As long as the economy and people’s livelihood can be overcome, Sri Lanka in the future will one day become a pearl in the Indian Ocean!
Text | Sea Passengers
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has finally officially resigned as President of Sri Lanka. This was announced yesterday (July 15) by the country’s speaker, Abbeywarden.
Previously, Rajapaksa had left Sri Lanka on a military plane on July 13.
Gotabaya Rajapaksatu: Reuters
It is reported that it first arrived in the Maldives and then arrived in Singapore from the Maldives. If the information is true, Abewadner was already in Singapore when he received the letter of his official resignation as Sri Lanka’s president.
Before Gotabaya Rajapaksa left, on July 5, local time, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickremesinghe declared the country bankrupt, saying that the country was bankrupt. The economic crisis will last until at least the end of 2023. Afterwards, protests broke out in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, and people broke into the presidential residence and the prime minister’s office. At that time, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said he was willing to resign in order to facilitate the formation of a new government involving all parties. But before Wickremesinghe resigned as prime minister, Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned as president.
Wickremesinghe takes office as acting president of Sri Lanka< /span>
On July 15th, at the Valukarama Temple in Colombo, Wickremesinghe was officially sworn in as interim President of Sri Lanka.
In fact, as early as when Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Colombo, Wickremesinghe had already proposed to Abeywardena, hoping to nominate the Speaker a prime minister. In this way, he can concentrate on his work as acting president.
In the eyes of Uncle Hai, this round of chaos in Sri Lanka, with Wickremesinghe becoming acting president, may have begun the road from chaos to governance. But it takes at least three steps from chaos to cure…
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The first step is to normally elect the official president. Actually, Wickremesinghe’s acting president is in accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution. After the president resigns, the prime minister will act on his behalf. If the Prime Minister also resigns, the Speaker will serve as President. But because Wickremesinghe did not resign as prime minister early, he was able to act as prime minister.
But Wickremesinghe’s acting president is on an hourly basis. From July 15th to 20th, about 120 hours in total. If everything goes well, on July 20, the Sri Lankan parliament will elect a new president.
Protesters storm the presidential residence
If Sri Lanka elects a new president as scheduled, it means that both the previous protesters and the opposition forces in Sri Lanka’s political circles have achieved certain expected goals. At this time, in the minds of people, it is possible to think about going from chaos to governance. After all, the protesters rushed into the presidential palace and frolicked in the swimming pool of the presidential palace, and most of them did not intend to have fun.
Many of these people are out to vent their dissatisfaction. After all, after Gotabaya Rajapaksa came to power in 2019, Sri Lanka’s fiscal year has been in deficit every year. Uncle Hai also noticed that, as the first country in South Asia to embrace neoliberalism, Sri Lanka has been pursuing a debt-financed growth model in the past few years.
On July 10, protesters at a swimming pool in Sri Lanka’s presidential palace “Relieving the Heat”
With the many changes brought about by the international new crown epidemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, I originally wanted to take advantage of tourism to develop for the better In Sri Lanka, the debt-financed growth is unsustainable in the short term – the originally expected tourists did not come, and the originally borrowed loans had to be repaid. Not yet, bankruptcy of the country is inevitable.
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Wickremesinghe officially sworn in Interim president until Congress elects a new president Image: Screenshot of the Associated Press report
These issues, now naturally some people want to count them all On the head of Tabaya Rajapaksa. In the new round of parliamentary elections on July 20, if a new president can be successfully elected, it may change course. At present, some observers have analyzed that the opposition leader Sajit Premadasa is expected to be a pro-American and pro-India politician. Some people have also analyzed that if he becomes the new president of Sri Lanka, he mayAll the policies of the Rajapaksa period were a counter-offensive. If this is the case, it seems that some countries, including China, will have major problems with some of their previous projects in Sri Lanka. In Uncle Hai’s view, these worries are of course not superfluous. But the most critical thing is whether Sri Lanka can successfully produce a new president in the process.
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The second step is what will happen to Sri Lanka’s new policy? Actually, it doesn’t take much to look at whether the new politicians are pro-American and pro-India. In itself, the diplomatic and geopolitical policies and methods of India and the United States are different. It’s hard to believe that a Sri Lankan politician is pro-American and pro-India.
Sajit Premadasatu: Sri Lanka Daily News (Data)
In the future, whether it is Wickremesinghe or Sajit Premadasa as president, the sea Uncle believes that neither of these two can become the spokespersons of pure Indian or American interests in Sri Lanka.
Why do you say that?
Uncle Hai believes that these two are from political families with many years of political background in Sri Lanka, and both have many years of political experience. They are all “old players”, even if Sri Lanka is a country with “a tear in the Indian Ocean”, as long as an actor, actuary, and lawyer with an overseas background who came out of nowhere came to power, it would not be at the policy level. It will be so simple that it doesn’t make sense.
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The third and most critical step. Why did Sri Lanka become what it is today? There are internal and external causes. Only by clarifying the ins and outs of the problem, rectifying it and restoring it, can this island country have a bright future.
Due to fuel shortages and higher prices, combined with bus Ticket prices have risen, and many Sri Lankans choose trains as a means of travel: Xinhua News Agency
For example, Sri Lankan scholar Kadigama believes that the current situation in Sri Lanka , similar to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
“At that time, Sri Lanka was not only hit by the Great Depression, but also faced a very painful malaria crisis,” Kadigama said. Today’s new crown epidemic, coupled with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, coupled with the economic depression of many countries in the world, all kinds of situations have been “instilled” into Sri Lanka, causing Sri Lanka’s predicament.
Sri Lanka is indeed a “tear in the Indian Ocean”. If the world economy has any troubles, it will definitely bear the brunt of problems. Today’s developing tourism industry is inevitably in crisis. In the past, among the commodities that Sri Lanka exported to Europe and the United States, the most famous one was Ceylon black tea! The current epidemic has naturally also affected the export of these commodities. Conflicts in places such as Ukraine have led to fluctuations in energy and food prices, and even shortages. It is a very big threat to Sri Lanka.
China’s emergency aid to Sri Lanka in June Arrival at Colombo International Container Terminal on the 28th: Xinhua News Agency
But Uncle Hai wants to say that Sri Lanka is a small country after all. If all the friends around us lend a helping hand, I believe this country will be able to tide over the difficulties quickly.
As Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 15, “As a friendly neighbor, China has always paid close attention to Sri Lanka is currently facing difficulties and challenges, and has been providing assistance to Sri Lanka’s economic and social development to the best of its ability. China is willing to work with relevant countries and international financial institutions to continue to play an active role in coping with current difficulties, alleviating debt burden and achieving sustainable development for Sri Lanka. effect”.
Palita Koho, Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Nathan believes that China will help Sri Lanka overcome difficulties RMB yuan for emergency humanitarian aid. On July 14, the second batch of emergency humanitarian food aid provided by China to Sri Lanka was successfully handed over. The Chinese side has also provided multiple batches of diversified and livelihood-beneficial assistance to all sectors of the Sri Lankan society through various channels such as the government, local governments, and friendly organizations. Regarding China-Sri Lanka financial cooperation, Wang Wenbin said that after the Sri Lankan government announced the suspension of foreign debt repayment, Chinese financial institutions took the initiative to negotiate with the Sri Lankan side, and expressed their willingness to properly handle the due China-related debts and help Sri Lanka cope with the current difficulties.
Meanwhile, some Indian aid to Sri Lanka is arriving. With these aids, the confidence of the Sri Lankan people to tide over the difficulties in the near future will surely increase. As long as the economy and people’s livelihood can be overcome, Sri Lanka in the future will one day become a pearl in the Indian Ocean!