A camp in Sri Lanka's capital becomes focus of national protests as PM offers talks

Thousands of people take to streets of Colombo to call for President Rajapaksa to step down

Demonstrators in Sri Lanka gather outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo as the country faces shortages in food, fuel and medicines after defaulting on its $51 billion debt. EPA

Demonstrators camp in an area nicknamed the Gota-Go Village, close to the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters

Residents of Gota-Go Village in Colombo use their phones to organise their protest against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's management of the economy. Reuters

A demonstrator at Gota-Go Village in Colombo rests in one of the protest camp's many tents. Reuters

Water bottles are shared among protesters inside Gota-Go Village in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters

Gota-Go Village in Colombo is a focus of opposition to Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's leadership. Reuters

The demonstrators who gather at Gota-Go Village near the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka, fear the country's medical service is near collapse. Reuters

Demonstrators distribute essentials such as water at Gota-Go Village in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters

Protesters in Colombo after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa lost his parliamentary majority. EPA

Power cuts and fuel shortages across Sri Lanka bring protesters to the doorstep of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo. AFP

Protesters in Sri Lanka have made the centre of Colombo, the capital, the focus of their efforts to unseat President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. AFP

People shout slogans during the protests. Reuters

A Buddhist monk prepares a placard at a demonstration against the economic crisis. AFP

Religious and secular groups unite in protest. AFP

On a patch of grass near Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office in the capital Colombo, about two dozen tents have been erected in a small but growing camp that is becoming the focal point of national protests.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Sri Lanka in the past few days to call for Mr Rajapaksa to step down, venting their anger at soaring inflation and lengthy power cuts caused by the spiralling economic crisis.

On a handwritten board next to the tents, not far from the colonial-era presidential building adjoining Colombo's water front, stands a sign: Gota-Go Village.

The slogan “Gota go back”, also referring to Gotabaya, is being chanted at demonstrations sweeping Sri Lanka, in an unprecedented public outcry that has brought together people of different faiths, ethnicities and social groups.

Close to the protest camp on Monday evening, a group of Christian nuns in white habits walked past a police barricade, where 11 protesters sat chanting. One held a poster saying “Our Govt Failed Us” .

A short distance away, three Buddhist monks in bright saffron robes stood in the crowd.

'Our only hope'

At the edge of a lawn, behind some tents, around 30 Muslim men sat in two lines to break their Ramadan fast.

Farzana F Haniffa, a professor of sociology at the University of Colombo, said the protest site had become a space where all Sri Lankans could come together in a rare show of unity.

One common cause was anger at what protesters said was economic mismanagement by the Rajapaksa family.

Catholic priests and sisters hold placards during a demonstration against the economic crisis in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. All photos: AFP

Catholic priests and sisters hold placards during a demonstration against the economic crisis in Colombo.

Protesters lash out after a surge of prices and a shortage of fuel and other essential commodities outside the president's office in Colombo.

All 26 Cabinet ministers resigned after thousands defied a national state of emergency and curfew, and joined street protests denouncing the government.

The curfew has been lifted but the president and his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa continue to hold on to power.

Sri Lankans have endured long queues to buy fuel, cooking gas, foods and medicine, most of which come from abroad and are paid for in hard currency.

The fuel shortage has caused rolling power cuts lasting several hours a day.

The extent of the crisis became clear when Sri Lanka could not pay for imports of basic supplies because of its mounting debts and dwindling foreign reserves.

Sri Lanka’s usable foreign reserves reportedly amount to be less than $400 million, yet it is saddled with about $7 billion in foreign debt obligations for this year.

Police used water cannon to disperse angry protesters who marched toward the Rajapaksa family home in southern Sri Lanka, demanding that they quit.

The president had appealed to people to limit their use of power and ‘extend their support to the country’ but the crisis has intensified since the main opposition party rejected his call to form a unity government. Reuters

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president's elder brother, serves as prime minister and their younger brother, Basil, was finance minister until recently.

The administration said it is doing what it can to drag Sri Lanka out of a crisis that has left it unable to buy fuel and medicine and struggling to pay its debts.

Some protesters said they would only leave if the Rajapaksas stepped down. Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a televised address the protests were hampering attempts to improve the situation.

Walking around barefoot early on Tuesday, after another night of heavy rain, Mary Suwen was rearranging tents that her husband had brought in from his adventure tourism business.

“The country is in a crisis, so you can't stay at home,” said Ms Suwen, 27, a civil engineer.

“We need to pressure them,” she said, talking of the Rajapaksas. “They need to be accountable to the people.”

Gagana Atapattu, 22, said he was part of the election campaign that brought Gotabaya Rajapaksa to power in 2019, but now regretted working for him.

“I'm now suffering for what I did,” he said, as he helped to manage donations of food, water and other supplies that Sri Lankans were bringing to be stored in large open tents.

Among those donating was YC Kanthi, who waited in a long queue for fuel and then drove 15 kilometres to deliver a pile of buns stuffed with caramelised onions for the protesters.

“I gave a special order to a nearby bakery and had them made for these youngsters,” said Kanthi, 53. “They are our future, they are our only hope out of this mess.”

PM offers talks

On Wednesday, Sri Lanka's prime minister offered talks with protesters calling for the government to step down over its handing of an economic crisis as the opposition threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against it in parliament.

"The prime minister is ready to start talks with the protesters at Galle Face Green," his office said in a statement, referring to a protest site that has become the focus of discontent.

"If protesters are ready to discuss their proposals to resolve the challenges currently facing the nation, then the prime minister is ready to invite their representatives for talks," the office said.