firing tear gas to disperse the protesters, some succeeded in storming and vandalising the residence of Roshan Ranasinghe. Protesters also began to demand the arrest of the Rajapaksas and the recuperation of stolen wealth. In a phone interview with News First, former Central Bank Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe revealed that Gotabaya Rajapaksa had offered him the post of Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and admitted to accepting the position. He assumed his duties as Governor on 7 April. Catholic clergy led by Cardinal
Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith (; born 15 November 1947) is a Sri Lankan Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Colombo since 2009. He was made a cardinal in 2010. Ranjith previously served as auxiliary bishop of Colombo (1 ...
protested against the government from Archbishop's House in Colombo, whilst Buddhist clergy from Buddhasravaka Bhiksu University protested in Anuradhapura. The hospital staff of the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital also protested against the government.


Reconvening of Parliament

On 5 April, Parliament reconvened for the first time since the state of emergency began and was set to discuss the current state of affairs. The
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna The Sri Lanka People's Front (; ), commonly known by its Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was the ruling party in Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022 and was the largest party in Parliament of Sr ...
-ruled (SLPP) government began losing the support of its key allies: 9 SLPP MPs decided to defect from the government and to work as independent MPs, while the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP; ; ) is a centre-left political party in Sri Lanka. Founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties from the 1950s to the 2010s, serving as the main rival of the c ...
(SLFP), the
Ceylon Workers' Congress The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) (; ''Lanka Kamkaru Kongrasaya'') is a political party in Sri Lanka that has traditionally represented Sri Lankan Tamils of Indian origin working in the plantation sector of the economy. __TOC__ History The ...
(CWC) and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) left the government and moved into opposition. Large numbers of protesters assembled in front of Parliament, demanding that the entire cabinet resign and chanting the slogans "Gota Go Home" and "Go Home Rajapaksas". During the protest, six armed masked men in military attire, later revealed to be from the Army, arrived on motorcycles without registration plates. However, the police stopped and questioned them, taking the keys to the motorcycles. The Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army General Shavendra Silva called the police actions "unethical and ill-mannered behaviour". On 5 April, the Government Medical Officers' Association and government doctors staged protests against the government, and the Government Medical Officers' Association declared a national health emergency due to the limited supply of essential medicines. Some young protesters who could not receive parental permission to join the street protests vented their frustration by vandalizing the Wikipedia articles of politicians such as Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Basil Rajapaksa, and Namal Rajapaksa. Gotabaya Rajapaksa revoked the state of emergency on 5 April, effective at midnight. On 8 April, police used tear gas to disperse a group of university students who had protested at Polduwa junction in
Battaramulla Battaramulla is an Urban Area under the administration of Kaduwela and is situated from the Colombo Fort, near the Parliament of Sri Lanka. It is one of the fastest developing administrative, commercial and residential areas in the Colombo Dist ...
. Several IT professionals also gathered in large numbers and protested at the Liberty Roundabout, close to the Liberty Plaza Complex in Colombo. A few Rajapaksa supporters carried out protests in Colombo in support of Gotabaya Rajapaksa by chanting the slogan "We Want Gota". On 9 April, massive protests occurred in Colombo; the protesters included members of the LGBT community, trade unions, the Buddhist clergy and the Muslim community. Students from private and state universities also collaborated for a combined protest march when the students protested in
Nugegoda Nugegoda () is a large, densely populated suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is located just south of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte and north-east of Dehiwela Mt. Lavinia. It has a population of over 250,000 people. Education Schools in the region ...
.


"Occupy Galle Face"

On 9 April 2022, protestors planned large demonstrations, protests, and rallies in the
Galle Face Green Galle Face Green is a ocean-side urban park, which stretches for along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, alth ...
against the government. However, the authorities closed the Galle Face Green, citing land development. Despite this, tens of thousands of people gathered in large numbers and joined the protests in Galle Face, making it one of the largest street protests in Sri Lanka. People continued protesting from morning until night, standing for hours holding placards, even in inclement weather. They faced internet outages and loss of mobile signal due to the installation of a mobile phone jammer at the Galle Face, which made it difficult for protesters to conduct Facebook Livestreams and send messages on social media. The protests continued outside of the Presidential Secretariat, with people refusing to leave the Galle Face until the President resigned. On 9 April, #OccupyGalleFace began trending on Twitter. The protestors also began using "Occupy Galle Face" as a slogan for their protests at Galle Face. Placards included the phrases "This is our country, not your ATM", "Country is for sale, Gota fail", "Give us our stolen money back", "If you steal our dreams, we won't let you sleep", and "Audit all politicians immediately". Protesters dubbed the protesting area ''Gotagogama'', meaning the "Gota Go Village". It was initially set up by volunteers on the night of 9 April with a handful of tents. Within 24 hours, the number of tents had grown to 24 and portable toilet facilities, three for men and three for women, had been installed. Similar to the
Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial ...
movement, ''Gotagogama'' was set up like a small model village, providing basic necessities, including free food, water, and toilets, as well as limited free emergency medical services. Meanwhile, youth protestors created an improvised settlement in front of the president's house. Protestors in both camps made sure to clean up garbage in their areas every night. On Facebook, the hashtag #GoHomeGota2022 reached 1 million posts and had been trending on Twitter for the third consecutive week. There were multiple protests paralleling the one at Galle Face all across the island. Protests continued on 10 and 11 April despite the heavy rain and thunderstorms. Moments after performing
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
's ''
Get up, Stand up "Get Up, Stand Up" is a song written by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. It originally appeared on The Wailers' 1973 album '' Burnin. It was recorded and played live in numerous versions by Bob Marley and the Wailers, along with solo versions by P ...
'' to entertain the protesters at Galle Face, rapper Shiraz Rudebwoy had a sudden heart attack and collapsed. He was pronounced dead during the ambulance ride to the hospital. This marked the first reported death directly linked to the Galle Face protests. On 12 April, protests continued for the fourth day. Celebrities such as
Nanda Malini Mirihana Arachchige Nanda Malini Perera ( Sinhala:නන්දා මාලනී: born 23 August 1943), popularly as Nanda Malini, is a Sri Lankan musician. One of the best known and most honoured singers of Sri Lanka, Malini's choice of singing ...
, Sunil Ariyaratne, Swarna Mallawarachchi and Buddhadasa Galappatti joined the protests in Galle Face to support the young protesters' efforts to dethrone the government from power. The sixth consecutive day of protests fell on the
Sinhalese New Year Sinhalese New Year, generally known as Aluth Awurudda () in Sri Lanka, is a Sri Lankan holiday that celebrates the traditional New Year of the Sinhalese people. The timing of the Sinhala New Year coincides with the new year celebrations of ma ...
(
Puthandu Puthandu (), also known as Tamil New Year (), is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar that is traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamils. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the solar Hindu calendar, as the first day ...
). Protestors gathered in large numbers to boil milk rice and to share sweet meats and oil cakes. They welcomed the New Year by setting off firecrackers and chanting phrases such as "Victory to the People's struggle" and sang Raban tune songs as part of New Year customs and traditions. Victor Ratnayake joined the protests on the New Year to support the protesters, as did veterans, including those disabled in the field. Many protesters boycotted New Year's vacation and holiday celebrations by joining the protests and demonstrations against the government. Several protesters, including infants and small children, were seen wearing headbands with slogans such as "Go Home Gota" and "Gota Go Home". On 13 April,
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...
made a request to meet a delegate from the protesters in Galle Face but was refused. Conspiracy theories began spreading on 14 April 2022. On its official Twitter, Sri Lankan Airlines claimed that they had made history by operating three successive cargo
charter flights Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...
to
Entebbe International Airport Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately by road south-west of the central business distric ...
in
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
. The cargo was 102 metric tonnes of printed material which had been moved in February 2021, though details about the contents of the papers were withheld by Sri Lankan Airlines due to confidentiality. They later deleted the tweet for unknown reasons before issuing a clarification that the material sent to Uganda included only Ugandan currency notes. They claimed that due to conflicts with bordering Kenya, the Ugandan government preferred to obtain printed Ugandan shilling currency notes from a global security printer. The Biyagama branch of the
De La Rue De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that produces secure digital and physical protections for goods, trade, and identities in 140 countries. It sells to governments, central banks, and businesses. Its ...
company is responsible for printing currency notes to countries, including Uganda. Sri Lankan Airlines insisted that the
consignment Consignment is a process whereby a person gives permission to another party to take care of their property while retaining full ownership of the property until the item is sold to the final buyer. It is generally done during auctions, shipping, ...
was purely commercial in nature and brought much-needed foreign currency revenue to the airline and, by extension, the country. Mahinda Rajapaksa reportedly maintained close ties with Uganda, especially during his second tenure as president from 2010 to 2015. He also befriended Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Uganda, Velupillai Kananathan, during Rajapaksa's first official presidential trip to Uganda in 2014. Uganda has been
blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...
ed by many international financial systems for failing to comply with anti-money laundering laws and for continuously engaging in various
financial crime Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud (cheque fraud, credit card f ...
s. The news that Uganda was going to be blacklisted due to
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
went viral in Sri Lanka among protesters and social media users, who speculated that Rajapaksa family members and influential politicians in the government could have possibly transferred ill-gotten wealth to Uganda on cargo flights via the Sri Lankan Airlines flight. A police officer attached to the Kuttigala Police Station who joined the Galle Face protests on 14 April in police uniform was taken into custody and was questioned by the Police Special Investigations Unit. The following day, he was granted bail by the Fort Magistrate's Court as several lawyers were present on behalf of the police sergeant when he was produced before the courts. On 15 April 2022, former Sri Lankan cricketer
Dhammika Prasad Kariyawasam Tirana Gamage Dhammika Prasad (; born 30 May 1983), or simply Dhammika Prasad, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and coach. He was most recently bowling coach of the Nepal national cricket team. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler ...
went on a hunger strike for 24 hours, urging the leaders of Sri Lanka to give justice to the Easter Sunday attack victims and to take immediate measures to ease the burden of the economic crisis on the population. Arjuna Ranatunga and Sidath Wettimuny joined the Galle Face protests, especially to support their former teammate Prasad.
Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (, ; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, captain, cricket administrator and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all rounders ever to play in ODI cricket. A left arm orthodox sp ...
and a group of Indigenous
Vedda The Vedda ( ; (''Vēḍar'')), or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Veddas, are accorded indigenous status. The Ved ...
people also joined the fray. The campaign hashtag #GoHomeGota2022 reached 3 million posts on 15 April, three days after passing 2 million posts. A new branch of the ''Gotagogama'' was started in
Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...
. However, tensions arose at the new campsite when police officers attempted to discard the temporary tents. Removed tents were later restored after lawyers intervened. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka subsequently ordered a complete investigation regarding the removal of the tents. On the morning of 16 April, a convoy of riot police trucks was placed on the outskirts of Galle Face. The trucks concerned protesters, leading to speculation on social media that there would be a crackdown from the government. The convoy was later removed from the site after the
Bar Association of Sri Lanka The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is the Bar Association in Sri Lanka, established in 1974. The institute amalgamated the ''Bar Council of Sri Lanka'' which represented the Advocates and ''Law Society of Sri Lanka'' which represented the P ...
(BASL) intervened. The BASL also requested that the government refrain from oppressing protesters and urged them to respect the legitimate exercise of the freedom of dissent of the people. On 17 April 2022, the protests continued for the ninth consecutive day. Protesters sang the national anthem of Sri Lanka in both Sinhala and Tamil, to show solidarity and unity among the various people of the multicultural society of Sri Lanka. They commemorated the 2019
Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
bombings, where 258 people were killed, and demanded justice for its victims. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also visited the ''Gotagogama'' premises to inspect the protests following reports that police officers were attempting to disperse the peaceful protests with violence. That night, the Presidential Secretariat building was illuminated with colorful themes and illusions of 3D art graphics using
projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer type ...
s and
video projector A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image onto a projection screen using a lens system. Video projectors use a very bright ultra-high-performance lamp (a special mercury arc l ...
mapping technology with the slogan "Go Home Gota". Police officers attempted to prevent the projections. Some media outlets, including TV Derana and its sister channel Ada Derana, termed the peaceful protests as a "beach party", a description which was ill-received by protesters and critics, including human rights lawyer Ambika Satkunanathan. The 12th episode of Ada Derana's ''State of the Nation'', which aired that day, alleged that the protests were funded by terrorist organizations and hackers. Ada Derana TV host Mahieash Jonny resigned the following day and Derana stated that his opinions did not represent the network's beliefs. On 19 April 2022, the Federation of University Teachers' Association (FUTA) engaged in a protest march from
University of Colombo The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...
to Galle Face. One lane of the Galle Road leading to the Presidential Secretariat from Kollupitiya junction was blocked by university lecturers who gathered in large numbers holding placards. Actor Jehan Appuhami began a symbolic walk from St. Sebastian's Church, Katuwapitiya in
Negombo Negombo (, ), also known as Punchi Romaya (Little Rome), is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in the Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, from Colombo via the E03 expressway ...
to St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade by carrying a large wooden cross on his back to symbolize the search for truth and justice for the Easter attack victims. The walk ended at Galle Face. British-based actor Hiran Abeysekera arrived in Sri Lanka to join the protests. On 24 April, thousands of
Inter University Students' Federation Inter-University Students' Federation () is a confederation of students' unions across Sri Lanka. Around 70 students' unions are affiliated with the confederation, accounting for more than 95% of all higher and further education unions in Sri La ...
members surrounded the PM's residence and demanded the current regime to resign. On 29 April, the protestors
blindfold A blindfold (from Middle English ') is a garment, usually of cloth, tied to one's head to cover the eyes to disable the wearer's sight. While a properly fitted blindfold prevents sight even if the eyes are open, a poorly tied or trick blindfo ...
ed the statue of former Prime Minister of Ceylon,
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of ...
, who was known for championing the controversial and infamous
Sinhala Only Act The Official Language Act (No. 33 of 1956), commonly referred to as the Sinhala Only Act, was an act passed in the Parliament of Ceylon in 1956. The act replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language of Ceylon, with the exclusio ...
in 1956. In May, on its official Twitter account, ''Daily Mirror'' shared that an unnamed leading telecommunications company had installed a telephone tower to send and enhance signals at the ''Gotagogama'' site. It was later confirmed that Dialog Axiata had installed the 20 ft (6m) signal tower at Galle Face to combat network congestion. The company later decided to disable the tower out of respect for protesters concerned about digital privacy issues, with some alleging that their personal data would be compromised and they would be tracked by the government. On 3 May,
Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
Eid-Ul-Fitr Festival was celebrated at the ''Gotagogama'' site at Galle Face with the participation of several religious leaders, including Buddhist monks and Christian priests. Protesters shared Sawans with
biriyani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating in South Asia, made with rice, meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef) or seafood (prawns or fish), and spices. To cater to vegetarians, the meat or seafood can be substituted with vegetables or pane ...
in celebration and members of the Sri Lankan Muslim Civil Society donated 700 lunch parcels to ''Gotagogama'' on the eve of Ramadan.


Mynagogama

The ''Mynagogama'' protest site was set up on the Galle Road entrance to
Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Tree ...
, the Prime Minister's official residence, inspired both by ''Gotagogama'' and by Mahinda Rajapaksa's new nickname "
Myna The mynas (; also spelled mynah) are a group of birds in the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to Iran and Southern Asia, especially Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lan ...
" from the protestors. On 29 April, a protester was assaulted by a plainclothes police officer and was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital. Other reports of police officers attempting in incite violence by removing placards from police buses parked at ''Mynagogama'' were also made.


19 April: Rambukkana incident

People who had been standing in long queues to obtain fuel for several hours began protesting at the Rambukkana Crossing by obstructing the railway tracks, blocking all entry and exit roads to Rambukkana for over 15 hours. The police arrived and fired tear gas and live bullets to disperse them. According to a police spokesperson, the officers began to fire in order to control the situation after the protesters threw rocks and attempted to set fire to a fuel bowser and a three-wheeler. This justification for the use of live ammunition was contradicted by protesters and videos that showed that the fuel truck was not threatened by protesters, who claimed the vehicles were set on fire by the police. Videos released by the protesters also showed that they were trying to put out fires in a fuel station. Witnesses to the incident claimed that the protesters were initially peaceful until the police arrived, and corroborated the claims that it was the police who set fire to the vehicles. A video clip of the incident showed that officers had also vandalized parked vehicles in the area. Several people were injured and rushed to the
Kegalle Kegalle (; ) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo–Kandy road, approximately from Colombo, from Kandy, from Kurunegala and from Avissavella. It is the main town in the Kegalle District, which i ...
Hospital for treatment. It was later confirmed that 12 people were injured and one person had died. A police curfew was imposed in the Rambukkana Police area with immediate effect. According to the
Bar Association of Sri Lanka The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is the Bar Association in Sri Lanka, established in 1974. The institute amalgamated the ''Bar Council of Sri Lanka'' which represented the Advocates and ''Law Society of Sri Lanka'' which represented the P ...
, the police intimidated witnesses into providing false evidence. Kegalle Magistrate Wasana Nawaratne ordered the
Inspector General of Police An inspector-general of police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most ...
, C. D. Wickramaratne to arrest the officer who gave the orders to fire at protestors and other officers involved in the shooting.


28 April: Island-wide token strike

On 28 April 2022, over 1000 trade unions conducted a massive island-wide, one-day token strike in support of the ongoing public protests against the government at the
Viharamahadevi Park Viharamahadevi Park (; formerly Victoria Park, ) is a public park located in Cinnamon Gardens, in Colombo, situated in front of the colonial-era Town Hall, Colombo, Town Hall in Sri Lanka. It was built by the British colonial administration and is ...
in Colombo. Unions representing banking, ports, education, health, plantations, railway and petroleum took part in the one-day strike.


May


HoruGoGama protests

HoruGoGama''' (Go Home Thieves Village) was established by protesters initially led by university students around the Sri Lankan Parliament building on 5 May. The protesters demanded the resignation of the entire parliament and demanded the Rajapaksa family return stolen money. Despite heavy rain, protesters surrounded the parliament and withstood tear gas. The police used water cannons to destroy tents and a food distribution stall and attempted to stop people from joining the protests by barricading the area. The protesters shouted insults at opposition MPs leaving the building and accused them of making deals with the government. On 6 May 2022, President
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...
declared a second state of emergency, which was met with international condemnation.
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
expressed concern with reports of violence in protests involving children and cited the
Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...
which support the right of children and
adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...
to express their views. Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka David McKinnon expressed surprise at the decision, claiming that "Sri Lankans have a right to peaceful protest under a democracy", and that it was "hard to understand why it is necessary, then, to declare a state of emergency". US ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung claimed that the second state of emergency would not help and instead urged the government to listen to the public and seek long-term solutions. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
warned that a state of emergency "could have a counterproductive effect" on the protests, which the EU saw as peaceful. The Rajapaksas also increasingly began to turn to supernatural and divine intervention to maintain power, with media reports of the president's personal shaman, Gnana Akka, sending charmed bottles of water to the protest site. Shiranthi Rajapaksa visited a Hindu temple seeking divine help for her family. Mahinda Rajapaksa visited
Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...
to seek blessings from the Sri Maha Bodhi but was booed and
heckled A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout discouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of d ...
by citizens while residents protested, demanding that "thieves" be banned from the city, which is considered holy by
Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...
.


Black Monday attacks on protesters

On 9 May 2022, SLPP members supporting Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in buses at
Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Tree ...
and staged a protest urging Rajapaksa not to resign; Rajapaksa then addressed the crowd.
Moratuwa Moratuwa () is a large municipality on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south of the centre of Colombo. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides ...
Mayor Saman Lal Fernando was in attendance, having taken eight busloads of municipal workers with him in support of Rajapaksa. Soon after, Rajapaksa loyalists attacked the ''Mynagogama'' site in front of Temple Trees, assaulting anti-government protesters before moving on to the larger ''Gotagogama'' protest site at Galle Face with little intervention from the police. The loyalists assaulted more protesters at Galle Face and destroyed many of the structures there. Over 130 people were wounded and hospitalized following the attacks. SDIG Deshabandu Tennakoon, who is in charge of the Western Province, was seen during the attack standing with SLPP MPs who supported the attacks made by the loyalists. It was later revealed that the
Inspector General of Police An inspector-general of police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most ...
(IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne ordered the police not to use force against Rajapaksa loyalists on instructions from Public Security Ministry Secretary (Retd.) Maj. Gen. Jagath Alwis. Police later intervened by using a water cannon and tear gas to disperse the two groups after President Rajapaksa ordered them to intervene. A police curfew was imposed in Colombo and was then extended across the island. The ''Gotagogama'' in Kandy was simultaneously attacked. Videos showed government MPs such as Sanath Nishantha leading the attacks against protesters. The military was also deployed to the ''Gotagogama'' site at Galle Face following the attack perpetrated by loyalists on the peaceful protesters. As a result of the chaotic incident, the holidays for all ranks of police officers were cancelled with immediate effect and all officers were recalled to report on duty. Rajapaksa loyalists also attacked nearby businesses that were selling flags to the protesters. They asked vendors whether they valued their children or their business more, then burnt down the shops. Many vendors were already suffering from the effects of the economic crisis and had bought goods to sell by taking debt. After several loyalists confessed to being prisoners, it was alleged that inmates of the Watareka Prison were brought by the Avant Garde PMC to carry out the attack. The government denied that the prisoners were provided to the attackers and claimed that buses carrying prisoners were simply caught up in the unrest. News First disputed the government's excuse and showed footage of attackers wearing clothing similar to those worn by the captured prisoners. The General Secretary of the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners, Sudesh Nandimal de Silva, expressed concern over the allegations. The attacks carried out by Rajapaksa loyalists triggered severe backlash in the country, with many calling it "state sponsored violence" and "state sponsored terrorism". Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader
Anura Kumara Dissanayake Anura Kumara Dissanayake (born 24 November 1968), commonly referred to by his initials AKD, is a Sri Lankan politician who has been the tenth and current president of Sri Lanka since 2024. Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be ele ...
arrived at the scene with his supporters. SJB leader
Sajith Premadasa Sajith Premadasa (, ; born 12 January 1967) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka and a Member of Parliament for the Colombo District. He is the current leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. Saji ...
was attacked by a group of protesters while he was walking in Galle Face following the eruption of violence and he was soon escorted out with the help of security guards. SJB MP Kumara Welgama who was travelling in a car was also assaulted by unidentified men. Sri Lankan cricketers and celebrities condemned the assaults as thuggery. PM Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a statement condemning the violence. His tweet was quoted by
Kumar Sangakkara Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer who represented Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2015. A former captain in all formats. He was born in Matale, Central Province. In first-class cricke ...
, who added, "The only violence was perpetrated by your "supporters" – goons and thugs who came to your office first before going on to assault the peaceful protestors." Mahela Jayawardana also tweeted the fact that the thugs began attacking protesters after meeting Mahinda Rajapaksa and that the police did not take any action to stop them.
Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (, ; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, captain, cricket administrator and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all rounders ever to play in ODI cricket. A left arm orthodox sp ...
referred to the violence as the downfall of the Rajapaksas. The attacks caused widespread retaliation and rioting against Rajapaksa loyalists. The buses that were carrying those that attacked the protesters were ambushed in various parts of the country and destroyed. Three pickup trucks and buses were pushed into the Beira Lake by protesters along with the attackers themselves. Houses and offices of SLPP politicians were torched, including that of Ramesh Pathirana, Sanath Nishantha, Nimal Lanza, Johnston Fernando, and Thushara Sanjeewa. The house of Sanath Nishantha, who led the attacks, was entirely burnt to the ground. The protesters also set ablaze the houses of the mayors of Moratuwa and
Kurunegala Kurunegala (, ; , ) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th ...
, as both were deemed hardcore Rajapaksa supporters. Protestors in Maharagama forced a leader of a pro-Rajapaksa government group out of a bus and threw him into a garbage cart. The bus was later rammed by a bulldozer. MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala reportedly shot several protesters who were gathered in
Nittambuwa Nittambuwa is a semi urban town, situated in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. The town is situated on the Colombo-Kandy highway. It is connected also to Negombo with the highway via Veyangoda-Minuwangoda. It was the home town of the world's first fem ...
before he was forced to take refuge in a building after being surrounded by thousands of protestors. It was unclear if he allegedly died by suicide using his own firearm or was beaten to death by the protest mob. The Avenra Garden Hotel in Negombo, which was rumoured to belong to Rajapaksa's associates, was also burned down by the protestors and several vehicles at the hotel premises were destroyed by burning, including a Lamborghini Gallardo, a
Ferrari 488 The Ferrari 488 (Type F142M) is a Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, mid-engine sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The car replaced the Ferrari 458, 458, being the first mid-engine Ferrari to use a turboch ...
Spyder, a
Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...
stretch limousine, a Brabus G-class and a Hummer H2.


Resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa

On 9 May 2022, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tendered his resignation to the President. Rajapaksa was heavily criticised by citizens and the public for resigning after instigating violence against peaceful protestors. Despite this, retaliatory violence continued, with houses and offices of former government ministers being destroyed. Protestors also began targeting properties and monuments of the Rajapaksa family. The D. A. Rajapaksa Museum was burnt down, and a monument to D. A. Rajapaksa, the father of the ruling Rajapaksa brothers, was destroyed, while the wax statues of the Rajapaksa parents from the museum were flattened. The Rajapaksa family house in Medamulana as well as Mahinda Rajapaksa's house in Kurunegala were destroyed. Violent clashes occurred as protesters also attempted to storm Temple Trees and the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
were deployed. Protesters used police barricades as battering rams against the heavy iron gates while some managed to commandeer a police bus and used it as a battering ram. The government used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protestors. Further Opposition MPs such as M. A. Sumanthiran (
Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance (TNA; ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu'') was a political alliance in Sri Lanka which represented the Sri Lankan Tamil minority of the country. It was formed in October 2001 by a group of moderate T ...
) demanded the arrest of Ex-PM Mahinda Rajapaksa for his role in the mob attack against peaceful protestors. Former President
Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...
also agreed that sending armed mobs to attack peaceful protestors should result in Rajapaksa and the leaders of the mob, including Johnston Fernando and Samanlal Fernando, being arrested. However, Wimal Weerawansa ( Jathika Nidahas Peramuna) claimed that Fernando attacked the protestors under Basil Rajapaksa's orders and it is Fernando that should be arrested. Government MP Charitha Herath claimed that the attack was an attempt by Mahinda Rajapaksa to prove his power to President Rajapaksa by removing the protestors with his supporters, as the president was increasingly trying to sideline his brothers after realizing that they were taking advantage of his political inexperience. By the morning of 10 May, security forces had managed to end the siege of
Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Tree ...
and evacuated Mahinda Rajapaksa under high security. It was reported that Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family had fled to
Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...
and were hiding at the
naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...
. Protestors gathered around the base, demanding that he be arrested for his crimes. That night, a mob supported by an area politician attacked residents' houses, accusing them of looting the Avendra Hotel. Several properties including shops were damaged and four people were injured. The inability of the police to control the mass retaliatory violence on the politicians was blamed on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which removed the independence of the police commission, allowing SLPP politicians to interfere with the police appointments. This resulted in politicians taking control of transfers and appointments of officers. Thus, by the time the riots hit, almost all officers in charge of police stations across the country were those hand-picked by the local SLPP politicians. These hand-picked officers in charge ended up ignoring their immediate superiors and instead were taking orders from their patrons, resulting in widespread incompetence leading to a breakdown of law and order. Notable politicians that appointed their own officers in charge included Ramesh Pathirana and Rohitha Abeygunawardene, both of whom lost their homes. By contrast, the properties of politicians that lived in areas where officers were still appointed based on merit were saved, such as in Elpitiya, where the police managed to protect the house of ex-state minister Geetha Kumarasinghe. Many government MPs were angry that the army was used to protect the president's personal shaman Gnana Akka over them. Another pro-government mob attempted to instigate violence against Muslims in an effort to create a racial tensions between them and the Sinhalese. Residents launched livestreams debunking the claims of tensions and residents expressed anger, claiming that an outside group was brought into town to incite violence. Religious leaders in Negombo also joined to oppose the violent mobs. Locals claimed that Rajapaksa loyalists were trying to create conflicts and requested religious leaders to remain vigilant. Catholic priests and nuns stayed until midnight to maintain peace and to defuse the situation.


Deployment of military

On 11 May, the government deployed the military with shoot-on-sight orders to bring the violence under control. The military was given the power to detain people without a warrant for up to 24 hours before handing them over to the police, and any private property could be searched by forces. Many expressed fears that the government was planning a military takeover and was preparing to declare
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
, but this was denied by defence officials. The decision to involve the military received international criticism, with the U.S. Department of State stressing that "peaceful protesters should never be subject to violence or intimidation, whether that's on the part of a military force or civilian units." It was suggested that the initial attacks by Rajapaksa loyalists on peaceful anti-government protesters "served hegreater scheme of things" by allowing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to call a state of emergency, which permitted "a more conspicuous use of the military to control public protesters under the pretext of law and order". On 12 May, the Fort Magistrate's Court issued a travel ban on 17 individuals due to investigations of the attacks on the GotaGoGama and MynaGoGama peaceful protest sites. These include Mahinda Rajapaksa, Namal Rajapaksa, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Johnston Fernando, Sanjeewa Edirimanne, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, C. B. Ratnayake, Sanath Nishantha, Kanchana Jayaratne, Sampath Athukorala, Mahinda Kahandagama, Renuka Perera, Nishantha Abeysinghe, Amitha Abeywickrama, Pushpalal Kumarasinghe, Dilip Fernando, Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon and seven other witnesses and victims of the attacks essential for investigations.


Founding of No-Deal-Gama

On 13 May, the former MynaGoGama near Temple Trees was replaced with No-Deal-Gama. While the initial proposal was to establish a RanilGoGama against the appointment of
Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe (; ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 a ...
as PM, protestors decided to name it No-Deal-Gama to emphasize opposition to making deals with the Rajapaksas rather than opposition to the new PM. A personal complaint was lodged before the Colombo Magistrate's Court requesting the immediate arrest of seven people responsible for the 9 May attack under conspiracy to commit criminal intimidation and with aiding and abetting the attack in front of Temple Trees and Galle Face. These people included Mahinda Rajapaksa, Johnston Fernando, Sanjeewa Edirimanne, Sanath Nishantha and Saman Lal Fernando, Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon and IGP Chandana Wickremeratne. On 18 May, the protestors at GotaGoGama held a remembrance event to honour all those who were killed or disappeared during the Sri Lankan Civil War which ended in 2009. On 23 May, the government tabled the new 21st Amendment to the Constitution. This would revert most of the 20th Amendment which the protestors demanded be abolished due to the unlimited powers granted to the president. The Amendment also proposed re-empowering independent commissions and adding the National Audit Commission and the Procurement Commission as Independent Commissions. Dual citizens would be banned from holding parliamentary seats, thus ending Basil Rajapaksa's political career. On 25 May, a protest demanding the arrest of Johnston Fernando took place outside the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters over 9 May Black Monday attacks. Many of the protestors were victims of attacks by loyalists and came to the protests still wearing bandages and casts.


June

On 9 June, former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa resigned from his post as MP but promised that he would contest again and return. He blamed the economic crisis on the voters for voting for the Rajapaksa family, and denied that the Rajapaksas would exit politics. He also claimed that if the Rajapaksas could not govern Sri Lanka, they would use other methods to influence governance. During the Australian cricket tour of Sri Lanka, residents of Galle who had been waiting in line to get LPG cylinders surrounded
Galle International Stadium Galle International Stadium (, ) is a cricket stadium in Galle, Sri Lanka, situated near Galle Fort and fringed on two sides by the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. Before being br ...
with their empty cylinders, saying that they would not leave until they were provided with new cylinders. The police and Army were used to remove anti-government protesters from the fort ramparts overlooking the ground at Galle, even though the public is allowed to hold banners and placards. According to
ESPNcricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...
,
Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national ...
(SLC) told the game's broadcasters not to show any visuals of protests. BASL criticized the removal of protestors, as the decision had no basis in Sri Lankan law.


July

On 6 July, former MP Hirunika Premachandra was arrested for protesting near the President's House. The arrest sparked another protest, which came under tear gas attack by the police. On 8 July, the IGP Chandana Wickremesinghe declared a "police curfew" which legal experts noted to be illegal and unconstitutional as there is no provision for such a curfew. MP M. A. Sumanthiran, senior lawyer Viran Cores and the BASL issued statements condemning the "police curfew" as an illegal action to prohibit the right to peaceful protest, which would violate the fundamental rights of citizens. The IGP removed the curfew the next day.


9 July: Storming of President's House

On 9 July, the President fled his official residence in Colombo after large numbers of protesters gathered at Chatham Street near his house, demanding his immediate resignation. They were able to break into the residence despite the police barricades and
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
. Protesters also broke into the Presidential Secretariat and
Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Tree ...
, and gathered around the private residence of Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe (; ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 a ...
. Wickremesinghe later announced that he was willing to step down from his position. Though the protests were mostly peaceful, 55 people were hospitalized at Colombo National Hospital. The Sri Lanka Police, together with the Police's Special Task Force, launched a violent attack near the Prime Minister's residence, beating up protestors, including journalists. Four journalists, including Waruna Sampath and Sarasi Peiris of News First, were beaten up despite media identification and pleads not to be attacked, which was broadcast on live TV. The journalists were hospitalized after the attacks. SSP Romesh Liyanage was identified as the one ordering the attack on journalists. Ranil Wickremesinghe "expressed regret" over the attacks. The speaker of the Parliament issued a statement that night that President Rajapaksa would resign from office on 13 July 2022. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe announced his willingness to resign once a new government was formed. Later that evening, protesters broke into his residence in Colombo and set it on fire. Some of the protesters who breached President's House, Temple Trees, and the Presidential Secretariat spent the night there, refusing to leave the premises until the Prime Minister and the President resigned. On 10 July, three people were arrested for the arson of the Prime Minister's residence. By 10 July, the Presidential Residence had become a tourist attraction with large numbers of Sri Lankans visiting the building to observe the luxuries enjoyed by the president despite the economic crisis. The
Gordon Gardens President's House is the official residence and workplace of the President of Sri Lanka, located at Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Since 1804 it had been the residence of British Governors and Governors-General and was known as the ...
within the residence was also used by families to have picnics. Security forces were still present but maintained their distance, allowing volunteers from the group of protestors to handle the large influx of Sri Lankans. In some cases, security even joined protestors taking selfies within the complex. The Presidential Secretariat was turned into a temporary library with over 8,000 books in Sinhala, Tamil and English for visitors to read. On 9 and 10 July, the whereabouts of the President remained unknown. On 11 July,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
reported that the President was on a Navy vessel in Sri Lankan waters according to Sri Lankan military sources. The Speaker of the Parliament claimed that the President had left the country and would return by Wednesday but later retracted the statement, saying he had never left Sri Lanka at all.


13 July: Appointment of Acting President

On the morning of 13 July, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
with his wife and two bodyguards, and the
Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...
(SLAF) confirmed that a SLAF plane was given to the President for the trip. He then flew to
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
on a
Saudia Saudia (), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia based in Jeddah. The airline's main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the ...
Boeing 787 Dreamliner The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, wh ...
since he had been "allowed entry on a private visit". He fled, as making the resignation within the country would end his presidential immunity. As a result, his resignation was made while outside of Sri Lanka, removing the risk of him being detained. The Speaker of Parliament announced in the afternoon that President Rajapaksa appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president in his absence. Protesters stormed the office of the Prime Minister, demanding his resignation. Protestors stormed the studios of the state-run television channel
Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation The Sri Lanka Rūpavāhinī Corporation (; ), also known as Jathika Rupavahini (lit. National Television) or simply as Rupavahini, is the national television network of Sri Lanka. The term Rupavahini literally means "purveyor of images" in the ...
and demanded that news on the anti-government protests be broadcast. The channel went off the air and resumed the live transmission later. Another state-owned television channel, the
Independent Television Network Independent Television Network Ltd (; ) also known as ITN Ltd or simply as ITN is a Sri Lankan state-governed television and radio broadcaster located in Wickramasinghepura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. It is a Shrama Abhimani Award winner (Oct ...
(ITN) was also taken off air and later resumed its broadcast. In the evening, protesters reportedly attempted to breach the police barricades placed along the road leading to the
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, where protesters confiscated a T-56 and 2 magazines with 60 rounds of ammunition from an Army soldier during the protests. A soldier and a police constable were hospitalized with injuries sustained after being attacked by protesters. Later that night, Acting President Wickremesinghe declared an island-wide curfew until 5:00 am next day (14 July).


14–15 July: President Rajapaksa's resignation

On 14 July protestors, from Galle Face announced in a press conference that the protestors who had stormed and occupied the Presidential Palace and the Prime Minister's Office would withdraw from such properties and hand them over to the state, except for the Old Parliament Building and Galle Face where the protestors would continue to exercise their right to protest. Protesters peacefully withdrew from the President's Official House,
Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Tree ...
, and the Prime Minister's Office. President Rajapaksa emailed a letter of resignation to the Speaker of the Parliament later that day. The news of his resignation was celebrated by the public mainly at Galle Face and also in the other parts of Colombo. On 15 July, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abewardhana announced the resignation and Ranil Wickremesinghe was officially sworn in as the Acting President. Protesters renamed "Gota Go Gama" to "Ranil Go Gama", and demanded he step down.


20–22 July: Under the new President, Galle Face raid

On 20 July, Colombo Fort Magistrate issued a court order barring people from assembling within a radius of the statue of the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike at the Galle Face Green after Colombo Fort Police requested it, citing reports of impending damages to the statue by protestors. On 21 July, the protesters at 'No Deal Gama', located outside Temple Trees in Kollupitiya, left the protest site. Those at Galle Face announced that they would release the President Secretariat back to the authorities by 2:00 pm on 22 July. At around 2:00 am on 22 July, thousands of armed forces in an operation by the Army, police and Special Task Force stormed the protest site at Galle Face Green to clear the Presidential Secretariat and remove the demonstrators. While forcefully removing the protesters, several civilians and journalists including one from the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
were reportedly assaulted by the forces. More than 50 people were injured and 9 people were arrested. Several foreign envoys in Sri Lanka including the U.S. Ambassador, Canadian High Commissioner and British High Commissioner raised concerns about this pre-dawn raid. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, who came to collect accounts from the scene in the aftermath, said it was "a total violation of the fundamental rights of the people by the executive". A day later, the police explained that the protestors were unwilling to vacate the premises and acted aggressively in previous occasions when the police asked them to vacate the Presidential Secretariat.


August

On 3 August, police ordered protestors at Galle Face to remove all illegally set-up tents and camps on the premises before 5:00 pm on 5 August. On 4 August, after considering three writ applications filed on behalf of protestors, the
Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
announced that the protesters would not be removed from the Galle Face premises until 10 August. On 10 August, which marked the 124th day of Galle Face occupation, protesters vacated the premises.


September

On 16 September, Sri Lankan Buddhist monks protested against rising electricity prices.


November

By early November, protests were beginning to cool off, and economic conditions were beginning to improve somewhat. Fuel and gas queues disappeared and power cuts reduced in frequency. Many claimed that the situation had dramatically improved since the departure of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Inflation rates rapidly declined, the country was declared safe again and tourists resumed visiting the country. The budget for the next fiscal year was announced on 14 November.


International protests

In the United States, several protests were held, including one outside the residence of Gotabaya Rajapaksa's son in Los Angeles during which protesters demanded he summon his father back to the U.S. Another took place in
Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...
. A protest was also held in front of the Sri Lankan High Commission in London, England. Protests were held in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia at
Federation Square Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street ...
and in Mount Wellington in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand. Other Australian cities such as
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, and
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
organised protests as well. Upon Gotabaya Rajapaksa's flight from Sri Lanka to the
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
on 13 July, minor protests organized by Sri Lankans expats living in the Maldives broke out in
Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...
, urging the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
not to provide a safe haven for Rajapaksa.


Reactions


New government

On 18 April 2022, in reaction to the protests that had started in March, President Rajapaksa appointed a new 17-member cabinet despite the protests having called for the entire government – including all 225 MPs in parliament and the president – to resign.
Dinesh Gunawardena Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena (, ; born 2 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He also held the positions of Ministry of Home Affairs (Sri Lanka), Minister of Public Administ ...
was appointed as Public Administration, Internal Affairs Minister while
Douglas Devananda Kathiravelu Nythiananda Devananda, commonly known as Douglas Devananda (), is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Cabinet Minister and leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party. Originally a Sri Lanka Tamil militant who fought against the Sri L ...
was appointed as Fisheries Minister; Kanaka Herath as Highways Minister; Dilum Amunugama as Transport & Industries Minister; Prasanna Ranatunga as Public Security and Tourism Minister; Channa Jayasumana as Health Minister; Nalaka Godahewa as Media Minister; Pramitha Tennakoon as Ports and Shipping Minister; Amith Thenuka Vidanagamage as Sports & Youth Affairs Minister; Kanchana Wijesekera as Power & Energy Minister; Asanka Shehan Semasinghe as Trade & Samurdhi Development Minister; Janaka Wakkumbura as Agriculture & Irrigation Minister; Vidura Wickremanayake as Labour Minister; Mohan Priyadarshana De Silva as Water Supply Minister; Ramesh Pathirana as Education & Plantation Industries; Wimalaweera Dissanayake as Wildlife & Forest Resources Conservation Minister; and Ahamed Nazeer Zainulabdeen as Environment Minister. In the new cabinet portfolio, female representation was completely excluded, with all 17 ministers being males. This cabinet was forced to resign on the afternoon of 9 July.


Opposition

The government's handling of the protests was met with criticism and condemnation from several opposition politicians. Opposition MP for
Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance (TNA; ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu'') was a political alliance in Sri Lanka which represented the Sri Lankan Tamil minority of the country. It was formed in October 2001 by a group of moderate T ...
M. A. Sumanthiran condemned the government's handling of the protests and called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to immediately rescind the gazette notification. He also urged fellow MPs to reject the state of emergency bill.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB; , , ) is a centrist political alliance led by Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa. It is the largest opposition coalition in the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2020. The alliance was formed with the approva ...
(SJB) MP Harsha de Silva said that the government had lost its legitimacy for its mishandling of the country's debt crisis. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa called the state of emergency unconstitutional and condemned the government for violating the law. Premadasa also called on Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
to intervene in the Sri Lankan political and economic crisis.
Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe (; ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 a ...
, at the time former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and MP of the
United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party ...
(UNP), criticized the Rajapaksas' handling of the crisis and expressed optimism that it could bring an end to the nationalist politics of the Rajapaksas. On 6 April, members of the SJB held placards and protested inside Parliament demanding that Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign immediately. The SJB party said that it would try to bring a no-confidence motion in Parliament if the President and Prime Minister do not step down. Samagi Jana Balawageya organised a protest march carrying the slogan "The Struggle for Freedom" began on 26 April 2022 from Kandy and was expected to reach Colombo by 1 May 2022.


International

The
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...
said that it was closely monitoring the situation, stating: "The drift towards militarisation and the weakening of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the state's ability to effectively tackle the economic crisis". The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
was also monitoring the situation and expressed concerns over the "emergency of the situation, which require the authorities to start in-depth discussions with the International Monetary Fund on the reforms needed to bring the Sri Lankan economy back to a sustainable path". The delegation of the EU together with the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States issued a joint statement on 8 April. The UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer and the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung condemned the shooting in Rambukkana and urged to maintain peace, law and order. The ambassador of Germany to Sri Lanka Holger Seubert praised the protests for being conducted in a peaceful manner. He likened the protests to those that occurred during the 1989–1990
German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
.
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
made an appeal for the Sri Lankan authorities to "listen to the aspirations of the people", and said, "I offer a special thought to the people of Sri Lanka, in particular to the young, who in recent times have made their cry heard in the face of the country's social and economic challenges and problems". On 5 August 2022, a number of international human rights organizations issued a joint statement condemning the government's handling of the protests.


Departures to foreign states

Several reports of members and associates of the Rajapaksa family fleeing the country emerged during the protests. On 3 April, it was reported that a group of nine people, including the wife and in-laws of Namal Rajapaksa, had fled the country. Namal's father-in-law had been appointed director of the state-owned Airport and Aviation (Services) Sri Lanka Limited. On 4 April, Nissanka Senadhipathi, a close ally of the Rajapaksas and the chairman of the Avant Garde PMC, allegedly fled to the
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
with his family members aboard Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL-102. On 5 April, the former deputy minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and niece of current prime minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...
, who was embroiled in the
Pandora Papers The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 35 ...
scandal, fled to
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
. On 7 April, the Colombo Magistrate Court issued an order preventing former CBSL governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal from leaving Sri Lanka until 18 April. The court order was issued on the basis of a case filed by political activist Keerthi Tennakoon against Cabraal regarding misappropriation and misuse of public funds which led to the massive economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Basil Rajapaksa tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
on 16 April 2022 and was hospitalised for treatment. Rumours and speculation spread that he had fled for Dubai on the private jet. The media confirmed that the private jet seen leaving Ratmalana Airport on 16 April was owned by British fashion designer George Davies. Housing Development Authority Chairman and former MP Duminda Silva left for Singapore on 7 May. Silva was convicted of murdering a rival politician and his supporters in 2011 and had been sentenced to death in 2016 but was pardoned by Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2021. On 9 May 2022 Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...
and his acting
chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
, left the country with his family. On 13 May 2022 local media reported that State Minister of Rural Road Development Pillayan had fled to Malaysia after the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Pillayan had been charged and arrested for the murder of a rival MP but was acquitted after the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
withdrew charges against him following the election victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. On 8 July, Namal Rajapaksa's wife, Limini Weerasinghe, and her son left for France via Singapore. However, Namal Rajapaksa denied claims that she fled via a tweet and showed his frustration against the incident being reported as
breaking news Breaking news, also called late-breaking news, a special report, special coverage, or a news flash, is a current issue that warrants the interruption of a scheduled broadcast in order to report its details. News broadcasters also use the term ...
by a local newspaper. On 12 July, Basil Rajapaksa, who attempted to flee the country via
Bandaranaike International Airport Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA airport code, IATA: CMB, ICAO airport code, ICAO: VC ...
, was forced to turn back after he was met with strong protests at the airport. The immigration and emigration officers attached to Silk Road Departures, which provides a dedicated service to VIPs, also withdrew from their duties. On the same day, ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' reported that the United States rejected President Rajapaksa's recent request for a visa. On 13 July, Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country in an SLAF aircraft and arrived at Maldives. On 15 July,
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
issued a temporary travel ban on Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, barring them from flying out of the country until 28 July.


See also

*
1953 Ceylonese Hartal The Hartal 1953 () was a country-wide demonstration of civil disobedience and strike, commonly known as a hartal, held in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on 12 August 1953. It was organized to protest against the policies and actions of the incumbent Unit ...
*
2022 Sri Lankan political crisis The 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis was a political crisis in Sri Lanka due to the power struggle between President of Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka. It was fueled by the 2022 Sri Lankan protests, anti-gov ...
* Corruption in Sri Lanka *
May 1998 riots of Indonesia The May 1998 Indonesia riots (), also known colloquially as the 1998 tragedy () or simply the 98 event (), were incidents of Riot, mass violence and civil unrest in Indonesia, many of which targeted the country's ethnic Chinese population. The ...
*
People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
* June Democratic Struggle *
2024 Sri Lankan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September 2024. Incumbent President of Sri Lanka, president Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an Independent politician, independent candidate, making him the first sitting president ...
* Student–People's uprising


Footnotes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lankan protests, 2022 Protests 2022 protests 2022 riots April 2022 in Sri Lanka March 2022 in Sri Lanka May 2022 in Sri Lanka June 2022 in Sri Lanka July 2022 in Sri Lanka Protests in Sri Lanka Rebellions in Sri Lanka Revolutions in Sri Lanka Riots and civil disorder in Sri Lanka Attacks on buildings and structures in 2022 Gotabaya Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa Ranil Wickremesinghe Attacks on government buildings and structures in Sri Lanka