Could someone explain to me in a
non-partisan way, wtf is happening in Sri Lanka
it's a multitude of things...from the WaPo
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will step down on July 13, Parliament’s speaker announced late Saturday after a day that saw tens of thousands of protesters, stricken by crippling inflation, storming the seats of power. Some took over the presidential office and residence, jumping into its luxurious swimming pool, and piling onto the presidential bed while others set the prime minister’s home on fire.
The president’s departure, assuming it happens, would likely disrupt a family dynasty that controlled the country for two decades and ultimately helped drive South Asia’s wealthiest nation to economic collapse and finally to uprising, uniting diverse groups in a country with a bloody history of ethnic conflict.
While underlying domestic troubles caused most of Sri Lanka’s woes, they were made worse by a convergence of the same problems afflicting the rest of the world. The coronavirus pandemic decimated Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, a key source of foreign currency. Global spikes in food and energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine exacerbated the crisis, which a uniquely corrupt and entrenched regime made worse.
Nirvikar Singh, an economics professor and South Asia expert at the University of California at Santa Cruz, told The Post last month the Sri Lankan government has been “astonishingly irresponsible and incompetent” at managing the country’s economic policy since Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office in 2019.
Rajapaksa’s departure, after months of sustained protests, would mark a bitter end to the family’s long iron grip. Until recently, six members of the clan held powerful positions in the government with Gotabaya as president and his older brother Mahinda as prime minister.
In the past, the brothers have bounced back into power from electoral losses. But the scenes from Saturday attest to a hardened public sentiment against the family.
“We are desperate,” said Himantha Wickremerathne, a 34-year-old lawyer who joined the protests. “People from all walks of life have united with one intention — to demand that the corrupt president who clearly does not have a mandate, step down.”
Yasas Ratnayake, another protester, described it as a “historic moment” for the country. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
Sri Lanka economy got worse week by week over the past few months, as fuel has nearly run out and the inflation rate on food has shot up to 80 percent. The country has defaulted on its foreign debt repayment and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package, though it has been struggling in the negotiations. Wickremesinghe told Parliament recently that the country is “bankrupt.”
“We are now participating in the negotiations as a bankrupt country. Therefore, we have to face a more difficult and complicated situation than previous negotiations,” Wickremesinghe said.