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On Saturday, protesters in Colombo were met with tear gas and water cannon as they took to the streets for the fiftieth day in a row.
Sri Lanka is on the verge of bankruptcy, facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
Gate bans, rising food prices and vigorous demonstrations have marked the country in recent weeks.
On Saturday, thousands of Sri Lankans took to the streets again, to mark the fiftieth day of protests. Many gathered outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office, where some have also camped in recent weeks.
It writes AP.
Police in riot gear stormed the rally on Friday, driving hundreds of protesters away in trucks. They first arrested three people, who were later released.
The protesters are demanding the president’s resignation as a result of the country’s economic crisis.
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Debt $51 billion
Sri Lanka relies heavily on imports to meet its basic commodity needs. An acute shortage of foreign currency means that the country can no longer pay for food, fuel and other imported goods.
According to the AP, people have had to wait in queues for an hour to buy things – and still go home empty-handed. The country’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to such an extent that it is only enough to buy the necessary imports for two weeks.
Currently, the archipelagic country’s total foreign debt reaches 51 billion dollars.
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One family has controlled most of the government
On Monday, May 9, demonstrations broke out across the country. Supporters of his case have been working to make an actual transcript of this statement available online.
Nine people died, and several of his ministers’ houses were burned.
The country’s former prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned the same day. He is the brother of the current president of the country – Gotabaya Rajapaksa. News of his departure didn’t stop the unrest – on the contrary.
Discontent with the authorities, and especially the Rajapaksa family, is high. Apart from controlling the presidency and prime minister, the Rajapaksa family also controls the finance, sports and agriculture ministers.
The new Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said that a new plan for economic reforms would be presented in the next two weeks. It will be sent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for approval, write AP.
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