Sri Lanka enters an emergency!President arrives at the Maldives, and the national food and oil can't afford it?

Sri Lanka protests on the scene of pictures: CCTV News Client Video Screenshot

According to a report on July 13th, Chang'an Street, Sri Lanka Prime Minister's office announced that the country has entered an emergency. Sri Lanka President Gota Baya Rajapaksa left the country in the early morning of the 13th local time and has arrived in the Maldives.

The Prime Minister is the acting president: calls on the public to abide by the law

According to CCTV News, on July 13, local time, the Sri Lankan Speaker's Office said that President Rajapaksa has notified the Speaker, and Prime Minister Victormaxa has been appointed as the Agent President of Sri Lanka.

It is also reported that on the 13th local time, Sri Lanka protesters occupied the office of the Prime Minister of Flower Road in Colombo. According to media reports such as the Indian Times and the British Sky News, the protesters rushed into the country's premier's government on the same day, causing the police to disperse with tear bullets, but failed to stop the protesters.

According to CCTV news reports, in the afternoon of the same day, the President of Sri Lanka (formerly the Prime Minister) Victormaxinha delivered a speech saying that the safety of the parliament has been strengthened in inside and outside the parliament. At the same time, Victor Marinha also appointed a committee composed of police officers and Minister of Defense, which can make independent decisions to ease the situation. He also called on the public to abide by the law to avoid excessive violence.

Regarding the appointment of the new president, according to reports, Sri Lanka speaker Abyvadner delivered a speech on the 13th that President Rajapaksa will submit his resignation on the same day, and the new President of Sri Lanka will be selected in the parliament on July 20.

According to Chang'an Street, Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa has arrived in the Maldives.

Chang'an Street Knowledge quoted AFP and reported that the Lajapaksa couple tried to leave the country on the 12th, but in the VIP departure hall, the Sri Lanka Immigration Officer refused to stamp his passport. After missing 4 trips to take them to the UAE, the Rajapaksa couple spent the night at the military base next to the airport.

Earlier on the 13th, Sri Lanka's "Colombo Bulletin" quoted the Srip in the Srip in the Sriors that the Rajapaksa couple flew to the Maldives in the early morning. The Sri Lanka Air Force emphasized that according to the special power assigned by the Sri Lanka Constitution, the Rajapaksa couples and the government left the country at the request of the government, and two security officials accompanied.

According to Chang'an Street, AFP quoted officials of Maldives Capital Malaysia Airport officials that after the Rajapaksa couple arrived in the Maldives, they were taken to a secret place under the escort of the police.

Earlier, after several months of power outage, severe food and fuel shortage, and the worst inflation ever in history, a large -scale protests broke out on the 9th of Coronapu, the capital of Sri Lanka. Resign. Rajapaksa promised to resign on the 13th and signed a letter of resignation. According to reports, after the news of Rajapaksa's departure from Maldives on the 13th, the protests broke out again, and the protesters asked Sri Lanka Prime Minister to resign.

According to a report from Chang'an Street, a source told Reuters on the 13th that when the main member of the Sri Lanka ruling party met on the evening of the 12th, he supported Sri Lanka Prime Minister Victormaxa as a presidential candidate, but Victoria Kellemasinha himself had previously resigned as the Prime Minister's position to make a way for the temporary governments participating in various parties.

What does Sri Lanka go bankrupt mean?

Recently, Sri Lanka, who was struggling in the state of soaring prices and exhaustion of materials for a few months, officially "bankruptcy" with a announcement of Prime Minister Renier Wichemazinha.

China News Network quoted media reports that as early as May 19, Sri Lanka could no longer pay $ 78 million in debt interest. At that time, Sri Lanka's foreign debt had exceeded $ 51 billion, but it was less than $ 50 million with foreign exchange reserves.

On July 8th, under the pressure of heavy food and fuel costs, Sri Lanka became the first country to stop paying foreign debt this year, and the debt crisis was unprecedentedly serious.

Why is Sri Lanka "no money"? A report issued by the Asian Development Bank shows that the country has a long -term deficit in foreign trade, "insufficient revenue and more consumption", and also borrowed a lot of foreign debt due to the inability to afford the needs of imports.

To make matters worse, after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the tourism industry as one of the Sri Lanka pillar industries was hit hard. The ability to earn foreign exchange has greatly weakened. The superposition of Russia and Ukraine has soared the cost of imported food and oil in Sri Lanka. out of hand.

On the other hand, the Sri Lankan government has implemented a fiscal deficit and tax reduction policy in recent years, leading to a great reduction in government income. In addition, with the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and the US dollar appreciation, Sri Lanka's debt pressure also became greater, and eventually slipped to the abyss. It is worth mentioning that, due to the influence of the government's prohibition of imported pesticides and herbicides, the cost of planting in Sri Lanka farmers has increased significantly but the output has fallen seriously, which has forced Sri Lanka to buy more food from abroad at a high price. As the foreign exchange reserves are consumed, the unprecedented grain crisis is fermenting.

According to China News Network, at present, Sri Lanka's foreign exchange reserves have plummeted, which means that Sri Lanka's purchasing power has been cleared and used to pay the US dollars in the basic imported goods including food, medicines and fuels. From July 10, Sri Lanka stopped selling fuel to ordinary people and became the first country in the world since the 1970s.

Data map

In addition, China News Network quoted media reports that in March of this year, because the government did not have enough US dollars to import paper, Sri Lanka students' semester tests were unlimitedly postponed; subsequent national street lights were also turned off to save power and fuel; June, in June, Due to the lack of fuel and food, the government announced that civil servants will be planted at home every Friday. On June 22, Prime Minister Renier Wichelminsinha announced that Sri Lanka's economy has completely collapsed, and the national situation "may fall to the bottom."

According to data from the Statistical Department of Sri Lanka, the country's inflation rate in May reached a record of 39.1%, of which the inflation rate of food categories rose to 57.4%year -on -year.

What should I do if I owe China?

Sri Lanka, who is facing bankruptcy, still owes Chinese foreign debt.

In April of this year, it was reported that Sri Lanka intends to borrow $ 1 billion from China to repay a Chinese loan that will expire in July. According to the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the regular press conference hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian on April 12, 2022, a reporter asked, "Sri Lanka adopted unusual measures, including informing the creditors that may have debt defaults and suspend the repayment of some foreign debt, so This preservation is increasingly reduced to pay food and fuel imports. At the same time, SS borrowed $ 1 billion from China to repay the Chinese loan that will expire in July. What are the comments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Zhao Lijian replied at that time, "What I can tell you is that since China and Sri Lanka have established diplomatic relations, the two countries have always understood and supported each other. China has always helped Sri Lanka's economic and social development within its power. In the future, we will continue to do so in the future. ","

On July 12, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, presided over a regular press conference, and once again asked a reporter about Sri Lanka's debt involved in China.

Wang Wenbin said that we have clarified many times that China has suffered the difficulties and challenges facing Sri Lanka, and has provided Sri Lanka with emergency humanitarian assistance including food and medicine. China also provides multiple batches, diversified, and benefiting the people's livelihood through the government, local, and friendly organizations.

"China will continue to help Sri Lanka's economic and social development within its ability to support the restoration of the economy and improve people's livelihood. For the debt involved in the China side, China supports relevant financial institutions to negotiate with Sri Lanka and seek proper solutions. We wish to the same. Regarding the country and international financial institutions, we will continue to play a positive role in responding to the current difficulties, alleviating debt burden, and achieving sustainable development.

Edit 丨 Wang Naixin Comprehensive CCTV News, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chang'an Street Know, Global Network, China News Network

Photo 丨 Beijing Business Daily, CCTV News client video screenshot, CCTV news video screenshot, official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CCTV4 Weibo video screenshot

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