Thread by @Amaliniii

May 11th, yesterday - scenes from a mellow but alert and hopeful #Gotagogama. Tents have been repaired, there are books in the library again, everyone speaks to of calm and non-violence and tea was being made in the evening. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota

'We ask everyone to be calm. Save your strength - we have more to do, not to set fires. This isn't a place to sacrifice lives. We remember those who hit us till we bled - 'nahi verena verani, වෛරයෙන් වෛරය නොසන්සිදේ' (violence doesn't drive out violence) #lka #srilanka #GoHomeGota

'Many think those who follow the law are spineless. Politicians see if we break their laws while they broke them completely.

We don't want a military government. We don't want a dictatorship. We want a government that respects people's sovereignty.' #lka #srilanka #GoHomeGota

'Last year they burned our people's bodies for COVID. I protested alone on the Maligawatte water tower. Police arrested & tried to institutionalise me. No one stood with me then.
I'm here to ask, on behalf of them too, for this government to go home.' #lka #srilanka #GoHomeGota

This small plaster structure is inspired by the Raddolugama memorial (humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news…) to Sinhala youth disappeared by the UNP govt during the 2nd JVP insurrection in 88/89. When the tent of the Families of the Disappeared was destroyed, this was broken. #lka #SriLanka

'We know who was behind the attacks. I'm sure the PM knows the Penal Code laws under which he is guilty, for unlawful assembly etc. Now it's upto the courts to show that the law is equal. I also remind the Navy commander that it is an offense to protect criminals.' #lka #SriLanka

'When we see this level of state terrorism, we wonder what our citizenship in this country means. I ask everyone not to be moved hastily by emotions. We know it hurts, but we also know who our enemy is. They have guns, but our weapons are our heart & intellect.' #lka

New art installation that went up close to where the Easter memorial once stood - a slipper that's wasting away, stamping down on a tear gas canister. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota

New trilingual sign going up over the barricade at Gate Zero. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota

Steady flow of pineapples yesterday, being unloaded off a lorry from Weliweriya right to this table, chopped up by these guys and being distributed to folks out of buckets all day. Sponsored by the kind ladies sitting here. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota

'Look, a lot of Basils!', someone exclaimed pointing at the sky. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota

Sundown at the barricade. These guys have plasters and bandages on their arms and legs, and some on the backs of their heads too. Note the guy also in a collar. From the hospital, right back to the protest - hope they will recover well. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota

Sisters have been here all day, all night, all month long - caring for the people, helping prepare food and keeping the peace. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota

Nightfall and a long line for food being distributed at one tent - the govt keeps aggravating the crisis, but for the month it has been around, #Gotagogama has fed so many low-income & unhoused people left in an even more desperate situation. #lka #SriLanka #GoHomeGota