THREAD On July 9, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans gathered in Colombo and made history. They forced their president to announce his resignation. For weeks, a group of activists had quietly been at work. They succeeded beyond their wildest hopes. reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

"I'm still trying to process it," said Chameera Dedduwage, a digital strategist who is part of the team that helped organise the uprising. "It was 50% premeditation and coordination, another 30% willingness of the people and 20% luck." [All pix by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]

It all began in June. A few dozen activists started meeting in Colombo for long sessions to think up ways to revive Sri Lanka's flagging protest movement called the "Aragalaya", or struggle. The group included the likes of Dedduwage, a Catholic priest and a popular playwright.

A plan emerged to combine online agitation, meetings with political parties, labour unions and student groups and door-to-door campaigning to get people back on the streets for a final push. On July 9, it all came together. First, protesters stormed the president's house.

By night, the president and prime minister's official residences were occupied by protesters, who also uprooted fences metal outside the presidential secretariat and took over a part of it. Within hours, both leaders were ready to resign.

"There were so many elderly, teenagers, youth, women," said Jeevanth Peiris, a Catholic priest who is part of the activist group. He said was involved in the clashes with police, as protesters stormed the buildings. "People didn't want to give up, didn't want to withdraw."

If he resigns on Wednesday as promised, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, will become the first sitting Sri Lankan president to quit. "I think it is the most unprecedented gathering in this country," said Ruwanthie de Chickera, the playwright who is part of activists group. "Full stop."

Here's the full story by Uditha Jayasinghe and me from Colombo. The Reuters team will continue to track the historic events unfolding in #SriLanka, which is suffering its worst economic crisis in seven decades. #SriLankaProtests #SriLankaCrisis reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

How history was made. Reuters

Inside the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s official residence in Colombo this afternoon, a young man struck a tune on a piano. Many thronging the stately colonial-era mansion, once the country’s most protected buildings, joined him. This is Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya, the struggle.

On the manicured lawns of the residence, known as Temple Trees, some took selfies. In the shade under thickets of trees, families with young children picnicked. A vendor walked through, selling lottery tickets.

In other parts of the prime minister’s house, families lounged on couches. Near an entrance, a group of boys played carrom. On one corridor, an old man sat quietly as crowds steadily walked past him.

"Freedom!" Mallawaara Arachchi, a 73-year-old retired engineer touring the building, told me. "What we expected we have gained. We will be the best country in the world in the near future." Next to us, two paramilitary soldiers with rifles stood quietly inside a guard box.

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