Asia | The morning after

Sri Lanka has no money and no government. What now?

The prime minister and the cabinet are gone but the president clings on

|COLOMBO

FOR MORE than a month the anti-government protesters camped along Galle Face, the seafront in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, had been mostly peaceful. They were demanding the departure of the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother. There were tents, stages for political plays, and singing. “Go home Gota!” their signs read, using the name by which the president is commonly known. He did not budge. Neither did the protesters.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The morning after”

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