In the biggest demonstration so far, protestors in Sri Lanka on Saturday stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence while thousands of people took to the streets of Colombo as the county’s economic crisis worsened.
Demonstrators, who have been protesting outside the President’s office for the past few months, stormed inside the premises and were reportedly seen jumping into the swimming pool, entering the kitchen and grabbing whatever they can to eat, and watching the news on the television.
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This has led to steep inflation, and severe shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to buy food, fuel, and other necessities.
Let’s find out what exactly went wrong for the island nation:
How Did The Protests Start?
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What Are Protesters Demanding?
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The country’s 22 million people are facing crippling 12-hour power cuts, and an extreme scarcity of food, fuel, and other essential items such as medicines.
Sri Lanka relies on the import of essential items including petrol, food items, and medicines. The prices of these items have gone up due to the shortage of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka.
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The Story Behind The Crisis
For this reason, Sri Lanka frequently encountered balance of payments crises.
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The country has taken loans from IMF several times in the past to sail through the crisis. However, the loans usually come with tough conditions such as reducing the budget deficit, maintaining a tight monetary policy, cutting government subsidies on food for the people of Sri Lanka, and depreciating the currency.