Aragalaya
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The Aragalaya () was a series of mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. 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 and key officials from the Rajapaksa family. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties, most protesters considered themselves to be apolitical, with many expressing disc
Key facts
- Civil conflict.title
- Aragalaya
- Civil conflict.partof
- the Sri Lankan economic crisis, the aftermath of the Sri Lanka civil war and Gen Z protests in Asia
- Civil conflict.image
- Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka 2022.jpg
- Civil conflict.caption
- Sri Lankans protesting in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on 13 April
- Civil conflict.date
- 15 March 2022 – 14 November 2022 ()
- Civil conflict.place
- Sri Lanka
- Civil conflict.causes
- Economic mismanagement by the government resulting in the 2019–present Sri Lankan economic crisis Shortages of fuel and essential items and power cuts High inflation and the rapid rise in the cost of living Authoritarianism, corruption and nepotism of the Rajapaksa family
- Civil conflict.goals
- Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Rajapaksa administration Drafting of a new constitution
- Civil conflict.methods
- Political demonstrations, Internet activism, rioting, strike action, protests
- Civil conflict.result
- Mass resignation of the Second Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet Resignation of Central Bank Governor Cabraal and appointment of Weerasinghe Over 50 MPs aligned with the SLPP government became independent in the Parliament Series of coordinated attacks on protesters by pro-Rajapaksa mobs, triggering multiple retaliatory attacks by protesters on the property of Rajapaksa loyalists and other Parliament members Resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister and Wickremesinghe's appointment as his replacement Resignation of MP Basil Rajapaksa Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns as President on 14 July and begins a self-exile, returns to Sri Lanka on 2 September Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as President by Parliament on 20 July Troops raid Galle Face and forcefully remove protesters from the Presidential Secretariat on 22 July Dinesh Gunawardena appointed as Prime Minister on 22 July
- Civil conflict.side1
- Protesters and opposition organizations: Many unorganized apolitical and nonpartisan protesters University students Various professions, including private bus drivers, fishermen, hospital workers, etc. Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Hindu clergies Military veterans, including disabled war veterans Sri Lankan diaspora mainly in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand and United States Political parties: National People's Power Samagi Jana Balawegaya Tamil National Alliance Frontline Socialist Party Black Cap Movement
- Civil conflict.side2
- Government of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Police Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna United National Party Pro-Rajapaksa partisans Avant-Garde PMC
- Civil conflict.leadfigures1
- Largely unorganized and decentralized leadership
- Civil conflict.casualties1
- 10 protesters dead, 250+ injured 600+ arrested
- Civil conflict.casualties2
- MP Athukorala and his security officer killedChairman A.V. Sarath Kumara killed1 policeman killed, 24 injured 10+ arrested including MP Sanath Nishantha, MP Milan Jayathilaka
via Wikipedia infobox
~68 min read
Encyclopedic overview
37 sectionsContents
- Background
- Timeline
- March
- April
- Declaration of state of emergency
- Social media blocks
- Cabinet resignation
- Reconvening of Parliament
- "Occupy Galle Face"
- Mynagogama
- 19 April: Rambukkana incident
- 28 April: Island-wide token strike
- May
- HoruGoGama protests
- Black Monday attacks on protesters
- Resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa
- Deployment of military
- Founding of No-Deal-Gama
- June
- July
- 9 July: Storming of President's House
- 13 July: Appointment of Acting President
- 14–15 July: President Rajapaksa's resignation
- 20–22 July: Under the new President, Galle Face raid
- August
- September
- November
- International protests
- Reactions
- New government
- Opposition
- International
- Departures to foreign states
- Popular culture
- See also
- Footnotes
- References
The Aragalaya () was a series of mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. 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 and key officials from the Rajapaksa family. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties, most protesters considered themselves to be apolitical, 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.
The government reacted to the protests with authoritarian methods, such as declaring a state of emergency, allowing the military to arrest civilians, imposing curfews, and restricting access to social media. The government violated the law and the Sri Lankan constitution by attempting to suppress the protests. The Sri Lankan diaspora 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; hashtags 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Aragalaya” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.