The new Sri Lankan president wants to suppress the demonstrations | Abroad

“If you try to overthrow the government and the offices of the president and prime minister, that’s not democracy, but it’s illegal,” threatened the new president after being sworn in. “We will take firm action in accordance with the law. We will not allow a minority of protesters to overwhelm the wishes of the silent majority to change the political system. »x

status quo

Wickremesinghe gives the impression that the protesters want to maintain the status quo, but it is the opposite. In the protests, it is politicians like him who have to suffer because they hold back change. The president and his predecessor Rajapaksa have been accused of thinking only of themselves, while ordinary Sri Lankans can barely keep their heads above water due to severe shortages of basic necessities such as food , fuel and medicine.

During the swearing in, the new president hardly distanced himself from his predecessor and his clique. On the contrary, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the older brother of the fugitive president and herself a former head of state and prime minister, was among the first to congratulate Wickremesinghe. Moreover, there is a good chance that the president will appoint a former classmate as prime minister.

Favoritism

Such patronage is precisely what has been protested against in recent months, one protester told Reuters news agency: “We won’t give up because what the country needs is total change. We want to get rid of these corrupt politicians, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do.