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The highs and lows of high profile, celebrity protestors

24 May 2022

  • Protestors on the double-edged sword of celebrities and high-profile figures joining the people’s non-partisan struggle
BY Sumudu Chamara One of the reasons why the ongoing anti-Government protests are called an unprecedented movement is the support that they receive from people of all walks of life. That is also the reason why they are called a people-led protest or movement, making it difficult for the Government to maintain their allegation that these anti-Government protests are campaigns by Opposition parties to overthrow the Government and come to power. Protests, especially those at “GotaGoGama”, saw the support of diverse, prominent figures including celebrities, human rights activists, and lawyers, in addition to the general public, and it was seen as one of the strengths of the protests. However, according to protestors, there have been instances where those groups’ intentions of supporting the protests and making contributions were unclear or were questioned, due to various allegations of misusing the protests for personal gain. Celebrities’ influence According to some protestors, protests receiving the support and participation of celebrities is one of the factors that helped sustain protests during the past few weeks. They claim that celebrities such as musicians, actors and actresses, and social media figures coming forward, is an encouragement to ordinary citizens who remain uncertain as to whether to actively take part in protests. One protestor, who did not want to be named due to the nature of his profession, told The Morning: “One of the best examples is Rathidu Suramya Senarathna, also known as Ratta (a YouTube video maker), who has been actively and regularly taking part in the protests at ‘GotaGoGama’. When he live-streams what is happening at the protest site, due to the large number of his followers who share such videos, those videos reach a large number of ordinary citizens. I believe that that is why the celebrities’ support is necessary to continue these protests. This is a good time to put to good use the influence they have in society, and thereby guide the people to be a part of a movement that can change Sri Lanka’s direction completely.”  Adding that a large number of celebrities from different fields have also attended the protests at “GotaGoGama” on various occasions and that some of them have given the protests good publicity, he noted that it is crucial that celebrities use their popularity and networks instead of merely attending protests.  “Many artists, even those who supported the Government and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to come to power in 2019, have joined us. While some were actively a part of the protests at ‘GotaGoGama’ and many other places, some supported via social media platforms. It is also noteworthy that some of them even issued apologies publicly, while acknowledging that their support to the Government did not result in the changes that they expected to take place. They are now acting in accordance with their conscience, and this is a good example for those who are still waiting to support the ongoing protests,” he added. There is another aspect of the celebrities’ involvement in protests which came to light several weeks ago, when a famous social media figure was alleged to have embezzled money sent by Sri Lankan expatriates in support of the ongoing anti-Government protests. While the said figure has publicly denied those allegations through a video shared on his social media platforms, protestors see the said incident as a lesson on how people could use their popularity to gain narrow, short-term advantages by abusing the name of the people’s struggle. In this regard, Manoj Anishka, another protestor, said: “It is great to see famous people extending support to this common people-led movement. In fact, that is something Sri Lanka lacked for a long time, because most celebrities consider themselves to be superior to the general public, and expect only praise, not the burden of engaging in an anti-Government struggle which may pose a risk to their careers and popularity.  “However, this situation can easily be misused by some. While some may use the prevailing situation or their involvement or support to protests in order to gain advantages, especially fame, some may even have political advantages or agendas. One celebrity who attended several protests stopped doing so once United National Party (UNP) Leader MP Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed Prime Minister. Even though I am not aware of his reasons for doing so, I have reasons to believe that that person could be a supporter of Wickremesinghe and therefore decided to withdraw from the protests.”  Anishka emphasised that it is essential to be vigilant about hidden agendas of those who support the ongoing protests, especially celebrities. No celebrities  However, Hiran Hashan Kumara, another protestor, was of the opinion that celebrities should not be a part of protests.  He explained: “This is a people-led struggle. When I say people, I am referring to ordinary citizens who have no agenda other than appointing a Government and creating a political culture that prioritises the people’s interests. That is in fact the sole, common agenda these people-led protests have. However, prominent figures – be they politicians, celebrities, those representing non-governmental organisations, the business community, and various officials – have different agendas stemming from their profession, fame, or various connections they have with powerful people, in addition to the said common agenda that ordinary citizens have.  “I think that one cannot be a part of a people-led protest when that common agenda is subdued by their political, professional, or other interests. That is also the reason why politicians and business folk are not very welcome at protest sites. Even if they had a pure intention to improve the country’s economic situation through changing the political culture, people tend to identify them with their ideologies and political connections, and their actions in the anti-Government movement are most likely to be labelled as attempts to further their own personal, professional, or political interests. The moment such a person joins a protest, the protest also gets labelled as a campaign that represents such persons’ interests or ideologies.” “That is exactly what the Government wants to happen,” Kumara said, opining that the Government wants to portray these protests as a campaign by certain groups with vested interests, and through that, undermine the real reasons that compelled the people to take to the streets. Stressing that it is extremely important to protect the ongoing protests from being labelled as such, he noted that if celebrities really want to help, they should first show their support online.  “There may be celebrities who are genuinely fed up with the Government, corrupt politicians, and Sri Lanka’s existing political culture. However, because of those who are misusing the situation, we do not know who is with us to see real change and who is with us to fill their pockets and further their careers or image,” Kumara further opined. A bigger contribution On the other hand, protestor G.A. Adithya stated that prominent figures, especially artistes, have the potential to make a bigger contribution than merely participating in protests. Through using their skills and creations to raise awareness, he said that they can make a significant, positive influence on protests. She added: “Prominent figures supporting protests is a good thing because it gives a message that they are with the people irrespective of what side they chose in 2019 which was when the incumbent Government came to power. However, they have so much influence on the people, and that should not be wasted. A movie maker can make at least a short movie to raise awareness about the people’s power in a democratic country, a musician can make music that encourages people to take a stance against corrupt politicians, and a social media activist can use their social media pages to invite people to support these protests from wherever they are, by sending food, water, and other essentials.  “This is what they should do. Unfortunately, I have not seen many people with influence doing that, and I think that it is a waste of their popularity and influence. They can be the biggest activists by making an actual impact on society.” Moreover, she noted that what happens most of the time is celebrities participating in a few protests only to show that they extended their support, and that 90% of the celebrities who participated in protests in the initial stage of the protests at “GotaGoGama” have stopped doing so.  In a context where there is no clue as to when the ongoing spate of protests could come to an end, it is crucial that people of all social strata support to sustain the protests. Even though providing goods and services is seen as the main way of supporting these attempts, not engaging in activities that may be detrimental to them is also important. This is why protestors demand that regardless of the popularity or influence, celebrities being a part of these protests should always stick to the protestors’ common objective instead of trying to take advantage of the situation. The only thing that is important, according to protestors, is that any person who joins the protests has a genuine interest in seeing real change.


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