the shondae bon forest is now totally empty in a normal day, hundreds of tourists would be visiting this area. now, it is totally open to the wild curl board operator monteros. i'm on legion is finding it hard to make ends meet. i can't explain how much the bin is affecting our business. there are more than $350.00 local to operators who reliance under bands tourism. we don't have any other source of income. forest office, our other carrier says the ban is necessary to my mother's update. i'm one of the cinder bonds is bangladesh is most bio diverse area. we had to impose this ban on tourism, fishing, and other activities to promote seasonal wildlife breeding. we've only left a channel open for ships and other maritime vessels to pass through. many of welcome the conservation effort, but grain groups and active is said the government's environmental committee has given the go ahead to 320 industrial projects, including a coal fired power station. and there next to the mangrove and the threat to its very existence. tundra chaudry,

i'll g 0 sugar bonds. ah, this is al jazeera, these, your top stories lead has happen arriving for the final day of the nato summit in the spanish capital, madrid, and g to hold father high level talks off to proving a new strategy, falling rushes invasion of ukraine. israeli politicians are debasing a final bill to dissolve the connects. it's setting the stage for the country if the election channel in less than 4 years. the foreign affairs minister jerry le peters to take over his prime minister until a new government was formed. the current prime minister natalie bennett has already said he will not gone again. foreman, premier benjamin netanyahu says he's confident he can return 1st. the next time we have new york bennett smith hospital at their math. netanyahu has been working to try and bring down this very fragile coalition. a very unusual coalition in israel

made up of liberals the hard right, the center. and for the 1st time, palestinian israeli law makers sharing power. netanyahu succeeded in bringing down, bringing the collapse of the coalition, essentially over the vote. a normally routine vote to renew a law that allows ready law to input be imposed on settlers in the occupied west by the chinese president, gigi and paying has just gone a 2 day visit to hong kong to mark the 25th anniversary that he's hands over from the u. k to mainland china. we're just looking at pictures that have that alive at the moment. he is greeting his supporters in hong kong, the territory of course, his impose heightened security measures and full scale to the celebrations, to quarantine ahead of she arrival it. is the 1st time he left the mainland china. since the beginning of the crone of ours had to make

a lot more not to come. and of course, in france was found 1900 people guilty of terrorism related charges in connection with the 2015 power attacks. those are the headlines me continues here now to 0 to 5 story. hong kong is preparing to march 25 years since britain handed it back to china. life has changed. dramatic critics. a freedoms have been stripped away and china is totally, it's good to want hope know for the one country to systems once promised by gauging the hong kong handle special cover on alger 0. the worsening economic crisis in sri lanka, the government has restricted the sale of fuel that comes days after the prime minister said the economy has completely collapsed. so what school the crisis and what are the consequences? this is insight story. ah

hello, welcome to the program. i'm hash an a, had butler, sri lanka is facing an unprecedented economic meltdown, and people are suffering. pattern pumps are nearly dry and the government has suspended the sale of fuel for non essential services. while it looks for supplies from russia and cutter, it had already imposed electricity carts to save energy, and food and medicines are running short. people are angry, especially those who need fuel to earn a living. and despite pressuring a prime minister into resigning workers, and protest says, want to know why the same government is still in place, megabyte that had that in there to again, me. this is

a huge injustice. fuel is an essential item for the people. there is no fuel, the whole country comes to a standstill. people elected this government with high hopes. it is because of the short sighted policies of the government that people are spending days in line bullet helplessly than they and their children can do their jobs or study lesson. and i see this as a huge crime. mama bet mildred me amid the petrol station, the wife is, and the gasket, the 2 children have gone to the kerosene shed. we can't afford anything. he says, nobody is taken responsibility for this. i don't know what the government is doing . at least put someone in charge who can do something american. i went out to one bed. even in our children don't have no powder. there is no fuel for our husbands do their job. we don't have gas to cook women or in gas cues. the men of the house isn't if you'll kill children or milk powder q is how can live we came to ask this government if they can govern them, please leave. but there are thieves of you may not know i. we came to the prime minister's private home to tell him about the injustice done to us. we don't have

weapons or water bottles or even 6. we are peaceful protesters. will begin our discussion in a moment. let's look at house runker got there. it's vital tourism industry was already in crisis following the civil war that ended in 2009 the easter sunday bombings in 2019 and then the pandemic. but of the start of 2022 with oil and food prices rising, its suffered as sharp drop in his fine currency reserves. column buddy for turned on its fall in debt for government was unable to buy essential food and medicines and without fuel power cuts were imposed for government saw the help of india, china and most recently the i m f. but with the little progress in may weeks of protest, lead to the resignation of prime minister, my hinders are by sir of the cost of living has continued to sore.

ah, let's now gather thoughts of our guests. joining us in colombo as jihan, para, executive director of the national peace council of sri lanka in nottingham is tammy another vin i again lecture in the international human rights law at the university of nottingham in colombo, shire them. singer economists of the frontier research welcome to the program jihan when the prime minister says that the country's economy has completely collapse. what does that mean for sri lanka? is it a strong indication that the economy itself has become now dysfunctional? well, what we are really concerned about is that the playlist i saying the economy has collapsed, but he's not saying what's going to be done about it. what is the trend forward be expected to serve him? in fact, when he was appointed prime minister, a person who,

oh was a, has only one seat in parliament. a bet has been a kindly still pipelines in the past. we expected and the people expected that he would be or take us out of this more asked that reaction because his experience of governance and his, the international connections, his, her knowledge about highlander procedure and governance in general. but we have been very disappointed since then, because what we see is taking over is a progressive deterioration in those situations. the alliance for petro and diesel and cooking gas. i longer than ever, any fact there be no cooking as to the last 23 weeks or so. the power cups are once again growing up. the government has said that government officials should work

from home for the next indefinite period. schools are closed. shocking. yes. so when you say the economies class and what, why does that mean? you have to find a solution to this not saying you see that the economy has collapse and so you're really very upset and disappointed. people are very angry about going to expect that much more from, from the crime list and from the government. but what you also see that is like almost politics as usual. the savvy expected a small internal government and more party government that will govern for a short period of time. but what you're seeing is that big government then talks a lot more, he still being appointed for what purpose loan. we are actually quite upset tummy and is it fair to expect the prime minister running with some anger to fix over night the structural problems and many years of mismanagement in sri lanka?

many thanks to the sir. so broken question i, i don't think so simply because ever since pose independence, like many other global solve countries along case the choke hold of a 3rd role delete that has enriched itself, but marginalize and are completely impoverished the peoples. and right now we are seeing the situation where the people have to pay the bill for a range of issues such as state of the populace. tax cuts of the ban on chemical fertilizers and but also for the world wide decline of government robber. and in the case of shamarka, excessive aiding the situation, we have seen the pandemic that had some devastating impact, but also the dwindling income through tourism half. so that use of bombings. now all of this is contributing to a situation that we haven't talked 6 to ensure long come. that was very much

instigated by a 3rd world elite learned, become a singer and others of what currently at home, like young said earlier, i have just only contributed to a situation where they have not really explained why are going to happen now and, and i'm definitely to answer your question, not very positive that the same people were created, the problems are going to solve the problems in the very near future. admits in international orchestra on that is come from the i'm of the world bank. i certainly don't think that this problem will be solved. and nationally, there needs to be an international and in particular regional effort in form of a global, self solidarity among the regional states. china. now what would you expect the prime minister to do when you look at the picture, this is what you get a very somber economic reality to have revenues. you don't have courtesy foreign

currency reserves you've been battered economically, the tourism industry has suffered massively. you to have you not generating revenues, you don't have cash to pay for services as how to move forward. you seem to be in a, in a vicious cycle here. very much so i mean moving forward and the factors through non class fallen down to such a level are reserves, effective knowledge might actually close to 0 in terms of fine concerts out there. this challenges in meeting will be payments, are they a government has to read state sec, their workers salaries, contractors, all of that. so when you're at this point is actually variable yet you can do that as a government, as in want to get this all into like was said. but there are things that need to bring in confidence, booked for now, but also bringing some sort of resolution for the future. what we're seeing right now is that you did off, these are really happening. you need a budget to come in really fast readable, fast on that restructuring negotiations. you need to move fast on making sure the

both enter that we have that thing that helps the blood surviving. this kind of conduct actually functions right now, you just need, you need to be passed on, and that's not something to have in the budget is not with the expect. an enduring budget is on the expected or coming sometime in august, when realistically should have had it at the very least. something marshall if brit . but it, that kind of delayed does not really bring ahead. we went into our multi lateral engagement that i am, every, the words bank you need. our credit doesn't really inspire comp because when you're dealing things and then on the north side, but also with other part of the dealing the fact that the people are continuously calling for the president designed for actual changing the dominant system, at least for the short them to an enduring arrangement hasn't really worked and that you need to complete his confidence in the local economy. and that's part of the reason, right, for example, remington says on flowing into the system, explore does not have confidence without and keeping money abroad. so things that could help you log in to shorten or also not working. there's

a complete breakdown of trust in the system. calm interest in the political system and without these kind of things changing and without actual action being taken on the glavic front, passed without delay. really, there is no practical way for it. things will get worse unless you see them jihan this. these are challenging times, however, the provide some sense of clarity, particularly when it comes to the future. but i'd like to ask you this question. it was quite obvious since the thought of this crisis, though, one of the fundamental problems with shall anchor, is, are in relies heavily on impulse, but ultimately does not have enough revenues to pay for these revenue. for, for these enforce lassie paid something like $20000000000.00 for the import, but we have to have, you don't have the revenue to be able to do that anymore. yes, yeah, you're right. i mean this is, this problem started not annabelle, it is not her only this government that is responsible or that has to blame for

this. this from a fairly long time ago will be waiting for the free market system and her b. tasha. so for your commitment to a more egalitarian society, he had, he had a society that was more concerned about preserving social welfare socialist measures. but even at that time, because you're consuming more than you're producing and is still focusing on generating greater production or b, benton for more trade, typo or economy, import export, but importing more and boring all the time. you are boring, so you look or the boring and then what we do borrowings consuming. and along with that, i think one very big problem in our country has been the lack of accountability that then politicians and public servants any been they do engage in corruption.

they're not punished. so along the baris b. b miss allocated our resources. we went in for grandiose projects, airports without passenger, without the is coming in ships without cause tandem. carlos towering and south asia without being able to open it dearer, huge amounts of infrastructure and also a long corruption. and then there that is concern and fear that chinese, the chinese rule has be pretty bad because they give us money, large amounts of money to tell the necessary checks and balances that better say, a private sector investment would have all my to let it be brought with it, so the money is that the but he didn't use it and now we can pay all the loans that we took and that's, i think that's it. so, and if you look at our rules, yes,

so many luxury papers. it's a, it's incredible issue. we must be end up in the gap between the rich and poor has increased. so we have to restructure our economy. the we think me, we need a new generation. okay. and a desire that is in fact, that is epitomizing what the young protests are. the same business president and also on 225 highland and jerry and yeah, the quality story terminal or could be the moment to reset the economic and political priorities. because when you look up acts as themselves, they have a ruled over a political dynasty. the pursuit an aggressive policy, but then we're getting indications of all those policies backfired to the point way in 2019 they decided to massively cut taxes, which could have given the government something like 2000000000 dollars

a year. they end up having something like $50000000.00 in foreign currency today, which means they weren't able to pay for anything they would like to import. i mean, you got a very good point in the old previous because my very good point. i mean, the 3rd world believe in post independence for long if it's gone by a dynasty and they have passed on power from one to the other and borrowed money from one to the other and engaged in grunt those projects. it's like giving a credit card or several credit cards to a 16 year old child, that is the 3rd will the lead right now and, and in corporation or in collaboration rather with the international monetary fund and the world bank. we have seen that there is a new, liberal colonialism and neo colonial colonialism

and encroaching upon the people in the country so long as the one of the biggest mentioned before. and then i think 70 was one of the 1st come 1st on the board with all that had opened up to a new, a liberal trading system. and the major, major mckerick, tory and elite, sorry, had used borrowed money in order to intoxicate its people by using also nationalists and, and religious extremism in order to enrich themselves. so what i am fearing right now is that the current government, like previous governments, are, as i mentioned earlier, and not accountable, and they won't be held any accountable in the national setting now. but they also dealing with an international framework, namely the international monetary fund. and the world bank, and it is like the great lead from, you know, also said one, the origins of

a right from the origin of colonialism. and those who lent of money are the same was colonized before. and they are those who manage all the states and economies. and while we have and completely unaccountable and domestic elite, we have also an international elite that is unable to be held accountable, childless let's, let's dissect some of those components of this can nomic failure. you have a fair, defaulting on debt payment at the same time, you cannot purchase fuel from abroad just for the simple reason is that your local fuel company wishes the salon corporation is o something like 700000000 dollars to the point where western companies are saying you have to be careful dealing with sri lanka, from our onwards on. yes, i mean the underlying factors the by economy has to be, it has been around for

a while. i wouldn't actually they started in the seventy's. i think it started a much earlier than that. the fact that we have a board driven system that that's not only in terms of a direct, in both consumption, that is, for example, the fuel for our cars. but he's also in terms of the raw materials, unifor, things like local production, this recent government that came in, for example, had as long as policy priorities, new production, some strong protection is policies which ultimately led to a lot of export axes. having some issues with it, it didn't really leads to a lot of financing going into those export activism or dropping to domestic consumption driven policies into policy that expanded upon the domestic consumption side. now, it was those tax cuts, again in primarily at the reach and idea that grow to help you can have better industrialization with tax cuts, but we are seeing right now the con, the consequences of industrialization. we're now joining the scenery right now. we have our costs and that's not the kind of environment that is conducive to any sort

of growth, any sort of depend on the light. now a foreign exchange result that the key part of it that it fell down sulu because after 2019, the tax cuts really, really brought down all the financial status as well as the back of the panoramic shoot uncle, downgraded to find a couldn't accessing joshua capital markets. so at that point, you know, should have done, he started stocking to our creditors stopped engaging with the i m f and trying to come to some sort of solution to get out of the crisis. i'd rather just double down and he called them and i'm going solution, but he's missing what the consequences of the home going to just exchange rate takes. for example, using up all, all already has to be dead. you know, to finance different, different kinds of things. we do what we call non tradable sectors, are things that build up production, but without any real benefit in terms of the financial income to the country. so good, and we are at that point right now where the consequences of all the really they can fail economy worse and it, and now we're facing those concepts. okay. we have many other angles to cover,

so i'll ask you questions and unexpected gentleman to give me some offer me some very brief answers. if you don't mind jihan. the prime minister is saying the only option available now for sri lanka is loans from international lenders. this is why they're talking to the i m f and others and you know, the conditions that come most of the time attached to those loans or is it a good step forward? i think the way out for us is, is the international community, the good we have to now rely on the goodwill of the international. in fact, an i mediately sustained and we had the buffer for the last 2 months through indian crated lands. i mean, yeah, is it outside the rich anti and yeah, really grateful that india asked foreman to support us at this time of great, great need. and ironically that i am, if used to be very controversial in our country, is still is to some extent our people were told that if you go to the ins,

they impose all sorts of conditions on you are. they didn't cut the switch over there and they didn't make us turn your liberal tires with the rest. but, and you now people, you know, maybe one dime has to come in because we think that is the i'm with comes in. they will ensure that the lawns that you had given to us will be used properly, ethical, not the stolen. it is so bad, and crude as that, which has e feel that was for a launch. we get that even be rob. and i'm, if it's systems in an ensure that will not happen anything but even the other countries. ok, us japan, good minus in 1st get i've been really coming and the team is going to make the on account of image debatable as you know, because the people are really divided about the notion of having to seek the help from international or lenders. tamela, you have 20 percent of sri lankan who come from the middle class. those people had

high hopes that life is going to be much better that it could be taken part in the political and economic or her sphere. now they feel betrayed, abandoned by their political elite. what's next for them? well, frankly, history shows that there will be in economic roles of the middle class will have been hoping to see greater share in the will well being of the faith and the wealth of the state. history has taught them from greece, argent, tina, and people and eastern asian countries where and there i have to disagree with young mentally because academic and research is pointing out to the devastating impact i. m. f. world bank have also in the middle

class and also the most vulnerable because i do think that structural adjustment program will not only further further than you will liberal ideology, but also cut more on the state. leading to more impoverishment among the people. and the way forward in my frank view is to forgive that we have surrendered up to the m f world bank, india, china. they not doing this out of goodwill and philanthropy. they're doing that because they want something that is structural adjustment around regional reasons. so am i to answer your question, i'm frankly afraid for the middle class and i want to see a downfall in the current economic structure. tell you what does it mean when you have inflation for food hitting 57 percent currently nowadays for lanka. yeah, i mean,

the significant father made rooms and for the facing from long cuz the fact that over the last 2 years long this young government decided that the best way forward was to print a massive amount of money. trillion dog will be painted the, the, the positivity does monetize to that by cutting taxes, we pick the money and that's been absent lives. massive and the thing is, the fact that we come down to start a new point means that it's actually quite difficult to reverse that kind of situation as without actually having revenue raising measures. and right now we can't have massive revenue raising measures, especially want that bringing to have a lot of the short term which we end the fact that progressive taxation while a good idea takes time to really enjoy that being ok. so you might be further and patient coming up and that's of this is really taber, on citizen of the country. those of us that we have to deal with the consequences of a protection is ingred, looking at and t international policies that the country had decided to go into. it

would be a mamma stuff to see the prime minister reversing those friends. because when you look at this kind of situation, debt is at $51000000000.00, current consumer inflation, 30 percent of the foreign currency was a sense of something like $15000000.00. thank you very much. indeed. she hand pereira, time in until the gun and show you dancing. i really appreciate your insight and thank you to for watching. you can see the program again any time by visiting our website and just the dot com for further discussion. go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash a jane site. laurie. you can also join have a conversation on twitter, our hand that is a j inside body for me. how should i bother? and the entire team here in play for the me new voice is heating up the airway. lot of chinese listeners with kimberly here, but i really think in their own country shifting palate a case,

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