Sri Lankan police fired tear gas at protesters angry at the economic crisis
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olice in
Colombo, Sri Lanka's main city, fired tear gas and used water cannons to
disperse hundreds of protesters on Thursday, local authorities reported in the
media, as public anger intensified against the government's handling of the
deepening economic crisis. Some
protesters wearing motorcycle helmets threw stones and other objects at police,
who pushed them back with water cannons, Newsfirst television footage from Sri
Lanka showed during the clash, the first violence in Colombo since the
months-long crisis. This island of 22
million people is without electricity for up to 13 hours a day because the
government does not have enough foreign currency to import fuel. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will
begin talks with Sri Lankan authorities on a possible loan program in the
coming days, a spokesman said Thursday, as the government seeks to emerge from
the worst economic crisis in decades
Police in Colombo, Sri Lanka's main
city, fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters
on Thursday, local authorities reported in the media, as public anger
intensified against the government's handling of the deepening economic crisis.
Some protesters
wearing motorcycle helmets threw stones and other objects at police, who pushed
them back with water cannons, Newsfirst television footage from Sri
Lanka showed during the clash, the first violence in Colombo since the
months-long crisis. Local media reported that a bus was also set on fire.
This island of 22 million people is without electricity
for up to 13 hours a day because the government does not have enough foreign
currency to import fuel.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will begin talks with Sri Lankan
authorities on a possible loan program in the coming days, a spokesman said
Thursday, as the government seeks to emerge from the worst economic crisis in
decades.
Protesters
gathered near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence on the outskirts of
Colombo after marching there chanting slogans and demanding government action
to address shortages of fuel and cooking gas, Sri Lankan media reported.
The government is
turning off streetlights to save electricity, Energy Minister Pavithra
Wanniarachchi told reporters, as persistent shortages of diesel fuel have led
to more power outages and a halt in stock market transactions.
The power cuts add
to the pain of Sri Lankans already struggling with shortages of essential goods
and skyrocketing prices.
Retail price inflation reached 18.7 percent in March
from a year earlier, the Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. Food
inflation reached 30.2 percent in March, in part due to last year's currency
devaluation and ban on chemical fertilizers, which was later reversed.
Inflation is at
its worst in more than a decade, said Dimantha Mathew of First Capital
Research. Ms. Wanniarachchi said:
A delivery of
diesel fuel below India's $500 million credit line was scheduled for Saturday,
Wanniarachchi said, although she added that it would not solve the problem.
"Once that
happens, we can reduce the charging hours, but until it rains, maybe in May,
the power outages will continue," she said.
"There's
nothing else we can do."
Water levels in reservoirs supplying hydroelectric
projects have fallen to record levels, while demand has skyrocketed during the
hot and dry season.
The Colombo
Stock Exchange (CSE) has reduced daily trading to two hours instead of the
usual four-and-a-half hours due to power outages for the rest of this week at
the request of brokers, exchanges namely in a statement.
But stocks fell
after the market opened on Thursday and the CSE halted trading for 30 minutes —
the third time in two days — after an index that tracks large companies fell
more than 5%.
The crisis has
been the result of misguided tax cuts and the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic coupled with historically weak public finances, which have led to a
70% decline in foreign exchange reserves over the past two years.
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