More than 400,000 people demonstrated in Sri Lanka against tax increases, affecting large parts of public life. Doctors, nurses, teachers, bankers and railway workers, among others, took part in the union-organized nationwide protest today, the office of President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
The government enacted the tax increases to meet conditions for receiving a four-year, $2.9 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF must approve the release of the money next week.
The protest was the largest since the mass protests in the summer that led to ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s flight abroad and his resignation. The protests at the time were related to the worst economic crisis in decades. The population of the island state is struggling with bottlenecks, food prices have risen sharply.
