![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/sri-lanka-the-fate-of-a-protest-that-toppled-a-president/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/130319590_srilanka.jpg&description=Image source, Getty Images Image caption, An unprecedented people's protest forced powerful president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping into the pool inside the palace and bouncing on the presidential four-poster bed had already gone around the world. Mr Kaluthantri's video joined all of the other imagery as poetic proof of how millions of Sri Lankans were fed up of what they regarded as inept and corrupt governance under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Soon after, Mr Rajapaksa fled the country, resigning days later. It was hailed as a massive win for an unprecedented people's movement but one year later, Sri Lanka looks quite different. In early 2022, inflation in Sri Lanka skyrocketed as foreign reserves emptied and the country ran short of fuel, food and medicine. Residents experienced up to 13-hour power cuts in what was the worst economic crisis the country had faced since independence. Many held then president Mr Rajapaksa and his family responsible. While his disastrous economic policies led to the shortfall in foreign currency, the Rajapaksa family was also accused of corruption and siphoning public money. But the Rajapaksas deny any wrongdoing and place blame elsewhere for the crisis: the sharp drop in tourism revenue because of the pandemic and the high cost of fuel after Russia invaded Ukraine. I was in Colombo last year as crowds gathered at Galle Face Green, a popular beach-facing public space in Colombo. The demonstrations continued day and night, the crowds swelling in the evenings with families, students, priests, nuns, clerics and monks. Driven by the rallying cry "Gota go home", the protests engulfed the country, unitin){kind=link}
Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job.
Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag.
Pictures of young men jumping into the pool inside the palace and bouncing on the presidential four-poster bed had already gone around the world. Mr Kaluthantri’s video joined all of the other imagery as poetic proof of how millions of Sri Lankans were fed up of what they regarded as inept and corrupt governance under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Soon after, Mr Rajapaksa fled the country, resigning days later. It was hailed as a massive win for an unprecedented people’s movement but one year later, Sri Lanka looks quite different.
In early 2022, inflation in Sri Lanka skyrocketed as foreign reserves emptied and the country ran short of fuel, food and medicine. Residents experienced up to 13-hour power cuts in what was the worst economic crisis the country had faced since independence.