Dr. Thamil Ananthavinayagan discusses the recent uprising in Sri Lanka, and its potential to have a meaningful impact on social, racial and moral justice in the country.
What is Happening in Sri Lanka?
The dynasty has fallen. After protesters stormed the presidential palace and the private residences of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakse and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former announced his resignation while the latter offered to follow suit.
For some, the anger burgeoned as Sri Lankas economy spiraled into a rapid downfall in the face of crushing debt owed to such regional powers as India, China and Japan, as well as to Western-based international organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Rajapaksa regimes extravagant tax breaks and increasing debt ruined the governments finances. As oil prices increased, foreign currency reserves were swiftly drained. Long lines have become commonplace in front of stores selling cooking gas since the nation hardly has enough money left to import the heavily rationed fuel. The 22 million-person nations headline inflation rate was 54.6 percent last month, and the Central Bank has issued a warning that it may increase to 70 percent in coming months.
Peoples Justice, or Majoritarian Justice?
Against this backdrop, pressure had been mounting on the Third World Elite, which had governed and shaped recent decades of Sri Lankan history. Anger about the socio-economic collapse, long queues for fuel, skipping meals to make ends meet: what started with waves of frustration had grown into a tsunami crashing down on the shores of the elites palaces. Scenes of people entering the buildings of their leaders went around the world: sleeping on their beds, swimming in their pools, using their gym equipment and eating in their kitchens. These scenes were reminiscent of the Libyan people entering the palaces of Muammar Gaddafi or of the Iraqi people in Saddam Husseins palaces.
The protests were led predominantly by the Sinhala people, members of Sri Lankas ethnic majority. While they were loud and clear in their demands for social justice in various capacities, they fell silent on key issues of racial justice on the island. And this silence isnt new; the large majority of the Sinhala people were silent when it came to post-colonial string of racial, religious, cultural discriminatory policies; the large majority remained silent when Tamils were attacked during the infamous Black July of 1983; they were silent when Muslims were attacked in the streets after the Easter Bombings of 2019. Pogroms and attacks against Tamils and Muslims were forms of exercising biopower. As it is written elsewhere, as a result of the states role in preserving life that is productive and necessary for the social body, war becomes an organising rationale for and truth-effect of the arrangement of bodies within a population, stimulated by the theme of racism. The war played out in a variety of fashions and modes; but ultimately it was meant to give an identity and self-serving providence of the Sinhala people. It was that identity politics that divided the Third World peoples, a smokescreen for the Third World elites to distract, obstruct and enrich themselves while the ethnic feud assisted in the corruption of solidarity in the post-colonial era. The phenomenon of state capture has not only occurred in Sri Lanka; other Third World countries are carbon copies of Sri Lankas governance.
However, it was only when injustice hit home, when a lack of food and the empty stomachs could not take it anymore, that the realization kicked in: they have also betrayed us. Will the current upheaval lead to a process of critical reflection and discussion? The future is murky, as the keys to the palaces are in the hands of the Sinhala people. Even if talks remain ongoing and there is general agreement to form an all-party interim government, the formation and governance thereof will be heavily influenced, on the one hand by the Sinhala monks who want to influence and shape the future of Sri Lanka, and on the other, by the ambitions of the Army. The manipulation of the post-colonial architecture is real: divisions between communities along racial lines have led to wealth disparities: the richest 20 percent of Sri Lankan households receive more than half of the nations total household income, while the bottom decile (the poorest 20 percent) receives only 5 percent, with the proportion of household income for the poorest 10 percent amounts to just 1.6 percent.
What Does the Future Hold?
The looming intervention of the IMF will not solve the woes of the country. To the contrary, it will exacerbate the situation: the IMF, in the past, had intervened with further loans to support the participating international banks and financiers, placing the burden of repayment on the taxpayers of the damaged economies. Uncollectible private loans were frequently turned into public debt at the IMFs urging. The IMF and the World Bank imposed structural adjustment plans (SAP) on around 90 developing nations, ranging from Guyana to Ghana, over the past 20 years. The goal of these SAPs was to eliminate protectionism and enable neoliberal intrusion. As Brian-Vincent Ikejiaku writes: The international economic liberalism is one of the major powerful tools of international economic law agenda pursued by the Westerners through the auspices of the international financial institutions, in order to continue maintaining the subjugation and control of the third-world countries. () Thus, the growing importance of international organisations such as the G7, IMF and World Bank is indicative of the influence of liberal economic internationalism in the post-Cold War period. Hence, the granting of aid and loan to the poorer communities, as a means for the elimination of hunger and disease in the Third World become the primary aim which these institutions based their activities.
The fight Sri Lankas protestors started must trigger a larger indigenous moment of solidarity: native and foreign elites have sold off the country, using identity politics to intoxicate, manipulate and divide, while enabling them to maintain the upper hand over the country. German scientist, writer and revolutionary Georg Bchner proclaimed once under the title Peace to the huts! War on the Palaces! explaining that peasants and workers should revolt against oppression and excessively high taxation.
And, in fact, it is moment to revolt against injustice in all its forms: social, racial and moral.
Dr. Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan, LL.M. (Maastricht University), PhD (NUI Galway) is a lecturer for international law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law at Griffith College Dublin since September 2017. Prior to this lectureship at GCD, he worked as a Fellow and research assistant to the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland. His doctoral research focused on the engagement of Sri Lanka with the United Nations human rights machinery.
Suggested citation: Thamil Ananthavinayagan, Peace to the huts! War on the palaces! Is Sri Lanka experiencing peoples justice or a coup dtat?, JURIST Academic Commentary, July 12, 2022, https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2022/07/peace-to-the-hut-or-a-coup-detat/
This article was prepared for publication by Ingrid Burke-Friedman, JURIST Features & Commentary Editor. Please direct any questions or comments to [her] at commentary@jurist.org
Opinions expressed in JURIST Commentary are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST's editors, staff, donors or the University of Pittsburgh.
Read more from the original source:
- Government Oppression Of Climate Protesters Is Rampant. Are You Next? - CleanTechnica - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Invasion Day protests oppose oppression of indigenous Australians, genocide in Gaza - WSWS - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Florida's 'hostile' laws? Five laws NAACP listed in travel advisory. - St. Augustine Record - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Iran Faces A Huge Budget Deficit It Tries To Conceal - - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Satyendar Jain taken to Safdarjung Hospital after losing 35 kgs - The Statesman - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Opinion: Reassessing the approach to Israel | DW | 22.05.2023 - DW - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Durham Report Is Latest Choose-Your-Own-Reality Adventure - TIME - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- In Conversation with Stan Grant - Honi Soit - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Rep. Bare: Assembly Republicans' local government funding plan is ... - WisPolitics.com - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Never Again Is Right Now in Palestine - Jacobin magazine - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- UF community condemns bill defunding DEI initiatives - The Independent Florida Alligator - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Prices of basic commodities and foods have gone insane in Sierra ... - Sierra Leone Telegraph - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Don't cancel Gladstone. He was a true friend of freedom at home ... - The Telegraph - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- If you want to do things like gender ideology, go to Berkeley: DeSantis bans diversity, equity and inclusion in Florida colleges - The Mercury News - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- TikTok: The new frontier for political info-wars - DAWN.com - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Israeli Apartheid - The Legacy of the Ongoing Nakba at 75 [EN/AR ... - ReliefWeb - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- PPP's CEC condemns attacks on army installations, calls for ... - Pakistan Today - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Tim Scott says Im running for president of the United States in announcement speech live - The Guardian US - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Opinion | America's Poverty Is Built by Design - POLITICO - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- 'Pity these oppressed random attackers': Inside the thoughts of Canada's bail system - National Post - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- How Can We Resist Book Bans? This Banned Author Has Ideas. - Truthout - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Owners of Nigeria and their multiple worlds - Guardian Nigeria - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- When People Decide They Want Change, They Will Bring in Change - The Wire - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- 5 Interesting Facts about Simon Bolivar - The Collector - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- China Built Over A Million Uyghurs "Re-Education Camps" In 6 Years: Report - NDTV - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Queer folk, the hour to save ourselves has come - Daily Maverick - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Preposterous! Book ban adds bureaucracy and removes parents ... - IndyStar - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- End Jew Hatred: Fight for social justice must be above political fray - The Jerusalem Post - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Political strife, not protest anymore - The Korea JoongAng Daily - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- 'A Man Without a Gun Is Not a Citizen' - The Texas Observer - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- State Department Report Says China Oppressed Tibetan Buddhist ... - Central Tibetan Administration - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Facing Reality on South Africa - Council on Foreign Relations - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Federal Charges of Political Activists Show the Racist and ... - Left Voice - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Age of Disorder || Pakistan on the Brink: Down with Capitalist PDM ... - International Socialist - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Tim Stevenson | Living with the Long Emergency: Rising Fascism ... - Brattleboro Reformer - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Members of new City Council weigh in on water bills - CBS Chicago - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- DIIR Statement on 28th Anniversary of Enforced Disappearance of ... - Central Tibetan Administration - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- KAN-WIN shares timeline of gender-based violence toward Asian ... - Daily Northwestern - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Alleged leaker fixated on guns and envisioned 'race war' - The Washington Post - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Employment and Labour pays tribute to Dr Dennis George - South African Government - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Opinion | Trump Cannot Be Unseen - The New York Times - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Toronto to rally against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia ... - NOW Toronto - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Election 2023: Te Pti Mori accuses Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of 'oppression' for telling parties to 'be careful' with demands - Newshub - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- What's the current state of LGBTQ rights in Europe? - Euronews - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Baptist Health Foundation Receives $3 Million Gift from the Jos ... - South Florida Hospital News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- The Politics and Moral Economics of Seun Kutis Police Assault - Tekedia - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Is a temporary coalition of anger against the old regime a basis for ... - Sierra Leone Telegraph - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Mexico: against 'neoliberalism' or capitalism? The final year of ... - In Defence of Marxism - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- White Christian Nationalism and the 2023 Montana Legislature ... - Daily Montanan - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Left-wing lawmakers press for federal reparations for Black Americans: 'We're here to demand it' - Fox News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Underground cyphers are helping young Kashmiris reclaim their ... - Huck Magazine - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Tory MP uses controversial term connected to antisemitic conspiracies - The Jerusalem Post - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Fijis 1987 coup: Why did Prime Minister Rabuka apologise to the Indo-Fijian community? - The Indian Express - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Declaration on the Migrant Crisis: Socialists From the U.S., Mexico ... - Left Voice - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- WNBA star Brittney Griner standing and listening to national anthem - Gainesville Sun - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Imran Khan to unveil next plan of action at a rally on Thursday - ANI News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Delta Youths Threaten Showdown Over Exclusion In Multi-Billion ... - SaharaReporters.com - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Remarks by Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall ... - The White House - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Are some human rights more important than others? Religious ... - Jacksonville Journal-Courier - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Postcolonial Plague: The Legacy of Apartheid South Africa in ... - Brown Political Review - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- UN expert urges Japan to step up pressure on Myanmar junta - OHCHR - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- CSIS confirms to MP that he and family were targeted by China - The Globe and Mail - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Opposition leader says govt sent a bureaucrat to talk with calan - Duvar English - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- The Badger Herald Editorial Board: The bounds of free speech The ... - The Badger Herald - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- AIbom NLC to Set up Monitoring Team on Petroleum Products - THISDAY Newspapers - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Amplifying Iranian Voices: The Call for Freedom and Democracy ... - National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- As inequality deepens, who will rewrite the rules? - Al Jazeera English - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Discover the Brilliance of George Orwell: Books That Will Inspire You - Economic Times - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Nature has way of settling scores, says UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Atiq Ahmad's turf - Times of India - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Tens of thousands hold Labor Day rallies nationwide - The Korea Herald - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Incoming Nigerian Government Must Improve Poverty Wage ... - SaharaReporters.com - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Can the European Union Tackle Afghanistan's Crises? - The Diplomat - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Iran sees nationwide protests, night rallies marking Int'l Labor Day | - The Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- G20: Responsibilities of the people of PoK - ANI News - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- From IWD to May Day: Connecting working women's struggles - Spring Magazine - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- 1 May 2023 || The Working Class is Back! ISA - International Socialist - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Are the Marxists on to something? Catholic World Report - Catholic World Report - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Manoj Kumar Jha and Ghazala Jamil write: Why Pratap Bhanu Mehta is wrong about social justice politics and caste census - The Indian Express - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Generational crimes are being committed thick and fast. No wonder Australian kids dont vote conservative - The Guardian - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- A Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2023 - U.S. ... - US Embassy and Consulate in Poland - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]