Thread by @Amaliniii

A thread: on claims that talking about 'other issues' - racism, militarisation, PTA, LGBTQ+, Sin-Bud supremacy, most often issues faced by 'minority' communities - result in 'diluting' & 'losing focus' of the aragalaya/GGG. #lka #srilanka #GoHomeGota

1. Everyone is feeling the economic crisis, though admittedly to different degrees. They are all suffering due to this govt's policies, especially already-marginalised folks. They therefore have every right to make themselves visible at the protest. #lka #srilanka #gohomegota

2. Many communities have been in struggles against Rajapaksa power long before the aragalaya/GGG. Most of those protesting now didn't know/care about those struggles. Communities bringing those demands to GF is not a dilution but a continuation of their longer, harder fight. #lka

3. Re: racism, military, PTA, war crimes, Exec Pres - these are the base of Rajapaksa power. GR ran his campaign off these. Questioning and challenging them should be a cornerstone of the aragalaya. Or we leave room for another terrible leader to abuse these. #lka #GoHomeGota

4. People 'left the aragalaya' because they bought into the sTaBiLiTy bs when Ranil came in. Or because they don't have the luxury of time, as things get harder. Hardly because people chose to express more issues at the space. #lka #SriLanka

5. 'Now is not the time' - it is always, always the time for people of a country to protest on issues that they are affected by or are in solidarity with. No one gets to police that. Not to mention that crushing dissent is a very Gota thing to do. #lka #GoHomeGota

6. Saying that 'we will lose majority support' if we bring up long-standing struggles of people who've been oppressed for decades - including by the Rajapaksas - tells us that you just want the current inconvenience to go away, and not an actual system change. #lka #SriLanka

7. Claiming these are 'niche issues' while also asking for a 'system change/kramaya peralanna' shows just how much of a change you truly want. Prioritising some, while others must wait, is how we got here - is this to be the start of the new #LKA you want too?

This thread has been a long time coming, and I could go on.
But TL;DR - all of these hot takes indicate just how far many of you are willing to go to ensure full justice, security and humanity for your fellow Lankans. And that's clearly not very far, unfortunately. #Lka #SriLanka

Disclaimer: I want Gota to go to jail & for the current crisis to end too.

But I also believe he is one symptom of a broken system that needs to be overhauled, so that it cannot be misused against the people by future leaders. Othewise, the cycle will start again. #lka #SriLanka