Despite facing tear gas and water cannons from the Sri Lankan military, protesters have been calling the Rajapaksas “thieves” for stealing public money, blaming them for the economic downfall and for bringing suffering to the very people who voted them into power for nearly 20 years. Yet despite loud calls for his resignation, Gotabaya clings doggedly to power. This week, in his first international media interview since the protests started, Gotabaya said he would not be a “failed president” by resigning, and would complete his term set to end in two years. “I have been given a mandate for five years, [but] I will not contest again.”“We fought his wars for him, and respected him so much.”
Gotabaya Rajapaksa (pictured) and his family once controlled two-thirds of the national budget while they held different ministerial roles. Photo: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP
The demand for accountability and auditing also stems from the fact that there is no transparency or public record of the Rajapaksas’ actual wealth and assets despite the family having been in politics since the 1940s. Observers note that the family ran the country like a family business, and focused on centralising power while taking away all checks and balances, including on allegations of grave war crimes against Tamils. Last year, the Pandora Papers investigation, a series of leaked documents that exposed the illicit wealth of the world’s rich and influential, found some members of the Rajapaksas hoarding millions in offshore investments and accounts. Before that, in 2015, an opposition politician accused the Rajapaksa government of illegal financial deals amounting to over $5 billion. Mahinda himself was accused of stealing millions of dollars meant for tsunami relief in 2004. Over the years, Mahinda’s son Namal has also been accused of money laundering and receiving payoffs worth millions by private foreign companies.“We’re broke because they stole all the money. I want the money to be brought back to the national treasury.”
One of the key demands of the protesting citizens is for the powerful Rajapaksa family to be held accountable for their accumulated wealth. Photo: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP
Members of the Parliament earn a modest monthly salary of $150 along with miscellaneous benefits, while the president earns $250 a month. “Their government salaries are less than many common citizens’,” said Dilrukshi Handunnetti, a lawyer and executive director of Sri Lanka's Centre for Investigative Reporting. “Then how do they lead these opulent lives?”“If you try to look at the wealth the Rajapaksas accumulated, we don’t know exactly how much it is. What we see out there is just the tip of the iceberg.”
As Gotabaya Rajapaksa doggedly holds on to power, images of people queuing up for essentials has become a common sight across the country. Photo: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP
Pro-government factions hold Mahinda Rajapaksa's portrait in Colombo. Mahinda resigned last month after pro-government supporters attacked anti-government protesters. Photo: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP
Abeywardene of JDS put the Rajapaksas’ popularity in the context of previous governments, especially in the 1980s when a left-wing Sinhala youth uprising was crushed by the previous Sri Lankan government and killed tens of thousands. “That state criminality back then had pushed the people away from governments,” said Abeywardene. “On the contrary, the Rajapaksas’ criminality actually brought them closer to people as ‘saviours of nation’ because now, the victims were largely Tamils or Muslims.”The underlying factor, he added, is majoritarian racism, which overshadowed all their misconduct.Gotabaya faces a string of lawsuits in the U.S. involving alleged war crimes. Before he became president, he had dual citizenship in Sri Lanka and the U.S. To become president, he surrendered his U.S. citizenship as his new position afforded him immunity against lawsuits.“We’re still a society with feudal elements, and it’s driven by patronage. The Rajapaksas fit right in.”
The current waves of protests are mostly made up of Sinhalese, who previously voted for the Rajapaksas into power. Photo: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP
