Better communication could have helped avoid protests, says former Sri Lankan bureaucrat

A state of emergency has been declared across Sri Lanka after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid mass protests and a collapsed economy. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been appointed acting president, confirmed that the president has fled to Maldives hours before he was expected to resign. The speaker has called an urgent all party-meet to decide the further course of action. The chaos across Colombo is getting worse with protesters storming the Prime Minister’s office.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Shashi Dhanatunge, former Sri Lankan bureaucrat, said, “Before imposing curfew or the emergency and whatnot, I think there should have been a proper communication. I think there was a huge breakdown. There was a bit of a lull after July 9 and there were so many rumours. Although the President has given a pledge that he will be terminating his office or discharging his duties by July 13, there was no further communication was made by either the speaker or the Prime Minister and I think that was not fair.”

He added. “I believe that that communication gap as well as the breakdown is what we are seeing today. Otherwise, there was no reason for people to come out like this and cause this kind of trouble on the streets, and also even the Prime Minister to go in the direction of impossible curfew.”