Here’s the situation: Over the past few months, the island nation of Sri Lanka has seen a dramatic, sudden economic crisis turn into political turmoil, resulting in, earlier this month, the flight of now-formed President Gotabaya Rajapaska abroad. The visuals were stunning – the burning of the Prime Minister’s Home, the occupation of the Presidential Palace by protesters, the long queues for gas and food across the country.
It’s also amazingly misunderstood. I can’t recall when a political, economic, and social crisis that is affecting the lives of millions has been used to push so many agendas. Many want to blame China, India, or (amazingly) the United States. Others point to the pandemic and the resulting fall in inbound tourism. The most ridiculous claim comes from those, mostly with ties to agribusiness, who claim that the government’s pushing of organic farming created this crisis.
The truth is that all these factors played some role, but, like any political crisis, there were deeper issues at play, from a decades-long civil war, endemic corruption, and even radical Buddhist nationalism, a phenomenon that can be found outside the country, too.
So in this Asia Undercovered Backgrounder, we fill the gaps in western media coverage by exploring Sri Lanka’s history and why simplistic answers are rarely the causes of political turmoil.
The Civil War and Buddhist Nationalism
Any analysis of Sri Lanka has to start with the decades long civil war between the island’s two main ethnic groups – Tamil, who are mostly Hindu, and the majority Sinhalese Buddhists. While violent, it was the minority Tamils, who were fighting for an independent homeland, who faced the brunt of the conflict and, since the end of the war in 2009, have seen their home region, in the north of the island, remain under harsh military control.