30 years of conflict, climate change is directly related to the drought that we are witnessing now. the frequency of those climatic shock is and are increasing people who live in rural areas. their capacity to recover from their shocks. easy, extremely, extremely challenging because because of the frequency of the shock back in the north, the herd is his animals have died and moving into camps. 2 people have survived here, hurting animals for thousands of years. as the droughts become more frequent and more severe is not clear if their way of life can continue or how they will survive . malcolm web al jazeera galka somalia. ah, i'm carry johnston with a headlines here on al jazeera ukraine has accused russia of carrying out to deliberate massacre, killing some 300 civilians. as his troops retreated from the town of boots on,

a key of it says it has evidence of war crimes. but moscow denies the accusations. the secretary general of the united nations is called for an independent investigation. ukrainian president for them as the landscape says, the russian soldiers responsible are monsters. that would be best for you, tanya. normally, presidents don't record addresses like mon today, but today i have to say this after what was discovered and butcher and the other cities in places liberated from the invaders. hundreds of people torture to death shot, the hateful people, bodies on straight lines around houses and even dead body everywhere looting, concentrated evil, came to our country, murderers, rapists, robin and looters that call themselves an army. and they all deserve the death penalty. after what i've done, more explosions have been reported in the southern ukrainian port of a desa, which was hit by a russian missiles earlier on sunday. the port houses ukraine's main naval base.

hunger is a prime minister that auto band has declared victory in an election, overshadowed by the war in neighboring ukraine. or band is a close alliance. russian president vladimir putin. an early results give his party a 135 seats in the 199 member parliament enabling serbia. the incumbent president is also one reelection here to ukraine. war over shot of the campaign president alexander v. church tried walking. a fine line might talking about service, traditional ties with moscow, also voicing aspirations to join you. all this shall anchors, cabinet ministers have resigned except the prime minister area on sunday. hundreds of people including opposition and fees defied a curfew to protest against the unprecedented economic crisis. news, continued harry al, jazeera of the inside story ah

protest shortages and a state of emergency. what's behind the dire economic crisis in lanka, canada countries, finance. is the salvage? what will the political consequences b, they aren't. this is inside stored. ah . hello and welcome to the show i'm sam is a than natural anchor is going through its worst economic crises in more than 7 decades. the country's usable foreign currency reserves have plunged below

$1000000000.00 limiting its ability to repay loans. and traders can't get dollars to buy imports. while over the weekend the government imposed the curfew off to violent demonstrations broke out. protesters are angry over unprecedented shortages of food fuel and medicine. but opposition parliament members have defied the curfew to march in the capitol summer, calling for the president to step down. michelle fernandez has this report from colombo emergency regulations are 36 r curfew and special new rules. preventing people from gathering in public places failed to silence people's voices and protests like this. you are hearing the horns behind me all coming together despite the curfew to express their anger and frustration against the current government. i mean, some of the signs, even within this group, it go home, roger boxer with 225. that's not to the 225 representatives in parliament. it says

create a we've a go home. got are. these are the sort of tag lines or slogans of this public demonstration that we're seeing across the country are not just here in the capital, colombo, but around the country. now the economic problems that brought shanker to its knees and now directly impacting ordinary sri lankan in the form of skyrocketing prices, of their essential goods, rice doll, milk powder, as well as cooking gas of fuel. even those who have the money can't actually shows them they spend hours in long queues. and what people say is, while this is obviously not a shit lanka, a sort of specific phenomenon, the world is facing problems after the corona pandemic. that the mismanagement by the sri lankan government of failure to admit that it was having problems as well as corruption, has aggravated the situation. so that's why that is this anger and to lancaster

trying it's scrambling to try and deal with these issues, but they're in for the long haul minute fernandez for inside story. let's examine what turns frank has foreign debt burden into an unprecedented economic crisis. it's tourism sector a major foreign exchange earner was battered by b easter attacks in 2019 and the pandemic. and now 2 countries that are vital to its tourist market are at war. russia and ukraine had been the 1st and 3rd largest source of visitors this year. a fail drive to become the 1st country to farm entirely organic clay also hurts food supplies tra, lanka was forced to import rice, the tea crop. the nation's top export was devastated, shrank once china, a major lender to restructure its debt, and it secured $1000000000.00 relief package from india. the. let's bring in our gas,

they're all in colombo. how should the silver is a member of parliament? he represents the main opposition party as j. b. brovana fonseca, a senior researcher and attorney at law with the center for policy alternatives. and w a which was dana is a columnist at the daily financial times. and a former deputy governor of the central bank of sri lanka, a welcome, a warm welcome, told me if i could start with harsha. so looking at it, what cause this economic crisis can be pinned on one specific factor? if i think it can be pinned on 2 factors, one is the president and totally unnecessary tax cut off 2019 december revenue that would have come into the treasury fed. ready by about one 3rd line,

3 london currency about $600000000000.00 rebates per year. and in order to fill the gap in the treasury, the center bank stock of printing money. and that started a downward spiral in economic management. and we got downgraded by their credit rating agencies globally and shop their door to international financial markets that lead to the government going into the reserves to pay back debt. and that caused multiple problems in the macroeconomy. the specific decision was the banning off the import off chemical fertilizer which then led to in some places up to 70 percent of the harvest being lost. so both put together and also in depth or hang

problem that we had for a long period of time, created this toxic combination. ok, yes. now, mass the economy, perhaps not an entirely a surprise since of course you have present the opposition perspective that you know you're highlighting there the failures of government if i could bring in. but vonny, is it more deep rooted than simply the failures of this government? is it also a convergence of other factors that perhaps are outside the government's control? like, let's not forget the collapse in commodity prices. the economic fall out of the pandemic locked downs, the 70 percent fall in tourism after the 2019 bombings, the rising cost of fuel because of the war and ukraine and so on, so forth. for semi i think that my combination but add beats roman. i mean we, i and christ, the board. the main reason why we have these crises is

purely due to the mismanagement of the government. yes. there are there ethan. but the government had an indicator that we were heading down the direction they could advocate, can let me jump in here. i'm going to try and play devil's advocate to present the governments effective. what more could the government have done the, when they've got all those other faxes that i mentioned going on from a war in ukraine, the pandemic, the collapse in commodity prices? i mean, is there a limit to how much you can wave that magic wand when you're in government? well, let me, let me start with one thing. the tax cuts that happened was in december 2019. there was information even at that time that, that, that was not a smart mo, 2 and a half years later, base now was slight relaxation. there was a mistake, the policy in terms of the fertilize, the band that happened also early on and there was information from the expert

saying this was not a smart move. yes, we need to transition to organic fertilizer, but you can't do these things or when night. so in a sense that government from me so many things in 20192020 the re election cycles. but feel to be going that worn promises failed to listen to experts who are and why sing on mission that could have been taken. granted the pandemic rece unprecedented challenges. but this was in 2020, 2022. we're still grappling with some of the basic fundamental challenges. one of the other things i would say is that governments won't be c. shan armored to take back a lot of cars from parliament. so under the 20th amendment, which was enacted in 2020, it's a very executive here. be government right now. and whereas if you had a system where void the president and the parliament could work together,

that would be also something that could have prevented on mitigated some of these things. so it's a very heavy executive give a very powerful government, but they have failed to get very basic fundamental steps that they could have taken because the warning signs are very early on. so now right too late. ok, let's bring in w way. would you want to dana? so the result now is that we're looking at won't power cuts, fuel shortages, food shortages, medicine shortages. and to that, of course, things like rising inflation. i think it reach 17.5 percent in february, according to the central bank unemployment rising to, i mean, how unbearable is life becoming? for sure, lincoln's will look because you are reading correctly gone through the spoke are those sri lanka to me. but i agree with more passion by when even they say that the

crisis has been mainly due to the policy and asked me by the government as a result of this one. here is philip gas, now come to an explosive position and all the people in the country, not only the common man in bay street, but all the people in the country having heat india purse as a last in their stomach. their purse has been heed because they have lost the income substantial part of the income. you wonder if it will have lost that because of the loss in deal. they are complaining that they didn't really, you can make activities and their stomach has been here we go so that i see who prices. so as a result, these type of a situation is a really, you know, further ground for the people to come with it. so they have been actually hit by via the increase in the prices because when you say that the current in place and 8017 point one percent, you know, as you know, pretty as

a company by the department of interest at the state. but the brew inflation is much more than that because the food inflation is about 30 percent and the but we're, we're price index accompanied by the sales department. has used a very low rate for the food category on the 28 percent. so like if you take the normal foot bought food by get of a normal family, with your master about say about 45 percent of their budget and the actual to inflation in terms of the percent percent consumer price index is about 20 to ready to push but that is not the case, because when people, how good stand in a queue for long hours, about 8 to 10 hours to get the i said to why must we are good. and because both standing in that you also do the money place that the p and when we did all these

factors into account the ruined prison into the land case, there was a 100 percent. and that is why people have come to the street and the i d, d. and those are, you gave us her be spontaneous. they will not be in late august graded by any political party. so it has spread to the work of the country and we are now, we're not seeing it as, as at the worst today, or spring and harsher again was let's talk about the solution. harsher will children can be forced to turn to the i m f for another loan. is that where the country is heading? well, actually we should have gone to the i m f. at the end of 2020, at the very least. and perhaps earlier. now going just to. busy i m f is not going to be all our problems because we are unable to pay debt. so i'm debt needs to be the structured. our taxes need to go up. i expenditures need to be

rationalized. our budget deficits need to be caught. then the central bank and the entire money to the board needs to be sacked, including the government, new appointments need to be made and money been doing needs to stop. they need to manage that exchange saved in such of it so that people are able to purchase important. ready goods, ah, and finally we need to make sure that the poor people in this country, the low income people, be burned with disabilities, people who are finding it hard to make and may have a social safety net so that these reforms can go through. so all of these things need to happen to stabilize the macroeconomy and then a whole at least start doing what needs to be on the deck. and so i actually stay locked that needs to be reset. all right, but even if we do those sorts of things, but vonny, i mean, is it enough?

simply sacking officials and cutting budgets and staring measures. now i'm sure lanka has something like $4000000000.00 us dollars in debt payments this year. it's going to need some money or it's going to default right. isn't that unfortunately what it's facing? yeah, i think the, the dead prepared money is a bit higher than 4000000000, but i'll leave it to be konami's to come on that. but the, the challenge is on my people and many, and actually as, as we speak and they speak to you, i'm facing a power cut. i mean, this is the new reality in sri lanka, is that the multiple challenges that people have to go through. and i think you really want to understand what any civilian has to fees on a day to day from looking to essential food items to medi sale. to figuring out what time the park outside to trying to find where and one other thing that these

very important to remember is we are now in a state of emergency. and i can't read her a, b, c. now, because of a state of emergency, mean state executive has a lot of, ha, i'm so these multiple challenges, the question is always going to be decided and coming up with proposals. if you look at the last 2 and a half years since voter bearer to parks the came in to cover. as i mentioned before, they've been in a strong effort to consolidate power to a point of authoritarianism in sri lanka. it is now very important. in addition to addressing the konami challenges and the debt restructuring, and structural reforms, it's or swing pointed, look at institutions, democratic processes, wider sri lanka. keep going back to this notion of emergency having to declare emergency at every any given time. because if he had systems in place,

if he had it's 13 plays and the executive listen to these people and took note of this, we won't be in the smith. so it's a very, it's a, it's very much looking at the human side of this crisis. but also looking at the structural reforms that are well and that's not going to happen in the short term in the media, so it needs to be known. definitely not when you start talking about structural reforms, of course, as we know very well, but on the you're talking, you know, much longer term w a. would you want to dana, if the solution is long term structural reforms and strengthening of institutions in the short term? is there an alternative to i m f. money? how far can help an aid from india and china go and helping the country out until it makes those sorts of structural reforms? is that a possible alternative solution? well, of course the, the don't go into i, you, me right now. so you learn case,

not in a position to be continuous india mine. so the for any mr. since we've got. so india, china, again on the bill that confidence void. now k, j not cannot feed that because we need to need that the help, right? very short term trade credit to senior and a 3000000000 able to learn how to undertake any bought program. but of course, if you look at the total amount that they have a list as pretty we even less than one month in particular to the same thing. is throw it china because diana had done it in 1000000000, you are also equal to $1500000000.00, which would have been used only for importing goods from k, but they'll do just point doubly why, why would another i am i fly and be the solution, i think the countries had this clean, i am a loan so far. why would this one work?

really? of course, you know, we have to go make it very clear. i am, if you send necessary condition for a country to come out of an economy economy catastrophic. but you're going to see that it because i am, it provides relief to this in burbank to manage it better so very much by providing a loan to the center. but for us to take it further and reach the long term economy sustainability we have to under the economy. why reform program? it includes all types of the not reforming or national government issued uses by good central bank. and as i said, you know, when they're going to say, well, these things will have to be done by the government, us either in the past, what happened was the printer, we're not going to do it, is that got the image flow, and then they had just gone through the the heard of the various of payments crisis,

but they failed to implement the reform program today, like i could be, i wrote. so this time also, we run the same risk. if you just, you know, speak to a law firm that you live. and ignore all other reforms that have to be, you know, undertaken by the country. now one important reform program which the i m f. b that gave to see lanka under this article focus and was that i may have recommended that when i go into banks, independence should be maintained by enacting the bill that had been drafted earlier that had been presented to parliament while after that in last year was one of the ministers there and that particular it was shared by the administration. and i am a fast now recommended that bill should be immediately inactive. we would actually insure the independence of the central bank at the depot devices on the internet activities that that is right. how city laws,

very strong. and he said one of the people in the back would be set, but we don't have to sac them. what we have to do is to ensure the independence of the central bank by enacting the bill that had been shared by the administration. and by doing that, what we do is actually we will make the central bank and agent of the government we to provide the product do and construct the we're going to the government right now . what happened is general bank has become a subservient yielding had what they were. the point here is the government this point to that's why they did that. ok, let me bring in harsh though. and how should we ask the question this way? can we, should we not also be reaching the conclusion that neo liberalism is failing? sri lanka? i understand all the faults and failures of the government in miss handling the tax reforms in handling the farming reforms and so on. but when you've done the

same thing 16 times and given the country 16 different loans and you expect a different outcome, does not say something about your thinking as well. you keep giving this money and getting the same outcome, but i need to correct one thing. i want mr. be there other than i said is i am not asking the anti center man to be said. i'm asking that the entire money to be bored, to be replaced with money to the board that can bring in confidence. because days, a crisis of confidence and all markets will fail, markets will become inefficient. markets will freeze if there is no confidence in the investors in sri lanka. so that's what i meant. but i want to go back to your question of the only, but only some i don't agree because over the last so many years someone did the that and, and we started going to die m if in 1965, you know, if you had different ideologies and we have different governments around this of

this country. so somewhere social is sound when you're limited. so therefore, you know, you can just say it is the ideology of a particular government because various governments are not being able to build it, finds that informs mr. video identity for too long. so therefore, one i believe is that we need to create what i call a so, so a market to garner me. i. it is as a synthesis of economic liberalism and political liberalism, in that the markets are always when you know, you have to make, you know, you have to call, you know, agree with the fact that no politician, not a book that can do that markets. so to ensure the incentive structures are present in such a way that the economy is driven on lead in

a particular direction. and by to go liberalism here, mean social justice. and that is most important because people are able to survive . and it is embarrassing because we were a upper middle income country and we don't need to back from various countries, 2c5xw5cw understood high. so let me jump in and let me bring in von. because i think we've got a about a minute left. can the range of punks? a government survived talking about survival vot avante. well, it needs to be more than so, i mean, because i think we've brought to situation. it's not just buying a family or a particular government, and this is why it's so important. but the government forgot position for a point is to come on. what do you think the president will have down and resign? well that, that's up to the president, but there's a lot of pressure beauty even today beside the curfew. people on the streets,

calling for his resignation for the family to leave. so they consider a buzz, significant, high anger among the people for the me see not that the country economy, the political situation by one family. and i think that needs to be very here please on the government. but the clearly, the president and the family by one person cannot address is the law. and that's why keep coming back to the needs to be systems in place and needs to be structured . otherwise we're not going to be able to address this problem. all right, we'll leave it on friday. we are out of time, but it's been a great chat. let's thank con, guess how should the silver vonny fonseca and w way would you want dana and thank you to for watching. you can see the show again, any time by visiting our website al jazeera dot com for further discussion head over to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash ha inside story. can also join the conversation on twitter. our

handle there is act a j inside story from a sam is a there and the whole thing here for now it's go by aah and iraq. a nation riddled with land likes and an expert dedicated to defusing them, one by one. equipped with only a knife and a pair of wire puppies, he faces death every day. but does his work make him a hero or a target? witness?

the d minor on her jessia on the bombardment i know just the missile and see it on the road. al jazeera ukrainians, determined to stay, you will not surrender just like to fight, know how to shoot, had a train 2 days ago. the show me how that works and to defend the barricades. and you documentary shows the ukrainian witnesses tool from the front lines dispatch and defiance voices from ukraine on al jazeera bmw from the ruins of mosul, music as re emerged. these are some of 40 musicians who make up the whatever orchestra in iraq, 2nd largest city. despite being bound, been mostly was occupied by i so the melodies arrived 3rd christian curd arab sundays, and she has these young men and women represent the diversity of iraq to be able to

hear music amid the ruins of mussels. also, do you feel strange, but it brings home the resilience of residents who say that despite the destruction and lack of help, they remain committed to bringing the city back to life. ah, i'm carry johnston in doha. the top store is on al jazeera. ukraine has accused russia of committing war crimes. after the discovery of mass graves and dead civilians in boucher near keith, the russian minister of defense has denied it. soldiers are responsible for the killings and the warning. now you may find the images in this report from iran con, disturbing. most bodies have been removed and the ones that are left have yet to be picked up. each has to be photographed and documented the dead. a silent witness.