Family's Fall from Grace: How Rajapaksa Brothers, Seen as Heroes, Became Villains in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has seen an unprecedented crisis as the economic woes in the country ended the rule of the Rajapaksa brothers. The country is the middle of its worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948.

Months of lengthy blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel and medicines have infuriated the public, with huge protests demanding the government’s resignation turning violent this week.

The country elected a new prime minister- Ranil Wickremesinghe- who faces a mammoth task of forging a unity government at a time when the country is locked in one of the worst political deadlocks. Wickremesinghe, 73, was appointed late Thursday by the country’s deeply unpopular president, but several opposition parties have already said they will not support his premiership.

However, amid the crisis, one of the biggest losers in the country had been the Rajapaksa brothers, who are now reviled as leaders.

Family’s Fall from Grace

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s brother, resigned as prime minister on Monday after his supporters attacked anti-government demonstrators who had been protesting peacefully for weeks. He had to be evacuated from his official residence after it was besieged by angry crowds.

On Thursday, a court banned Mahinda, his politician son Namal, and more than a dozen allies from leaving the country after ordering an investigation into the violence. He is secured in a naval base in the north-east for his safety.

On the other hand, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has ignored calls to quit, has agreed to transfer some of his executive powers to the parliament and has appointed a new prime minister.

It’s a dramatic fall from grace for a family that has dominated Sri Lankan politics for more than a decade.

Rajapaksas Celebrated as Heroes

Mahinda Rajapaksa was once celebrated by the majority Sinhalese as a hero for bringing an end to nearly three decades of civil war when the Tamil Tiger rebels were crushed in 2009 during his first term as president.

Mahinda Rajapaksa is the head of the clan. He was president for a decade, and before that he was prime minister in 2004. Rajapaksa has refused an international probe into atrocities allegedly committed during the war. A series of local enquiries have failed to yield either a proper war crimes investigation or prosecutions.

‘The Terminator’

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 72, took office in 2019, wielding executive power over Sri Lanka throughout the Covid pandemic that analysts say helped trigger the current economic crisis.

Unlike his brother Mahinda, who heads the clan and was prime minister until his resignation on Monday, Gotabaya came to power with little political experience.

Instead, he came from a military background, having been in charge of the army and police throughout Mahinda’s presidency from 2005-2015.

In 2009, he led a brutal government crackdown that crushed the separatist Tamil rebels after decades of civil war.

The bloody final weeks of the conflict ended with, according to UN estimates, the deaths of around 40,000 civilians, who were herded into so-called no-fire zones that were then bombed by the armed forces.

The Rajapaksa brothers were hugely popular among the Sinhala masses despite the allegations of human rights abuses.

However, the whole of the country is suffering economic woes and has united the opposing groups and ethnic communities.

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