Thiloththama Jayasinghe, Jadetimes Staff
T. Jayasinghe is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Political News
July of Strikes, Riots, and Revolts While doing so, July has also time and again proved to be a month of strikes and riots that brought about a sea change in the political history of Sri Lanka. The strikes of 1980 and the ruthless riots of 1983 darkened the nation, setting a precedence for July to be a month of turmoil. Shift the calendar to 2022, when the Galle Face Aragalaya re-ignited this precedence, and its violent escalation brought in a new chapter in the history of anti-government protests. It was the attack on politicians and their residences in May 2022 that proved to be the proverbial straw that would break the back and herald the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. This sudden exit symbolized not merely a fall of an administration but a farcical collapse of the whole state machinery.
The Emergence of Ranil Wickremesinghe: A Controversy Born of Necessity
From the very outset, Ranil Wickremesinghe's ascendance to power in July 2022 was bathed in controversy and further enhanced the derision of opposition factions and widespread public discontent. Labeled a mere puppet for the incumbent Rajapaksa regime, Wickremesinghe had an uphill struggle both inside Parliament and on the streets. However, his first attempts at retrieving the economy's stability through fuel and gas supplies and deploying security forces to contain the spiral of protests illustrated well that what was really required during a period of crisis was a strong leader. His economic and political strategies, though received with criticism, were important in hauling Sri Lanka away from complete collapse.
Crisis Management and the "Vine Bridge"
Under the leadership of Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka started to journey out of economic turmoil towards the stability hitherto measured. Discussions with the International Monetary Fund, the formulation of a debt stabilization plan, and an emphasis on long-term reforms ushered in cautious optimism. By 2023 and 2024, pressing issues like fuel shortages and power cuts, along with inflation, had been contained. Perhaps the best metaphor for Wickremesinghe's approach is his own "Vine Bridge"-precarious and unlikable, but a necessary road to take the nation through its worst financial crisis in modern history. Fraught and controversial his presidency has been, certainly, but it has been a test of the leadership under adversarial conditions.
A Populist Opposition and Its Missteps
While Wickremesinghe took some firm action to save the country from ruin, his opposition simply misstepped. From the SJB's Sajith Premadasa to the NPP's Anura Kumara Dissanayake, none were ready to move ahead with any effective alternatives or take up any responsibility. The inability and reluctance of all those opposition members to extend a hand of cooperation in favor of the stabilization of the nation at one of the darkest junctures in its history presents a marked contrast to Wickremesinghe's decision to incur popular wrath and international opprobrium as he sought to reestablish order. As the Opposition sailed toward populist bombast and shied away from decisions that needed to be taken, Wickremesinghe did not flinch.
The Future: Creating an Ecological, Export-Led Economy
Wickremesinghe's vision for 2048 is ambitious yet realistic: a developed and debt-free economy. His policy initiatives to establish a Digital Green Economy and to transform Sri Lanka away from its import-dependent model toward export-driven development are courageous leaps toward long-term sustainability. Anti-corruption laws, land rights programs, modernized farming initiatives-these further demonstrate the President's determination to make sure that the future of the country at large, and particularly those worst hit by the crisis, is strong.
This was a turning point in Sri Lankan history, and for many onlookers, the controversial calculated and determined leadership of President Wickremesinghe steered it out of disaster. Whether its population accepts his methods or keeps on criticizing him, the fact remains that his presidency guided Sri Lanka out of a crisis that was sure to bring down a deeper humanitarian and financial collapse. His decisions have kept the country on firmer ground today, and the future is left to whether Sri Lanka can move further in this direction without slipping back into the missteps of the past.
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