“Gotta go, Gotabaya,” chanted thousands of people who came out on the streets of Sri Lanka to demand the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, defying a state of emergency in what analysts called the Sri Lankan version of the Arab Spring. However, the protests were not stopped by the President who later lifted the State of Emergency.

“It is the Arab Spring in Sri Lanka. It is in perfect sync with the Arab Spring’s pattern, a popular uprising against authoritarian regimes, economic mismanagement, family rule and other oppression. Install democracy,” Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, senior fellow at Millennium Project in Washington, told CNBC.

CNBC did not reach out to the Sri Lankan High Commission Singapore for comment.

Arab Spring is a movement that started with the suicide of a Tunisian vendor in 2010. It spread to several Arab countries, including Egypt, Libya and Syria, against corruption and authoritarianism. During the Arab Spring, four autocrats including Egypt’s Hosni Mobarak were ousted.

After a short spell of being out of power for a while, the Rajapaksa family has been ruling Sri Lankan politics for many decades. Gotabaya, a powerful member, was elected President in 2019. The current dissatisfaction, despite being roiled by allegations of corruption, is due to poor economic management. Gotabaya is a popular figure for his successful 2009 end to a decade-long civil war with an aggressive bombing campaign against Tamil separatists.

The ruling coalition was dissolved by at least 41 Sri Lankan legislators, leaving Rajapaksa in the minority of Parliament. A day later, Ali Sabry, the finance minister of Sri Lanka, quit the government.

Sabry released a statement saying that “I have believed I have always acted for the best interest of the country.” Sabry stated that “fresh, proactive, and unorthodox steps were necessary to resolve the country’s issues.”

According to Chulanee Attanayake (research fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore), the Arab Spring, like the Sri Lanka crisis, was also caused by economic stagnation in Tunisia and corruption there.

“Sri Lanka is also witnessing anti-government protests in response to an economic downturn, rising inflation and shortage of essential goods. He said that similar slogans to those used during the Arab Spring were also used. 

A group of Sri Lankan medical professionals declared an emergency due to a lack of medication and equipment. local media reported.

Fung Siu (principal economist for Asia at the Economic Intelligence Unit), a think-tank, was not in agreement with the Arab Spring parallel. 

She said that triggers for the Arab Spring have been long in coming, and discontent in Sri Lanka can be traced back the start of the pandemic as well as bad policies choices.

In the face of growing public anger, mass demonstrations and rising fuel and food prices, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet and Central Bank Governor resigned on Monday. Sri Lanka sought IMF bailouts 16 times in the past 56 years,Second only is Pakistan, which has a lot of debt.

Fung indicated that an IMF loan may be available, however, a period fiscal austerity will follow.

She said that although such efforts can help address imbalances and raise taxes, they will likely fuel anti-government sentiment.

Attanayake also stated that trust in government has plunged. He added that disillusionment has increased since independence. 

“The current events show that the public has lost faith in political leadership and they are frustrated and impatient.” He said that they would not accept the mistakes, mishandlings and missteps of politicians anymore. 

Namal Rajapaksa, the son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, tweeted that the resignation would aid the prime minister and president’s decision to “establish stability for the people as well as the government”.

Sri Lankan MP and Opposition Leader Harsha de SilvaOnly a new election can offer a solution, however.

“The reshuffle was only temporary. They have appointed only four members to the cabinet… I don’t think they have any credibility left to stay on. I’m not sure how we can restore confidence in this country’s economy. On CNBC’s SquawkBox Asia, de Silva stated that the only way to achieve this is by giving a fresh mandate to a new group of people.

However, the MP stated it was not yet clear if the president will be forced to resign.

He stated that the pressure had started to build up 48 hours earlier. “Things have moved fast today. Parliament will meet within two weeks. We will then see whether the government retains the majority. 

De Silva indicated his willingness to join a national unity government when he was asked. De Silva continued to say that he was not open to joining a national unity government. It is impossible to co-operate with Rajapaksas in government.