Sri Lanka: Anti-government protests intensify in Colombo amid deepening economic crisis

As the economic crisis deepens in Sri Lanka, thousands of protestors on Tuesday took to the streets calling for the incumbent Colombo government to step down over their incapacity to deal with the ongoing situation. According to reports, nearly two dozen demonstrators engaged in sit-in protests outside Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence, becoming the focal point of a country-wide escalation of discontent. Venting against the spiralling economic crisis, the anti-government protestors were seen holding banners and handwritten posters saying "Our Govt. Failed Us."

"This protest will not end until this government is brought down. We will stay here for months, years. It is not about a single-family but the entire corrupt system," a protestor was quoted as saying by ANI.

The aggravated demonstrators came shortly after Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's special address to the crisis-hit nation on Monday when he appealed for "patience" with the protestors. He also urged demonstrators to end their calls for ousting the ruling government as public anger remained fever-pitch after people continued to take to the streets over the country's deteriorating economic situation. In a televised address, Mahinda stated that the government needed "more time" to deal with the catastrophic economic downturn of the country. "Even if we can't stop this crisis in two or three days, we will solve it as soon as possible...every minute protestors are on the streets, we lose an opportunity to earn dollars for the country," PM Rajapaksa said in a televised address. 

"Please remember the country needs your patience at this critical moment," Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Monday.

Rajapaksa also accused the Opposition parties to join the incumbent government to "take up the challenge," but "they did not," he said. In addition, he also blamed the pandemic for the ballooning foreign debt in the pandemic.

Economic crisis in Sri Lanka

The foreign debt of the island country increased to 88% of the country's GDP in 2019. At the onset of the pandemic, a complete shutdown of travel and tourism accelerated the crisis and by 2021, the foreign debt rose to 101% of the nation's GDP plunging the country into a crippling economic hardship. Borrowing from capital markets is Sri Lanka's largest source of foreign funding. By the end of April 2021, Colombo's outstanding external debt was $35.1 billion with at least 47% stemming from foreign market borrowing.

Huge debt obligations have led Sri Lanka's foreign reserves to dwindle. Additionally, pandemic-led disruptions torpedoed the tourism-driven economy, which was further exacerbated by the ruling party's mismanagement, as per experts. Il-advised tax cuts and recurrent foreign borrowings led the island nation to tread towards massive inflation. In March, the food inflation rate touched 30%. As of now, Colombo has been struggling to pay for imports thus leading to a severe shortage of basic supplies. The foreign exchange crunch has also led the price of essential commodities like fuel, electricity, and cooking gas in Sri Lanka to skyrocket. Apart from this, key cities of Sri Lanka are also facing over 12 hours of power cuts and an acute shortage of drugs and medical equipment in the coming days. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Sri Lanka announced that it would default on its external debt of $51 billion, pending a rescue from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This comes after the Sri Lanka Medical Association last Thursday informed that unless the supplies are replenished, the island country could face difficulty to provide emergency treatment, leading to a "catastrophic" number of deaths.

(Image: AP/@GotabayaRajapaksa/Facebook)