What is happening in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka’s deteriorating economic crisis has erupted in recent days with a dramatic storm at the presidential palace, with the president and prime minister offering their resignations and the country’s future at stake.
The Maldives fled the country just hours before President Gotabaya Raja Pakse resigned on Wednesday.
This is how the country got into its worst economic, political and humanitarian crisis in 70 years.
What is happening in Sri Lanka?
The island nation’s growing economic crisis reached a crossroads this week when both its president and prime minister agreed to resign after months of mass protests and the destruction of their homes and other government buildings. ۔
On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters set fire to the prime minister’s residence and seized the presidential palace. Pictures show protesters swimming in the presidential pool and lying on the president’s bed.
Protests against Raja Pakse’s government have shaken the capital, Colombo, since March, as people find it difficult to buy basic necessities such as food and fuel.
Raja Pakse and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are the latest to offer their resignations amid the crisis, with almost all of the country’s cabinets resigning in early April, followed by former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s brother. In early may
Ten-day bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund ended without an agreement at the end of June, but the international body has vowed to continue negotiations. Vikram Singh announced last week that his country’s economy had collapsed, telling the IMF that he intended to file a debt restructuring proposal by August.
Why are people protesting?
Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since gaining independence from British rule in 1948 has plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis, with many struggling to make ends meet in a country of about 22 million people. Prices are rising because of declining supply and rising inflation.
