Sri Lanka crisis: How do you fix a broken country?

But all that changed on July 9, when protesters stormed in and took control, demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa before turning the palace upside down.”That was the home of the most powerful man in the country,” said Sri Lankan author and analyst Asanga Abeyagoonasekera. “It had never been opened to the public.” It’s now become a novelty attraction — all traces of its exclusivity and prestige gone. Each day for the past five days, thousands have lined-up up for hours just for a glimpse of Rajapaksa’s luxurious lifestyle. The neatly manicured lawns have become picnic spots and protesters swim and party in his private Critics contend he mismanaged the economy, investing vast amounts in the military while implementing sweeping tax cuts, despite international warnings, causing government revenue to plummet.”Rajapaksa didn’t heed anyone’s advice and was supported by people who did not understand how an economy likes ours needed to work” said Arudpragasam. “(The government) refused to admit that the economy was in crisis until it was too late.” Urgent humanitarian assistance is now needed, she said. “We are in a crisis situation where we can’t afford to pick or choose.” In 2020, the World Bank reclassified Sri Lanka as a lower middle income country amid currency collapses and rising inflation rates. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe declared the country “bankrupt.” “Our economy has faced a complete collapse,” he said. ‘It is time for change’With Gotabaya Rajapaksa now out of the country, public fury has turned to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, current Acting President. “Wickremesinghe was Rajapaksa’s pick for prime minister, that’s the problem,” said Abeyagoonasekera, the author. “He is politically connected to the Rajapaksas and his interest (has always been) in protecting them.” Others reiterated the call for elections. “The protest movement isn’t slowing down and many Sri Lankans have realized the importance of their roles as citizens in holding those in power accountable,” said Ambika Satkunanathan, a human rights lawyer who once served with the United Nations and the Human Rights Commission in Sri Lanka. ‘);$vidEndSlate.removeClass(‘video__end-slate–inactive’).addClass(‘video__end-slate–active’);}};CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === true) ? true : false;var configObj = {thumb: ‘none’,video: ‘tv/2022/07/12/amanpour-bianna-golodryga-sri-lanka-political-economic-crisis-inflation-protests-colombo-gotabaya-rajapaksa.cnn’,width: ‘100%’,height: ‘100%’,section: ‘international’,profile: ‘expansion’,network: ‘cnn’,markupId: ‘body-text_51’,theoplayer: {allowNativeFullscreen: true},adsection: ‘const-article-inpage’,frameWidth: ‘100%’,frameHeight: ‘100%’,posterImageOverride: {“mini”:{“width”:220,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220711000649-42-sri-lanka-economic-crisis-small-169.jpg”,”height”:124},”xsmall”:{“width”:307,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220711000649-42-sri-lanka-economic-crisis-medium-plus-169.jpg”,”height”:173},”small”:{“width”:460,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220711000649-42-sri-lanka-economic-crisis-large-169.jpg”,”height”:259},”medium”:{“width”:780,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220711000649-42-sri-lanka-economic-crisis-exlarge-169.jpg”,”height”:438},”large”:{“width”:1100,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220711000649-42-sri-lanka-economic-crisis-super-169.jpg”,”height”:619},”full16x9″:{“width”:1600,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220711000649-42-sri-lanka-economic-crisis-full-169.jpg”,”height”:900},”mini1x1″:{“width”:120,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220711000649-42-sri-lanka-economic-crisis-small-11.jpg”,”height”:120}}},autoStartVideo = false,isVideoReplayClicked = false,callbackObj,containerEl,currentVideoCollection = [],currentVideoCollectionId = ”,isLivePlayer = false,mediaMetadataCallbacks,mobilePinnedView = null,moveToNextTimeout,mutePlayerEnabled = false,nextVideoId = ”,nextVideoUrl = ”,turnOnFlashMessaging = false,videoPinner,videoEndSlateImpl;if (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === false) {autoStartVideo = false;autoStartVideo = typeof CNN.isLoggedInVideoCheck === ‘function’ ? 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