Sri Lanka’s Attorney General’s Office halted the evacuation of the protest camp established this Friday, more than a hundred days ago, just hours before a deportation deadline faced by demonstrators in the heart of Colombo — the city at the center of a broad civil movement born from the country’s severe economic crisis.
The Attorney General has pledged that these facilities will not be removed without due process and a court order, meaning the sites cannot be cleared arbitrarily, according to lawyer Nuwan Bopage, who represents the protesters and spoke to Efe.
Consequently, the encampment known as “Gota Go Gama,” set up at Galle Face Green beside the Presidential Secretariat, is permitted to remain in the area through August 10 while legal challenges unfold.
The decision followed protesters filing five appeals with the Court of Appeal in response to police plans to evacuate the site. The occupants had been told to vacate by 5 p.m. local time (11:30 GMT) on Friday.
Shortly before the prosecutor’s announcement circulated, footage from Sri Lankan media and social networks showed some demonstrators dismantling parts of the camp that had housed the movement for four months.
Within the improvised grounds stood a library, a conference center, an art gallery, a screening room, a press office, and even an organic garden — components that reflected the spontaneous, community-driven nature of the protest.
“I’ve been here since April 17 at GotaGoGama. I started by sleeping on the street, then moved to the communal kitchen and began assisting the cooks. We made sure no one went hungry. They are like family to me. I’m sorry this is ending,” said Efe Sarath Raja, one of the camp residents.
The camp evolved into a coordination hub for street demonstrations and became a focal point for opposition to the government amid the economic crisis. More than four months later, the movement contributed to the resignation of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
While the resignation and the election of the new government remained central demands, many leaders and protesters continued to occupy positions after Parliament appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former prime minister in the Rajapaksa administration, to succeed Rajapaksa.
Since assuming office on July 21, Wickremesinghe’s government has issued several ultimatums to the protesters. He faced confrontations, including an incident where demonstrators attacked and abducted a security guard near the Presidential Secretariat on July 9, a peak moment for the protests.
“We broke up about two weeks ago, before the police announced this, because our fight felt won. If the public wants this president to resign, the process must start anew,” said an activist who preferred to remain unnamed, speaking to Efe.
Against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s deepest economic crisis in decades, residents have faced dwindling resources, rolling outages, and scarce essentials such as fuel, cooking gas, milk, certain foods, and medicines.
The new government sought to ease discontent by distributing the limited supplies among the population and pressing ahead with negotiations for an International Monetary Fund bailout. Such a program is viewed by many as essential to restoring fiscal balance and stabilizing the economy.
“This will be a tough period. I’m not going to say it won’t be challenging. The first six months will be difficult. Wickremesinghe sees the IMF package as a necessary route out and believes it will be a year unlike any we’ve seen, but it is one that must be endured,” he said today, underscoring the government’s stance on IMF negotiations as a pivotal stride toward economic relief.