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Changing landscape of protest sites adds more muscle to protests
Lining up for free food at Gota Go Gama. Pix by Akila Jayawardana
The anti-government protest at Galle Face has been going on for a month and protestors still crowd the now-infamous “GotaGo Gama” on a daily basis.
Donations are still flowing in and people were seen lining up for food. The barricade in front of the Presidential Secretariat has now become a makeshift stage for impassioned speakers to get on and motivate the crowd or give speeches on a variety of topics.
The theme, however, still runs strong – the government has failed, so it must leave.
Nuzly Hameem
Nuzly Hameem, a 28-year old civil engineer, has been here since Day 2. He has been protesting starting with the protest in Mirihana on March 31. “It’s been tough work wise and emotionally overwhelming,” he said, “but it’s worth it,” he added.
He insisted that Sri Lanka was at a “now or never” juncture. “We have to save this country.”
He noted that the occupancy had its ups and downs. On some days the crowds ran very high, especially on weekends, but on week days the crowd subsided a bit more. But the essentials were always there.
“We’ve been here for almost a month and it’s still here; so that’s a good sign – we just want to send them home as soon as possible.”
He noted that the attempts by the authorities to intimidate the crowd by placing steel thorn barricades and parking police buses at the site had come a cropper. “But justice will prevail and we have a strong Bar Association supporting us.”
The people’s forum still fills up every evening as people gather to listen to each other. The space is even solar-powered by a contraption placed on a lorry by a group of innovative young people next to the phone charging tent. The library has expanded with taller shelves and a bigger tent. More petitions were being signed. Counselling and legal help were still offered onsite.
Tishani de Mel
A court order to have the protest site removed has been pursued but no order has been made as of yet. The next hearing on the matter is to take place on Tuesday at the chief magistrate’s court in Hulftsdorp.
The highly challenged “MynaGoGama”, the renamed protest site in front of Temple Trees, still holds a small crowd competing with the loud “pirith” being blasted on loudspeakers from the Prime Minister’s official residence.
Buses that were parked on the pavement ostensibly to obstruct the protesters were removed, following a court order by Colombo’s Chief Magistrate. Protestors were allowed to continue their peaceful dissent on the grounds that they cause no inconvenience to the public.
Tishani de Mel, a 54-year-old mother, was at the “MynaGoGama” protest on Friday. She had walked over from GotaGoGama at Galle Face and was on her way to HoruGoGama, the protest site at the entrance to the Parliament complex. “I took a day off from my housework to protest to protect our future that is being rapidly destroyed by a few.”
She noted that the “power-hungry” few were still mucking around in Parliament. “Our country is going further downhill with every minute they waste.” She added that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, using sacred “pirith” to silence the people was in gross violation of the religion he was supposed to be following. She insisted that the crowds should remain until the right things were done for Sri Lanka’s future.
A noteworthy development at the protest sites was the fact that those giving speeches were well informed of the specifics of the corruption that the present and previous governments were being accused of. Speakers from various sectors rolled off numbers for welfare funds that have been underutilised and pointed out flaws in government strategy that continued to derail Sri Lanka’s economy.
While the crowds fluctuate the fervor has not. People are demanding change and it is becoming increasingly clear that they will not take no for an answer. Whether or not the Government can rise to the occasion, is yet to be seen.
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