Economic Crisis, Mass Protests, and Criminalization of Dissent in Sri Lanka

In 2022 Sri Lanka faced the worst ever economic crisis in its post-independent history. The crisis led to a mass political upheaval, bringing thousands of masses into the streets that resulted in the ouster of former President Gotabhaya Rajapakse. The period following the ouster saw an intense crackdown on protests by the newly appointed president. This chapter examines the means and methods employed by the Sri Lankan political establishment to restrict protests and criminalize the expression of dissent through protesting during recent times of economic crisis. Criminalization has included the arrest of activists, the adoption of blanket restrictions on street demonstrations, the use of anti-terror laws, and the introduction of new repressive laws. These measures are combined with discursive strategies aiming to stigmatize protests as disruptions against economic revival.