The president should resign to save Sri Lanka from collapse
But opposition politicians must also do their part
ON PAPER, AT least, Sri Lanka is one of the wealthiest countries in South Asia, ranked by the UN on a par with much of eastern Europe in terms of development. Yet the country of 22m people is suffering severe food shortages, locked petrol pumps and power cuts lasting as long as 13 hours a day. The currency has lost nearly half its value against the dollar over the past two months. Foreign reserves stand at $50m, too little to cover even a day’s worth of imports and down from about $9bn in 2019. Last month Sri Lanka admitted it could no longer service its foreign debts. The country is broke.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Gota go”
From the May 14th 2022 edition
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