While the world is heading towards catastrophic economic crises and food shortage due to prolonged effects of COVID-19 pandemic and lately Ukraine war, people in at least two countries had started mass revolt against their governments. In Sri Lanka, angry protesters stormed the residences of the country’s president and prime minister as the nation’s economy collapsed. In the Netherlands, farmers are rebelling against what they say is a tyrannical government whose overreach, particularly on environmental dictates, is devastating their livelihoods.
In Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office in May 2022, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed to resign amid mounting pressure from protesters who stormed both their residences and set fire to one of them, reports say.
The Sri Lankan government has run out of money to pay for food and fuel, is short of cash to pay for imports of such necessities, and is defaulting on its debt. It is seeking help from neighboring India and China and from the International Monetary Fund.
Sri Lanka’s inflation hit 54.6 percent in June.
“Tropical Sri Lanka normally is not lacking for food, but people are going hungry. The UN World Food Program says nearly nine of 10 families are skipping meals or otherwise skimping to stretch out their food, while 3 million are receiving emergency humanitarian aid”, The Associated Press reported on July 9.
“Doctors have resorted to social media to try to get critical supplies of equipment and medicine. Growing numbers of Sri Lankans are seeking passports to go overseas in search of work. Government workers have been given an extra day off for three months to allow them time to grow their own food”.
Farmers in the Netherlands, meanwhile, formed their own version of Canada’s “Freedom Convoy”, blocking highways with tractors, spraying manure on government buildings, and setting bales of hay on fire to protest the government’s recent mandate to cut emissions that farmers say could force some farms to shutter.
“Where is our prime minister? This country is on fire and the farmers are standing up to the government”, a spokesman for the protests said while standing on top of a hay bale in the town of Eerbeek, the Guardian reported.
Roughly 40,000 protesters gathered in central Netherlands to protest plans announced last month to curb the emissions of nitrogen and ammonia, Fox News reported.
Farmers say they are being unfairly targeted by the government mandates while other industries, such as aviation, construction and transportation, are also contributing to emissions and face fewer rules.
Rebel news has been at the forefront of reporting on the protests in the Netherlands while US legacy media highlights a fact check which found some outlets used a photo from a previous farmer protest.
Meanwhile, struggling economy, inflation, sky rocketing rise in price of essentials and scarcity of fuel is already generating massive anger within the Americans, who already are holding Joe Biden and his administration responsible for “inviting” catastrophe to the nation due to series of failed policies and “inability of the president” in addressing key issues.
Although American economy is in acute crisis and the country is heading towards a “cruel hunger”, Joe Biden is dedicatedly pushing forward his agenda of sending weapons and military assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine and even planning to send American soldiers in Ukraine to participate in war against Russia.
Meaning, Joe Biden is opening a new war front despite the fact of his humiliating retreat from Afghanistan. Joe Biden needs a war, for the sake of covering his failures and possible impeachment following November’s midterm elections. Americans need to take preparation for a prolonged sufferings and agonies, at least until Joe Biden’s tenure ends and there is a new president in the White House.
