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Diabierna 29 aPriL 2022

A political reckoning in Sri Lanka as debt crisis grows

demanding that Rajapaksa power cuts. People have been president and prime minister
quit. forced to queue for hours have changed tact in recent
every day to buy essentials. weeks. They have admitted
The protests highlight the Doctors have warned of a to mistakes they made that
dramatic fall of the Rajapak- crippling shortage of life- exacerbated the crisis, such as
sas from Sri Lanka’s most saving drugs in hospitals, and implementing a short-lived
powerful political dynasty in the government has suspend- ban last year on importing
decades to a family grasping ed payments on $7 billion in chemical fertilizers that badly
to retain power. Despite ac- foreign debts due this year hurt farmers and conceding
cusations of atrocities during alone. that they should have sought
the civil war, Gotabaya and a bailout sooner.
Mahinda, who was previous- “The Rajapaksas, like an oc-
ly president, remained heroes topus, have held on to every Influential Buddhist monks
to many of the island’s Bud- aspect of public life in Sri have urged Rajapaksa to form
dhist-Sinhalese majority and Lanka,” de Silva said. “They an interim government un-
(AP) — Sherry Fonseka bankruptcy, Fonseka, who were firmly entrenched at have been running it as if it der a new prime minister,
joined millions in 2019 in owns a small garment busi- the top of Sri Lankan politics was their kingdom. They signaling a further decline
electing President Got- ness in the capital, Colombo, before the revolt by previous wished and they did –- that’s in the family’s image as pro-
abaya Rajapaksa, a mili- has resorted to spending his supporters like Fonseka. how it was and people were tectors of the country’s 70%
tary strategist whose bru- own savings to pay the sala- with them.” Buddhist-Sinhalese majority.
tal campaign helped end ries of his 30 employees. But “The pendulum has swung Some observers say it’s too
Sri Lanka’s 30-year civil he knows he will soon have from ‘it’s all about the Ra- President Rajapaksa has de- soon to measure how much
war 10 years earlier. to let them go and is clear japaksas, they are the people fended his government, support for the Rajapaksas
about who is to blame. who saved this country,’ to ‘it partly blaming the pandemic has fallen among their hard-
Now he is one of thousands is because of the Rajapaksas and Russia’s war in Ukraine. core base, but for many their
who, for weeks, have protest- “All of us thought we made that the country is now ru- “This crisis was not created response has been too little
ed outside the president’s of- the correct decision (to elect ined,’” said Harsha de Silva, by me,” he said in a speech and too late.
fice, calling on Rajapaksa and Rajapaksa), but we’ve real- an economist and opposition last month, adding that his
his brother, Mahinda, who is ized we were wrong. We lawmaker. government was working “There is now recognition
prime minister, to resign for should have the backbone hard on solutions. They in- across the government of
leading the country into its to tell people, and the world, The unravelling of Sri Lan- clude approaching the Inter- several missteps, but it’s one
worst economic crisis since that we made a mistake,” he ka’s economy has been swift national Monetary Fund and that’s come at a huge cost
its independence from Brit- said. and painful. Imports of ev- World Bank for assistance, to the people,” said Bhavani
ain in 1948. erything from milk to fuel after repeated calls to do so. Fonseka, a senior researcher
In recent weeks, protests have have plunged, spawning dire at the Colombo-based Cen-
With the island teetering near erupted across the country food shortages and rolling But as protesters seethed, the ter for Policy Alternatives.

Israeli PM’s family receives death threat and bullet in mail

(AP) — Prime Minister Bennett’s government is the fragile alliance without a and officials declined to say
Naftali Bennett’s teenage made up of eight parties from parliamentary majority. Bennett is a former top aide whether there were any sus-
son has received a death across the political spectrum, to Netanyahu, and Yoni is pects.
threat and bullet in the including religious national- Bennett formed the coalition named after Netanyahu’s
mail, Israeli officials said ists, centrists and an Islamic last June after four incon- older brother, who was killed While many indications
Thursday, he second such party. It is the first Arab party clusive elections that under- in a famous 1976 Israeli com- pointed to Jewish extrem-
warning against the Israeli to be part of a governing co- scored the fissures in society mando raid while rescuing a ists, the threats also come
leader’s family this week. alition. over key issues as well as the hijacked airplane in Uganda. at a time of heightened ten-
polarizing effects of Netan- sions with the Palestinians
The threats have come at a These parties have little in yahu’s 12-year rule. An Israeli official familiar following a series of deadly
time of deep political divi- common beyond their shared with the matter confirmed Palestinian attacks in Israeli
sions in Israel. In a major animosity to former Prime In Wednesday’s speech, com- on Thursday that the second cities, Israeli military raids in
speech on Wednesday night Minister Benjamin Netan- ing on one of the most sol- threatening letter and bullet the occupied West Bank, and
marking Israel’s Holocaust yahu. They have agreed to emn days of the year, Bennett had been sent to Yoni Ben- clashes between Palestinians
memorial day, Bennett had put aside many of their dif- implored the nation to put nett. The official spoke on and Israeli police at Jerusa-
spoken out against the polar- ferences while focusing on aside its differences. condition of anonymity in lem’s most sensitive holy site
ization in Israel, urging citi- common ground, such as line with regulations. and cross-border fighting
zens not to let internal divi- the economy, managing the “My brothers and sisters, we with Palestinian militants in
sions rip society apart. coronavirus crisis and spend- cannot, we simply cannot al- Police have imposed a gag the Gaza Strip.
ing on education and social low the same dangerous gene order on their investigation,
Israeli police said that both services. of factionalism dismantle Is-
incidents were being inves- rael from within,” Bennett
tigated, but gave few other Netanyahu, now the opposi- said.
details, including where the tion leader, has worked hard
items were sent and who to undermine the coalition. That speech came a day after
might have sent them. his family received a bullet
Critics have accused Bennett, in the mail for the first time.
Bennett has been the target who leads a small, religious The episode prompted his
of fierce criticism from Isra- nationalist party, of aban- 17-year-old son Yoni to ex-
el’s hard-line right wing since doning his core hard-line press his sadness in an Insta-
forming his governing coali- beliefs. One member of his gram post.
tion last year. In 1995, Prime Yamina party was sanctioned
Minister Yitzhak Rabin was this week as a “defector” for “It’s just sad to see that real
assassinated by a Jewish ul- repeatedly supporting the people write such horrible
tranationalist opposed to his opposition in hundreds of things,” he said. “To think
peacemaking efforts with the votes. Another member of that he lives and breathes like
Palestinians. his party recently resigned me but has a brain that was
from the coalition, leaving created by the devil is crazy.”