Turmoil in Sri Lanka

Political and economical upheaval in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has seen much economic and political upheaval in recent days, and many analysts have even warned that Pakistan could be the next Sri Lanka. However, the situation in Sri Lanka is distinct and merits attention in its own right.

While Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, British colonial divide and rule policies continued to haunt the country for a long time thereafter. The British had used the Tamil minority to rule over the populace, which bred much resentment against the Tamils. The Sinhalese majority was in no mood to show any accommodations to their Tamil brethren after colonial rule ended. The Tamil’s demand for the official recognition of their language was brushed aside, which sparked riots that were then brutally crushed and the situation began spiraling from there.

By the early 1980s, lingering violence between the Sinhalese Buddhist majority, the Tamil Hindu and the Christian minority had erupted into an all-out civil war between the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This bloody civil war lasted over 25 years and even impacted neighbouring India. Under pressure from its own Tamil population, India was compelled to first help LTTE before sending in troops to Sri Lanka to help implement a troubled peace deal, which soon broke down. Disgruntled elements within LTTE used a female suicide bomber to assassinate Rajiv Gandi in 1991, leading to increasing international isolation of LTTE.

The Norwegians tried to broker another ceasefire between LTTE and the Sri Lankan government in the early 2000s, which held for a while before violence resumed until the Rajapaksa brothers came to the fore. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the Defence Minister under his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Presidency when the Sri Lankan government decided to crush LTTE no matter what the cost. The Rajapaksa brothers did manage to end the Sri Lankan war in 2009 but at a tremendous human cost — tens of thousands of civilian deaths. Even after LTTE was defeated, the Sri Lankan government remained oppressive and its military enjoyed impunity.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka began experiencing increasing religious intolerance with the formation of the Bodu Bala Sena — an ultranationalist Sinhalese-Buddhist organisation — in 2012. The Bodu Bala Sena began to persecute not only Tamil Hindus and Christians but also Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority. Yet, the Rajapaksas continued to dominate the Sri Lankan political scene, cashing in on their image of ‘war heroes’ till their corrupt government was ousted in 2015. However, the Rajapaksas made a comeback after the 2019 Easter bombings by the Islamic State, promising to improve security.

Yet, the Easter terror attack followed by the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a major toll on the tourism industry — a major contributor to the economy. Conversely, ill-conceived development polices funded by IMF and World Bank, and grandiose projects funded by China led to the ballooning of national debt. Instead of practicing austerity, the Rajapaksas cut taxes to shore up political support. They also implemented ad hoc policies such as suddenly banning the import of agricultural chemicals in the hope of turning Sri Lanka into an organic farming nation overnight, which instead triggered a food crisis.

It was a combination of multiple factors that caused the Sri Lankan economic meltdown, compelling the Rajapaksa brothers to flee the country. Whether the recently sworn in President Ranil Wickramasinghe and Prime Minster Dinesh Gunawardena, will manage to bring Sri Lanka back from the precipice of collapse remains to be seen. However, what is happening in Sri Lanka is quite distinct, making it difficult to draw oversimplified parallels between what is happening in Sri Lanka and what could occur in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2022.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.