Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda said he would not allow the Indians to exploit fisheries resources in the Sri Lankan waters in lieu of India’s donation of food rations.
During his visit to Kalpitiya fishery harbour on Friday (06) to study the plan for the proposed development project to extend the jetty, he stressed that he would not allow the Indians to exploit Sri Lanka’s marine resources.
The fisher folk explained on the issues affecting them and requested the Minister to intervene and resolve them. They pointed out that the Indian poachers regularly entered the sea belt in the north of Battalankgunduwa lsland and engaged in looting the yield belonging to Sri Lanka. The fishermen made representations regarding the court order preventing prawn farms and sought relief.
The fisher folk pointed out the hardships facing them regarding fuel and requested the minister to work out a mechanism to supply fuel as before.
The minister pointed out that it was not possible to take any alternative step regarding prawn farms pending the court case and that any steps could be taken to provide relief after the case ended. He pointed out that the fuel crisis affected the entire country and that he took up the issue with several countries including Singapore and Malaysia and that he was awaiting a positive response. He said he was making every effort to meet the requirement of kerosene. (HiranPriyankara)
Sinopec, the biggest petrochemical company in China, is likely to enter Sri Lankan market for fuel importing, distribution and selling petroleum products, informed sources said.
Cabinet of Ministers in June approved a proposal to allow more companies from oil-producing nations to import oil and start retail operations in Sri Lanka.
The proposal, prompted by severe foreign exchange shortage, was tabled by Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera.
At present, 90 percent of Sri Lanka’s fuel supply is through the State-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, and the remaining 10 percent by Lanka IOC.
Sinopec is already present at the Port of Hambantota where it operates an oil depot. The Hambantota tank farm was issued the FSS certification (Fitness for Service) by Lloyd’s Register in April 2020.
Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 formerly Ceylon, is an island of serendipity where you can expect to see the unexpected. It has a rich history, which is explored in this documentary. Where else would you catch sight of a macaque monkey chewing betel nuts while riding pillion on the back of a bicycle, or a man perched on stick, fishing in the sea, or an Asian elephant carrying its lunch in its trunk while it walks down the street with its mahout. In a culture where elephants and humans have had a symbiotic relationship dating back more than 5000 years, the orphaned youngsters are given special protection and the older ones are used for tourism, logging and religious activities such as the Temple of the Tooth ceremony.
Many other species, including 43 of the world’s most endangered are also protected in as many as 22 wildlife parks with Yala National Park being the most popular and where a glimpse of the island’s sloth bear is possible. This spice island is renowned for its bounty of precious gems including opals, rubies, sapphires, topaz and quartz, and is also rich in history and culture with its Kandian dancing and an abundance of Hindu temples and statues of buddha, including the huge meditating golden buddha in Kandy and the renowned reclining buddha at Polonnaruwa. In the higher region of the island is Sigiriya, a massive 200 metre granite rock on top of which a renegade prince built a palace and fortress, when Europe was going through the dark ages. Expect to see paintings of his concubines on the way up and and a 360 degree view of the surrounding area from the top, including one of the most significant landscaped gardens in the ancient world. For its unmatched combination of urban planning, water engineering, horticulture and arts the site has gained Unesco World Heritage status. Evidence of the island’s more recent Colonial history as Ceylon is everywhere, from the decaying architecture of its baronial homes with their vast tea plantations, palatial hotels which have provided the backdrop of many films as well as a race course and golf course, all reminiscent of a more opulent and even decadent lifestyle reminiscent of that of White Mischief” in Kenya. Before the British it was the Portuguese who colonised the island and their strong legacy still remains, not only in elements of the Sinhalese language but also the architecture and many catholic churches dotted around the island. The Dutch have also left a legacy from their colonisation of the island in the 17th Century, most notably in their architecture which at its best can be seen in the Groot Kerk and the magnificent fort in Galle which is now a World Heritage site and which is a replica of the fort that the Dutch East India Company built in Cape Town in 1652.
Colombo, August 6: Here are the excerpts from an exclusive interview conducted with the President of the Lawyers for Justice Attorney-at-law and Unofficial Magistrate Ravindra Manoj Gamage on the current situation of law and order of the country.
Q: What is the current situation of law and order in Sri Lanka?
A: We can accept the fact that it was the ordinary people who were under enormous pressure without adequate gas, fuel, electricity and so on started the protest (Aragalaya). But after that, we saw how some bankrupt political elements took it over into their hands. After certain bloodthirsty political elements took over the protest, it turned into a violent mob. We saw the peak of it last May 9 with the murdering of people and setting fire to houses and other valuable properties.
The law enforcement bodies of the country did not operate properly to safeguard lives and properties. The end result was destroying valuable lives and properties including the life of a Member of the Parliament. In addition on July 9 there was another wave of violence and they stormed into the State television station and some private television stations. They set fire to the private home of the current President Ranil Wickremesinghe. They occupied several State buildings and damaged those properties. After those events we cannot call this a peaceful protest any longer.
Certain political parties that cannot come into power through a democratic election tried to capture power using the protest and with that move the entire country started to talk about the importance of maintaining law and order. The people were scared and even frightened to speak out.
Q: Now various individuals are being arrested from various parts of the country for taking part in the protests and involved in various activities. Please comment.
A: A protest does not become a peaceful protest only because the protesters do not have any weapons in their hands. Bringing flowers and involving in creative activities does not mean that it is a peaceful protest.
The law should be implemented against anyone who protests and violates the country’s laws such as the criminal law, common law and other laws. If the law is not implement against them, later various others may violate the law freely taking it as an example. Some lawyers who know the law very well said the law of the land which is the Constitution should be torn off and burnt. They indirectly threatened police officers to bow down to them and do what they want and otherwise they will face repercussions in future. This is a punishable offence according to the existing law. Some cultivated hatred all over the country using social media.
Because of this, the system has a responsibility to implement the law. We do not see that the law was enforced against peaceful protesters who did not violate any law. The law was enforced only against who involved in criminal acts during the protest.
Q: Various lawyers and their organisations publicly announced that they will stand by the protesters and they will provide legal assistance free of charge for them. What is the present situation?
A: Nobody can question the right of a lawyer that allows him/her to appear on behalf of a criminal in any country in the world. But all lawyers should know their professional limits. We saw during the recent past how some new lawyers acted without understanding their professional limitations. We, all the lawyers are being controlled by the rules of the Supreme Court. Lawyers can appear for criminals but they cannot encourage people to commit any crimes. If they say `’do anything you want and come, we will protect you all’ it is encouraging people to commit crimes.
In the recent past many were involved in crimes believing those encouraging statements made by some lawyers and they fell into trouble. They committed crimes in the name of the protest. They did not understand that after committing crimes they had to suffer alone such as ending up in prison. They did not understand that there was no one to pay their legal fee.
For example, the 36 suspects who were arrested for murdering MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala are now suffering alone without any help. Some of them were not directly involved in it but it takes around ten long years or so for them to be free from the murder charges.
The people of this country should remember one thing. That is no matter who says that they will protect you, help you or anything else, do not commit any crime. At the end, the person will be forced to suffer alone without anyone.
Do whatever has to be done peacefully without breaking laws. Only the family members will be there to help and sometimes even family members look away and do not stand by those who get arrested.
On the other hand, lawyers should not encourage people to commit crimes. It is the social responsibility of the lawyers. It is a crime if any lawyer encourages people directly or indirectly to commit crimes and threaten police officers. The lawyers can lose their job if they violate the rules of the Supreme Courts. Therefore, all lawyers should know their professional limits. They cannot interpret the Constitution’s `freedom of expression’ as freedom of encouraging people to commit crimes.
Q: Some say the entire protest’ is an international conspiracy. What do you have to say about this?
A: The former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not harm anyone in any way and he left his position. He did not let anyone fire even one bullet on behalf of him. According to international law, traditions, and democracy we know, he is eligible to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But the very unfortunate thing is that the LTTE Tamil Diaspora try to hunt him since he left the country.
The best example of this is Yasmin Sooka of the International Truth and Justice Project appealing to the Attorney General of Singapore to arrest the former Sri Lankan President for war crimes.
The very surprising fact is no charges were mentioned against the former President in connection with the economic crisis and all the charges are connected to the so-called incident of shooting the individuals who arrived with white flags during the humanitarian operation.
The letter says all charges are based on the statement made by then (2009) Army Commander.
Incredibly it is this same individual who mentioned the so called `white flag incident’ calling all Sri Lankans to come to Colombo on August 9 to chase away the President and the Government. All can see a very clear connection between all the past incidents that were unfolded. We suspect that the entire economic crisis and the `protest’ are a part of one serious conspiracy against the former President.
Q: What do you think about the appointment of the new President Ranil Wickremesinghe ?
A: The appointment of the new President Ranil Wickremesinghe is totally legal, democratic and ethical. The former President made very clear requests from all political party leaders to form a new Government soon after the former Prime Minister resigned from his post and the Cabinet automatically dissolved. But all political parties rejected the request.
Only after that the present President and the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe came forward and accepted the challenge and the premiership in order to save the people from the hardships. Accepting the premiership itself becomes a qualification to become the President because he accepted a huge challenge was rejected by all the others.
After becoming the Prime Minister, he followed all relevant rules and regulations, all procedures mentioned in the Constitution. No one can say that he is not the people’s President. The people appointed Gotabaya Rajapaksa. When he stepped down we have to accept the person who got appointed according to the country’s supreme law, the Constitution.
As soon as he became President, he very successfully established law and order in this country. Democracy was re-established in the country by him. These are essential to obtain the IMF loan.
If people and politicians genuinely wish to solve the current economic crisis in the country they all should support the current President without petty politics and other differences. They all should put aside their political views and support to rescue the country. Protest does not bring gas, fuel, electricity and so on. `Go Home’ will only bring anarchy to the country.
In spite of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) being quite clearly opposed to the declaration of Emergency, to deal with the continuing challenge posed by the ‘protest movement’, an increasingly vociferous section of the lawyers overwhelmingly support measures taken by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
Appearing on ‘Rathu Ira,’ anchored by Nimesh Wijesuriya, on Swarnavahini on Thursday (04) night, a former top hand in the Attorney General’s Department Srinath Perera, PC, and several senior lawyers, including Tirantha Walaiyadde, PC, and Attorney-at-Law Ravindra Manoj Gamage, strongly backed the declaration of Emergency, though they expressed concerns over previous accusations directed at the UNP leader.
The panel included Attorney-at-Law Nuwan Bopage, a key member of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), one of the groups that spearheaded the ‘operation’ leading to the forced resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, on July 14. On behalf the breakaway JVP faction, lawyer Bopage vowed to resist Wickremesinghe’s onslaught whatever the consequences.
Issuing a dire warning to junior colleague Bopage that he would end up in jail for working against the State, Walaiyadde emphasised whatever the allegations directed at President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the past, he should be given the time and space to address the unprecedented issues at hand. If the new President is denied at least six months to take tangible measures to overcome the challenges, the country should be prepared for a civil war,” the senior attorney warned.
Walaiyadde endorsed security measures against the threat posed by those hell-bent on overthrowing the government outside constitutional means, but declined to comment on current judicial proceedings pertaining to cases involving the protest movement and related actions. The outspoken lawyer said that no one had emerged as the leader/leaders of the increasingly militant protest movement, though it initially claimed that it was non-partisan and peaceful. The protest grouping tried to cover up its failure claiming all of them represented the leadership,
Nimesh Wijesuriya dealt with issues related to the ‘protest movement’ in the wake of the continuing debate over the role played by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in the overall project. Attorney-at-Law Manoli Jinadsa recently raised a very pertinent question about the failure on the part of the BASL to censure the ‘protest movement’ over such illegal acts like the seizure of the President’s House, Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister’s Office and torching of the then PM’s private residence. Since then BASL President Saliya Pieris, PC has essentially responded to such accusations by stating those matters are now sub judice as they are before courts.
Walaiyadde called those who had been engaged in protest outside the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) demanding external interventions traitors. Alleging interested parties propagated lies to undermine the government of the day, Walaiyadde said that they should be dealt with.
At the beginning of the programme, Bopage slammed the Wickremesinghe administration over the ongoing attempts to suppress the ‘protest movement.’ Alleging Wickremesinghe exploited the public protest to his advantage, Bopage demanded to know the rationale in the President changing his stand on many matters as soon as he received the presidency.
Bopage declared that the ‘protest movement’ would continue as long as the government fails to address burning issues.Strongly endorsing the right to dissent, lawyer Gamage alleged that those who had engaged in what he called murderous politics of the 80s, took advantage of the public struggling to make ends meet.
Condemning the attack carried out at Galle Face allegedly at the behest of Temple Trees on May 09, lawyer Gamage accused far greater conspirators’ engineered meticulous countrywide violence.Attorney-at-Law Gamage questioned the ‘protest movement’s demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s successor. Declaring that the UNP leader should be given an opportunity to address the issues at hand, lawyer Gamage demanded to know who the FSP’s choice was for presidency.
Former Additional Solicitor General Srinath Perera censured President Wickremesinghe over his past conduct with reference to Treasury bond scams perpetrated in 2015 and 2916 during his tenure as the Prime Minister while challenging the new President to investigate high profile corruption cases involving the Rajapaksa family.
Declaring the Rajapaksas would never be punished by an administration led by Wickremesinghe, lawyer Perera PC said that the President’s intention was to somehow protect the corrupt lot.Therefore, justice shouldn’t be expected from President Wickremesinghe, the former UNPer said, while throwing his weight behind the emergency declared by the new leader.
Walaiyadde lambasted the JVP and its offshoot FSP over violence directed at the State. The lawyer dismissed efforts to portray the ‘protest movement’ as peaceful. The lawyer called for harshest possible action against those who had engaged in violence. Colleagues Perera and Gamage accepted that stance.
All of them said that while the right to dissent should be respected, efforts to subvert the country couldn’t be tolerated under any circumstances.Walaiyadde said that those in and outside the Parliament responsible for encouraging violence should be dealt with.
Nuwan Bopage said that the State/Government had failed to address the grievances of the masses. The FSP spokesperson queried the absurdity in lawyers representing the interests of the State/Government while the public were deprived of the basic needs and two proper meals a day. Bopage maintained that those who benefited from the utterly corrupt system shamelessly threw their weight behind deceitful leaders.Gamage countered declaring ‘rule of law’ is not ‘rule of lawyers’
Gamage reminded how Bopage threatened the IGP and other senior police officers, including Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon outside the police headquarters. Bopage had no qualms in declaring they knew where the IGP and other senior officers lived, Bopage said. What the lawyer meant was their residences, too, could be destroyed at any time. How such actions could be termed peaceful?.
Gamage alleged that those who inspired violence wouldn’t be there for those who end up in jail. The lawyer pointed out that hundreds of persons taken in by law enforcement authorities over violent incidents would have bear the legal costs while those who inspired them turned a blind eye to their plight.
The Sri Lankan government has asked the Chinese government to defer the visit of its space-satellite tracker ship Yuan Wang 5 at Hambantota port until further consultations” are made between the two governments.
The spy ship was scheduled to dock at Chinese leased Hambantota port on August 11 for refueling and leave on August 17.
Designated as a research stroke survey vessel, Yuan Wang 5 was built in 2007 and has a carrying capacity of 11,000 tonnes. The survey vessel departed from Jiangyin, China on July 13 and is currently sailing close to Taiwan where China is conducting live-fire drills as an aggressive posture against Taipei for allowing US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit the self-ruled island. According to the MarineTraffic website, the ship currently is in the East China Sea between South Japan and northeast of Taiwan.
According to diplomats based in Colombo, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry sent a note verbale to Embassy of China referring to a Ministry’s note on July 12, 2022, conveying clearances for vessel Yuan Wang 5 to enter the port of Hambantota for replenishment purposes.”
India had expressed its security concerns over the docking of the vessel at Hambantota as it was shown as a research vessel while the spy ship can map the ocean bed which is critical to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese Navy. It is understood that the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka muscled his way with the Sri Lankan government and said that denial of permission to the vessel would have an impact on bilateral ties.
While the Cabinet Spokesperson of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government on August 2 announced that the ship was being allowed for refueling, the Indian Navy also conveyed its serious security concerns to Colombo. India has stood shoulder to shoulder with Sri Lanka to tide over the present economic crisis faced by the island nation and has given more than USD 3.5 billion in aid in terms of petrol, diesel, natural gas, foodstuffs, and medicine.
On August 5, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry deferred the permission to allow the spy ship to dock at Hambantota port and conveyed it in writing to their Chinese Foreign Ministry counterparts through proper diplomatic channels.
The Sri Lankan decision of deferring the visit of the spy ship shows that it respects the security concern of its neighbor India despite the muscle power of China. Sri Lanka owes more than 10 per cent of its external debt to China with Beijing granted a 99-year lease of Hambantota Port by Colombo in 2017.
The President delivered the keynote address at the launch of the research reports on Sri Lanka’s economic reforms and the panel discussion held at the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall in Colombo (Aug 05).
The Advocata Institute organized this two-day economic forum on the theme “LET’S RESET SRI LANKA
President Wickremesinghe pointed out that whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposal is good or bad, whether anyone likes it or not, it should be implemented in order to recover from the ongoing economic crisis the country is facing. He also said that the government has the right to question their proposals if any of them are cause for concern.
The President explained that first and foremost Sri Lanka needs to enter into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Secondly, the most important is to secure a sustainable loan, any suggestions on getting the loan could be shared. The President further explained that those proposals could be presented to the Parliament for a decision.
President Wickremesinghe opined that the changes in governments and state policies are fundamental issues that impinge on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. While warning that many difficulties would need to be faced in the next 6 months, he informed that the International Monetary Fund also acknowledges that attention should be paid to the people affected by the economic crisis.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe alslo said that there can be no reliance on old economic models any longer and there should be innovative thinking while paying prompt attention to the global changes.
The President enumerated that the country should focus on the foreign debt issue which is extensive and navigates through it without getting caught into the geopolitics of the Asian region.
He prescribed that the export-oriented economy, the renewable energy sector, and the use of nuclear energy be thought outside the traditional framework. The country’s future cannot be reorganized without developing its economy, and therefore initially Sri Lanka should stabilize its economy.
During the 1997 Asian financial crisis which led to the Thai economic reversal at that juncture, it was the International Monetary Fund that guided the recovery, he said.
When the President recently visited Mahanayake Theros, the Nayake Theros also agreed to provide relief to the people through temples.
Observing that the underprivileged segment has grown in recent times, he regretted that school education has been disrupted due to Covid and the fuel crisis, and should be soon re-established, through which economic and social stability can be established.
The President outlined that modernization of the agricultural and fisheries sectors, use of new technology in production, mitigation of climate change, problems faced by women, housing needs of the people, and poverty in rural areas be given more attention.
He further said that we need to create a competitive economy with high wages and productive capacity and the need to build trade relations with Asian countries which have large growing markets. He referred to the current world economic situation as not being favourable for any country.
Dr. Veerathai Santiprubhop, the former Governor of the Bank of Thailand, commented that there is no colossal financial crisis in Sri Lanka as portrayed in the international media.
He further said that to recover from Thailand’s economic crisis, measures such as privatization of public institutions, protection of the most vulnerable people, institutional reforms, building credibility in the banking sector, appointing economic authorities into the cabinet, dealing with the International Monetary Fund, amending the necessary laws, and seeking the assistance of foreign experts, were measures taken.
United National Party Chairman, Member of Parliament Vajira Abeywardena, Samagi Jana Balawega MPs Dr. Harsha de Silva, Kabir Hashim, Mayantha Dissanayake and the Chairperson of the Advocata Institute Murtaza Jafferjee were also present.
India is reported to have ‘raised concerns at the highest levels’ over Sri Lanka’s decision to allow the Chinese research vessel Yuan Wang 5 to dock at the Hambantota Port. Yuan Wang 5 is said to be a ship engaged in marine scientific research, but benign though that sounds, it is also one of China’s latest generation space-tracking vessels, capable of monitoring satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches. Intelligence for the military, then, and as such certainly part of China’s defence hardware complement. It is legitimate for India to be concerned.
However, even if one were to call it a warship, it’s not the first Chinese vessel of its kind to dock in a Sri Lankan port. In December 2010 the Chinese missile destroyer, Lanzhou, was locked at the Colombo Port for five days. On that occasion also, India expressed concerns. In 2017, a hydrographic survey ship belonging to the Chinese Navy, Gi Jiguang (Hull 83) was in Colombo for a four-day goodwill visit. This too may have upset India. Another Chinese Naval vessel, Qian Weichang, also dedicated to hydrographic surveys, spent a few days in the Port a year later.
In November 2014, a Chinese submarine (Changzheng-2) and a warship (Chang Xing Dao) docked at the Colombo Port, seven weeks after another Chinese submarine, described as a long-range deployment patrol, had also called at the same port ahead of a visit to South Asia by Chinese President Xi Jinping. India probably raised concerns on that occasion too. However, the then Navy Spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya dismissed all ‘concerns’ thus: ‘This is nothing unusual. Since 2010, 230 warships have called at Colombo port from various countries on goodwill visits and for refuelling and crew refreshment.’
Yes, it’s not just China that’s leaving footprints in Sri Lankan waters and ports. This is routine stuff for the US Navy, for example. In October 2017, no less than six ships of the USA’s Carrier Strike Group (the USS Nimitz, the cruiser USS Princeton, and destroyers USS Howard, USS Shoup, USS Pinckney, and USS Kidd) docked in Sri Lanka. In December 2018, USS Rushmore of the US Navy arrived and in the following year we had USS Spruance and USNS Millinocket arriving at the Hambantota Port to take part in annual naval exercises. A few months ago, i.e. in March 2022, theUSS Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy, docked at the Trincomalee Port. We don’t know if India was aware or was concerned and if concerned showed this much anxiety.
Still, there’s nothing wrong in India being concerned. China, after all, isn’t India’s best friend. The US is certainly a better buddy, although relations have somewhat frayed after India didn’t bow down to pressure from Washington to side with NATO over the Ukraine situation following the Russian invasion. Perhaps in time to come, as the centre of global political and economic gravity shifts to Asia, India would find an objecting tongue if US destroyers, submarines and whatnot docked in any of Sri Lanka’s ports. For now, nothing. For now, China is India’s pet bugbear. Well, the pet bugbear of the USA too or rather a close second to Russia — US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan is an in-your-face giving of the finger to Beijing, nothing less. That’s another story for another day.
For now, it’s all about India and China as far as Sri Lanka is concerned — the shameless politicking of US Ambassador Julie Chung, a Ms Busybody if ever there was one, notwithstanding.
What do we make of it all, though? Well, Sri Lanka, today, is not in the happiest of places, politically or economically. Sri Lankan leaders have appealed to the world for assistance. India and China, in particular, have pledged support. That’s the problem. Sri Lanka, given the current policy regime (which is one that for decades has pooh-poohed the country’s resources and in particular the strength of the people), needs India as well as China. Sri Lanka cannot afford to rub either country the wrong way.
Now, if one were to be clinical about it and assume that a) the world is flat, b) all countries have equal say and sway, c) friendship rhetoric is not frill that covers self-interest and insidious design, and d) the powerful, although eminently able, aren’t willing to twist arms, the we can just brush off concerns as being irrelevant, irresponsible and quite out of order. We could go with ‘Sri Lanka is a sovereign country, we are friends to one and all blah, blah and many more blahs,’ but that’s not the happy world we live in.
So we need to be cute. Or rather, the government needs to have diplomatic finesse. Simply, it’s not a ‘China or India’ kind of proposition. It’s imperative that relevant authorities are open, frank and transparent with all parties. There will be sabre-rattling. There will be assurances. India knows that a Chinese warship or whatever vessel it may be docking in Sri Lanka is hardly a defensible reason to invade the island. India can of course withdraw support to Sri Lanka as it navigates an unprecedented economic crisis. Sri Lanka cannot say ‘that’s not fair.’
Of course that would fly in the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ foreign policy. The frills would come off and the truth would emerge: ‘India first and foremost, neighbourhood first only in a predatory sense.’ Not that it would bother India. Thugs aren’t really worried about being perceived as such when they have a free hand.
India is worried about the Chinese footprint in the island, especially the Hambantota Port which has been leased to China for 99 years (in a dodgy, ill-advised and carelessly worded document) for ‘commercial activity.’ Well, Sri Lanka should worry about the Chinese footprint too, one could argue. On the other hand, we’ve known that the Indian footprint was made among other ways by the jackboot of the Indian army. We know that Rajiv Gandhi, when the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed, bragged that it was the beginning of the Bhutanization of Sri Lanka. We know that top military persons considered it a victory that Sri Lanka had agreed to name Trincomalee as the capital of the merged Northern and Eastern Province.
And we know other things about China. China’s friendship is long and staunch on many counts, going back to the Rubber-Rice Pact and even before that. China did not fund, arm and train terrorists, create a problem and offer to sort it out and fail miserably. China did not undertake to disarm terrorists and fail to do so or despite not keeping to its side of the bargain insist that Sri Lanka implement to the last letter a constitutional amendment thrust down Sri Lanka’s throat at gun-point, almost. China has consistently and solidly defended Sri Lanka at the UN, especially the UNHRC and the UN Security Council. India, on the other hand, never stood up for her neighbour, choosing at best to abstain during key votes, sponsored by the USA or her allies. China has been a veritable guarantor of Sri Lanka’s security; India has actively subverted Sri Lanka’s security.
Ideally, geopolitics would evolve into an Asian Compact (as opposed to the QUAD) where India and China stand together against the world’s biggest bully, the US-led bloc which includes NATO members. Ideally, those who talk of friendship would not impose conditions on support. Ideally, Sri Lanka would excavate herself from the current predicament by placing greater faith on her resources and people, living within means, setting up development banks, banking on cooperatives and cooperation, and thereby fixing the balance of payment crisis, weaning herself from dollar dependency, and stumping the import mafia that has brought Sri Lanka to where it is now.
We do not live in such a world. Yet. And so, it’s time for the diplomats. Time for diplospeak. However, at no point should even those who have to dialogue harbour illusions about what’s what and who is who. Goes for India, China and anyone else, including Sri Lankans who in collusion with any such powers or on their own steam sow the seeds of misery on the citizenry.
On 6th January 2021 groups of Americans, some armed, stormed Capitol Hill and even captured and held an autonomous zone. Extensive damage was caused and US National Guards had to be brought in to disburse the unruly mobs. The whole world took the side of the US Govt & demanded action against the mobsters. After investigations, US authorities are now charging all those who took part in the mob protests. In Sri Lanka, on 9th July 2022 autonomous areas had been created over 100 days and protestors stormed 6 state buildings destroying and pilfering contents of the buildings. Surprisingly a handful of powerful nations prevented the GoSL from taking action claiming it to be the human rights of protestors to do as they liked. Extensive damage, destruction and theft resulted and even when action was taken to disburse those illegally inside buildings were considered against ‘human rights’ of the protestors. Would they say the same if their embassies were the next target of these mobs to the extent of even occupying them. Would these embassy heads ask GoSL not to take action and allow these mobs to remain inside their embassies?
The 9 member select House committee investigated the 6 Jan 2021 Capitol riot & invasion of Capitol Hill. 10 months of investigations / interviewing over 1000 witnesses / gathering over 140,000 documents including video & audio from the riots. FBI sought public help to identify people who took part.
Five people died in connection with the riot. This included a pregnant female, Capitol Police officer, and a member of the mob who was shot while breaching a room adjacent to the House chamber. More than 100 police were injured. More than 800 arrests made of which more than 300 have pleaded guilty & 5 convicted at trial. Over $1million damages were caused by the mobs.
Capitol Hill Police officer Caroline Edwards suffered a traumatic brain injury
The video showing rioters rushing toward the Capitol, swarming police officers and attacking them with weapons beating officers with hockey sticks and other objects. Inspite of visibly seeing this there were some to claim the protestors were ‘peaceful’. It was no different to the scenario in Sri Lanka.
When comparing July 9th riots with January 6th riots some are quick to claim the two cannot be compared. However, the US incident was regarding people supporting the former President refusing to accept election outcome. Sri Lanka’s incident was part related to the cost of living which later escalated into a political opposition against the elected President to oust him (many now admit that political parties and lobby groups were linked to the riots). Indirectly both incidents were to oust an elected President as was in the case of US President & Sri Lankan President. If it was wrong to oust elected President Biden it cannot be different in Sri Lanka too.
How can it be wrong to scale walls & occupy State buildings & damage its contents in the US but the same things done in Sri Lanka is acceptable simple because the excuse given for the action is that the Sri Lankan President did not have dollars to provide gas / petrol & left people in queues & was being held responsible for 44 years of debt & corruptions?
Secondly, both rioters attempted to overtake state buildings. Whatever justifications they give, this remains an illegal act. While the trial in the US, the legal arguments present the illegalities of the act, the situation cannot be any different in Sri Lanka from a legal point of view.
As senior attorney Manoli Jinadasa pointed out it is unfortunate that the Head of the premier legal association in Sri Lanka chose not to denounce the illegal invasion and occupation of state buildings except to ask them to use the items carefully (which they did not as footage now reveals)
If the US riot was instigated by Trump supporters it is now clear that the riots that ensued in Sri Lanka had not only political backing of JVP, FSP, SJB, TNA but also their associated student unions, LTTE Diaspora & Catholic Church as well as a handful of controversial Buddhist clergy. The moment protestors went beyond holding placards to setting up illegal structures, forcibly taking public land, pushing barricades, it no longer became classified as a ‘peaceful protest’.
Sri Lanka is now investigating the not-so-peaceful protests together with the illegal invasion & occupation as well as damage/destruction and theft of State belongings. If US could put on trial rioters that entered its State buildings, there is no reason why Sri Lanka should not do same.
What is wrong is wrong, what is illegal is illegal and no justification can remove this. No one can take law into their hands.
US Govt delivers democracy through National Endowment for Democracy NED. Foreign aid & programs associated with the aid were to determine the manner of democracy” to be delivered. That democracy” meant helping friendly regimes, toppling unfriendly regimes, propping puppets, assisting dictators – all in the name of ‘democracy’. Democracy became intertwined with political and economic assistance that soon became insisted. The task was outsourced to USAID and US Peace Corps who initially targeted Latin America, Africa, Middle East & Asia.
1960s – John F Kennedy modernized democracy
1970s – Richard Nixon superpower relations foreign policy / Jimmy Carter human rights foreign policy
1980s & 1990s – Ronald Reagan Cold War foreign policy & anti-communism & a ‘crusade for freedom’ aiding ‘reformers’ using 1) ‘Project Democracy’ (coordinated by US Information Agency-USIA) then 2) Promoting Democracy & free markets via quasi-governmental agency- creating NED.
1990s – under President Bush & President Clinton ‘democracy’ & ‘free markets’ expanded. Underlying rhetoric was that democracies do not fight each other & are economically interdependent creating democratic peace/liberal peace.
NED’s ‘reformers’ initially became Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia & eventually Soviet Union which became balkanized.
US Govt channels aid through National Endowment for Democracy (NED) & this aid is used to promote democracy & economic freedom. Details about NED’s activities are not made public beyond what it claims to do. The objectives behind the program initiatives are kept secret. Thus NED’s real initiatives from 1983 remains known only to the US Govt.
National Endowment for Democracy – NED
Originated – 1984
Funded by US Congress
Mission – assist ‘development of democratic institutions, procedures and values’ in other countries
NED definition of democracy – right of foreign people to freely determine their own destiny, via a system that guarantees freedom of expression, belief & association, free & competitive elections, respect for inalienable rights of individuals & minorities, free communications, media & rule of law.
Help develop political institutions needed for democracy with special focus on developing political parties (political & ideological assistance)
Help prepare, conduct & monitor elections
Help strengthen civil society by assisting ‘independent’ organizations – invariably implying dependent on West & its values
NED’s Journal of Democracy is the Bible of its programs.
NED’s Democracy Resource Centre is for its contacts & information
NED is directly funded by US Congress
NED offers indirect grants to
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs – NDI
International Republican Institute – IRI
American Centre for International Labor Solidarity – ACILS (formerly Free Trade Union Institute)
Centre for International Private Enterprise – CIPE
These 4 entities represent 2 political parties in US, labor unions & US businesses)
NED & CIA
Many perceive NED to be doing overtly what CIA formerly did covertly
CIA image was exposed by 3 Commissions
Church Committee
Pike Committee
Rockefeller Commission
NED Projects
1984 Iran-Contra – Project Democracy” covert attempt to restrict aid to Nicaraguas Contras via Lt. Col. Oliver North violating Congress orders channeling funding through arms sales to Iran resulted in CIA creating within itself a secret government. VP Walter Mondale & Republican Frank Fahrenkopf had strong links to NED serving on its board & did utmost to not link NED to the Iran-Contras affair.
Funding extremist groups in France – revealed on 28 Nov 1985 by New York Times that National Inter-University Union (student organization founded in 1969) received $575,000 from NED & Force Ouvriere given $830,000 by NED as grants because they opposed French President Mitterands policies.
1988 Chilean Plebiscite – citizens voting whether to retain government of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. US became involved through NED giving $600,000 to opposition groups. US Congress gave NED another $1m to distribute in Chile to get voters to come & vote for the Opposition (NED Chile was a success)
1989 Nicaraguan election (2 years after Iran-Contras scandal) – Project Democracy” covert attempt to oust Sandinista. NED funded Presidential candidate Violetta Chamorro – widow of Pedro Joaquin owner of La Prensa pro-US newspaper who was murdered in 1978 for his CIA links. NED provided $15m in overt political assistance in Nicaragua. In 1989 NED provided $12.5m to promote democracy (Sharkey)
1994 Congressional authorization fight – In the first year of operations Congress authorized $18m. in 1994 it increased to $48m but later reduced to $35m
If NED doesn’t give money to anything conflicting with US interests, it invariably implies NED only gives money to those entities that compliment US interests (whether they promote freedom or not). Operative word is ‘interests’. Therefore, anyone known to be a recipient of NED funding is definitely aligned to US interests & have its ‘democracy ‘tailored to local needs’.
Critics of NED claim it is only duplicating what USAID & USIA already performs which is why members of Congress are calling to cut international funding for ‘democracy’ overseas. The 1995 General Accounting Office report recommended the continuance of NED only if it proved it was more effective than USAID or USIA. As per GAO, NED was still less effective than USAID.
NED operates in countries in secret & with groups that are meant to operate in secret. This is what raises doubts in people. If the programs are genuine, why the secrecy? It is obvious that within the fancy terms and names used for the programs is a bigger program kept undisclosed possibly even from the groups. How ironic for people claiming to be ‘democratic’ but doing things in secret. Even the American public are questioning the NED secrecy.
US Congress grants NED – NED grants local groups to promote American ‘democracy’ & free markets (implying open to US trade)
NED grants often means increase in US military personnel in the country, more US interference in internal affairs of a country. NED always fishes in troubled economies which implies it succeeds better where countries are weak when countries are vulnerable. The next question is – do they help to make the country weak & vulnerable with their programs?
NED claims success for
breaking up the Warsaw Pact
freedom” in Chile
freedom” in Haiti
Supporting democracy” in Soviet Union & China
NED grants for education to countries means that the curricula is designed as per US wishes. Essentially, the aim is to denationalize children and steer them towards the ‘values’ that US wishes to promote.
NED grants for small & medium business means encouraging them to lobby for open markets & liberalizations to US and West’s advantage.
NED grants to media & publishing means promoting media as per US agenda. There are so many ways to present a fact or even a lie.
NED grants promoting women’s issues aims at steering women away from cultural roots.
Thus when NED grants to youth, rule of law, judiciary, military relations, civil society — we do not need to make second guesses as to what the ulterior aims are.
NED grants to China in 1990s – MEDIA & PUBLISHING
In 1990s NED awarded $4.9m in 9 grants to DEMOCRATIC CHINA to support media & publishing in China. DEMOCRATIC CHINA is a Chinese magazine containing articles promoting democracy in mainland China & democratization in Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macau.
CHINA PERSPECTIVE INC was also recipient of NED 7 grants under media & publishing to promote democratic values via THE CHINESE INTELLECTUAL a Chinese language quarterly.
PRESS FREEDOM GUARDIAN – a bi-weekly Chinese language newspaper also received NED 8 media & publishing grants.
CHINESE ECONOMISTS SOCIETY – received 4 NED media & publishing grants to prepare educational books on benefits of market economy
THE NEW ERA – received 4 NED media & publishing grants.
CHINA STRATEGIC INSTITUTE received $300,000 & $130,000 in 1996 and $170,000 in 1997 for research & to write for constitutional reforms in China.
CENTRE FOR MODERN CHINA received $265,000 NED media & publishing funding to create 2 journals – MODERN CHINA STUDIES & JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA – the focus was on rule of law in China & was to be promoted to use in Chinese law schools. The aim was to overhaul Chinese legal system.
PRINCETON CHINA INITIATIVE – received 5 NED grants totaling $234,000. This group comprised dissident Chinese intellectuals & was to create 2 journals – THE ROAD / CHINA FOCUS.
FOUNDATION FOR CHINA was given $150,000 NED grant to publish 2 books on Tibet & Taiwan. NED also helped create Chinese literary magazine TODAY which peddle wester human rights and pro-democratic values.
NED grants to China in 1990s – LABOUR ($4.1m)
$2.5m given to Asian-American Free Labour Institute (1993-1998) to fund labor activists in China & Hong Kong & Taiwan.
$1.6m given to LAOGAI RESEARCH FOUNDATION via NED’s core grantee American Centre for International Labour Solidarity.
NED grants to China in 1990s – ELECTIONS ($3.3m)
NED via International Republican Institute awarded 2 grants in 1995 & 1999 to support electoral reform in China, to educate public on election procedures & to lobby Chinese government to change election laws.
ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS & TOWNSHIPS received $875,000 in 1998 to support electoral reforms at village level by training local election administrators.
ASSOCIATION FOR GRASSROOTS GOVERNANCE & INSTITUTE FOR ASIA-PACIFIC STUDIES received $600,000 each in 1996 to hold workshops to train provincial & local elected officials in China
NED funding was given to NDI (National Democratic Institute) to award CHINA STRATEGIC INSTITUTEto analyze Hong Kong’s election process & publish research papers on China’s failure of human rights & electoral system.
NED grants to China in 1990s – HUMAN RIGHTS ($2.7m)
$1.1m given to Human Rights in China Inc (1993-1999) to provide legal services to political prisoners, appraise Chinese citizens of their rights, document human rights abuses, human rights issues related to women.
LAOGAI RESEARCH FOUNDATION awarded $752,400 from 1992-1999 for human rights activities, creating & maintaining a human rights database on China’s forced labor prison camps, publicizing China’s prisons internationally, detention of political prisoners without trial, producing documentaries on public executions in China.
NED grants to China in 1990s – PUBLIC POLICY ($1.8m)
$1.1m to ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS & TOWNSHIPS to conduct surveys & determine training needs of local governments in China, reform election practices at village level & legal reform at provincial level.
NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY – NED grant to support public policy in China
CHINA CENTRE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH – NED grant for lecture series for government officials and economists promoting new university textbooks for economic reform in China.
CENTRE FOR MODERN CHINA – NED grant to aid public policy
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET / FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA / CHINA STRATEGIC INSTITUTE / FUTURE OF CHINA SOCIETY all have received NED funding.
NED grants to China in 1990s – EDUCATION ($1.3m)
NATIONAL LEAGURE FOR DEMOCRACY received $305,125 from 1991-1996 to train leaders in strategic planning techniques & train citizens to oppose government through non-violence.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA INC was given NED grant to support human rights education
FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS & DEMOCRACY IN CHINA received NED grant to promote education in China & fund research.
NED also gave grants to
ALBERT EINSTEIN INSTITUTE
CENTRE FOR MODERN CHINA
CENTRE FOR STUDY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
INDEPENDENT FEDERATION OF CHINESE STUDENTS & SCHOLARS
INTERNATIONAL FUND for DEVELOPMENT OF TIBET FUND
TIBET MULTI-MEDIA CENTRE
TIBETAN YOUNG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION
POLITICAL DEFINANCE COMMITTEE
NED grants to China in 1990s – BUSINESS & ECONOMY ($1.2m)
CHINESE ECONOMISTS SOCIETY given NED grants to conduct conference on China’s transition to a market economy & showcase problems with state-run industries in China & to encourage privatization of financial sector in Guangdong Province and to establish a Private Enterprise Management Training Centre” to train young Chinese entrepreneurs.
CHINA CENTRE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH was given NED grant to establish China Economic Network & an economic-training program for young faculty at China’s colleges & universities.
UNIRULE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS given NED grants to hold bi-weekly forums & debates on economic reform issues for entrepreneurs, academics, government officials & journalists.
CENTRE FOR MODERN CHINA given NED grants to fund publication & distribution of a series of academic papers focusing on solutions offered for a free market to China’s economic problems.
CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE ENTERPRISE & BEIJING SIYUAN MERGER & BANKRUPTCY CONSULTANCY also given NED grants.
According to the dissertation research by Eric T. Hale, NED has not been successful at promoting democracy & economic freedom in the 1990s.
If NED had been so active in China in the 1990s, it is not difficult to imagine the inroads beyond 21stcentury.
NED financed
Oct 2000 Velvet Revolution in Serbia overthrowing Milosevic Govt
1999-2000 NED funded Serbian opposition $41m & secretly trained college students before they were used for rioting by Otpori. US-funded advisors were behind the scenes tracking polls, training opposition activists & organizing surveys (Washington Post)
2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia, forcing President Shevardnadze to step down with NED ‘selecting’ opposition leaders, training & funding them. Over $600,000 given to 12 NGOs.
2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine – NED gives $65m to Ukrainian Opposition.
2013 Ukraine – NED funded 65 NGOs to organize massive anti-government demonstrations & even ‘paid’ protestors.
2014 – Ria Novosti reported NED funded $14m to overthrow Yanukovych govt
2011 Arab Spring in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, Syria, Libya – NED supported pro-American youth, brainwashed their minds with anti-govt ideas, incited hated & created social unrest & economic recession.
Jan 2011 – Egypt anti-govt demonstrations leading to 11 Feb resignation of President Hosni Mubarak (a close ally of US) NED worked with NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CHANGE & the APRIL 6 YOUTH MOVEMENT.
Libya – NED funded LIBYA FORUM FOR HUMAN & POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, LIBYAN TRANSPARENCY ASSOCIATION.
Yemen – NED worked with WOMEN JOURNALISTS WITHOUT CHAINS to organize rallies against Saleh Govt
Algeria – NED funded ALGERIAN LEAGUE FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Bolivia – NED worked to force President Evo Morales to resign & go into exile using ‘street movements’. NED & USAID funded $70m anti-Morales movements
NED funded Xianjian independence’ Uyghurs” Tibet independence” Hong Kong Independence” & now Pelosi visit to Taiwan shows heavy involvement of US-NED-USAID in China.
NED is active in Sri Lanka. NED has funded Sri Lankan NGOs to the tune of $1m in 2021 alone. If NED has funded street movements, paid demonstrators, funded riots, paid NGOs to train youth elsewhere to overthrow elected leaders, destabilize countries — do you think NED will not be replicating the same programs in Sri Lanka? Now merge that with the NGOs – youth – women & other players active in the recent protests” and begin asking yourself questions and seeking answers for yourself.
The building of new places of religious worship should be in proportion to the number of followers whether in the North, East, or South. No matter which religion, Sri Lanka does not need any more ‘Kattankudys’ (where the mosques far outnumber the Muslims there). This policy should be enforced constitutionally. It would be necessary to conduct a survey to find out how many new places of worship have come up disproportionate to the number of its adherents in areas where the buildings have been constructed.
All citizens/individuals without question should have equal rights. But when it comes to equal rights to communities it is a different matter altogether. In any country, it is the majority community that creates its national and cultural identity. Even in the countries where religion is separated from the State, they cannot escape from the cultural-religious heritage that shaped the evolution of that nation over the centuries, though subject to various external religious/cultural influences.
No country however allows parallel cultures. The best example is Western countries where the predominant religion, Christianity, is separated from the State. Although non-Christians and atheists live in those countries the main holidays and cultural events are linked to Christianity – except events like Independence Day or National Day, War Victory day, etc.
This is best illustrated in the short story the well-known satirical Sinhala writer T.G.W. de Silva wrote around 60 years ago. There is a heated debate in Parliament on the issue of public holidays. MPs representing different communities demand that events related to their religion too shroud be made public holidays. Eventually, they all find a solution: To make all 365 days of the year public holidays so that every community is happy!!
Sri Lanka Police is seeking public assistance to identify the suspects involved in the stealing of two T-56 firearms and the assault on 26 army personnel during the protest near Polduwa Junction last month.
During the protest held on July 13 near the Parliament entry road at Polduwa Junction, protesters had snatched two T-56 assault rifles with two magazines containing 60 live rounds of ammunition, from two army soldiers on duty.
One of the two firearms that were reported missing was later recovered by navy divers in Rajagiriya near the Butterfly Bridge of the Diyawanna Lake under the bridge towards the Parliament.
The police said information regarding the suspects can be provided to the following telephone numbers:
Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since independence is spinning off a serious food crisis,” said World Food Programme Representative and Country Director Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, while describing a toxic mix of spiking prices, shrinking crop yields, the fallout of the war in Ukraine and a lack of state funds to pay for key supplies.
The economy has collapsed and the country has run out of the money needed to import essentials like fuel, food and fertiliser,” he said, and urged more donor support to WFP and other humanitarian responders.
A recent assessment by WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed that 6.3 million people – nearly 30 percent of the population – are food-insecure. It comes as WFP warns of an unprecedented global food crisis.
Sri Lanka is grappling with a record 90 percent food inflation, making even staples such as rice unaffordable for millions of families. The average monthly cost of a nutritious diet has soared 156 percent since 2018. What we are seeing on the ground is alarming. We know that millions of Sri Lankans are struggling to have sufficient and nutritious food.”
Without urgent intervention, things look depressingly bleak for a country which should be able to grow enough to feed its population of 22 million,” said Siddiqui.
The WFP highlighted that multiple factors are shaping Sri Lanka’s food crisis. In its bid to make farming more environmentally sustainable, the government last year banned imported chemical fertilisers. However, the move sharply reduced agricultural output – and while import rules have since been eased, the effects remain. After two consecutive harvest failures, a third would be catastrophic,” said Siddiqui.
Sri Lanka is also feeling the aftershocks of the war in Ukraine. Along with disrupting key grain exports and driving up global food and fuel prices, the conflict has battered two of its top tourist markets – Russia and Ukraine itself – reducing the availability of hard currency and, in turn, Sri Lanka’s ability to import, with far-reaching effects. Around 200,000 fishermen are out of their livelihoods because this country doesn’t have fuel following import restrictions. We need to provide support to the smallholder farmers.”
International organisations like WFP have a duty to step in to provide emergency food assistance to the most vulnerable cross-section of the population,” added the WFP official.
WFP kicked off its emergency response operation in mid-June, distributing food vouchers to pregnant women in some of the underserved sections of the capital.
The programme, via its emergency response aims to scale up and reach 3.4 million people with food and nutrition assistance.
The effort will not only be in the form of food but also cash and vouchers, which enables people to buy food and other essentials based on their specific needs.
WFP’s emergency response will also support resuming a key programme: providing food to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and malnourished young children – bridging a key gap created when Sri Lanka’s government was forced to halt critical assistance programmes due to lack of funds.
The Director-General of Health Services today confirmed 04 new coronavirus-related deaths for August 04, pushing the country’s death toll from the pandemic to 16,578.
The deaths reported today include 02 males and 02 females, according to the figures released by the Department of Government Information.
The two female victims and one of the male victims were above the age of 60 years. The remaining male victim was aged between 30-59 years.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe says there can be no reliance on old economic models any longer and there should be innovative thinking while paying prompt attention to the global changes.
The President made these remarks while delivering the keynote address at the launch of the research reports on Sri Lanka’s economic reforms and the panel discussion held at the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall in Colombo, today (Aug 05).
The Advocata Institute organized this two-day economic forum on the theme LET’S RESET SRI LANKA”.
President Wickremesinghe pointed out that whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposal is good or bad, whether anyone likes it or not, it should be implemented in order to recover from the ongoing economic crisis the country is facing. He also said that the government has the right to question their proposals if any of them are cause for concern.
The President explained that first and foremost Sri Lanka needs to enter into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Secondly, the most important is to secure a sustainable loan, any suggestions on getting the loan could be shared. The President further explained that those proposals could be presented to the Parliament for a decision.
President Wickremesinghe opined that the changes in governments and state policies are fundamental issues that impinge on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. While warning that many difficulties would need to be faced in the next 6 months, he informed that the International Monetary Fund also acknowledges that attention should be paid to the people affected by the economic crisis.
The President enumerated that the country should focus on the foreign debt issue which is extensive and navigates through it without getting caught into the geopolitics of the Asian region.
He prescribed that the export-oriented economy, the renewable energy sector, and the use of nuclear energy be thought outside the traditional framework. The country’s future cannot be reorganized without developing its economy, and therefore initially Sri Lanka should stabilize its economy.
During the 1997 Asian financial crisis which led to the Thai economic reversal at that juncture, it was the International Monetary Fund that guided the recovery, he said. When the President recently visited Mahanayake Theros, the Nayake Theros also agreed to provide relief to the people through temples.
Observing that the underprivileged segment has grown in recent times, he regretted that school education has been disrupted due to Covid and the fuel crisis, and should be soon re-established, through which economic and social stability can be established.
The President outlined that modernization of the agricultural and fisheries sectors, use of new technology in production, mitigation of climate change, problems faced by women, housing needs of the people, and poverty in rural areas be given more attention.
He further said that we need to create a competitive economy with high wages and productive capacity and the need to build trade relations with Asian countries which have large growing markets. He referred to the current world economic situation as not being favourable for any country.
Dr. Veerathai Santiprubhop, the former Governor of the Bank of Thailand, commented that there is no colossal financial crisis in Sri Lanka as portrayed in the international media.
He further said that to recover from Thailand’s economic crisis, measures such as privatization of public institutions, protection of the most vulnerable people, institutional reforms, building credibility in the banking sector, appointing economic authorities into the cabinet, dealing with the International Monetary Fund, amending the necessary laws, and seeking the assistance of foreign experts, were measures taken.
United National Party Chairman, Member of Parliament Vajira Abeywardena, Samagi Jana Balawega MPs Dr. Harsha de Silva, Kabir Hashim, Mayantha Dissanayake and the Chairperson of the Advocata Institute Murtaza Jafferjee were also present.
All bets were off as Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, and second in line to the United States Presidency pivoted to Asia, August 1st. As Ms. Pelosi tottered off a US Air Force plane at Singapore’s Changi Airport in her signature stilettos South East Asia tripped into high tension as a collective shudder seemed to reverberate through the region.
China’s President Xi had warned President Biden ahead of Pelosi’s proposed Taiwan trip: play with Fire and you will get burned!” This is a time when relations between the two Superpowers, one rising and the other fading, are at an historic low as the world recalibrates and reorients to the emergence of China, Asia and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as its growth hub.
As China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and part of its history and geography, Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan seemed provocative to say the least.
The same day Sri Lanka, perpetually in the cross-hairs of geopolitical rivalry due to its strategic location at the Center of the Indian Ocean and roiled by anti- government and International Monetary Fund (IMF) protestors calling for Debt Cancellation as the Washington Consensus fishes in its troubled waters, woke to stormy monsoon seas and the news that a Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) Naval vessel with satellite tracking capability was headed to the Hambantota Port, which the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) deems part of the ‘String of Pearls”. Indian authorities claimed that they were tracking its progress.
This movement followed a US Department of Defense ‘Sea Vision’ training exercise in the months of June-July when the island at the center of the Indian Ocean was effectively under a fuel embargo. As US Marines instructed the Sri Lankan Navy, the country was starved of Russian oil and gas that may have saved its US Dollar debt-trapped-economy from further freefall and IMF inroads.
Although the Dragon had been missing in action recently in the strategic island, a key port of call on China’s maritime Silk Route Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for global connectivity and infrastructure development, clearly geopolitical competition for power and influence is unfolding in islands—from Taiwan, Sri Lanka, the Solomon Islands as targets.
Pelosi as Human Rights Defender and Dragon Slayer
Ms. Pelosi seemed to be playing feminist defender of global Human Rights and dragon slayer talking up a previous visit to Tiananmen Square. Meanwhile the CIA assassinated Mr. Al-Zaharwi in Kabul, Afghanistan in a drone strike claiming that the elderly man on television heads Al Qaida.
Following the drone strike that violated Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and Mr. Zawahari’s human right to fair trial President Biden announced that justice had been done, and this demonstrated America’s capability to defend its interests anywhere in the word! Biden justified the strike in Kabul by claiming that history was repeating itself, and Afghanistan had again become a base for terrorists” with the Taliban back in power just as it was when Osama Bin Laden launched his legendary 9/11 attack on the Twin towers and other US targets.
Pelosi’s pivot to Asia is a bit déjà vu, indeed a surreal courtship of disaster in the wake of the Ukraine debacle. After all, Mr. Putin had clearly demarcated Russia’s Red Lines vis-à-vis any expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to include Ukraine at Russia’s Western border, well before proxy war broke out in Ukraine with Mr. Zelinski playing arch defender of western values”; Never mind Ukraine’s democracy deficit and corruption rates.
China’s claims on Taiwan are internationally recognized. Still, Pelosi seemed to relish her role as an agent provocateur of the slumbering dragon at this time of high tension in the world. Was it to keep up the guessing game and prolong Asia’s shudder that the US also took out Egyptian born Al-Zahawari in an Over the Horizon (OTH) operation that the CIA had promised on the eve of the disastrous US exit from that country last year?
These operations seemed designed to tell the world that the American Eagle still has landing capacity with all guns blazing– another attempt to pay Superpower although the sun has long set on the imploding Empire now teaming up with another expired empire to reboot colonialism and Cold War 2.0 via their South Asian and Afro Diasporas amid the Covid-19 and ‘Climate Catastrophe’ Great Reset? Rishi Sunak, front-runner in UK’s Prime Ministerial battle increasingly looks like the Canary in the British Coal mine as he promotes corporate interests, Debt for Nature Swaps, and greenwash in former colonies!
Gonna be a long war in the mythical ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’
It’s gonna be a long war in the rapidly militarizing Free and Open Indo-Pacific!” Indeed, it promises to be an endless war as the geographic reconfiguration of two Oceans into a construct called ‘Indo-Pacific’ indicates.
The Indo-Pacific” is an American neologism which splits and partitions the historical, cultural, and civilizational unity of the Indian Ocean World in two. It connotes the re-jigging of our Oceans’ geographical imagination to serve US perspectives with a long-term horizon, and the Quadrilateral Group (QUAD) and AUKUS in tow!
Way back in Grade school we learned that there were three great oceans in the world: The Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic. At the north and south poles there were two seemingly lesser oceans– the Arctic and Antarctic. There was no such thing as the Indo-Pacific in our geography class!
The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has been recently partitioned and re-christened an extension of America’s recently invented Free and Open Indo-Pacific” which connotes a de facto partitioning of the Indian Ocean World. This fluid boundary between an imaginary Eastern and Western Indian Ocean is roughly where Sri Lanka sits longitudinally at its center.
Has the US engineered a split in our imaginary geography of the Indian Ocean world right down the middle with Sri Lanka as a magic marker?!
The island due to its location was always a prized possession for those wishing to control Indian Ocean Sea Lanes of Communication and trade.
The Undersea Data Cables (UDC), that lie in Sri Lanka’s maritime Exclusive Economic Zone if properly taxed would render the country which is currently caught in a US and EU-based International Sovereign Bond (ISB) Debt trap super rich overnight! BlackRock, which got huge US Government Covid-19 bailout” funds, tops the list of Sri Lanka’s Odious Debt holders!
With the current focus on China, the Western Indian Ocean has almost ceased to exist in geopolitical and media discourse, but for France’s Imperial ambition and fisheries empire which landed Somali fishermen to piracy after their fishing grounds were over-fished and livelihood destroyed by French fleets stationed in Seychelles. The Government of France has claimed a huge of extent of the Indian Ocean although France is an Atlantic state, fronting it Colonial Island territories like Reunion and Mayotte.
Debt for Nature Swaps, Militarization and Greenwash
Islands and their marine resources both living and non-living are being targeted in the new Cold War for Washington’s dollar debt-trap diplomacy, also promoted by various United Nations agencies fronting the Anthropocene ‘Climate Catastrophe’ narrative’ heedless of the fact that it is Industrialized countries that are overwhelmingly responsible for and should bear the cos for global warming.
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has proposed a Debt-for-Nature Swap (DFNS) as part of a medium-term strategy for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis in IMF discussion it was reported recently in the Sunday Times, although Sri Lankan civil society groups have called for Outright Cancellation of all International Sovereign Bond (ISB) Debt, which amounts to almost 45 percent of the county’s external debt of USD 26 billion.
Civil society organizations in Sri Lanka have also challenged the very premise of IMF debt re-structuring processes whereby impoverished citizens are forced to pay debt accumulated by corrupt political leaders to reckless ISB lenders.
In such a context the monetization of nature via Debt for Nature Swaps (DFNS), that the UNDP is promoting at the IMF talks with the Government of Sri Lanka may be both morally hazardous and odious, like the debt sought to be imposed on innocent citizens who are not accountable either for climate change or the debt traps and Defaults generated by corrupt politicians and reckless Vulture Funds like Blackrock, Ashmore, J.P Morgan, Allianz, HSBC, UBS, Amundi, Prudential who are the creditors responsible for the debt crisis in the island and many other Global South countries burdened with Covid-19 lockdown debt traps.
DFNS advance the monetization of nature. In the case of strategically located Sri Lanka and other small islands the question arises: why does not the UN focus its experts on a plan for Taxing of the UDC cable companies and their Corporate Clients particularly GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft), and refrain from monetizing nature via Debt for Nature Swaps (DFNS), which the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is pursuing in tandem with the IMF?
After all, it was the ‘Climate Catastrophe’ narrative and miss-placed expert advice to the Colombo regime that caused the Organic Fertilizer and Energy policy debacle, including the sale of the Yugadanavi Power plant to a little known US company New Fortress that resulted in the food and fuel shortages in the country deepening the Debt trap.
There are better and worse ways to do environmental conservation. The current UN sponsored push for DFNS fronting Anthropocene Climate Catastrophe discourse to capitalize monetize and financialize nature is philosophically and morally repugnant, akin to the other widespread practice of Humanitarian Disaster Capitalism and reeks of neocolonialism.
Debt for nature swaps elsewhere have denied local communities, agricultural and fisheries workers access to their own forests, lands and marine resources in the name of ‘conservation.’ And promote neocolonial modes of global Environmental Governance.
Critiques of the Anthropocene discourse have long challenged the push towards forest and marine reservations” in remote regions and islands of the world in the name of environmental conservation while corporations and NGOs hold the credits’ and benefit from the greenwash. They argue that these communities should not have to bear the burden of environmental pollution caused by Industrialized countries. Conversely, small under-industrialize countries should not have to carry the burden of climate debt. More disturbingly these forest and marine reservations end up in the control of external actors and benefit corporations who invest in so called green bonds and organizations seeking to greenwash themselves from dirty oil to clean energy giants like Shell is doing as noted in a study on ‘Ocean Grabbing’ by the Transnational Institute.
Perhaps the most egregious case of Ocean Grabbing and Greenwash, a marketing strategy to conveying false information for a Corporate, organization, NGO, or government to appear environmentally friendly is the case of the Chagos Islands which was named a Marine Protected Area (MPA), by the British Government in 2010, to legitimize its Military Occupation of the Chagos and blue-wash the US military base at Diego Garcia – not too far from Sri Lanka.
This occupation, ocean grabbing and greenwash continues despite the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice 2019 landmark ruling that the British Occupation of the Chagos Islands is illegal under international law”.
Indeed, the elephant in the room of the CoP 26 ‘Climate catastrophe” narrative and propsed DFNS is Militarization and the Global Military Business Industrial Complex amid lots of Blue- Greenwash!
Wither the Dragon in Sri Lanka?
Amid Pelosi’s pivot to Asia to reaffirm historic ties with East Asian Satellites Japan, Korea and Singapore, with a whistle stop in Malaysia, a Chinese research vessel — the Yuan Wang 5 headed west to Sri Lanka. The island’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the ship would dock at Hambantota port between 11 and 17 August.
Reportedly involved in space and satellite tracking, the Yuan Wang 5 is one of China’s latest generation space-tracking ships, also used to monitor rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches”. Built at the state-owned Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. Indian sources explained that such vessels start their movement when China or any other country is carrying out missile tests.
Still, according to David Vine, Professor at American University in Washington DC and author of the award-winning book The United States of War”, the US has 750 overseas military bases in 80 Countries, while China has just one overseas base in Djibouti!
China had been missing in action in Sri Lanka since the new Cold War proxy war in Ukraine started and Mr. Wang Yi’s visited to Delhi. There was speculation that the Dragon has conceded ground in the strategic isle to the Washington Consensus (IMF and WB), after a Staged a Default in April this year, when Sri Lanka was targeted for debt-trap diplomacy, and became the first Domino to succumb to the geopolitical standoff.
As Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan stirs the Dragon, Sri Lankans long islanded and schooled in Cold War historical geography and Area Studies silos are waking up to geopolitical realities at the Center of the Indian Ocean as the Washington Consensus makes a bid for the island’s economic, trade, energy, transport infrastructure and cyber security though Dollar Debt Diplomacy and Re-structuring. Indeed, Sri Lanka which Defaulted in April seems to be the first domino to have fallen to Covid-19 lockdown induced Odious Debt as Cold War and colonialism escalate.
Further strengthening the engagement with the State of Tamil Nadu and as a follow-up to the meeting with its Chief Minister in early June, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda met with Lok Sabha MP for Thoothukkudi constituency, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi in New Delhi.
Parliamentarian Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is the daughter of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi and sister of the present Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. She is in New Delhi attending the monsoon session of the Parliament.
At the outset, the Lok Sabha MP extended a warm welcome to High Commissioner Moragoda. During the very cordial discussion that followed, the High Commissioner thanked the people of Tamil Nadu for the humanitarian assistance that they have been extending to Sri Lanka to help it manage the current economic situation.
The High Commissioner and the Parliamentarian exchanged views on the very close ethnic, religious and cultural affinities between the State of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka and discussed ways and means to further strengthen them.
High Commissioner Moragoda also presented a copy of the Tamil translation of the book containing his parliamentary speeches to MP Kanimozhi. The High Commissioner recalled how he had presented a copy of the same book to her father, the late M. Karunanidhi, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in 2006.
A senior member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and a poet, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi functions as the chief of the party’s wing for art, literature and rationalism. She had worked as a journalist before entering politics.
High Commissioner Moragoda was accompanied by Deputy High Commissioner Niluka Kadurugamuwa and Minister Counsellor of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi Gamini Sarath Godakanda to this meeting.
JVP had two levels of activity, open and secret. [1] They had two parallel political agendas, one for the public and another for the insiders in the party, said analysts.[2] JVP functioned openly as an agitation group, whilst, at the same time recruiting combatants into a clandestine military organization, said Jayantha Somasunderam. [3]
JVP‘s public agenda said the JVP wanted to create a socialist revolution which would benefit the masses. [4] This bogus agenda was put forward to win the popular support [5] JVP needed in order to capture political power. [6] The public were enticed into the movement by the idea of an instant, perfect, socialist society.
The Party evolved its own Marxist ideology which was a hybrid. It drew on Trotsky’s criticism of Stalinism and the ‘popular front.’ From Mao it asserted the primacy of the peasantry as the backbone of the revolution. And from Castro it learnt armed insurrection. The JVP training for its cadres emphasized neo-colonialism, attacked parliamentarianism and rejected the mainstream left parties, said Jayantha Somasunderam. [7]
Former JVPer, Indrawansa de Silva recalls, the fifth of the now legendary five classes” was fully devoted to the game plan of Lankan revolution. That class was aptly titled The path Lankan revolution should take.” It summed up all the Marxist revolutions that had taken place since the Bolsheviks toppled the Czar in 1917 and convincingly argued to its ignorant[8]audiences why none of these past revolutions suited [9]the unique conditions” of the motherland. How original, we thought. So it was our Dear Leader who dreamed up what the Lankan revolution would be a simultaneous attack on the police stations and strategically selected army camps. The entire attack would take a single night”. [10]
The secret agenda, which was the real one, was armed seizure of power by a trained cadre of young men. [11] JVP while holding meetings for the public was secretly arming.[12] They were getting ready to kill. Emphasis was on weapons and training. [13] It was to be a Fascist type putsch, said Wiswa Warnapala. [14] The entire organization was conspiratorial, he observed.[15] Whenever a party cadre showed any uncertainty over the dual strategy, the answer was eka upakramayak, sahodaraya”.[16]
Had we succeeded it is more than likely that Sri Lanka would have ended up worse than Cambodia under Pol Pot, said Indrawansa de Silva. I am not being just speculative here. The JVP has shown time after time its violent and authoritarian tendencies whenever and wherever it got even a small taste of power. .[17]
Just take some early signs. If someone with an opposing view tried to sell a newspaper or distribute a pamphlet at our rallies they were promptly beaten up and kicked out. We did not hesitate to use power of the fist when met with opposition even within the organization. Honest and sincere questioning of ideas and theories we espoused in our classes and camps was seen as a threat to the movement and branded as reactionary, counter-revolutionary, or petit bourgeois tendencies. .[18]
Another account of how the JVP would have governed was given in Ranjith Hennayake Arachchi (Bertie) in his memoir, Bak Maha Kandulu. He described the way JVP ran Hammenheil Prison in Jaffna, where hundreds of JVP cadres were held in the 1971 insurgency. . [19]
A revolutionary army” was established to safeguard the proletariat dictatorship” in Hammenheil. This army took care of the class-enemies” and traitors” in the only way known to JVP––physical force. Anyone who questioned anything the JVP was up to at Hammenheil was branded as the class enemy. [20] Kangaroo courts were held in Hammenheil to try reactionaries” and counter-revolutionaries” that the JVP always found guilty. They were brutally beaten in broad daylight. [21]
Everything that took place in Hammenheil had the blessings of Wijeweera himself as there was an effective line of communication between Hammenheil and Jaffna prison where he was held. ‘The Socialist Republic of Hammenheil’ was a microcosm of what the country would have become had the JVP ever grabbed power.[22]
JVP was a hard headed cynical organization under a ruthless leadership, said critics. [23] Noble sentiments were lacking. [24] There was a lack of heroism and moral uprightness in the JVP, said Chandraprema.[25] The JVP leaders were never idealistic.[26] Rank and file may have had idealistic views’[27]but not the leadership. [28]
JVP had boasted of their simple life style. Then in September 1989 Rupavahini showed the public the mansions, cars, and personal luxuries including foreign aphrodisiacs used by the top JVP leadership. [29]
For the JVP high command, self protection came first. When they ordered villagers out on a demonstration, JVP got those they disliked to march first so they were the first to get killed. [30] JVP leaders stayed in the rear, they never went in the front. They were safe from fire. They had followed this from the time they started forced demonstrations, said Chandraprema.[31] An enterprising officer had once got a helicopter to fire at the rear of the procession.[32]
In 1989 JVP did not display much bravery in captivity. .[33]Top leadership told all within 24 hours. .[34] They were captured within less than 24 hours of each other. .[35] JVP was only willing to kill for a cause but not to die for it. .[36] Analysts noted that the junior cadres were much better, they did not sing even under torture. .[37] I do not think this was due to courage and loyalty, they probably knew very little about the organization.
Wiswa Warnapala heard Wijeweera address students at Peradeniya In 1971. Wijeweera was all revolutionary rhetoric, gestures, and gesticulations, said Wiswa. Wijeweera traversed the entire course of the history of revolution and referred to all revolutionary ideologies in the world. Wijeweera‘s own revolutionary ideology was a hotchpotch of all these ideologies without a clear cut strategy. His ideology was, in Marxian terms, not ideology at all, said Wiswa.[38] My assessment was that this man, with neither ideology nor political strategy would put the youth of the country into serious trouble, concluded Wiswa.[39]
Rohana Wijeweera was not the great leader he was made out to be. Wasantha Bandara had maintained secret contact with Rohana Wijeweera in the 1984-1989 period. [40]During regular secret meetings with Rohana Wijeweera, Bandara said he realized Wijeweera was not in full control of the operations undertaken by the JVP.[41] Wijeweera was a puppet leader, carrying out orders.
Godahewa said Wijeweera was ‘a person easy to control,’ though his speeches sounded fiery. Facing the camera for a video statement when arrested, the expression on his face was one of disappointment and dismay, said Indradasa. He had spoken in a shattered voice, with emotion.[42]
When he was captured in 1971, Wijeweera was very docile, unlike his public image, said Chandraprema.[43] He had told everything about everybody while trying to hide his own liability for the insurgence. His 1971 statement went to 400 pages, in 1989 he was brief, said Chandraprema.[44]
[1] Rohan Gunaratna Sri Lanka a lost revolution p325
Hours after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe said the country was committed to ‘one-China’ policy.
Sri Lanka is firmly committed to the one-China policy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe reaffirmed on Thursday, a day after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan despite vociferous protests from Beijing.
Pelosi held talks with Taiwan’s top leadership, including President Tsai Ing-wen, on Wednesday and reaffirmed America’s ironclad support for the self-ruling island.
Pelosi became the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the island claimed by China, which quickly announced that it would conduct military drills close to Taiwan in retaliation for her presence in Taipei.
“During a meeting with H.E. Qi Zhenhong, China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, he reiterated Sri Lanka’s firm commitment to the One China policy as well as to the UN charter principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations,” the president of the crisis-hit country said in a tweet on Thursday.
Countries must refrain from provocations that further escalate the current global tensions, Wickremesinghe said during his meeting with Qi on Wednesday.
He also said that “mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries were important foundations for peaceful cooperation and non-confrontation”.
China’s foreign ministry has reiterated that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the country’s territory.
Sri Lanka, which is facing the worst economic crisis in the history of its independence since 1948, has a huge debt to repay to China, whose high-cost infrastructure projects are widely blamed for the island nation’s bankrupt condition.
The Chinese unwillingness to restructure Sri Lanka’s debt has placed obstacles to the IMF bail out package much needed by the debt-ridden country in its hour of crisis.
China has denied that Sri Lanka had been clamped in a Chinese debt trap by funding the high end infrastructure projects on the southern district of Hambantota — it’s sea port and the airport dubbed the world’s quietest with hardly any flight movements.
Wickremesinghe’s predecessors, the Rajapaksa brothers, borrowed from China to fund the infrastructure in their home district.
Wickremesinghe as the prime minister in 2017 entered a 99-year lease on the industrial park around the port with China drawing sharp criticism from locals.
The country is now scrambling for much-needed foreign currency to fulfil basic necessities such as food, fuel and essential medicines.
Sri Lanka has seen months of mass unrest over the worst economic crisis, with the government declaring bankruptcy in mid-April by refusing to honour its international debt. The country’s total debt stands at USD USD 51 billion.
Main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said their approach is to form a common all-party programme rather than an all-party government
The crucial talks on the possibility of forming an all-party government to tackle Sri Lanka’s economic meltdown will take place on August 5, 2022 evening, officials and political leaders in Colombo said.
Sri Lanka’s newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday invited the political parties to form an all-party government to overcome the current economic crisis as the Parliament reconvened after a seven-day adjournment.
The talks will take place on Friday evening, officials and political leaders said.
We expect the president to take a new approach, the country will get destroyed if there is no collective action,” former president Maithripala Sirisena told reporters.
Vasudeva Nanayakkara, a veteran leader from the ruling coalition’s 10-party breakaway group, said they would be looking at Wickremesinghe’s approach closely.
Wickremesinghe has said that he was formulating a plan to find solutions to the economic and political impasse. He is going to seek our views, let’s hope the talks will be successful,” Nanayakkara said.
However, the main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said their approach is to form a common all-party programme rather than an all-party government.
We are willing to strengthen the oversight committee system and make our contribution,” SJB national organiser Tissa Attanayake said.
Wickremesinghe, the leader of the United National Party (UNP), was elected president by lawmakers on July 20 – the first such occasion since 1978. The 73-year-old President was appointed for the rest of the term of Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country and resigned on July 13 in the face of a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the island nation’s economy.
The majority of his support in the 225-member Parliament came from Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party.
A constitutional amendment has been recently gazetted to make Parliament’s role stronger, while an interim budget to be presented early next month is expected to announce much needed reforms in the economy.
Sri Lanka has seen months of mass unrest over the worst economic crisis, with the government declaring bankruptcy in mid-April by refusing to honour its international debt.
Independent MP Wimal Weerawansa yesterday (27) said in Parliament that there is a conspiracy to take the State towards anarchy in the guise of ‘Aragalaya’ and that attempt should be defeated.
Weerawansa made this remark during the debate on Emergency Regulations.
The country has reached to a critical junction at this moment. Everyone knows we voted for MP Dullas Alahapperuma in the poll to elect a President with the other opposition parties in Parliament. However, that election was won by Ranil Wickremesinghe. If Alahapperuma won, we could have established an All-Party Government. We proposed an All-Party Government for the first time to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 8 April. But, he did not accept it,” he said.
To solve the current crisis situation, the administration should be recognised by the people. It should have validity. The current administration does not have the approval of the people. However, this administration is legal. It is established according to the Constitutional frame work, he noted.
Owing to the hardships caused mainly by the economic crisis, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Colombo to send the former President home. Following that mass scale protest, the former President stepped down peacefully. This Aragalaya was started under the banner of Gota Go Home. The society accepted it because of the hardships they have to go through. But what has happened now? Even when Gota has gone home, this Aragalaya still continues. What is the point of this?” he queried.
Now these so called protesters demand Ranil Wickremesinghe to go home. What are they doing? Are they going to demand everyone who is appointed as the President to go home? When will it stop? The easiest way for them is to make it clear about who they want as the President, Then we can make that person the President, Weerawansa stressed.
Why are they doing this? Don’t they want to see the country is breathing freely? Don’t they want to find solutions for the economic crisis? We too have problems with the current administration. It is true that we do not agree with some of its conduct. We can deal with them in a different way. But this ‘Aragalaya’ is trying to portray the country as another Libya by giving interviews for the international media every day.”
I am not condemning the genuine grievances of the people. I am not condemning the efforts of youth of this country who want a system change. But this is an attempt to destroy the State. It should not be allowed to happen. It does not matter whether I am in the government or the Opposition. I would not allow that to happen. I do not want Minister Posts from Ranil Wickremesinghe. Such posts are not valuable for me. But the State is valuable for me. I need my State, he said.
They occupied Presidential Secretariat, the President’s House and the Temple Trees. Are these attempts peaceful? How can anyone say these are peaceful? Even after that some group wanted to occupy Parliament. The security forces prevented that sinister attempt. What will happen if they occupied Parliament on that day? Those people mercilessly beat soldiers. Our Army is one of the best armies in the world. You can check it with UN Peacekeeping Mission. Even after the attack against them near Parliament, the Army behaved professionally. The so called strugglers should not take that patience as cowardice.”
I will tell you what is happening now. First they burned down houses of 73 MPs and emotionally blackmailed and mentally intimidated them. They did the same for clergy, artists and the Police as well. If a suspect is arrested and produced before the court, hundreds of lawyers go to the Court. This is an indirect intimidation on the Judges. They might think If they do not give a favourable verdict, the next arson attack will be on their houses.
If these so-called strugglers occupied Parliament on that day, will there be a State? After that they only have to occupy the Supreme Court building, SLRC and ITN. They will then say everyone should dance according to their tune. Is this what we really need? I though we need to overcome the economic crisis, not these unnecessary dramas. Even if we are in the Opposition we have a responsibility to do our part for the country to solve the current crisis,
Following our discussion, top level officials at a Russian oil company visited Sri Lanka. They had discussions with Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara and the CBSL Governor. They left the country on 9 July. After seeing some videos filmed inside President’s House such as the people having baths in swimming pool, they told us that they understood the attitude of Sri Lankans. I did not reply to that comment. What can I say? This is the image that the international community have about us now.
That Russian Company has sent a MoU. Now we have to say whether we agree with the MoU. If we agree, then they would send us an Operational Agreement. We can obtain fuel for a lower price that the global market from them. But, an official of the Legal Division of the CPC has informed in written that it is dangerous to agree with the MoU without screening the legality of this oil company. This is a loan from the Russian Government. Why are we checking the pedigree of the company that comes in our aid in a crucial time like this? This is not the suitable time for that.
If we try to carry out our personal agendas, we will not allow such a deal to happen, as if we sign this agreement with Russian company the fuel shortage might come to end and the government will be stable after that. That is how many think. But we are not like that. We do not want to destabilise the country. We do not want to ruin the State. I told this to the current President as well. However, it seems that some people are trying to block that attempt.”
It is very clear that some external force is trying to use Sri Lankan economic crisis for destabilise the State. Everyone should understand that. They use the genuine agitations of the people as a cat’s paw to carry out their own sinister agendas.
National State has both pros and cons. The State gives us free education and free healthcare. There are cons too. But the State should be stable before doing anything. It is a crime to attempt to destabilise the State. Countries like Sierra Leone and Haiti did that mistake and now the people in those countries are suffering. I saw some people in ‘Aragalaya’ have gone to the UN and request for international intervention. TNA MP Sritharan has asked for a foreign army to be occupied in North and East. If this continues, Siritharan will come in front of army camps in the North and demand the troops to abandon the camps. Then they will go to the religious places like Kuragala. The whole country will be fallen into anarchy if this situation continues.”
MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala was killed in broad daylight. He did not do any wrong. We can understand the suffering of the people, so we can bear such incidents. But we cannot simply stay and watch the attempts to destabilise the State.
There was a movement called ‘Yellow Shirts’ in Thailand. It was an endless struggle just like the one in Sri Lanka. If you search, you can find that a Bar association was behind that movement too. The U.S. provided funds to the struggle through that Bar association. I would like to present a document. Ths document states about an organisation called NED attached to the CIA. It was initiated in 1983. This organisation is working in bout 100 countries. This organisation has given colossal amounts of grants to several Sri Lankan organisations. Some of those grants have been used through the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. Now you can understand. They are emotionally blackmailing us. They even can attack us after this revelation. But we cannot surrender to such attempts.
Also, some persons are trying to intimidate the military. I saw a video that a young person screams at a soldier that Prabhakaran was better than the Sri Lankan military. How can they say such things? The Sri Lanka Army serves the people in every difficult situation. Why these people try to mentally intimidate the military like this?
I listened to the speech of Field Marshal Sarah Fonseka. He ordered the army not to attack the protesters. He ordered the army not to do anything. Is he saying that if the so called strugglers occupy Parliament, military should simply watch such attempts? They are not strugglers, but anarchists. We have to face these anarchists strongly.”
However, if the government use the Emergency Regulations to suppress the rights of the civilians, we will vote against it next month. I know that our votes are not crucial to pass the Emergency Regulations. But we have to stop this crime of destabilising the State. We will not be a part of that crime. That U.S. organisation I told you about before has provided money to many organisations in Sri Lanka. Some Youtubers have been also funded by them.”
The representatives of the Russian oil company had passed by Galle Face. They told that the same thing happened in the Ukraine too. Thousands of people gathered at a park to chase away the President who had friendly ties with Russia. They said the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine funded those protesters. They said the U.S. Ambassador is above the President of Sri Lanka. I think that is correct because former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa used to meet the U.S. Ambassador at least thrice a week. The Amabssador emotionally blackmailed the former President. He did not take correct dicisions at the correct time. At the end, he did not receive any support from foreign countries.”
Majority of people does not want to chase away everyone who becomes the President after Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It is a need of certain persons who are funded by foreign forces. Therefore, I think the current President should work to gain the trust of the people. For that, an All-Party Government must be established.
We have already presented our proposals for an All-Part Government. Everyone needs to act with a responsibility at this critical juncture. We should not let Sri Lanka to become another Libya. The youth who genuinely want a system change should not allow the anarchists to win. I saw on social media that the method used to arrest the person who forcibly entered into SLRC is wrong. That person stopped Poya Day programme broadcasted on Rupavahini. Is that correct? I do not have anything against the youth who are honest and took the streets because of the genuine agitations. But the persons like the one who stormed into SLRC are not in that category. The honest strugglers should not be deceived by such persons.”
Also, a leader of a political party had told a rule beyond the current constitution should be established. This is their plan. What will happen if this becomes a reality? The State will be collapsed. The anarchists will rule the country. There will be no law and order. I would like to make a request to the Police and Armed Forces. You (the Police and Armed Forces) should protect the State. You do not have to protect us. Do not let the anarchists to destabilise the country. We are with you in that mission.”
Countries must refrain from provocations which further escalate the current global tensions, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
He said in a Twitter post that during a meeting with Ambassador of China Qi Zhenghong, he reiterated Sri Lanka’s firm commitment to the one-China policy, as well as to the UN Charter principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.
“Mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries are important foundations for peaceful cooperation and non-confrontation,” he tweeted.
The facility to be operated by two of world’s leading DF operators to showcase Sri Lanka as a world-class dining destination
Key regulations been drafted prioritising strategically-important businesses backed by an expedited approval system
As the construction of Colombo Port City’s downtown duty-free (DF) Mall steams ahead, the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) awaits the Cabinet nod for the drafted duty-free regulations for South Asia’s first downtown duty-free mall, which is to be operated by two global operators, positioning Colombo Port City (CPC) as a regional shopping destination.
According to CPCEC’s biannual progress report, the infrastructure work of the mall has been completed and the interior fit work is scheduled to begin shortly.
Colombo Port City Duty-Free Regulations have been drafted and are awaiting Cabinet approval. The facility will be operated by two of the world’s leading DF operators, positioning Colombo Port City as a regional shopping destination,” CPCEC biannual progress report said.
Further, negotiations are also ongoing to introduce a leading global food & beverage operator into CPC, offering a range of East, West, and fusion cuisine, creating a ‘watering hole’ concept for DF shopping, while positioning the facility as a world-class dining destination in Colombo.
In order to streamline the shopping experience for departing overseas travellers, the CPCEC is also drawing up a feasibility plan on ‘remote check-in process’ and ‘checked-in baggage hauling’.
Meanwhile, CPCEC highlighted that the drafting of key regulations has already been completed in prioritising strategically-important businesses backed by an expedited approval system.
Key regulations have been finalised which are Businesses of Strategic Importance, Offshore Companies, Authorised persons, Duty-Free retail operations, Fees and Development Control Regulations (DCR). These key regulations were completed, together with international consultants, with the development of suitable draft policies and procedures for identified thrust sectors, designed with extensive benchmarking studies to best-in-class regulations in fiscal and non-fiscal areas,” the report stated.
Moreover, CPCEC in collaboration with the Department of Immigration and Emigration has also begun streamlining and automating the visa application and approval process for three defined visa types under the CPC law. The three visa categories are: investor visa (10 years), employment visas (dependent on the contract tenure), and long-term residence visas (dependent on lease tenure) and include all dependents.
With an aim of positioning CPC as a regional arbitration centre, CPCEC is currently in discussion with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) about offering the International Commercial Dispute Resolution Centre services to international operators and/or obtaining technical assistance from the SIAC under an MOU with the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the Monetary Board of Central Bank and Ministry of Finance have approved the CPCEC regulated offshore licenses for four banks initially. Further, the CB has taken steps to create a new class of accounts available for all banks under its regulatory purview— the Colombo Port City Investment Account— designed to facilitate the inflow of funds to be used exclusively for investing in CPC.
In addition, an expedited process has been established with the Registrar of Companies in Sri Lanka for the ease of setting up companies under Colombo Port City law, under the Single Window Facilitation process mandate defined in Section 30 of the CPCEC Act.
The Commission is conducting a detailed ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) benchmarking study of the most climate-friendly cities in the world to apply best practices in the development of Colombo Port City infrastructure and facilities.
So far, out of the 34 marketable land plots in CPC granted to the Project Company on 99-year lease basis, six plots have been released back to the Commission by the Project Company and the Commission had granted six fresh Indenture of leases for a 99-year period to the investors valued at approximately US$ 200 million, where investors have committed to invest US$ 600 million collectively.
Says concerted and united effort necessary to address current challenges facing the country
Stresses that all political parties must join hands and put Sri Lanka first over individual agendas
Says consensus of all parties required for the reform agenda as only then it will spur global confidence amongs investors, private sector, and public
Calls all political parties and public to work together and be patient to usher in a new era for Sri Lanka
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday welcomed the call by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to initiate the formation of an all-party government, as a concerted and united effort is necessary to address the current challenges facing the country.
Ranil Wickremesinghe
At this extremely crucial juncture for Sri Lanka, all political parties must join hands and put Sri Lanka first over individual agendas,” Ceylon Chamber said in a statement.
An all-party government that is acceptable to all sections of the public and equitably represents the views of all parties, which will work towards a common minimum programme is the first step towards addressing the current crisis, the trade chamber pointed out.
It noted that a policy framework with broad consensus by all parties is required so that an agreed reform agenda will spur global confidence amongst investors, the private sector, and the public.
We appreciate the steps taken by the government to improve the shortages as a result of the economic stresses including ongoing power cuts, shortage of fuel, securing adequate essential drugs and food items, and the provision of adequate fertiliser to ensure food security. This stresses the importance of leveraging technology and communications to find solutions to these shortages,” the statement said.
Ceylon Chamber in the recent past highlighted the need to urgently resume IMF negotiations with a view to reaching a staff-level agreement expeditiously, proposed amendments to the constitution, and the need for state-owned enterprise reforms as being among key priorities.
The implementation of a sustainable economic recovery plan will take time to bear fruit and key milestones will need to be set. We therefore call for all parties and the public to work together and be patient to usher in a new era for Sri Lanka,” the statement concluded.
General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) Joseph Stalin, who was arrested by police for violating a court order during a recent protest, has been remanded till August 12.
He was ordered to be placed under remand custody after being produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today (04).
He was arrested at the CTU head office last evening, for allegedly violating a court order during a protest at Bank of Ceylon Mawatha on May 28.
Many trade unionists and politicians had arrived at the Fort police station premises following the arrest of the trade union leader.
Ranil Wickremesinghe