Transcripts For BBCNEWS Sri Lanka 20240708

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katie taylor taking on amanda serrano. that's all from sportsday. goodbye. now on bbc news... sri lanka is grappling with its worst economic crisis since independence more than 70 years ago. rajini vaidyanathan reports from colombo on the unfolding crisis. an island paradise... ..where tensions are rising. millions living through an economic nightmare. one kilo used to be 100 rupees and now it's 200 rupees. ok, so that's doubled. if you want to get an idea of the desperation being felt across sri lanka, you just have to come to a petrol forecourt. we are in a national crisis, right now. hospitals running out of medicines. so, if this continues, - i'm afraid to say there may be a situation where we won't be able to save the patient. _ the ruling family blamed for this mess refusing to go. the result — a mass movement sri lanka has never seen. you can see the unity of the people, you can see the unity of the sri lankans. chanting. protesters: "go home, gota, go home!" chanting for change. sri lankans on the streets demanding the president, gotabaya rajapaksa, known as gota, step down. fed up with fuel shortages, rising prices and daily power cuts. i've neverjoined a protest before because i've lived a privileged life, so this is the first time even people like i have been affected with over ten hours of power cuts. none of us have ever seen this moment where sri lankans have stood up, regardless of their caste, their creed, their religion, they have just stood up and said no, go home, this is our country, our democracy. thousands of people have gathered at this protest in the sri lankan capital, colombo. and across the nation, people have been demonstrating in their numbers. day by day, the strength of anger towards the government has just grown and just look at the crowds who've gathered here today. and the one thing that's quite striking is just how, in a country that was once divided by civil war, people are coming together like never before. rich and poor, young and old, people of different faiths. almost everyone i've spoken to here says they've been hit by this current economic crisis and almost everyone i've spoken to here blames the president, gotabaya rajapaksa. the face of a once—popular leader loathed by protesters. who blame him for corruption and mismanagement. as defence secretary, he was accused of brutally crushing crushing tamil rebels to end a decades—long civil conflict. but now, this economic crisis has helped heal those wounds of war. chanting. protesters: "go home, gota, go home!" signs of a nation ready for change. and behind every one is a story of struggle. you're a young family, how is this crisis affecting you? it's massive, it's affecting us a lot. we just can't give what our kids are asking for, like, it's very, very disturbing. we haven't. .. i don't know when we last got some fruits for the kids. it's so expensive! really? yeah, it's very expensive, we can't afford it all. would you say you're a fairly well—off family, normally? yes. so, i used to work for a corporation and my wife is a banker. and so i got laid off at the beginning of corona crisis. and then i was courageous enough to start my own start—up so i was a tech start—up but for almost two years i've been paying my staff and i'm running out of capital. it's purely not because of my failure, it's because of the failure of the government. so, i think it's time to, you know, realise that, you know, i mean, we can do everything we want, so long as we have right leadership. down the road from the protest, we see close up how this crisis is changing the island. long lines as people wait to fill up on fuel. soldiers guarding the pumps. it's a scene repeated across the island, including in the southern tourist town of tangalle. if you want to get an idea of the desperation that is being felt across sri lanka, you just have to come to a petrol forecourt. people have been queueing for hours at this one, just to get their hands on basics, like cooking gas. in the queue, we meet a rickshaw driver, who is struggling to get work. fuel is more precious than gold. than life itself. at least six people have died waiting in the heat. a short drive from the gas station — a parallel paradise. the beaches aren't as busy as they once were and here in tangalle, it's practically deserted. this island nation relies heavily on tourism and the covid pandemic hit this place hard. fewer tourists means fewer dollars spent here and it's dollars, foreign exchange, which sri lanka uses to pay for essential imports. the country's currency reserves have fallen by 70% in the last two years. high levels of debt, loans from china, and a wave of tax cuts in 2019 are the reasons the economy came crashing down. this movement, all these people protesting, did you ever expect that to happen here? not at all. because we've been taught that sri lankans are quite complacent, when it comes to everything. so, no, to see this spontaneous campaign and movement, it's quite surprising. to get a better understanding of this crisis, i met a journalist from the popular daily mirror newspaper. we are in a national crisis, right now. why doesn't it have the dollars? sri lanka used to have dollars when our tea exports were doing well and our migrant workers were bringing in the dollars. but as soon as he pandemic happened, our migrant workers had to return. they weren't earning, which was a huge boot to the government and to the economy because migrant workers are a lifeline in this country. and it all means that prices are skyrocketing. back in colombo, mohan and nishantony, who we met at the protest invite us to go shopping with them, to give us a sense ofjust how expensive things have become. so, you prefer to come to this kind of market rather than a supermarket? yeah, because, like, supermarkets, you take the kids, there's a lot of impulse buying, they're so tempted towards things, here at least we can have some level of control. how much was this a year ago, cabbage? it used to be 100 rupees a kilo and now it's gone up to 200 rupees. ok, so that's doubled. you've got carrots in here, a staple for every meal. yes. how much have these gone up by? carrot is also doubled the price. still i buy because the kids need them. yeah. this is radish. radish, yeah. i used to cook them alone and the leaves alone, now i buy the little ones at cook everything together. so it's really affecting what you eat? there are some things here. capsicum, chilli pepper is a luxury. that's a luxury, now? i cooked them every week most days, it's one of my favourites. really? i eat them every week but i've cut down on buying them, i don't buy the most of the time. it's like four to five times up by price. one of the most striking things about coming shopping here with mohan and nishanti is just hearing from them how much things have gone up in price here in sri lanka in such a short space of time. and here is where all the imported apples are sold. and, in a way, this has become the luxury counter at the market. you've got these small, red apples here, which, a year ago, would cost 100 rupees for three. now, that's tripled in price because one alone costs 100 sri lankan rupees. and itjust gives you an idea of the challenges that so many families are now facing in sri lanka. they're having to make hard decisions about what they can afford and how much of each item they can afford, as well. rice has also soared in price. at this store, they're unloading bags of what's become another precious commodity, thanks to a failed experiment in organicfarming. in 2021, president rajapaksa banned the import of chemical fertilisers, hailing the plan at the un. because of its impact on soilfertility, biodiversity, waterways, and health, my government completely banned the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and weedicides. but crop yields failed. a nation once self—sufficient in rice production left with no choice but to import more. was that a noble idea? you know, trying to switch to organic farming? in principle, i don't- think there was anyone who disagreed with the idea, we all want a healthy nation. j obviously, this is something that should be done slowly. i you know, strategically, - so as to ensure that farmers don't lose their livelihoods. i but that's not what happened. the farmers had no fertiliser, they lost their harvests. - when you don't have the staple food, i rice, vegetables, which we live on, i that's a problem. back with the rickshaw driver we met in the fuel queue, it's a similar story of survival. well, this has become a daily occurrence for millions of sri lankan. a short while ago, the power went and it won't come back for several hours. and families across the country are having to contend with these regular power cuts, including this man, who's had to cook by kerosene light. and they're going to have to have dinner by kerosene light, as well. as they struggle to eat, they blame the president they voted for. shouting. frustrations reached boiling point outside the president's house and across the island. one man was killed while others were injured as police opened fire. authorities have arrested dozens. protesters accuse the president of cracking down on dissent. he's clinging on to power alongside brother mahinda, who's prime minister. part of a political dynasty, which has ruled this island with an iron grip, the president now admits he's made mistakes and is promising to rectify them. but it's hard for sri lanka to recover. baby cries. baby afie is being treated at the largest children's hospital. staff here, and across the country, are running out of life—saving drugs and equipment. sri lanka imports most of its medical supplies. if the dollars don't come in soon, treatments will have to stop. now, these are difficult times. these surgeries, we need very specific things. we don't know what would happen if the dollars don't bring these things to the country. we might end up in a very difficult situation. this is a very stressful period. health officials at this hospital agreed to speak to us, but i've spoken to many doctors across sri lanka who say that the government says they're not allowed to speak out in an individual capacity. but they tell me that they are worried that their hospitals are running low or running out of essential medicines and that if something isn't done soon, sri lanka will face a medical catastrophe. this is a crisis of scarcity with no clear end in sight. medical unions are appealing to the world for help. we need supply to come in, in whatever the form, whether it is from any other country, the government procurement, or if it is an individual donation. so if the situation continues, there will be a day in the near future, maybe a couple of weeks or one month, i'm afraid to say there may be a situation where we won't be able to save the patient's life or limb. these are dark times for sri lankans. families like mohan and nishantony�*s fear for their future. how we used to be and how we are now, it's very challenging and really worried about the kids, especially. their education, the cost of living. everything is going high and getting worse, day by day. so, trying to, you know, survive each day. one day at a time. shouting. even a few months ago, it would have been hard to imagine scenes like these in sri lanka. but here in the capital, colombo, and in towns and cities across this nation, people are protesting even right now in the pouring rain. itjust gives you a sign of the resolve and the determination that so many people from so many backgrounds have got. protesters: "go home, gota, go home!" and until he goes, protesters say they'll stay. well, it was a very mixed bag today across the uk. not particularly pleasant across many western and southern areas. thick cloud wherever you were across england and wales. best of the brightness was actually across northern ireland and parts of scotland. this is the forecast for this evening and overnight. so, there will be some clear spells around. but, generally speaking, overcast skies for most of us. mist and murk, drizzle around the hills, as well. still bits and pieces of light rain in the south and a relatively mild night. temperatures between six and nine degrees. so here's bank holiday monday. notice the chilly breeze in the north, there. it really will be quite nippy in northern parts of scotland. i think a day with a lot of cloud and also occasional showers breaking out almost anywhere across scotland, england — maybe wales, too. but temperatures are recovering somewhat in the south, up to around 17 bank holiday monday in london. and then through tuesday and wednesday, i think that mixed bag continues. this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at eight... around 100 people have been evacuated from a steelworks in the ukrainian city of mariupol, where civilians and troops have been sheltering for weeks from heavy russian bombardments. the us speaker of the house — nancy pelosi — makes a surprise visit to kyiv and promises american support for ukraine, she says, "until the fight is done." pressure mounts for reform of working practices in westminster after mp neil parish resigns for watching pornography in the house of commons. police confirm a body found in the forest of bowland on friday is that of missing mum of two katie kenyon. more than 200 migrants are understood to have been intercepted by border force officials in the english channel

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