Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the country's acting President after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the country's acting President after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet on Wednesday in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.
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In response to power outages, shortages of necessities, and rising costs, anti-government protestors have long called Rajapaksa to go. 'Go Home Gota', 'End Nepotism', and 'Help Sri Lanka' are some of the slogans that the people of Sri Lanka are chanting. However, the retired military officer has fought the calls for months, using emergency powers to preserve control.
The 22 million-person island nation is currently experiencing political unrest and acts of violence as negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a rescue plan and recommendations to restructure its sovereign debt threaten to collapse.
Here's a look at some of the slogans that have gained popularity even as we understand how Sri Lanka landed in such devastating political and economic turmoil.
According to analysts, economic mismanagement by previous governments has undermined Sri Lanka's public finances, leaving the country with national expenditures that are higher than its income and insufficient production of trade products and services. Deep tax cuts implemented by the Rajapaksa administration soon after taking office in 2019 worsened the situation. A few months later, COVID-19 broke out.
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A significant portion of Sri Lanka's revenue base was destroyed, most notably from the lucrative tourist sector. Remittances from citizens who were working overseas also decreased as a result of a rigid foreign exchange rate. From 2020 onward, rating agencies reduced Sri Lanka's credit ratings due to concerns over the government's finances and inability to repay significant foreign debt, ultimately shutting the country out of global financial markets.
The government mainly relied on its foreign exchange reserves to maintain the economy, depleting them by more than 70% in just two years. Previously regarded as a model for a developing economy, Sri Lanka has been ravaged by the crisis.
Long lines at gas stations, frequent outages, and a shortage of medicine in hospitals have all been caused by fuel shortages. According to the central bank, runaway inflation could hit 70 per cent after reaching 54.6 per cent in the previous month.
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Despite the economy's steep decline, the Rajapaksa administration initially postponed discussions with the IMF. The government was encouraged to take action for months by opposition leaders and some financial experts, but it resisted hoping that tourism and remittances would improve. Realising the severity of the upcoming issue, the administration turned to nations like China and India, two regional superpowers who have long fought for control of the strategically important island.
India has made loans of billions of dollars available to aid with the cost of essential commodities. New Delhi claims that it has offered more than $3.5 billion in assistance this year. China hasn't officially participated as much but has stated that it supports initiatives to help the island nation restructure its debt.
Rajapaksa urged China earlier in 2022 to restructure repayments on about $3.5 billion of debt that Beijing was owing, and Beijing also gave Sri Lanka a $1.5 billion yuan-denominated swap in late 2021. Sri Lanka eventually opened talks with the IMF.
In Sri Lanka's post-independence history, there have never been street rallies that have succeeded in overthrowing a sitting president. According to Sri Lanka's Constitution, the prime minister will take over as President in the event of a resignation. Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced that President Rajapaksa has appointed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to act to perform his functions while he is abroad. He said this was under article 37(1) of the Constitution.
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Meanwhile, the protesters who had arrived in large numbers at the PM Office surrounded the building and continued to hold placards with slogans that have become an expression of their fury. The PM Office had earlier corrected that a state of emergency would only be declared after his acting president appointment. The curfew, however, was in force.