Tariff Hikes and Persistent Injustice Are Igniting Sri Lanka’s July 2025 Protests Colombo in Revolt: Unrest, Austerity, and the Return of People Power July 18, 2025, Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Economic Hardship & Austerity: Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic crisis since 2019 has been a major catalyst for public unrest. Despite a change in government, economic mismanagement and austerity remain pressing issues in mid-2025. Public services, especially healthcare, have deteriorated sharply. The new Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led administration’s budget cuts (in line with IMF austerity directives ) have slashed funding for essential services like health, leading to shortages of medicines and critical supplies. These cuts have undermined citizens’ welfare , fueling anger among the public and professionals (e.g., doctors staging protests over lack of medicines). Rising cost-of-living – higher taxes, tariff hikes (notably electricity rates raised by ~15% in June 2025), and sustained in...