Real hunger riots may begin on a resort island popular with Russian tourists: mass protests continue to grow in Sri Lanka, the cause of which is a sharp rise in prices, food shortages and fuel. This is multiplied by the lack of foreign exchange due to the fall in tourist traffic due to the pandemic. At the same time, an additional scandal occurred with Russian tourists – related to the arrest of the Aeroflot plane a week ago, and, accordingly, the removal of primary flights.
In May alone, food prices on the island rose by more than half. Gasoline, diesel and gas are getting more expensive even faster – almost three times. As a result, gas stations are closed, and many areas of the resort remain without electricity. Earlier, UN High Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs spokesman Jens Lerke said that the economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka risks developing into a full-blown humanitarian emergency.
Recall that at the same time, Aeroflot, which had previously opened a direct flight to the island, announced that it was suspending commercial flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka) “due to the unreliability of the situation in terms of ensuring unhindered flights of the airline’s aircraft to Sri Lanka.” The reason was the arrest of the Airbus A-330, which was confiscated in the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, right during its first flight to this country. The main reason was a statement from the Irish lessor.
At the same time, the Sri Lankan court very quickly suspended the order prohibiting the Aeroflot aircraft from leaving the country. At the same time, the country's tourism industry condemned the actions of the authorities, according to which Sri Lanka lost supplies of Russian tourists. The country's Attorney General intervened. In his petition, he explained that the tourism industry of Sri Lanka would suffer from the detention of the Russian liner. Read the details here.
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