AP was well positioned for the dramatic finale to escalating protests demanding the resignation of Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister amid economic collapse.
When police imposed a curfew in Sri Lanka’s capital a day before the planned protest demanding the resignations of the country's president and prime minister, the AP’s Colombo team knew to expect something big. Protesters have blocked the entrance to the president’s office for months, accusing him and his powerful family of corruption and misrule.
But what followed on Saturday and subsequent days was unprecedented — a stunning show of public fury over the country’s dire economic crisis and months of political turmoil.
As tens of thousands of citizens rallied in the heart of Colombo, the AP photo and video team already knew where the action would be most dramatic. They planned alternate communications in case the internet was shut down, and anticipated quick filing of mobile phone video via WhatsApp to the Delhi bureau for editing and transmission, with longer vido edits to follow later.
The crowd’s numbers kept swelling and the visual crews were well positioned to capture the drama when protesters stormed the colonial-era presidential palace. The extraordinary visuals showed demonstrators taking a dip in the presidential swimming pool and occupying the home of the most powerful man in the country.
A tear gas shell fired by police lands amid anti-government protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022. Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital, demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and decrying the nation’s desperate economic crisis.
AP Photo / Amitha Thennakoon
A man throws back a tear gas canister fired by police as they try to disperse protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022.
AP Photo / Amitha Thennakoon
Police use a water cannon and tear gas against protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022.
AP Photo / Amitha Thennakoon
A man overcome by tear gas covers his face during mass anti-government protests in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022.
AP Photo / Amitha Thennakoon
Protesters, many carrying Sri Lankan flags, gather outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022. Protesters stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence and nearby office as tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital in the biggest demonstration yet against a leader they hold responsible for the island nation’s economic collapse.
AP Photo / Thilina Kaluthotage
Protesters sing and dance after storming the official residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July, 9, 2022.
AP Photo / Eranga Jayawardena
Protesters stand on a vandalized police water cannon truck, shouting slogans at the entrance to president’s official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022.
AP Photo / Eranga Jayawardena
People swim at President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022, a day after it was stormed by protesters.
AP Photo / Eranga Jayawardena
A man pretends to address the nation from a podium at President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 10, 2022, a day after it was stormed by protesters.
AP Photo / Eranga Jayawardena
People mob President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence for a second straight day during anti-government protests in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2022.
AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
Army officers stand guard as people mob President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence for a second straight day during anti-government protests in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2022.
AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
People sit by the swimming pool as they occupy President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence for a second straight day in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2022.
AP Photo / Eranga Jayawardena
A man sleeps on a sofa, covering his face with a flag of Sri Lanka at the prime minister’s official residence, occupied by anti-government protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2022.
AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
A man plays piano at the prime minister’s official residence, occupied by anti-government protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2022.
Police use tear gas to disperse protesters who stormed the office compound of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022, demanding he resign after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid the country’s economic and political crisis.
AP Photo / Eranga Jayawardena
An injured protester is transferred to a hospital by ambulance during clashes with police in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022.
AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
Protesters storm the building where Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has his office, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022, demanding he resign after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.
AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
Protesters lie on a bed after storming Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country July 13 after angry protesters seized his home and office, and appointed Wickremesinghe as acting president. Wickremesinghe quickly declared a nationwide state of emergency to counter swelling protests over the country's economic and political collapse.
AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
A protester sits at a desk surrounded by others after storming the office of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022. Wickremesinghe had been named acting president after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country on a military jet.
AP Photo / Rafiq Maqbool
The protesters also entered the heavily guarded secretariat — President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office — and set ablaze the residence of the prime minister. The conditions on the ground were challenging, including reports of journalists being attacked, but the AP team managed to deliver some of the most defining images of the dramatic climax to monthslong turmoil.
AP correspondents Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi filed quick alerts and updated the text story with fast-moving developments as the president and prime minister offered to resign. Freelancer Amitha Thennakoon sent in first images of the protests as AP photographer Eranga Jayawardena rushed back to Colombo from his cricket assignment, driving straight into the middle of the turmoil. He was joined by AP Mumbai photographer Rafiq Maqbool on Monday. Video stringer Jay Palipane sent footage to Delhi for quick relay to AP platforms and customers.
For months of planning and legwork to chronicle the government’s dramatic fall, including once-in-a-lifetime visuals, AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner award goes to Francis, Mallawarachi, Jayawardena, Palipane and Maqbool.
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