chess strikes this contest was sparked by the surprised resignation. last month, a 1st minister at nicholas sturgeon. she just had a high profile bill on reforming gender recognition in scotland. struck down by a veto by the u. k. government. something hums the use of is pledging to challenge in court, unlike kate forbes use, if implicitly alluding to her devout christian faith. me to be honest, because as about honesty is your opposition to the g. r bell, which i respect because there's differences of opinions on this panel. this was any other bell you would be standing up to the you could not tell. and we found out here i hear is that if we were independent, we wouldn't be asking anybody's permission. while the contest has been dominated so far by differences on social policy and public services, the overarching purpose of the s n. p remains to gain independence from the british government here at westminster, with recent opinion polls in scotland, suggesting a clear margin against independence. there'll be plenty of ground to make up on the parties. comission for the new leader. the independence question did take up most

of the time in this debate. ash reagan arguing that winning an absolute majority for the s n p at the ballot box provided a better chance than persuading the u. k. government to hold another referendum. i referendum really is just another way to use the ballot box on a referendum is not the gold standard. the ballot box is the gold standard. use if argued, he was best place to stand up to westminster, kate forbes, that it was about showing economic competence and persuading the on persuaded one of you who told you, i'm not sure what the candidates have just on the 3 weeks to make that clearer. harris will sit al jazeera london ah 0. these are all top stories. 6 palestinians have been killed in an israeli raid in the occupied west bank. soldiers stormed for janine refugee camp on choose say, u s. intelligence suggests a pro ukrainian group may have sabotaged the north stream gas pipelines last year.

as, according to american and german media reports, moscow blames the u. s. for the attack. that of russia's back though mercenary group, says his fighters have taken the eastern part of backwards in east and ukraine in an audio message on his telegram channel. you have any provisions said the units have taken the territory to the east of back book to river, which split the current, the city roughly down the middle. thousands of protesters are rallied and ga us capital to bliss. he against a controversial bill. they say will silence critics and the press hurt us as a worries. it could impact their hopes of joining the european union volunteers and the coast guard in the philippines are trying to clean up a large oil spill does reach the beaches of men, doro island, people living along coastal villages say they feel on well and nauseated. this bill was caused by an oil leak from a sunken tanker which was carrying hundreds of thousands of liters of industrial

oil. the princess empress, developed engine problems. and thank last week off the coast of now john, in the philippines and 3 candidates competing to succeed. nicholas sturgeon, as scotlands 1st minister, have held their 1st televised debate. they attacked each other over their roles and government. the exchanges were dominated by social and economic issues. as well as scottish independence. yup. state. now, with all the headlines we're back, we're that one use here on al jazeera. after the stream to al jazeera, we ask, but should they not be more oversize, perhaps, of foundations like yours? we listen when it comes to diversification, we don't do it in order to beat gets we don't the rational energy source. we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on al jazeera. i

welcome to the stream. i'm at 7 dean 3 like us government hopes the international monetary fund will soon approve a loan to help lift the country out of its worst economic crisis since independence . but millions of sri lankan are struggling with steep tax and price rises that the government says are needed to satisfy. i am that creditors. today we look at the pressure people are under and ask what's needed to build a better future for all. joining us for today's discussion in colombo, we have harsha da silva. he is an opposition sri lankan member of parliament and economists and bonnie fonseca is attorney at law at the center for policy alternatives. and of course you can join today's conversation, send us your comments and questions through our live youtube chats. let's take a look back at some recent developments in sri lanka. first off,

for those of you who have not been following this a story very closely while sri lankan economic challenges deepened in early 2022 with the country mired in debt, people began protesting about shortages of food, fuel and medicine. then president and go to buy out read to pox out eventually caved to public pressure and fled sri lanka in july, 2022. now renella wicker m a sango was elected president by parliament within weeks . the government reached a provisional deal for an i. m f, loan worth $2900000000.00. now the release of funds ultimately depends on satisfy the conditions that were set by the creditors. there are with that knowledge which are to guess of course, no, i mean this is a story we've been following closely. i want you, if you can, i'm har said to explain for our audience, sort of the economic challenges, the pressure people are under and what's the climate now. thanks

for inviting me on the shore. i mean, in the last few hours, the managing director of the national monetary font tweeted that since the lanka has now got financial assurances from audits, creditor countries including china, that she's now looking forward to taking the sri lanka matter up at the executive board on the 20th, which means this is the best news. so the government could have had, since you know, this trouble started and they went to the i m f in around august of last year. so which means a light at the end of the toner from, from an economic perspective. and so it's, it's really good nails at that bill clearly changed the cause

of the economy. and then i've been privy to avi c, outlining the signal from crystelina. now that china has guaranteed kind of the loan, it seems as though things are going to be moving forward. we can talk about that a little later. but what is it like for people on the ground there? i know you're a human rights lawyer. i mean, could you just pain a picture for us of, of how bad things are and not just in the economic sense? well, i mean, this is a thing in the situation has been rod the grave, the last couple of months and over a year and the fact that people are facing dire straits. you know, there was food program has said what 30 percent families of food being secure. people are skipping meals malnutrition nice on the right. i mean, we may not have the long q 3 sewing 2022 that led to the big protest. yeah. but people are struggling, so that is something we need to recognize. so you know,

we're what happened today. read the potential good news with the cage hor, fully actually has a direct impact on the people who are suffering. so, you know, the question though is how long really t for people to actually see tangible change. so while we talk at the macro level, you know, there are things moving for people for the daily struggles they, you know, that's going to take a long, good time for people to actually experience that know, and i appreciate you kind of highlighting that because that's the reality on the ground for the people who have been protesting and who feel as though their grievances maybe aren't being heard or addressed by the government. with that in mind, i do want to just hear from them directly. here's the video that was filed a few weeks ago by my colleague and now about

a fisherman who's struggling with daily life in rural sri lanka. take, listen for more than 40 years. fishing has been a way of life for ireland and indeed the bundle in today he is struggling to survive without hula, but at the price of fuel is too high. it was 7 to rupees. a liter. now it's more than 4 times that the price of net have also gone up and they don't last as long things are very difficult. fishermen across the country are facing the same struggle. if they do land a proper catch, they can cover their costs. debts, amounting shall anchors, worst economic crisis in memory, left the country bankrupt, unable to pay for basic essentials, like food, medicine, and fuel. so what are, what, what, what did, when you see this video harsh or what are the opposition parties trying to do an edge in here? i mean, in the absence of the i m f alone, it seems like that's being framed as the only solution but, but for this fisherman,

i mean, how does that help them feed their children? well, actually we really do. so understand what the issue really is. we are not only facing a liquidity crisis by crisis of solvency and in that is not just a 1000000000 not to us dollars. we need to get back on our feet, but a complete all of the economic structure. and now we saw that fisherman that, and he said that the price of fuel went up by 4 times. that is true. now, the reason for that is fear that needs to be prized or to reflect its cost. now when you do that, it is certainly going to have a big impact on,

on some people, particularly the low income. now the, the challenge for the government is a, how do they identify these people and how do they ensure that they are taken care of? so the issue is not giving fewer ad so and it will be a leader for everyone in command of rich speed but, but you know, those are restructured in the subsidy scheme. so this is something that had to happen order period of time. i didn't, and i saw a material of my being an opposite politician. i have to admit that you know, unless we do these changes that we cannot get out of our solvency prop mavita, go ahead. jump in there. so can i just said this crazy sammy, we're seeing it in 2022. now the pretty solar that it's, it's

a governance crisis seats. the fact that just getting an eye image bailout is not going to solve these problems. so we have deep, structurally, ne qualities and reforms are necessary, but what you say is going to be, how is it going to be different? and the say, these are some very fundamental questions we need to address. so can that government at this moment, we've, depressed, and cray says, getting this i am, if be allowed to feed, actually comes through what is going to be the friend he's going to be the big question that we need to all address. because otherwise, he might be the 17 be allowed, but does it really make a difference? yeah, and are we going to repeat the same day? well, i'm not an economic expert, that's why you're here harsh on part. but that seems like a very common sensical place for a person's brain to go. i mean, it's happened 16 times. this would be the 17th time. what makes this different is, i think, a rhetorical question that is guiding this conversation. but i, i want to ask you, i mean, it seems like it's re, lunk and households. it's no longer about simply having less meals, perhaps,

you know, trying to cut costs. but there is some basic food items that just simply they can afford. we know that adults are skipping meals in order to feed their children, half of households. the children's food intake is so much less, i mean, when, when they're in such dire straits. and then you see the government, for example, postponing local elections. i'm does that in still sort of faith in the citizens who have been protesting for for more than a year now? yeah. i'm, why was this boned, could you, could we just, i, i think i threw a lot of things that you there. but why were the elections postponed? i mean, 1st of all elections up, osborne, because the government has no chance of winning the election. and as long as they think that to the account when the election, it will get boss borne by me. i'm going to fight it up and to go back to end to the supreme court. and the supreme court now said that the government, really,

the treasury cannot any longer hold back funds for the election. and just last night, the elections commission said that by the 25th right of all of a pin that we should attempt to hold this election. my coming back to bonnie's point of view is absolutely correct. and it's a governance issue. and why we've got to this point is because, you know, we, we didn't fix that now due to your appointment about why 16 times and yeah, why easy going different? this is something that is really different this time. and that is, this is the 1st time we've gone to the i m f as a bankrupt nation in that we had to, in the previous occasions just deal with the i m f. and then on many of the loans that we had agreed to in the past re just, you know,

reneged on them and half re re said we are no longer going to keep to the conditions that be agreed by this time around. we got 3rd parties. we got, we got the bilateral credit does like china and india and the pattern i'm on the one who now tried us down to a program that was basically agreed with the i m f based on what's called a debt says tell ability analysis. and then on the other hand, we've got all these private creditors who bought into about 15000000000 dollars worth of international solid in bonds with whom we haven't even started discussions yet. so just because i'm a sense, look, we are going to start releasing money won't fall in and few weeks time. only now we will start discussing money with money. looks like he wants to get in. i appreciate you raising these points, providing go ahead. well look, i mean end of the day i think we need to be very mindful of what's happening on the

ground. the crisis is such that as you mentioned, the figures are there, the people are suffering days or so this warri while the government is now saying yes, d i m f package. i mean the narrative that is being created that's, that's important. we have to go through this but days a very, very fundamental problem here, when the government is doing everything placebo, to undermine democratic processes, harsher is to hold sure of that postponement or local government election. so that's a fundamental element in democracy. when a government is undermining that in the name off and economic crises that their brain cramp, that's very, very worried. what we need to unpack bed. but the other point i think is very important, is the repression to day. we had protests in colombo, we're seeing purpose every day. that's a sign of unhappiness from people, but the force that is being used on people is also extreme, the warring,

the while in studies being used. so there at durham, model depot, challenges in sri lanka, and just the government saying we've got these i am a package is, are not going to solve all the problems. yeah, and i, i think because it keeps coming back to the i m f package, which is the government's narrative of, you know, preparing the people that this is the solution. this is the only solution. i mean, to me it's certainly these questions you're raising. um, you know, it's like the government in the bureaucracy of embraced with sort of a, a shameless enthusiasm, this idea of neo liberal economic reforms, which are, which are to hoping to manage a crisis that in a way was started by, by some of those same sort of reforms, it seems like there's a cycle that 3 long cousin a cycle. and so let's hear from some trade union leaders. and this is from march 1st. and it's a big, basically a strike action yet another one by the unions that are opposed to the i m f.

condition specifically take listen the we are not recon bid that we want to be exact, but he's going to buy them on the holidays. not are you going to be dealing with government? i mean the i don't why we will go quarter, not try to manage action, maybe of continuous so thousands of union where it could join the strike as you know, spending cuts demanded by the m f. creditors, things that they don't like are so it looks like you want to say something about the is now i did say that we need to go through with the i'm a program and that is correct. but i do agree with the gentleman that just book that we need to look at. one of the main issues that is in terms of taxes,

what has happened is we've increased the margins out of tax there to 36 percent of income very quickly. which means that professionals and others are really getting squeezed because prices have more than doubled. but incomes have stayed the same. so cost of living has become real and frankly, the price is not just more than doubled. in some cases it's 5 times what they were just not so long ago. i mean, i'm, i guess what i'm asking if you look at that, that clip that we just played. and we know that, of course, that protest that strike was in defiance of the president's executive order. i mean, this is the sort of oppression or repression that i think you're talking about. why is that so part and parcel with any solution from the i am asked for from other bilateral agreements?

i mean, why is it important for the government to also address what's happening in the streets and to curtail them the repression? i mean, if i, if i may, i mean, i was in one of those protests not 10 days ago and, you know, i was asked and i myself, but i suddenly have to suffer too. and that is because we protested, tried democratic right to have elections on back because that needs to be an outlet . ok, i'm in the outlet need not be fighting on the street by democrats kelly. we have to have the board to express anger for most people. and this is only a local government election, not something that changes the government. so now that the government has the money, there is no way they can continue to say they don't have the money to have elections. that excuse is no longer valid. so the 4 days absolutely

no more excuses that the government can give to postpone the lecture, i'm going to assume that we have stayed accents before before too long. so. so, but i, if i made this, interject vonny, your face is suggesting to me that you don't have a lot of faith in the government's ability to do some of those things that he was just outlining. and i'm curious if these economic hardships continue, if we keep seeing the repression, we continue to see more and more protests if it's going to take a long time. as you mentioned, for those for the i m f impacts to come through. yeah, i think the purchase are gonna continue regardless. i mean people, as i mention, i doubt said people need to see tangible change. and that's gonna take a while. but that said, i mean one of the failures of this government is that they're not speaking to the people. they're speaking to a particular elite or dow worn circus. they need to communicate and connect with

the citizen. and i go back to what happened last year where the safety sense really came out to the street. there was anger, there was, there were calls for seats don't change one year on the question is, has that system change happened? that hasn't happened. so why did what the warring thing is, the government is pushing now to put decline narrative. but that narrative does antique norco of the grievances of the general public. yeah, and that's the worry that if they dis, disconnect, continues. there's going to be more and more protests, but then the war rees, what kind of repression, avi, going to see in response to that practice. right. and we've, we've already had a glance of what that might look like from the last sort of rounds of those protests, really a rubbing because you talked about the government's failure to communicate. let's actually see what the president himself has to say about the solution. on the form

of di enough coming soon, take a take a look at what the president had say dang, i am a thank you danny. to come, we expect the, i am apt to fulfill a commitment and grant approval for the program are either in the 3rd or 4th week of march. after that, i think we will get the 1st round to financing from the world bank and the asian development bank. and what did i been pay? no, i am. if i, than this on the policy. if we break the agreement with the i m f, we will have to repay the loans we took from foreign countries and private banks. we will have to pay 6 to 7000000000 annually until 2029. we don't how foreign exchange to pay these loans, cut that gary medically be no. so i'm just curious, provide me what it, what is the alternative to these loans? i mean, what about that cancellation? is that another solution? is it realistic? is it not well, there are different conversations happening, and i think this is, this is the important thing is we look at the different alternatives. why don't like dick cancellation all of those things,

important conversation to happen. but the mean point is that the government seems to be in the proceed. any in particular, seems to be pushing of one particular narrative in, out taking north of the shoes that the people are facing. so this is while we talk about, i am. if dick cancellation, one of these things audience did all of these important things for the p, the government to connect with the people and for that to happen, that the space need to be there as well. and the problem is, it seems to be a very one sided narrative that doesn't seem to be taking note of all the hardships people are facing. that said, if the election has happened. yeah, he's the 1st outlet, the people will have. so right, let's hold the democratic process. he's able to go through now, right out executive action, trying to stop that. and the hearts are if i can, i know you wanted to jump in. but before you do, i wanted to share with your audience you were with us back in march of 2022 here at

the stream. and you had some very telling things to save and i'd love to get your feedback on them. now based on where we are now, so take a look at what i'd say to us on here on the stream in march last year. this could have been avoided. this need not have happened. in fact, i made a long speech as opening speaker for the opposition when 2021 budget was presented in november of 2020. and i noticed that government to seek the support of the i m f. because what we currently have is our toxic combination of a hand and a liquidity crisis. so i'm wondering when you, when you listen to that, you know, and knowing where we are right now, i mean, is debt forgiveness going to be part of this plan? i'm not setting you up to say i told you so or to tell the government you told them so. but, but is debt forgiveness and viable route in your mind?

it is going to be very difficult to see debt forgiveness, but to clearly because this debt was taken by us on the promise that we were going to use it for various development purposes. and it was a democratically elected government that did that. i mean, yes, there have been instances in the past about, you know, how, you know, what get harsh. i want to share with you, sorry, forgive me on you tube people bringing up an angle that you wanted to talk about before we wrap here. just the geopolitical nature of all this between china and india technical no less saying tenable off, but also ask for money that they give with massive interests. and a lot of people bring up india. does that, do you think factor into the lack of options other than i am f long? no, i don't think so. in this case it is india and china. now we're largest bilateral

creditors. now that issue that most other countries seem to be. ready having with a des, serena and zambia, chad with yorba east that they have not been able to unlock their china solution. and now this does not mean what we heard from the i m f. i does not mean that everything is hunky dory, and everything is fine from now on. is just that from what we understand, the chinese have agreed to something similar to what the indian 7th grade right now . it is up to the government to implement while they have promised. and if they don't at the 6 months, a chance it may not continued up. the program may fail and it has faded out with multiple times,

like i said in the past. so now what bonnie is saying is critically important and that if the government is unable to listen to the yeah, yeah. and as opposition parties. why do we support sri lanka? don't get me off. we are supporting novi lanka, right? yeah. we are we in to the north to so the government, the offering of the people. so forgive me and i sorry for interrupting you. i know you're making impasse in play here and you're agreeing with bonnie. but this is all the time we have really left for this conversation on this. so i do want to thank you for, for joining us. and i also want to mention, i think it's worth saying that we invited the ruling, i united national party of course, to join us for their point of view. but unfortunately we didn't get a reply. so that's all the time we have for today for this. so, but you can always find us online at streamed on al jazeera dot com. thanks foot ah

and with the police footage starts with what appears to be a routine traffic stop. but quickly the situation escalates. police can be seen beating nichols and trying to subdue in with pepper spray. he can be heard crying

for help and for his mother. nichols died from his injuries 3 days later as a video was being released. protestors in memphis took to the street to call for justice. this is certainly a city very much still in shock by what they saw in that video. the violent beating death of tyree nichols at the hands of police. breaking down the headlines, exposing the powers attempting to find in supporting what did you do, what to do, investigate, why didn't you ask the question? there are many during that, that sensor it will have, but you think effect on subsequent story. the listening post doesn't cover the news . it covers the way the news is covered to suppress moderate. and in some cases amplify the content. you see on your time of the listening on al jazeera ah.