ah, discover the world around you. subscribe to the w documentary on youtube. with today on the w 's asia, a new president for sri lanka, but can the people expect the same old patron politicians around it? victim is 40 and as their new leader is the i the nation to come together to find a way out of its worst economic crisis in decades. but does he have the ear of protests and has crisis written, sri lanka got itself into a dead trap. some critics blamed china's belton road initiative. ah,

i've been physical and welcome to language have been taking to the streets for months, demanding change. the economies collapsed. food prices go up a free day. it's hard to get your hands on medicine and you have to line up a days for fuel. have a listen to what this demonstrator has to say. you want to give up because what the country need these up does it does is some takes a different, i mean you want to get rid of this set up it, buddy taishan. so that's what we are doing well. asked lee to go to buy a roger poxy who fled the country up to mass protests over his handling of the economy is replaced by prime minister because i'm a single in the right. but he's seen as his ally protesters on both of them out the don't believe in him this. he's not the correct choice at this moment. now i'll is gary ward that i was dead corrupt prisoners. later the,

the people of she lanka has not been given what they deserve, which is peace and all a peace of mind. and the basic necessities being meant there was high security around the parliamentary complex as became a singer, took on his new role. his office said he wants to form a unity government to manage the turmoil. the new president is a familiar face and sri lanka. having served 6 times as prime minister, which in sri lanka is the deputy to the president. he was sworn in and signed himself on as the elected head of state. though in this case, it was parliament we'll elected him. amidst the country's turmoil, the grandma single election had been greeted by yet another surge of protests and colombo, from the same movement, had pushed out his predecessor as

d. w. corresponded when you're a chaudhry explains why dick, for the past you did that be saw been done, it took over as the prime minister of the country and as the acting president after beds and go to baggage bucks are designed. people have been frustrated that took over the pm's office as well and protested, saying that they wanted run into grandma thing not to step down. and now that he has one, they are not happy. the grandma singer has said he will bring opposition lawmakers into his cabinet, but about a tough line after his election against troublemakers. why don't you seek to destroy the denton democracy? them then be dealt with the law by the law. but either i would like to bring it with you on forget it. ronald dick. remo singer is a lawyer, turned politician who won his 1st parliamentary election in 1977. he's considered a technocrat with deep technical understanding of sri lanka, as economic woes. he says negotiations on an international monetary find

a bailout are near a deal, but his toughest task may be distancing himself from his ties to the previous government. and convincing those who already want him out, that he should stay. let's analyze this with lawyer activist and former commissioner of the human rights commission of sri lanka. and because that could have not done great to have you, he what's going to happen next with the turmoil in your country. well, it's hard to predict because them is and i will become missing. i was sworn as president today, and the fact is he did not win seat to parliament in the general elections in 2020, when he was appointed as prime minister by the previous president to go to bed raj proctor. that was a lot of opposition and an uproar public up role. when he not was nominated to contest for the position of parliament,

which he won with the votes of the previous president's party. all of which showed that he does not have public trust of public legitimacy. and also with that, he is in a way, a proxy for the roger boxes because they nominated him and their party elected him, which means he's also going to be protecting them and they might just turn out to be more of the same no matter the lack of legitimacy or his links, does he have the ability to, to fix the nation's problems despite that? well, the point is that we are, well, one would be dead. but also the issue is that we must not look to him only as an individual. and there are many who are saying that the other candidates, for instance, would not have been able to. and i think that one of the problems that trailer has always had is focusing on individuals and making them save years instead of

focusing on our institutions and our processes and strengthening them. whoever is in that position. they do need to follow 2nd steps. they need to listen to the experts and they need to keep the national interest at heart. so the best option that we see going forward towards economic recovery in order to have stability is to call for general elections as soon as practically possible is not going to stretch things out even further. i mean, what happens in the meantime? well, for lanka, which is bankrupt, waits for its bailout from the international monetary fund, which is going to take months. well, the international monetary fund has, i just saw they've been on today that they plan to complete the negotiations as soon as possible. and also elections has also created about the fact that we can't afford elections, but once again, i can also be assistance that we can obtain to ward dish. and while we wait for

elections to be held, all preparations are being made of mr. vick grimacing. who will be president, which means he should continue with the business of governing in the national interest. and because what happens though, in the mean time with the protests, i'm sure a lot of those demonstrators aren't going to give up yes, ano yesterday. and again today many of them have said that they will not give up because they do not find to him legit you meant to and that they will continue still back. we have to see how docked progresses, particularly the students who have been at the full find of the protests have said that they will not give up until he designs in that sense to have a president, particularly during such a time of ta mile when the public is suffering a president who does not seem to also have empathy and who does not have public trust is cause for great concern. so what we hope, as i said before, is that we can go for gender elections. i can also have

a parliament that is different and not in the clutches of the roger boxes that will enable us to move towards economic recovery and stability. they will be closely watching this. i'm sure you will be to form a commissioner of the human rights commission of sri lanka because that's called a not on thank you. is another problem we haven't talked about yet, and that is that sri lanka also needs tourism. it's a huge money spent up. it wants pump billions of dollars in the economy in 2018, around 5 percent of gross domestic product. but in 2019 a terror attack devastated the sector in the pandemic shutdown everything. and who wants to visit the country suffering from what's now become a humanitarian crisis. and the people can't even afford to feed themselves. some blame sri lanka is close ties with china for its economic collapse. beijing extended $12000000000.00 in loans to the government between $22020.00

infrastructure projects like the one behind me. the multi 1000000000 dollar port in humble toyota hometown of recently fled, president go to buy a roger pox a was a flagship project in china's belton road initiative when it opened in 2010. 7 years later, the port was seated to chinese control after sri lanka realised a could no longer pay off the loans. a case study in debt trap, diplomacy, beijing, a sri lanka, single biggest creditor, accounting for 10 percent of the country's foreign debt. the pandemic soaring energy costs and global food shortages brought about by the ukraine war have left states like pakistan, philippines, and laos struggling to pay their belgian road obligations. china says it will help sri lanka, but it's vague on the details. to bargain china's ready to work with countries and financial institutions to keep playing a positive role in helping sri lanka overcome its difficulties and ease its debt burden, particularly which on his own economy under pressure,

state banks are more eager than ever to collect on belton road debt, little tune and reported from china for years and has closely watched the roll out of this new silk road project. no one's forced re lanka to sign up to anything. but why if the international monetary fund offers rights of between one and 3 percent, would you sign up to a lending rate of 3 to 6 percent? well, one of the great things about the belton road project for a lot of countries is the fact that these loans come with pretty much no strings attached at china doesn't do the same levels of due diligence that the i m f does. so for example, when the i m f lens money, you have to show that it's sustainable that you will be able to pay back. usually have to reform yourself as well. that's right. you have to do these sort of things . you have to be transparent and how you do the dealings. china doesn't really care about that and, and that's why i mean, even in this particular deals that the, i'm been told a porch is, is in roger boxer. they're in their hometown shows that you know,

this clearly specialists and their own interests are being represented here and the i, m f might have had a problem with that for example. so you can sort of see that there's a lot of these different elements at work, but then it's a win win. isn't it full for china or lose lose for sri lanka by, by the sounds of it. what's china going to do about this though? because it could all back fire if, if, if they don't get their money back. that's right. but as we saw in the report, john is being quite vague about what they say. they're going to be supportive and, but there aren't really any precedents for, for them in this. i'm in, this is the most severe test that the belgian road initiative has faced sin in the, in the 9 years since it was started. and so to remains, it will have to see if they're going to be and if they're going to really push people, if they're going to start seizing assets, which is what happens in, in sri lanka before with the port. and that will be very serious at would also be a big boost for china's regional and strategy of becoming more prominent and of, of increasing its muscle in the region. talking about the region. what about india?

one of china's rivals i, sri lanka, closest neighbor and a big investor as well. yeah, i mean there's a big power play going between india and china. right now we've seen this in many, in many different areas. and they're professing closeness at the moment because they're part of the bricks, grouping with brazil and russia, that they're all sort of, that they're showing this sort of new closeness. but at the back of it, there's still a lot of regional issues between the 2 indians. just overtaken china is the most populous nation in the world are, is about to this year. and so there's a lot of competitive competition between the 2 am. india is not really involved in the, in the belgian road initiative. and it's, it's basically wants to push its own interests. so i think that and we're going to see they've, they've given a lot of money to sri lanka, a lot of support. i think we're going to see more of that. and am china is really going to have to step up if it wants to, to win with this sir. you know, this kept to capture sri lankan hearts and minds is going to have to step up its

activities that occurred at thank you very much. and thank you for joining us on d. w. 's asia. i ben fizzle. and i'll see you at the same time. same place to mark it on the w. o. people and trucks injured one trying to flee the city center. more and more refugees are being turned away. the water families on the fax is the reason for the credit on its way located administrative people. lean extreme ross getting 200 people, his son for june, around the world. more than 300000000 people are seeking refuge.

yes. why? because no one should have to flee. make up your own mind. d. w. made for mines. a man with the memories of a woman ah ali from syria is born in a female body. forced into marriage, great. far from home. ali can finally become the person he's always wanted to be. and i want this very badly poem the 3 credit. and we'll go through with it. i was born in berlin. starts july 22nd on d, w. ah,

germany is developing a national security strategy for the 1st time. for critics, this is long overdue. they say that a lack of please strategic thinking is now landing germany. it all sorts of problems with dependencies on foreign, hostile powers for energy and for its economy. but is germany serious about making a change? i'm going to talk to the women at the heart of the process. germany's foreign minister and alina burbock, and lena bear bog, many thanks for joining deutsch villa. i would like to begin with the war and ukraine, which of course, is the backdrop to developing a japanese new national security strategy. you're rushing counterparts take a level of has just said that russia is expanding its focus of from donors can low hands in the east of the country or to harrison and other regions in the south. this seems to confirm that the notion that russia is aiming to annex these territories, perhaps even cut off ukraine.