Manohara de Silva, PC, says the rejection by the US of a visa application by Gotabaya Rajapaksa towards the tail end of the latter’s presidential term may allow Western powers to arrest him in terms of the Geneva Resolution.
The President’s Counsel emphasised that the Geneva Resolution authorised universal jurisdiction by accepting the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner conducted that investigation, in terms of the Geneva Resolution (A/HRC/25/1), adopted in Match 2014.
Sri Lanka co-sponsored Geneva Resolution on Oct 01, 2015, brought in by the US. The UNHRC consists of 47 countries, divided into five zones.Responding to The Island queries, de Silva said the possibility of Western powers moving against the wartime Defence Secretary couldn’t be ruled out, especially against the backdrop of declaration in the House of Commons that the ex-President should be arrested.
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, last week told the House of Commons that an international arrest warrant should be issued in respect of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his cronies.Scottish National Party MP Alyn Smith told the House of Commons that though the President had fled Sri Lanka, he couldn’t flee accountability. Smith asked the UK Minister for Asia and the Middle East, Amanda Milling, whether she agreed that the President, and those officials who had been complicit in acts of humanitarian abuses, would and must be held accountable, and would the UK contribute to those international efforts?”
Sri Lanka brought the war to a successful conclusion on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon on the morning of 19 May 2009.De Silva, who was a member of the expert team that prepared a new draft Constitution, said the US might have one if its allies carry out the arrest. President Rajapaksa left the country in an SLAF plane for the Maldives, less than 24 hours after protesters overran the President’s House, and from there flew to Singapore, from where he sent his letter of resignation, through the Sri Lankan mission in Singapore.
Rajapaksa relinquished his US citizenship ahead of the last presidential election, in Nov 2019. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution barred foreign passport holders from contesting either presidential or parliamentary polls.
India also categorically denied having any role in facilitating the departure, or travel, of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from Sri Lanka.De Silva said that whatever the political differences, the vast majority of people certainly didn’t want the West to prosecute political leaders, and the military, under any circumstances.
Responding to another query, the top lawyer said that actually political parties represented in Parliament and other stakeholders should explain their stand on the contentious issue at hand.Since Sri Lanka co-sponsored the Geneva Resolution, eight years ago, the US and Australia denied visas to several top officers, both serving and retired. Among them were Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka (US/retired), Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera (US/retired) and Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage (Australia/serving). The US also blacklisted General Shavendra Silva in Feb 2020.
De Silva said that Sri Lanka should, at least now, rethink its response to the Geneva threat. Those who had been in political authority, particularly since Nov 2019 till 09 July 2022, should be ashamed that Lord Naseby’s disclosures, pertaining to unsubstantiated war crimes accusations, were never properly used to counter lies propagated by interested parties, de Silva added.
SLPP lawmaker Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera said that the government should address the issue without delay. Western powers could exploit the ex-President predicament to humiliate Sri Lanka, experiencing a severe financial-political-social crisis, the former Public Security Minister told The Island.
The Colombo District MP said that the previous leadership neglected the accountability issue. The government’s failure to do so has now created an environment conducive for interested parties to go after top political and military leaders, Weerasekera said. Parliament, too, should look into this matter, the MP said, adding that current political imbroglio was not an excuse for abandoning the President.
A Gazette Extraordinary has been issued declaring a state of emergency across the island with effect from today (July 18).
The state of emergency has been declared in a proclamation by Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe in terms of Article 40(1)(C) of the Constitution, by virtue of the powers vested in him by Section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40), as amended by Act No. 8 of 1959, Law No. 6 of 1978 and Act No. 28 of 1988.
It states the public emergency in Sri Lanka has been declared in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community.
Similarly, a nationwide state of emergency had also been declared last Wednesday after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had left the country and flown to Maldives and protesters surrounded the office of the Prime Minister.
Sri Lanka has not reached any initial agreement with the IMF on debt relief, and its largest creditors -the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank – are urged to come up with a package that would speed up its debt restructuring process, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China Palitha Kohona told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.
He also called for more assistance from partners after the debt-ridden country claimed bankruptcy and imposed a state of emergency amid escalating protests and persisting shortage of daily necessities.
The IMF visited Sri Lanka at the end of last month, and judging by report we received the official discussions were very satisfactory. We have appointed a team of legal advisors in London, and team of experts who understand debt restructuring from the West,” Kohona said. But he noted that discussions with the IMF are only at a preliminary stage, and once the new government is installed, there will be new arrangement for the next meeting with the IMF.
Kohona said it is hoped that terms and conditions attached to the IMF package will not be onerous.”
It’s inevitable whenever the IMF comes along we will have to tighten our belt, but in some cases it’s difficult because the belt is already on the last notch. We’re worried that the IMF may insist that we curtail our state-fund health care system. The education system which is free from grade one to university level might be another area the IMF recommends to cut. These may add to the unrest,” Kohona explained.
Sri Lanka’s largest creditors are international financial organizations like the World Bank and the ADB, and a substantial amount is also owed to other institutional investors from the West, for example the Wall Street. While calling on those organizations to take a bigger role, Kohona also hopes more bilateral partners will provide more assistance to help the country overcome its difficulties.
China and Japan each held about 10 percent of Sri Lankan debt. Kohona disclosed that about $1 billion, out of Sri Lanka’s $7 billion foreign debt obligations for this year, is due to China.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing on Friday that Chinese financial institutions have actively approached and negotiated with Sri Lanka after the country stopped debt repayment, expressing willingness to properly settle matured debts owed to China and help it overcome difficulties.
China is ready to work with relevant countries and international financial institutions to continue to play a positive role in supporting Sri Lanka’s response to current difficulties and efforts to ease debt burden and realize sustainable development,” Wang said, adding that as a friend and neighbor, China has been providing assistance for its socioeconomic development to the best of our capacity.
Recently, China has announced a total of 500 million yuan ($74 million) emergency humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka. On Thursday, the second batch of emergency humanitarian grain aid – 1,000 tons of rice – from China was handed over to Sri Lanka.
There have been large-scale protests about the government because of the severe material and energy shortages that Sri Lanka is facing, Kohona noted. Sri Lanka faces a gap in cooking oilfertilizer, medicine, and even food stocks, which poses a huge challenge to Sri Lankans’ basic household cooking, transportation, medical needs, and preparation for the upcoming cultivation season.
On Thursday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially resigned after landing in Singapore, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as acting president. Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency across the country.
Kohona noted there are still protests in Sri Lanka against Wickremesinghe, and he is not clear whether the acting president will continue to hold this office for much longer. This is very unsatisfactory, because the leadership of the country suddenly comes into question. So we are hoping that the constitutional provisions will be followed, and elections have to be held within a specified period to elect a new president,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s parliament will vote on a new president on July 20, according to the speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
Kohona said he is confident that whatever government in power will maintain excellent relations with China.”
China is the major trading partner and investor of Sri Lanka, we have a strategic partnership between the two countries, whoever takes over the government after an election will maintain the confidence of the Chinese government as well as the goodwill of the Chinese people,” he noted.
In recent years, Chinese-invested projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) such as the Hambantota Port have largely improved local people’s livelihood and propelled the country’s growth.
On Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka held a video conference with Chinese firms in Sri Lanka, guiding them on how to strengthen security work and cope with demonstration and safety events. Kohona said there has been no threat to Chinese projects or Chinese personnel in Sri Lanka.
BRI investments are critical in Sri Lankan economy after the situation stabilizes. It not only brought foreign exchange, but also generated employments,” he said, adding that the embassy is encouraging a number of Chinese renewable energy companies to establish projects in Sri Lanka.
The Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa says that he cannot lie and promise that relief can be given to the people immediately, within the current economic bankruptcy the country is facing.
A special meeting between representatives of the citizen’s struggle protest movement and the opposition leader took place this morning (18) at the opposition leader’s office in Colombo.
During this week, the process of appointing the successor president of this country is ongoing while the members of citizen’s struggle informed their position to the opposition leader.
Speaking further, the opposition leader said that an interim government should be formed to achieve certain goals through a program.
Premadasa also said that although the activists had set dates for the interim governments, if the goals were not met within the relevant period, that government would also fail.
Sajith Premadasa further commented,
We don’t have a big issue with this policy, and I would like to tell you that there is another matter in this. I can’t lie that the people will get relief at once during a time when the country is in economic bankruptcy. Basic human needs such as gas, fuel, fertiliser, milk powder, essential food will be provided properly. That is different. Actually, the entire country is bankrupt. Today the country has gone down to zero from the financial side. That is the true story. So, these things have to be done systematically. It is not because of the decisions taken by me, and us. Also, to achieve justice, people need to have financial strength.”
But I strongly agree with you, human and economic administration and management should happen in this country. I am not a person who believes in the theory of strengthening the capitalist class that creates neoliberal capitalists. We expect a balanced economic management. This situation is very serious. We think that as a first step, we have to give a dollar stimulus to the gas, fertilizer, fuel and banking system. We have studied all these. The truth of the matter is that we need to get IMF support. We can’t go forward without it. They have their conditions. For example, market price formulas should be brought. Then surely people will confront difficulties. This is a very confusing situation. But we have the ability to manage this although with difficulties.”
Sri Lanka’s acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said the country’s previous administration was covering up facts” about its crippling financial crisis.
Former leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government did not tell the truth, that Sri Lanka was bankrupt” and needed to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” Wickremesinghe told CNN from parliament in the nation’s administrative capital Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Monday.
I would like to tell the people I know what they are suffering,” he added. We have gone back. We have to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. We don’t need five years or 10 years. By the end of next year let’s start stabilizing, and certainly by 2024 let’s have a functioning economy which will start growing.”
Wickremesinghe’s exclusive interview with CNN was his first with an international news organization since he was appointed acting president by former leader Rajapaksa, who fled the crisis-hit country last week.
Wickremesinghe added he that had spoken to Rajapaksa since he first fled Sri Lanka for Maldives, and then traveled to Singapore. However, Wickremesinghe said he does not know whether the former leader is still in Singapore, or elsewhere.
Wickremesinghe is now vying to be Sri Lanka’s next president, with parliament set to elect a new leader on Wednesday.
The former six-time prime minister, who is being backed by the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna political party, will face off against at least three other candidates.
But Wickremesinghe’s nomination has threatened to inflame an already volatile situation in the South Asian nation of 22 million.
Since March, Sri Lanka has been brought to its knees by a growing economic crisis that has left the country struggling to buy essential imports, including fuel, food and medicine.
Protesters have taken to the streets to demand the resignations of the country’s leaders and last week appeared to have scored a victory when Rajapaksa vowed to resign, then fled the country after thousands of demonstrators stormed his residence, and some swam in his pool. Wickremesinghe’s private residence was set on fire by angry protesters shortly after.
Wickremesinghe — prime minister before Rajapaksa stepped down — vowed to resign to make way for a unity government.
He told CNN that his torched home and much of its contents were not salvageable.
He lost more than 4,000 books, including some that were centuries old, Wickremesinghe said. A 125-year-old piano was also destroyed in the fire, he added.
But despite this, on Monday, he reiterated his desire to compete for the top position, telling CNN that he was not the same administration.”
I’m not the same, people know that,” he said. I came here to handle the economy.”
When asked why he wanted to be president and make himself a further potential target, Wickremesinghe said: I don’t want this happening in the country. What happened to me I don’t want others to suffer … Certainly I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.”
Meanwhile, life for Sri Lankans remains chaotic as they navigate the country’s paralyzing crisis.
People continue to line up outside gas stations for hours — even days — desperately hoping to purchase fuel. Many local businesses are shut and supermarket shelves are increasingly barren.
As anger continues to build, Wickremesinghe said people could protest peacefully.”
Don’t obstruct the parliamentarians and the parliament from carrying out their duty,” he said.
Wickremesinghe had declared a nationwide state of emergency from Monday, in a bid to quell any possible social unrest ahead of parliament’s presidential vote on July 20.
We are trying to prevent (the police and military) from using weapons,” Wickremesinghe said.
They have been attacked on some occasions but we still told them try your best not to use weapons.”
But Wickremesinghe said he can understand what the (people of Sri Lanka) are going through.”
I told them there have been three bad weeks … And the whole system had broken down,” he said. We were not going to have gas, we were not going to have diesel. It was bad.”
Wickremesinghe said he will not let protesters to obstruct parliament from voting Wednesday, or allow more buildings to be stormed.
There has to be law and order in the country,” he said.
The Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe delivered a special statement today (18) and touched on several topics including the present economic crisis, the shortages of essentials as well as the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks.
He said that everyone should come together and rebuild Sri Lanka and this country can be rebuilt.
Wickremesinghe said that when he accepted the premiership on May 13, a number of issues had arisen due to the collapse of the economy.
He said: I have worked to solve them. At the time, the power cut was for 5 hours. I have reduced it to 3 hours. Required amounts of fertilizers are available for the Yala season today. Also, we are working to get the fertilizer needed for the season. We would like to be self-sufficient in food again during the Maha season.
We don’t forget that goal. Today we can provide gas continuously. There is no problem about that. We continue to provide diesel as well. There was a problem with Petrol. In fact, I stated in June that three weeks in July will be the most difficult time for us to get fuel. Now we will be able to provide petrol from July 21. Due to the decrease in the international price of fuel, the advantage of that price will be given to the consumers of this country. Also, farmers’ loans have now been waved off, especially for those who have two and half acres of fields within the country. We are continuing discussions with the IMF to build the economy and the discussions with friendly countries are also being continued. We have suffered huge losses due to the collapses of this economy. We have to prepare measures to deal with them.”
So, we are having a number of such problems in the country. Another one is the question we all are having about the Easter Attack. Any of those procedures have not been finalised yet. My dedication is to resolve these problems, we don’t need to continue with these problems forever.”
We must ensure that this should be brought to an end, and there should be a full-scale impartial review of the material that is available. If everyone is willing, I would like to get the help of the UK and their police authorities. They are the best that we can find. In addition to the people from Sri Lanka, who will be working on this issue. It is the responsibility of the government to finalise this matter without any further delay.”ranil
Dr. Patrick Mendis, Courtesy Harvard International Review
Dr. Patrick Mendis, a former American diplomat and a military professor in the NATO and Indo-Pacific Commands of the US Department of Defense, is a distinguished visiting professor of transatlantic relations at the University of Warsaw in Poland as well as a distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan. A non-resident senior fellow of the Synergia Foundation in Bangalore, India and the Taiwan Center for Security Studies in Taipei, Prof. Mendis served as a distinguished visiting professor of Sino-American relations at the Yenching Academy of Peking University in Beijing. He is a former commissioner to UNESCO and the secretariat director of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the US Department of State. The views expressed in this analysis do not represent the official positions of his current or past affiliations nor governments.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka officially declared on June 22, 2022 that the national economy had completely collapsed.” A month earlier, the increasingly debt-laden island nation of 22 million people defaulted on its US$50 billion foreign debt to China and other international creditors, bringing the entire country to a grinding economic standstill. Massive protests in the capital city of Colombo erupted on July 9 with the ransacking of the presidential secretariat and the newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe’s official residence, followed by his private home being set ablaze. President Rajapaksa fled the city and promised to resign as protesters have peacefully been demanding for months.
The so-called perfect tropical paradise” that is shaped like a teardrop falling from the southern tip of India has indeed now become an island of tears. This reality is largely a result of the autocratic and corrupt Rajapaksa family who has ruled the strategically located island in the Indian Ocean—except for a brief period from January 2015 to November 2019—for almost two decades. For the past several months, however, shortages of fuel, gas, electricity, and food items and medicines, coupled with staggering double-digit inflation, has prompted the people to protest peacefully against the government. Despite the heavy police and military presence and imposed island-wide curfew, pro-Rajapaksa mobs still assaulted protesters agitating peacefully” outside the president’s office and the prime minister’s residence. Without violence for months, the protesters continued to demand the resignation of Gotabaya, his eldest brother Prime Minister Mahinda, his youngest brother former Finance Minister Basil, and other ministers and family members in the parliament.
After winning the nearly 30-year civil war” in May 2009, the triumphant Gotabaya—then secretary of the Ministry of Defense and Urban Development under his brother, President Mahinda—said, at the third Galle Dialogue on Maritime Security in December 2012, that Hambantota Port is not part of China’s string of pearls” military strategy to encircle India or to keep the United States away from the Indian Ocean. It is an over US$1 billion investment for transshipment of Chinese goods and resources from the Middle East and Africa. Nonetheless, Gotabaya clarified that the Chinese investment in Hambantota Port is a purely economic one.” Indeed, Sri Lanka is the crown jewel” of China’s multibillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) across the Indo-Pacific region, which connects the Hambantota Port, the Colombo Port City (CPC), the Colombo Lotus Tower, and many other overwhelming infrastructure projects. These ports could easily be converted into dual-purpose military and civilian use compounds, making Sri Lanka a potential unsinkable aircraft carrier” for China. During his historic visit to Sri Lanka with two Chinese submarines in September 2014, President Xi Jinping described the island as a splendid pearl,” while the two countries signed over twenty bilateral agreements in Colombo.
With President Xi’s New Era” of national rejuvenation, Sri Lanka has now discreetly become a strategic colony” of battleships with massive projects to advance the Chinese interests against India and the United States in the Indian Ocean. In The Art of War, Chinese General Sun Tzu once advised that a leader must remember that to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” Xi seems to believe he can strategically achieve his national goals by peacefully defeating his enemies—India and the United States—before war even breaks out. Now, a key opportunity has presented itself to Beijing, with the collapse of the Sri Lankan economy, to get the upper hand over the United States and India in the Indian Ocean and beyond.
China’s Eyes on the Crown Jewel
For the last phase of the civil war that ended in 2009, China provided the needed economic support, military equipment, and political cover at the United Nations to block potential sanctions.” The war was mainly a clash between the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) insurgent group,” which hoped to establish a separate state for the Tamil minority.” During these years of bloodshed and human rights violations on both the government and LTTE sides, the Rajapaksa government was afraid of the powerful lobbying efforts by the Tamil diaspora in the West, encouraging the Western governments to support UN sanctions against Sri Lanka. The Colombo administration had been equally distressed by another direct Indian intervention”—with the mounting pressure coming from India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu—in neighboring Sri Lanka’s internal affairs.
Against this backdrop, paying tribute to Chinese patronage at the third Galle Dialogue, Defense Secretary Rajapaksa reaffirmed that China was an obvious nation to approach” among other traditional donor nations such as Japan, India, South Korea, and the United States. Victorious as war heroes during the decade of 2005-2015, his elder brother Mahinda—then-president of Sri Lanka—and his three brothers controlled many government ministries and around 80 percent of total government spending.” These strongmen also negotiated directly” with China while considering the island nation as an extended family business enterprise.
12 years later, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa—until recently in office since November 2019 with family members still sitting in parliament—has brought the paradise island into an unprecedented socio-economic turmoil with mismanaged economic policies and systemic corruption by successive governments. Once the leading nation in the UN Human Development Index for life expectancy, literacy rate, and GNP per capita in South Asia, Sri Lanka is now entangled in enormous debt trap” projects with China and loans from Japan and international financial institutions. Such ventures involve Chinese white elephant” schemes, including the US$104 million Colombo Lotus Tower for Beijing’s espionage” operation in South Asia and the US$209 million Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Hanbantota—the emptiest” airport in the world. Moreover, the massive Sooriyawewa Cricket Stadium and the International Conference Hall in Hambantota as well as the nearly US$200 million unused roads and bridges made Rajapaksa’s ancestral home district with golden statues a throne to the vanity of a political dynasty.” Like other nationalist and narcissistic dictators do, the Rajapaksa clan bloated the bureaucracy and enlarged the military with their associates and supporters while erecting tributes to themselves at the expense and suffering of ordinary citizens.
The Peaceful ‘Aragalaya’
Earlier this year, the autocratic Rajapaksa regime completely bankrupted Sri Lanka, and the country defaulted on the entirety of its foreign debt amounting to about US$51 billion.” This led to crippling food shortages with no gas for cooking, long lines waiting for petrol for vehicles, no access to medicines, and diminished electricity supplies. This economic collapse has devolved into mass protest (aragalaya”, or struggle) in Colombo and elsewhere in the country. Violence erupted when the Rajapaksa allies attacked the peaceful protesters who demanded the embattled President Gotabaya’s resignation, chanting Gotta Go home” for several months. His elder brother Mahinda—the prime minister who had previously been president—was forced out from power in May and his other brother Basil—the finance minister—resigned from the cabinet in June 2022. Gotabaya himself has now surrendered to the power of people, leaving the island nation after relentless calls for him to do so.
The complete removal of the pro-Chinese Rajapaksa family presents an existential threat to China’s interests in Sri Lanka—especially when President Gotabaya appointed five-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe back to the post for just two months, replacing the president’s brother Mahinda. The unpopular but veteran prime minister and his United National Party has only one seat out of 225 in the parliament. At the same time, however, pro-American Wickremesinghe had been viewed by protesters as a strange bedfellow in the name of political expediency and a crisis manager for Gotabaya, who wanted to remain in the powerful presidency to protect his family’s financial interests and political ambitions.
The new prime minister promised the nation that he would resolve the current shortages of oil, gas, electricity, medicine, and other imports necessary for daily survival. Wickremesinghe also vowed to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and other lenders. It was a matter of concern for China because the transparency required by these institutions would expose the nature of Chinese loans and bribery schemes, its exorbitant interest rates and kickbacks, and the secret negotiations conducted by the members of the Rajapaksa family and their associates. After learning that the 20 percent” kickback monies were paid as commissions” to the Rajapaksa family and associates, the Aragalaya protesters have been pushed to the brink, taking to the streets to demand change to improve their desperate national situation.
The Chinese Paradox and Autocratic Regimes
Prior to these most recent developments, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Sri Lanka in January 2022 at the request of the Rajapaksa government to restructure debt payments and alleviate the financial troubles of the island that have exacerbated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Western media was unfairly hyping [the] debt issue,” adding that calling the cooperation projects between China and Sri Lanka ‘white elephants’ is completely untrue” as bilateral cooperation is welcomed by local people.”
It is true that debt owed to China now accounts for only 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s total US$35 billion of foreign debt, similar to Japan, making China only the fourth-largest lender, preceded by the international financial markets, the Asian Development Bank, and Japan. Unlike the other lenders, however, China’s motivations are driven by its communist statecraft and geopolitical calculus in the Indian Ocean region. When Sri Lanka failed to repay Chinese debt stemming from the Hambantota Port, for example, the Colombo government agreed to a debt-for-equity swap and gave Beijing a 99-year lease of the port with the 15,000 acres neighboring the wildlife sanctuary.
Moreover, the nearby Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport was built with the possible intention of a dual civil-and-military installation for future use. With China’s first military base at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and the latest Ream naval base in Cambodia, Beijing may aim to use the world’s emptiest international airport in Sri Lanka to develop its emerging Indian Ocean military theater against the United States, its allies, and India. All these projects were initially promoted within the BRI as development assistance. In fact, the BRI has been the ambitious foreign policy strategy of China to bring developing countries under its realm of influence as shown in the cautionary tale” of Sri Lanka.
American Interests in the Paradise Island
When China refused to extend additional credits for oil import to the failed state, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa called on President Vladimir Putin of Russia for assistance for oil shipments in July. Understanding the desperate measures taken by Gotabaya, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung reminded that Sri Lanka must consider our sanctions globally on Russian banks, logistics, transportation, and financing;” however, she assured that the US does not have sanctions against third world countries on import of oil.”
To remove misinformation that the United States and the international community are holding back support during a time of need, Ambassador Chung announced that President Biden has granted US$20 million in humanitarian assistance including for the most vulnerable segments of society,” the poorest of the poor. In addition, the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) committed US$150 million for private sector-led initiatives and US$80 million for renewable energy as well as recent commitments to technical support for the Sri Lankan Treasury.
Misinformation on US involvement in Sri Lanka was widespread during the brief but tumultuous administration of President Maithripala Sirisena (2015-2019); since then, anti-American sentiments have prevailed. When visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice Wells, for example, referred to Sri Lanka as an important piece of real estate” for its strategic location in major maritime shipping routes, it was perceived as real estate owner-turned President Donald Trump’s vision of transactional, American-centric diplomacy. The pro-western Sirisena administration, however, favored striking deals with the Trump administration, especially when Sri Lanka renewed its Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) with the United States for another ten years. The ACSA allowed the transfer and exchange of logistical supplies and refueling services for US military operations in the Indian Ocean rim region.
The pro-China Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration had refused to cooperate with American initiatives, demonstrating that Sri Lanka had chosen to partner with Beijing instead of Washington. In fact, the United States failed to renew its Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Sri Lanka, even after pledging $480 million in development aid via the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC). Both countries spent months debating the MCC compact that promised infrastructure development projects, similar to China’s BRI projects in Sri Lanka. At the end, Gotabaya declined to sign the MCC offer and refused to renew the SOFA, speculating that the United States intended to establish a military base to counter Chinese influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean rim countries.
The Sino-American Endgame for Sri Lanka
With the removal of pro-Western Prime Minister Wickremasinghe and pro-Chinese President Rajapaksa by protesters, it is now possible that the proposed credit aid conference led by China, India, Japan, and most importantly, the United States, will guide Sri Lanka’s future. The immediate goal is to stabilize the collapsed economy and alleviate human suffering while helping the island recover from foreign debts. As China has remained relatively muted during the Aragalaya, US Ambassador Chung has seized the opportunity to encourage peaceful protest, restrain violent military response, and protect freedom of speech and Internet communications.
Indeed, it is morally imperative for all lenders—including the Asian Development Bank and the IMF—to jointly help the paradise-island nation. For China, as Sun Tzu counseled, President Xi would most likely build for his Indian and US opponents a golden bridge” to retreat across; otherwise, the opponent will engage in battle and fight like a caged and cornered tiger,” when economic incentives run out for India and the United States. Both democracies need to realize the importance of economic development within the island over their own military interests in a geopolitical endgame with China.
Thus, the tragic saga of the teardrop island might remain so, as China tries to use its economic power to advance Beijing’s ultimate goal: to be the comprehensive global power in the Indian Ocean and beyond. Given the latest events in Colombo, however, it appears that the paradise island may not be completely turned into a Chinese colony—as long as the Sri Lankan people continue to advocate for their own destiny as a free nation.
My answer is no. Only the Chapter on Rajapaksa family in the Mahavamsa will be closed. It will be followed by a very uncertain and really turbulent period that might be followed by a period of prosperity, happiness and peace for all if the present system of Government is replaced with a homemade model of development that make the maximum use of its bountiful physical, human and cultural resources under a strong, patriotic, visionary and benevolent Sinhala Buddhist leader who considers the subjects as his own children as it was done by our ancient Kings, following the footsteps of Dharmasoka the Great.
With the announcements that Gota will go on Wednesday and Ranil will also follow, most people will think the problem is solved, as the the nation’s curse, the Gota and Ranil Alliance” as some people think, is hopefully likely to end this week.
But in my opinion, it is not so. I strongly feel this is only the beginning of a worse period in the political history of this country. True enough we did have a period of partial anarchy over the past few years starting from around August 2015 with incremental effect as the months passed by.
But the real troublesome era which I would describe as full anarchy” has dawned only now. You mark 13th of July 2022 as the starting date of this anarchic period in this country. In fact, it has already started on the 9th with the invasion and occupation of the President House, the Presidential Secretariate and the Temple Trees, the official Residence of the Prime Minister of this country. Now all these places are occupied by a riotous antigovernment mob installing the rule of mobocracy.in place of democracy even though it was also not perfect. Now the rioters are in occupation of these public buildings doing enormous damages to public property, restoration of which will cost billions of public funds for any government to restore them to their previous status.
Let us not waste our time by trying to speculate whether it was an American coup, of the Maharaja’s Jockstrap Protest at Galle-Face – A Re-run of Ukraine’s ‘Maiden Square’ False-Flag Operation on February 2014 (Lankaweb July 9th, 2022) as Jonathan Manz has said or a coup organized jointly by a collective group of NGO, Civil Societies the Church and other anti-Sinhala anti-Buddhist elements with foreign funds. Majority who flocked into Colombo on that day from outskirts are mostly who are disgruntled and hungry masses of this country sans any dirty politics. But those who remain inside these buildings forcibly and illegally occupying them are the real culprits of the game and they are the hardcore JVP and peratugugaami carders. This assertion is proved as one listen to the statement made by Kumar Gunaratnam where he said ‘Strugglers are the Law” and as such they have to be there in any future government. Even Tilvin Siva expressed the same views
It was announced this morning that there will be a meeting of the strugglers with the Speaker this afternoon. It further said 29 strugglers are going to attend this meeting. This number made me to wonder whether they have a suggestion to demand the Speaker to nominate these 29 by the political parties to Parliament so that they will also have a representation in the present Parliament Even if the Speaker agrees, to my understanding one cannot do that without the consensus of all party leaders. Moreover, it is unconstitutional and goes against the election Law. If you say that then they might ask, as to how Gotabhaya brought Ranil and Dhammika Perera to Parliament.
So, this will create another impasse in Cabinet forming even if both Gota and Ranil resign as stated. The mob might use the same tactics to get the consent of the Party leaders as well.
At the same time even in the resignation of Gota still there is a big gap between the cup and the lip’ as politicians could never be trusted since both have not yet tendered their resignations, although millions of people who flocked in to Colombo on the 9th of July have already apparently chased them out of the Presidential House, Presidential Secretariate at the Gall Face and also from the Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister. The mob occupy these buildings until Gotabhaya and Ranil handover their joint resignations. As the say goes ‘A smiling cat can never be trusted” similarly a politician too can never be trusted. Now although Gota has agreed to resign on the 13th no one can believe that, until the papers are handed over. Ranil on the other hand must be waiting Gota to hand over papers to him first, so that he can be the President at least for few days, before the Parliament elect a new President within one month as stipulated in the Constitution. In any case he will also have to go from Parliament as his appointment to Parliament from the so-called National list was also illegal as his name was not there in the UNP national list submitted to the Election Commissioner in 2020.
However, still there is some grey area even with regard to Gota’s resignation as there is some speculation as he is reported to have said his confidants that he has the support of a powerful external source and therefore has no overt concerns about his future” By saying so we do not know what he has up his sleeves. Whether it is American or Indian intervention no one knows. If that is so I warn him not to dream of such disastrous dreams. Because if he resorts to such silly and disastrous means, the aragalaya activists might even resort to extra legal action.
As a person who has voted him, canvassed heavily and written long letters to media on his behalf, as the whole nation trusted him as a true nationalist leader, I will never forgive him for the humiliation he did to me on the 13th of Feb 2022 at my village, Meemure, in front of my own people by ignoring me by not giving 5 minutes to receive him on behalf of my village and its people. But I feel sorry for him for the way he has been dethroned. Had he walk the talk he made at the Ruwanweliseya on the 18th of Nov. 2019, he would have ended up as a legend in this country and never has ended up disastrously like this, carrying the curse of a whole nation on his shoulders, for betraying the aspiration of 6.9 m voters. Bad advice from his Chief advisor and his fortune tellers at Anuradhapura and even Thirupathi in India, lack of PR on his part, reluctance to listen to others, his obvious arrogance and above all his ignorance on the art of governance and statecraft and public administration were the main reasons for his downfall. In my own view the crown was too heavy for him. The way he set about as the President right at the beginning shows he had no clue of the role he was expected to play as the President of this country. His failure to take suitable action to manage foreign debt which was reported to be about 54 billion US$ by end of 2019, to increase domestic production in both Agricultural and Industrial sectors on the one hand and control state expenditure by cutting down waste and extravagance like the Provincial councils and manage the economy have proved that he was misfit in that position. Had he taken timely action in these areas, at least the speed of deterioration could have been mitigated.
Finally, a word for him who is going to succeed Gota as the President at these turbulent times of the history of this nation. The post of President is not a bed of roses. More so particularly at this time. You are faced with a big challenge in handling a Herculian task of rescuing a nation made bankrupt by politicians like you, for 74 years since the so-called Independence in 1948. It is high time to think of an entirely a novel, creative and a home grown political mechanism that is radically different and free from the stale post- colonial dependency trap, that will first, rescue the country from the present abyss of the current political and economic mess by taking steps immediately to provide the people with the basic essentials such as staple food items, domestic gas and fuel to restore normalcy in the day to day life of people and second, lead the nation to an economically prosperous and vibrant status, firstly, achieving self -sufficiency in agriculture, livestock products and fishing and boosting traditional export industries like Tea, Coconut, Rubber, spices and gems .
In the process it is also imperative to restore law and order and not allow unlawful elements to interfere with governance. Aa a starting point I would suggest the new regime make a full assessment of all damages done to state and private property, on the 9th by the mob and thereafter punish those responsible. If the new government fails to restore democracy by consolidating Law and order and address the burning grievances of the people in time by simultaneously bringing all undesirable elements under control and mobilizing all avenues of economic development both at home and abroad. It is indeed a super Herculean task which only a modern Hercules can handle.
But remember the most difficult and challenging period in Sri Lanka’s history will begin tomorrow.
Good luck to the new President and the Prime Minister and the suffering masses of mother Lanka.
The recently concluded Sri Lanka – Australia Test series though it brought joy to Sri Lanka due to the magnificent performance of our cricketers also produced recriminations in Australia.
Both Steve Smith and David Warner were subject to heavy criticism for wasting a pair of reviews on clear-cut lbw decisions in the second innings of Australia. The match ended in an innings defeat for Australia in the Second Test against Sri Lanka.
Smith was accused of Totally lacking in broader match awareness with so many batters to follow and fielders around the bat.” The Australian cricket writer Peter Lalor remarked: One of the worst reviews you will see.”
Darren Berry, former Victoria captain said: That is a very poor review. Need to be accountable and honest at both ends irrespective of the player absolutely plumb.”
ESPN Cricinfo journalist Himanshu Agrawal opined: Labuachagne not firm enough to tell his senior partner that the review would be wasted.” But others couldn’t understand how Smith came to make such a poor decision. Commentator Adam Collins said: I’ve seen a lot of bad reviews – they happen. But Smith’s is one of the worst ”.
Labuschagne was criticized by some saying he was deferring to the status of Smith when he i.e., Smith, was seeking team member support to go ahead with a review.
However, the real turning point of the game occurred when Chandimal edged behind a ball off Starc on 30, on day three, with Australia out of reviews and unable to overturn the on-field call of not out. Chandimal went on to score an unbeaten 206 runs which was a match-winning performance.
Proposal for Reform of DRS
The DRS when it was originally proposed by Senaka Weeraratna in a letter published in the ‘Australian’ Newspaper dated March 25, 1997, called for 5 reviews, as follows:
Any objection that a two-tier appeal process would unduly protract or destabilize the game can be met by limiting the number of appeals against the on-field umpires’ decisions to five per side per inning. Such a restriction would contain a possible excessive number of appeals by forcing the players to use this right of appeal sparingly. Nevertheless, this would give an aggrieved side a chance to have some of the significant on-field umpiring errors corrected by the Third Umpire”.
It is time to review the number of reviews allowed in the Decision Review System (DRS). Three per inning is insufficient for a Test match. As we can see the Steve Smith and David Warner type of reckless conduct can deprive a team playing hard and with commitment of the true fruit of its labour. A distorted outcome is a result that the ‘Player Referral’ philosophy underlying DRS was meant to prevent.
If this had happened in a world cup final a player seeking reviews without a broader match awareness and the impact a reckless review appeal to the Third Umpire would have on the outcome would rue the day, he acted callously.
The moment the limited number of appeals per inning is exhausted we are back in the pre-DRS era, where video playback showed the error of the on-field umpire but the same technology was not employed to correct the error.
The objective of the DRS is to achieve accuracy in umpire decision-making. Not necessarily to attain perfection but reduce imperfection. When wrong umpiring decisions are allowed to stand the integrity of the game comes into question.
Submission
The Cricket Committee of the ICC must review the number of Umpire Reviews allotted to a team per inning in all formats of the game. It is submitted that the following proposals be considered:
1)Test Match – increase the number of reviews to five (5) per inning
2)One Day International – increase the number of reviews to three (3) per inning
3) T 20 – increase the number of reviews to two (2) per inning
Conclusion
While admitting that umpiring errors are also made by the system of video arbitration, it is nevertheless a superior system of adjudication because far fewer umpiring mistakes are made now than in the past.
The uncertainties of cricket have always added to the excitement and attraction of this sport. But where adjudication is concerned, nothing but certainty in the accuracy of umpiring decisions and prevention of wrong umpiring decisions to stand would win players and public confidence in the integrity of the game.
A social media video clip is doing the rounds where a member of a legal profession who should be well versed in the law, is claiming that the Rule of Law and Human Rights protected by the Constitution of Sri Lanka is no longer valid post 9th July 2022. He thereupon declares that if any case is filed against any person who was a party to the Aragalaya on the 9th July 2022 they know the addresses of the private residences of the IGP and Deshabandu Tennakone, thus indirectly threatening the Police with destruction of their private residences if law is enforced against any perpetrator of a crime in the name of the Aragalaya. Thus, as per his demand, even if any person in the name of Aragalaya has violated the law of the land in the most atrocious manner, no legal action can be filed by the Police without risking the destruction of their private property!
What is shocking is that the BASL and those who gave leadership to the Peaceful Aragalaya” is stoically silent in the face of these declarations, refraining from initiating any disciplinary action against this member. Every member of the Bar takes an oath pledging allegiance to the Constitution and uphold and defend the Constitution of Sri Lanka when entering the profession. When a member renegades on such a promise and break their oath, the BASL as a respected professional body should lead by example, and take swift action against such member. Press notices to uphold the law of the country, are empty words, unless the BASL practise what they preach!
There are other radical elements in the name of the Aragalaya, now illegally occupying State Property, who in fact brazenly declare that they will not permit any Head of Government to be appointed, without their consent. What authority under what law do these elements have the power to dictate terms to any government or its citizens? Why are those who must uphold the law so silent in the face of these declarations, fanning the winds of anarchy!
The BASL made a colossal mistake at its initial press briefing, when it endorsed the takeover by the Aragalaya to occupy state buildings for all practical purposes and made a mere request to protect the property. It should have advised them, and warned them of the repercussions of overrunning State Properties, which is absolutely unlawful and illegal. They also undermined the armed forces without giving a fair account of the incidents that took place post 09 July 2022. The armed forces are entitled to resist an invasion and whilst their excesses must be condemned by all means, the focus of the BASL was to paint a David V. Goliath scenario, which was unwarranted, on the day. There was force and excesses on both sides, that is the undeniable truth which cannot be erased by fairytales of ultra-disciplined pious conduct, written by the victors of the day.
What the BASL and any peace-loving Aragalaya member should do is not encourage the flouting of the law but instill discipline that they displayed at the very commencement of the movement. How can one demand a system change whilst violating the law themselves? What confidence does the ordinary public have in the BASL and the genuineness of the Aragala members, if they are now placid in the face of their own fractions flouting the law and threatening the rule of law?
The Aragalaya and the BASL is entitled to take credit for the resignation of a corrupt regime and kudus to them for leading from the front. But as much as taking responsibility for the successes, they must also take liability for the lapses. Protesters claim others have infiltrated their ranks and caused chaos … it is not us but some others in the guise of Aragalaya”. If that is the case, the Aragalaya members and leaders must ensure that their names are not used in vain and no crime is committed in their name. They must act responsibly and with due diligence and assist the Armed Forces to enforce the law. The Armed Forces are not the enemy! They must be used to preserve peace! Not render them disable!
No one should be delusional to presume that the overthrow of this regime is a one-off incident. The gene is now out of the box. The young disillusioned radicals assume that this is the way forward. Dislike a regime, and let’s do an Aragalaya to overthrow it. This will be the name of the game in future unless nipped in the bud and the importance of a civilized society with the rule of law is inculcated and propogated without haste.
It’s time for the educated public to raise their voices not only against corruption but also against the preservation of the law. The day is fast approaching where we are another Afghanistan or Libya with jungle law!
Over to you, the BASL and the responsible members of the Aragalaya! Citizen Jane
Whilst revealing that the G7 alliance on the global food crisis has offered Sri Lanka US$ 14 million to spend on food, Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe said there is much to be done to avoid third-world countries such as Sri Lanka falling down on their knees in the face of the global situation.
Speaking during an international conference on food security, Acting President Wickremesinghe said high inflation had put food out of reach of people.
” It is said some six million people in Sri Lanka are suffering from malnutrition. Other reports have said those who are suffering from malnutrition could be as high as 7.5 million people. Sri Lanka’s average paddy production is usually 24 million metric tons. However, production in 2021 has been 16 million metric tons. Therefore Sri Lanka will have to import one-third of its need for rice. The exchange rate crisis prevents this. Sri Lanka is also faced with a fuel supply issue. The G7 global alliance on food security of which World Bank is also a member had offered us US$14 billion to acquire food. We are grateful to them. The government has also embarked on a good security program,” the Acting President said.
“Our issue in Sri Lanka is partly self-made and partly due to the global crisis. The war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the EU are affecting us. EU says sanctions will not affect us. However, it will push third-world nations such as us to our knees. However, the EU is not the only one to be blamed. Russia also must call for a ceasefire. Both Russia and Ukrainian must call for a ceasefire and resolve issues peacefully,” he added. (Yohan Perera)
Acting President Ranil Wickramasinghe has instructed to conduct an investigation into the allegations that certain individuals through social media are attempting to influence or exert pressure on Members of Parliament and obstruct their right to vote freely to elect the next President.
The Acting President has issued these instructions to the security forces after being notified by MPs that due to threats made through social media, a situation has arisen where they are unable to vote freely.
Accordingly, Mr. Wickramasinghe has informed to investigate the relevant incidents under the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act and related criminal laws.
The Acting President has pointed out that MPs should have the opportunity to freely travel to and from the Parliament as well as to work freely in the Parliament and to act against it is a violation of MP’s privileges.
Sri Lanka’s crisis-hit economy is likely to contract by more than 6% this year as political instability and social unrest hamstring key discussions on financial relief with the International Monetary Fund and bilateral creditors, the country’s central-bank governor has said to wall street journal.
While technical discussions at the central bank and finance ministry level have continued, Nandalal Weerasinghe, who took over as central-bank chief in April, said top-level talks with the IMF on a multibillion-dollar bailout had stalled.
He said the country urgently needed a stable political administration to progress discussions with the IMF on key structural reforms—such as taxation and public expenditure as well as to secure short-term bridge financing from other countries and multilateral agencies to help pay for key imports like fuel, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers.
Without that obviously we’re going to see these shortages continuing, Weerasinghe said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. A delay means people will be suffering continuously.
Nandalal Weerasinghe said Sri Lanka’s political uncertainty and acute shortages of fuel, had adversely impacted nearly every industry in the country except for some key exports like tea, garments and rubber, which the government had prioritized. Despite a promising recovery in tourist arrivals early in the year before the unrest the economy contracted by 1.6% in the first quarter. With economic contraction accelerating in the second and third quarters, Nandalal Weerasinghe expects this year’s recession to be worse than in the pandemic-affected 2020, when the economy shrank 3.5%.
This year the contraction will be much higher, maybe higher than 6% contraction, he said.
The forecasted contraction underlines the pace of Sri Lanka’s economic backsliding. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is now acting president, said earlier this month that the economy was expected to contract by 4%-5%, citing the central bank.
While Indian credit lines in recent months have provided a key lifeline enabling Sri Lanka to purchase fuel, Nandalal Weerasinghe said a $500 million extension expected last month hasn’t materialized, exacerbating Sri Lanka’s fuel shortages. Similarly, there had been no progress on a $1 billion currency swap with the Reserve Bank of India, nor has China relaxed conditions to allow Sri Lanka to use a $1.5 billion currency swap.
At the heart of the nation’s economic woes has been a balance-of-payments crisis that has drained its foreign-exchange reserves, leaving it unable to pay for imports or service its external debt. Sri Lanka fell into default in May for the first time in its history.
Sri Lanka builds its foreign reserves through tourism, worker remittances from abroad and government borrowing of foreign debt. Although there were some encouraging signs for the natural growth of reserves at the beginning of 2022, much of that progress has been undone in recent weeks.
Right now there’s hardly any tourists coming, Nandalal Weerasinghe said. He also said remittances of foreign currency from Sri Lankans working overseas were declining. Sri Lanka had tightened government policies for inflows to ensure money makes it into the Sri Lankan banking system instead of gray market channels, but these measures have recently been relaxed again.
He also said the country’s balance of payments deficit, which had seen it bleed $700 million a month, had narrowed considerably because of a sharp drop in import demand due to a deep decline in the local currency, the rupee.
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress said that they will announce today as to who would get their support in the vote to elect the next President.
The number of candidates to be the next President has now increased to 4 after Leader of the National People’s Power Anura Kumara Dissanayaka also entered the race yesterday.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya had unanimously agreed to support Sajith Premadasa as their candidate.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Group of 9 Independent Parties is also yet to decide on whom to support during the upcoming vote in Parliament.
It is reported that they will hold discussions with the Candidates individually and come to a conclusion.
The Tamil National Alliance is also yet to decide on whom to support during the vote to elect the next President.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party has decided to refrain from supporting any candidate until a proper framework is presented by any of them.
The vote to elect the next President will be held in Parliament on the 20th of this month.
An 11 member far-right militia group Oath Keepers” are charged with seditious conspiracy for January 2021 while another group was also charged in January 2022 attacks on the US Capitol. More than 725 Trump supporters were arrested for their role in opposing transfer of presidential powers. Sedition is the attempt to overthrow, put down or destroy by force the government of the United States”. The Oath Keepers claim that the US Government has been corrupted by elites. The group is accused of using encrypted communications to plan the attack on Congress by creating several quick reaction force” teams to stop transfer of presidential power. If Capitol Hill riot was defined a ‘brutal riot’ by both President Biden & VP Kamala Harris, what makes Aragala riot any different?
The first group entered the building & proceeded to the House & Senate Chambers.
The next group confronted the security personnel.
As per testimony of the Oath Keepers leader, some of the groups had gone off mission”.
The lawyers for the groups defended their actions. They are also charged with resorting to violence to ensure their ‘preferred election outcome’.
The allegations also include instructions to prepare for a full battle on the streets.
Timeline of riot in the US Capitol
6 Jan 2021 – Congress to certify Joe Biden’s win.
6 Jan – 12p.m. – President Trump addresses supporters & calls on VP Pence to reject Bidens win. Thousands of Trump supporters gathered near the White House
m. – protestors storm outer police barrier around Capitol shouting USA, USA, USA”
1:30p.m. – protestors overcome the police. Police run into the building. Protestors breaks through police barricades.
m. – Protestors break windows and climb into the Capitol building.
2:20p.m. – building goes into lockdown. Evacuations begin of Top senators
2:38p.m. – Trump tweets calling support of Capitol Police & law enforcement. Tear gas is used and gas masks are sent for the Senators.
m. – Rioters break into Senate Chamber – they jump from balcony, they take photos & selfies, they rifle through papers, march through halls of Capitol, bang on doors, destroy property & break into lawmakers offices. A group of rioters chant break it down, break it down” overwhelming Capitol Police officers guarding Speakers lobby where lawmakers are sheltered. One of the rioters is shot & dies.
3:36p.m. White House Press Secretary tweets that Trump has ordered National Guards to arrive. More Trump supporters gather in Sacramento, California, Austin, Texas, Denver & Minneapolis.
m. Biden addresses nation. Biden calls protest an ‘insurrection’
m. protestors pound on State capitol doors & breaks windows. Demonstrations turn violent.
National Guards arrive & clear Capitol
m. Mayor of Washington places city on 12hour curfew
m. Twitter removes Trumps tweets and shuts down his account.
Capitol Hill autonomous zone” (CHAZ) vs Aragala Gotagama”
Protestors in US took over a six-block area near the police department in Seattle, a large city in Washington DC.
Protestors in Sri Lanka took over several areas in the heart of Colombo.
The Seattle autonomous zone” was created as part of police brutality against African Americans. The zone had free food, a co-op station, volunteer medics, music 24×7, art & drama, it became a place for people to just hang out, people began camping overnight, tents were put up, water and soap were provided, so were toilets, those living in apartments became regular visitors, there was a large kitchen, a large screen playing movies.
Like in Gotagama, the autonomous zone in Capitol Hill were struggling to name their leader” as too many were making claims.
On 7 June 2021 a man drove his car into the Capitol Hill autonomous zone, days later 2 men were shot, one died, several more shootings took place.
Sri Lanka saw no deaths or mass shootings.
While President Trump ordered to take back the city, Sri Lanka’s President allowed the gotagama to continue.
Some Seattle residents are suing the City on account of the autonomous zone being a public place & illegally trespassed on. A likely scenario in Sri Lanka too.
Reporters were not allowed into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (Fox News)
Majority of media channels were very much involved in GotaGama.
On 22 June 2021 the City of Seattle requested the people inside Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone to leave as they had set up a Postal service inside the zone. In Sri Lanka ironically GotaGama put up a grama sevaka and a postal address too.
The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone declared independence – luckily even after 90 days of illegal occupation, GotaGama has not done same.
Role of Social Media in riots in Capitol Hill & Sri Lanka
Misinformation, foreign interference & hate speech were key features that increased both riots. Online mayhem has been identified as hitting 40,000 false news” an hour. Facebooks role in the event was disclosed by whistleblower Frances Haugen.
#STOPTHESTEAL in US was no different to the #GiveBackOurMoney.
Capitol Hill rioters like Aragala were recording their arson” and relaying across social media platforms while supporters celebrating online.
It took a year for US lawmakers, researchers & journalists to examine the role of social media in US but it should not take so much time in Sri Lanka. Congress has even criticized companies for their role in the riot – many companies in Sri Lanka shoulder blame too.
Washington Post among others investigated & found evidence that Facebook played a ‘critical role in spreading lies that fermented the violence on 6 Jan” – at least 650,000 posts across FB groups attacked Biden’s Presidential victory with many calling for political violence.
According to UK journalism professor Al Cross – Disinformation is worse than misinformation as disinformation is purposeful and intentional.
Ironically, how can factcheckers themselves be trusted if they also are paid to claim their version as ‘fact’.
The ‘megaphone’ lay in the hands of the Capitol Hill rioters on 6 Jan & in the hands of the Aragala bandwagon of supporters on 9Jul. They wrote the narrative and they decided what was right.
The calls to overwhelm barricades & cops were identical in both US & Sri Lanka riots.
Social media was used extensively by both rioters.
Corrupt politicians need to hang for their treason” was a call from US and not Sri Lanka but obviously echoed similar lines.
Another noteworthy feature was how supporters of the riots in both US & Sri Lanka bragged about the chaos they had helped create & were proudly sharing minute-to-minute developments across social media platforms.
If US analysts now blame fake news & spreading misinformation & disinformation to make the riot worse – would it be any different in Sri Lanka?
If some rioters were part of anti-fascist movements in US – was the situation any different in Sri Lanka?
However a noteworthy difference was how the US was quick to accuse Russia of interfering into its internal affairs, the US envoy to Sri Lanka visited or invited virtually all of the key players involved in Sri Lanka’s riot. The general calls were to allow peaceful protestors” to protest and a subtle message not to take any action against them. Inspite of breaking barricades, scaling walls, illegally trespassing and breaking iron gates as well as breaking state property, damaging them and even stealing them and illegally occupying 6 state venues – the diplomatic community that referred to these protestors as peaceful” have not uttered a word on the damage done. Their silence may have to be broken when more images or the scale of the damage is released.
The riots and the scale of the riots in US came nowhere near the damage done by the rioters in Sri Lanka, yet US appointed a House Select Committee to Investigate the January 2021 attack on the US capitol.
By May 2022 the Committee had interviewed over 1000 people. In July the interim report was released.
The US Justice Dept too commenced investigations to prosecute the rioters.
In January 2022 the Oath Keepers were indicted on sedition charges. In June the Proud Boys group has been also charged with sedition. 860 people across 48 states have been charged with crimes connected to the riot.
5 have been charged with ‘oppose by force the authority of the government’. The lawyers claim the defendants had no plan to storm the congressional building – obviously the same argument will be used by lawyers who will represent the aragala rioters.
The flip side of the participants of the riots in US and probably for rioters in Sri Lanka is that their selfies and self-publicity across social media platforms have provided the evidence needed for authorities to charge them. The US have compiled people who have spewed hateful rhetoric, spread disinformation, spurred rioters on. Prosecutors have also tabulated those trying to destroy their social media post evidence. Deleting these has proven far worse than keeping them. Even the Justice Department looked at the manner violence and property damage was encouraged and what was destroyed, where they went inside the buildings and whether they have shown sincere remorse.
These are all factors for the investigations into the riots in Sri Lanka on 9 July 2022 too.
Those who claim to uphold rule of law & democracy must not simply mouth it but act it – as per modern format of representative governance, people are elected by an election or rejected by an election not be gathering into groups to chase away a legitimately elected leader. It is setting an ugly precedent which may swell into corporates as well and should not be encouraged. Creating a problem is easy – solving it is virtually impossible.
While everyone is distracted with the horse trading and the Parliament Puppet show to elect the next President and the Aragalaya, at this time questions are being raised as to whether there in a Air-Sea and Cyber Blockade of Sri Lanka to stop fuel arriving in the country from Russia or Iran since the first week of June? These countries do NOT trade in ‘exorbitantly privileged’ US Dollars. There seems to be a fuel embargo on Sri Lanka to deepen the crisis caused by the Staged Default, these months of June-July by starving the economy while US controles Sri Lanka’s Oceans and Airspace – see this link:
Sea Vision Training US Department of Defense Field operatives in Sri Lanka June-July training SL Navy:
Who controls the SL Navy and oceans is a legitimate question to raise as ships bringing fuel in June and July disappeared and fishermen cannot go to sea due to lack of fuel…?
No Sri Lanka media have covered this story for the past 3 days that 120 Sri Lanka-bound flights diverted to Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports
Meanwhile many of the Araglaya ‘Protestors’, (who gave the game away by supporting the IMF), are like those in the Arab Spring/ Colour Revolutions, CIA controlled to enable installing a US-Backed Military Dictator – Ranil WIckramasinghe – to deliver Sri Lanka to the Washington Consensus to dollarize the country and Digitalize the citizens using the Social Safety Net narrative. This will be after re-naming South Asia’s second wealthiest country with the best Human and Social indicators in the Region a Least Developed COuntry (LDC), with the aid of the UN agency Disaster Capitalists – WHO, UNICEF, FAO, ILO etc.
Sri Lanka will then become a US military base to service the QUAD war Machine, as was initially planned with the MCC Compact, now with the IMF project..
This is a QUAD operation to enable US colonization of the strategic Indian Ocean island.
Sri Lanka is the first Domino to Fall in the New Cold War in America’s mythical “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”! But there is a new blockade preventing analysis of the BIG PICTURE re. the New COLD WAR in the Indian Ocean.
India play acts with Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia applauding Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports on Wednesday for going out of their way to help the crisis-hit nation!
These are not conspiracy theories but have US Intelligence Names – Over the Horizon (OTH) operations for Full Spectrum Dominance (FSD) of small strategic countries to be COLONIZED!
Behind the food and fuel shortages causing Sri Lanka’s protests lie unmanageable debts to the West. The only answer to worsening humanitarian catastrophe is an immediate write-off.
On Sunday, demonstrators broke into the lavish private residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. As protesters swam in his pool and made use of the gym, Rajapaksa finally succumbed to popular demands and promised to resign. But as he flees the country and a state of emergency is declared, it is unclear whether the victory for people power the resignation represented will open up solutions to the debt crisis that has brought the country to a standstill.
The Rajapaksa government has faced months of protests against its mishandling of the country’s economic collapse, as shortages and skyrocketing prices of food and fuel have made normal life impossible. Hospital workers in the capital Colombo have been on strike to demand supplies of medicine and fuel—since the government suspended petrol sales to the public at the end of June, they cannot get to work.
The imminent humanitarian catastrophe facing the Sri Lankan people is the result of debt. In May, Sri Lanka became the first default of this period of spiralling global food and fuel prices, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The country has effectively run out of fuel, with little prospect of new supplies—it has run out of money, so cannot afford to pay its suppliers. Its foreign reserves are down almost to zero, after the government spent months in a futile attempt to avoid default by keeping up with unmanageable debt payments, mostly to Western banks and bondholders.
Protesters are demanding that a new government develop an urgent programme to provide food, fuel, and essential services. It is not yet clear how responsive any new government will be to demands from the street, given the dominance of Parliament by the Rajapaksas’ party, and a likely long timescale for elections. But any new government will face an unchanged economic impasse—it needs resources immediately to pay for essential food and fuel to keep people alive, but its debts mean it cannot access them.
Unmanageable Debt
Sri Lanka is unlikely to get relief any time soon. A new government is likely to restart negotiations for a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will demand that it come to agreement with its creditors to reduce its debts to a sustainable level—otherwise the IMF loan will go straight into corporate pockets in debt repayments.
The negotiations could take years. Zambia has been trying for twenty months to persuade its private lenders to restructure its debts, without visible progress. When Sri Lanka finally defaulted, Hamilton Reserve, a bondholder based in the tax haven of St Kitts and Nevis, immediately sued Sri Lanka in the US courts to demand repayment in full, regardless of the country’s inability to pay.
The extremity of Sri Lanka’s situation is partly a result of the Rajapaksa dynasty’s debt-funded infrastructure projects, brutal civil war, and tax cuts. But many countries are facing similar problems—the global food and fuel crisis is also a debt crisis. Last week, Ghana followed Sri Lanka in requesting an IMF loan, and is likely to be told that it too must negotiate with its creditors. Large countries like Pakistan and even Turkey could follow. As prices of food and fuel have rocketed in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, lower income countries across the world face being pushed over the edge into economic meltdown.
Even before the Russian invasion, lower income countries were facing a growing debt crisis. Fifty-four countries were in debt crisis globally, up from thirty-one in 2018. Debt levels have grown dramatically over the last ten years, as private lenders looked for returns in a period of cheap money and low interest rates in the West, where riskier bonds issued by lower income governments still promised hefty levels of interest. Lenders were gambling that countries wouldn’t face external shocks that would interrupt the economic growth necessary to pay off the debts and interest.
Of course, those shocks materialised, in the form of the pandemic and now the Ukraine war. Lower income country governments borrowed to support communities and for the healthcare response to the pandemic, as income from tourism and many exports crashed. They borrowed far less than rich countries, but at much higher interest rates. They were unable to afford the massive economic stimulus given to rich economies, and emerged with weakened economies burdened by dramatically increased debts. They were in no position to confront a further shock, when Western sanctions on Russia and the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports reduced food and fuel supplies.
Many lower income countries are heavily dependent on Russian and Ukrainian wheat production—Sri Lanka receives forty-five percent of its supplies from those two countries. The globalised food system means that wheat price rises lead to rising prices across the board. Since the US deregulated commodities markets in the 1990s, rampant speculation on food prices has led to price volatility that can become extreme in the event of a major shock, forcing prices up beyond the means of many people and countries, even as overall food production levels hold up.
Fuel price increases have made fertilisers increasingly unaffordable, leading Sri Lanka to temporarily and disastrously ban imports in April 2021 and demand its farmers make an overnight and chaotic transition to organic farming, with a devastating impact on subsequent harvests. Lower income countries often lack food security because their economies were orientated away from self-sufficiency by colonial powers followed by the structural adjustment programmes of the IMF, which prioritised the production and export of food crops for the international market.
Countries have managed the escalating crisis by subsidising food and energy, to keep them at affordable levels for their populations. But the IMF is demanding the removal of these subsidies, and the imposition of new taxes on food and fuel, as part of its austerity conditions for new loans.
The impact is disproportionately felt by poorer people within lower income countries because they spend more of their income on food and fuel, just as poorer households in the UK are being hardest hit by the cost of living crisis here.
A Growing Crisis
All the indicators are that the crisis is just beginning. Rising price inflation has provoked the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, which will make it more expensive for lower income countries to repay dollar-denominated debts, including by taking out fresh loans, as interest rates risk on international financial markets and the dollar increases in value. Simultaneously, higher interest rates in rich countries are leading to capital flight, as investors seek safely profitable investments.
Meanwhile, the climate emergency is causing catastrophic droughts and famines in some of the world’s most indebted countries, including Chad, Ethiopia, and Somalia, all of which are heavily dependent on Russian and Ukrainian wheat and other food imports.
For the Western powers, it’s always someone else’s fault. The food and energy crisis is explained as an automatic consequence of the Russian invasion, without mention of the record profits of energy companies or food speculators. The failure to make progress on restructuring debts is all the fault of China, despite the fact that a far greater proportion of debt is owed to Western bondholders, who failed to participate even in the G20’s limited debt suspension initiative. Sri Lanka has been widely presented as a victim of a mythic Chinese ‘debt-trap diplomacy’, despite an almost complete absence of evidence.
Western leaders continue to point to the G20 Common Framework as the solution to the debt crisis. A response to the pandemic, the Common Framework was supposed to allow countries in debt crisis to restructure their debts in a coordinated way with all of their creditors—yet twenty months on, no debts have been restructured, largely due to the recalcitrance of private lenders.
Western banks, hedge funds, and oil traders, who lent at high interest because of the risk, are refusing to accept that the pandemic and food and fuel crisis mean they have lost their gamble. In most cases they are continuing to be paid the repayments and interest they demand, even as people in lower income countries go down to one meal a day to make ends meet. Indeed, many of the creditors bought the debt at knock-down prices because of the likelihood of defaults—if paid in full, BlackRock could make 110 percent profit on its Zambian debt.
Cancel the Debt
But this situation cannot last. It is unimaginable that lower income countries will continue indefinitely supporting BlackRock’s profiteering while their people lose livelihoods and can’t feed themselves. Waves of protest are shaking many countries, and the Sri Lankan government is unlikely to be the last to fall. Debt cancellation is a demand of protesters and a coalition of civil society leaders. In Tunisia, the powerful union movement is preventing an authoritarian government from capitulating to IMF austerity demands, strengthening its hand in ongoing negotiations. In Argentina, a deal with the IMF has split the government and mobilised the streets against compliance.
Western leaders may care little for the welfare of communities in lower income countries—but they will care about this growing wave of instability, particularly if large countries default and destabilise the international financial system. It will be complex and difficult to herd private creditors into fair and sufficient debt restructurings and cancellation, to bring debt down to sustainable levels and address Chinese concerns about bailing out Western banks—but on the scale of global challenges, not that difficult. It simply requires political will in the G7 to reform a discredited system that currently only benefits corporate freeloading.
The Sri Lanka crisis, likely to be followed by a looming Ukrainian debt restructuring, should be the wake-up call. In the short-term, Sri Lanka needs resources now: the IMF should provide an immediate loan, on the condition that it not be used to pay off creditors.
But systemic change is overdue. Replacing or strengthening the discredited Common Framework is one of the simplest single things that world leaders can do to address the multiple crises facing lower income countries. A system that allows countries to suspend debt repayments in the event of external shocks, and cancel debts when they go bankrupt, will be essential for addressing the climate emergency as well as the food and fuel crisis. The world cannot continue to stagger on with the delusion that all debts can and must be paid, no matter the scale of the emergency.
In recent days, Power generation is being disrupted as per the demand due to sudden power and gas crisis in the country. This has increased load shedding in the country, including the capital Dhaka. According to media reports, load shedding is going on for six to eight hours in some districts including Rajshahi and Rangpur in the northern part of the country. Dhaka, Chittagong, Barisal, Sylhet and Mymensingh divisions are experiencing three hours of load shedding every day.
Due to this, the city dwellers have become restless in the heat and industrial production is being hampered to some extent. Due to load shedding, the cost of buying diesel and running the generator is increasing. Many are not able to ship on time. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid cited the Ukraine-Russia war as the main reason for the disruption of global energy supply and the continuation of the crisis.
According to the Department of Power Development, 52% of the country’s natural and LNG gas is used for power generation. The government has decided not to buy LNG now as the price of LNG has gone up in the world market. Will buy again when the price goes down. As power generation has declined due to the gas crisis, the power department has been forced to carry out load shedding.
Global crisis
The recovery from the Covid-19 attack and the Russia-Ukraine war have made the fuel market extremely unstable. The international food market is also volatile.
This crisis is not only in Bangladesh, a developing country, but also in many developed countries. No one was ready. Europe is in a serious crisis. Russian dependence has put them in danger. They never thought Russia would cut off gas supplies. The war has changed the situation. Crisis has also occurred in Japan, Taiwan and India. People are protesting in different countries.
There is an emphasis on making the use of electricity economical. It is uncertain how long the energy crisis will last in the world market. Due to this, the crisis has intensified as the developed countries have accumulated more energy from the world market and built reserves.
The countries of the subcontinent are also facing energy crisis. Due to the crisis in Pakistan, the process of austerity in the use of electricity has continued. Everyone knows the dire situation of Sri Lanka in the energy crisis. Observers have described the power and energy crisis in the country as a “prediction” of Sri Lanka becoming a “predictor” and advised those concerned to be vigilant.
At this time, the price of fuel has risen in stages, this is the crisis we have been dealing with for the last few days. But developed countries like Japan have been dealing with the power crisis for two months. Neighboring countries India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal are also facing load shedding.
Options at hands
There is no other way but to take measures to save electricity and prevent wastage. Otherwise, the crisis will intensify as the days go by. It is necessary to save electricity by identifying the low-importance and unnecessary use of electricity. Without going into any kind of blame game, we have to take effective steps to save and save electricity by judging and analyzing the world reality.
There is no substitute for austerity in dealing with the power crisis. The concerned departments of the government have to find out where the power is wasted, where there is redundancy and where the power can be saved. We have to think of saving electricity by reducing the office schedule and increasing the speed of work.
Wherever electricity can be saved, measures must be taken. There are electric billboards on various roads and highways in the capital and plans can be made to close them on time. Effective initiatives should be taken to stop illegal connections as well as to reduce system losses that have been going on for years. In order to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity, emphasis should be laid on increasing domestic gas production.
So, the government is thinking of saving by reducing imports. And cost-saving load shedding is a tool for the government. It may be effective for a period of time. If prices rise, the economy will be under pressure. So cost-effective load shedding can be a temporary tool for the government. The alternative to load shedding is to increase the price of gas and electricity. But the extra price will create huge pressure for the customer.
Now the load management has to be done in such a way that the economic shock is less.
There is no problem with production capacity. The problem is the primary fuel supply. A large portion of power generation comes from imported fuels. Gas, fuel oil can all be bought, but the cost will go up a lot. Prices have doubled in countries like the United Kingdom and Hungary, and could double in the country as well.
Bangladesh needs 1500-1600 million cubic feet of gas to generate electricity. There we can deliver only 900 million cubic feet of gas. It can’t afford more gas. As it has to give priority to agriculture and industry. Fertilizer is essential for agriculture. We also have to pay a lot of gas for fertilizer production. Moreover, now the country’s economy may be under pressure to import LNG from abroad at high prices.
Undoubtedly, until recently, the Awami League has given load shedding free electricity facility to 100% of the people of the country. But now, as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, the global energy crisis has fallen on Bangladesh. So, experts are seeking the answer, Will the reputation that the present government has gained among the people of the country by stopping load shedding be tarnished?
Sufian Siddique is a researcher and freelance columnist.
In recent times, Bangladesh most often gets significant global attention for her geopolitical quandary, US- backed targeted sanctions on security apparatus and climate disasters, while ignoring its significant and proven contribution to humanitarian activities. Though Bangladesh’s realization of humanitarian diplomacy has not been developed for many years, an impressive record of development and growth since the last decade owing to the demographic dividend, robust ready-made garment exports, remittances, and comparatively stable macroeconomic circumstances motivates the country to use its soft power through humanitarian assistance.
Natural calamities including cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, heatwaves, forest fires, severe food and energy scarcity caused by the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sri-Lanka crisis, and the Afghan humanitarian catastrophe remind South Asian countries to revitalize the SAARC food bank and the SAARC disaster management framework to navigate economic and humanitarian turmoil in member nations. Unfortunately, no major breakthrough in regional cooperation and coordination has happened till now due to the respective countries’ narrowly defined geopolitical calculation.
It is evident that Afghanistan, under the new Taliban regime, is confronting a wide range of challenges from severe economic and humanitarian crises to a lack of inclusive governance, international recognition, Human rights, and terrorism concerns. But among them, humanitarian challenges have intensified in parts of Afghanistan recently when a powerful earthquake on June 22 killed some 1,150 people, including at least 155 children, and destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes in the hardest-hit southeastern Paktika and Khost provinces.
While the Taliban are hoping for support from the international community, many Asian as well as western countries hesitate to extend assistance as no country has yet recognized the Taliban government, not even the nations seen as closest to the regime, such as Pakistan or China. Moreover, after the Taliban’s rise to power on August 15, Western countries froze billions of dollars in Afghan central bank assets, including $10 billion held by the US Federal Reserve. Additionally, Western countries also suspended financial assistance to Afghanistan, a nation that is heavily dependent on aid and accounts for 43% of the country’s GDP.
However, while many Western developed nations bypassed their responsibilities towards the Afghan people, it is really praiseworthy that Bangladesh has delivered a sizable amount of emergency relief in the form of dried food, blankets, tents, and medicine to earthquake-hit Afghanistan as part of its ongoing efforts to broaden its network of humanitarian aid. Needless to say, Bangladesh earlier sent Tk. 10 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to assist Afghan people when the country plunged into deep social and political turmoil after the Taliban took over following the withdrawal of the US military from the country.
Afghanistan expressed their gratitude to Bangladesh for the assistance, which is a manifestation of the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s commitment to the collective prosperity of South Asia and its people. The move, without a doubt, is a realistic evidence of the PM’s policy of regional brotherhood, the integrated development of South Asia and policy of cooperation towards everyone, regardless of their geopolitical alignment.
Thus, Bangladesh’s humanitarian approach effectively contributed to alleviating the acute shortage of food, shelter, and social services, ensuring the inclusive socio-economic development of Afghanistan and rebuilding their country. Bangladesh is also keen to be a partner in Afghanistan’s developmental process as Bangladesh seeks to enhance regional cooperation for the attainment of a vision of shared prosperity for the region.
Bangladesh only gained independence 50 years ago, and thus it wasn’t that long ago that the country itself needed the humanitarian assistance of other countries to survive. Now, it has gone a long way on the road toward nationhood. It sets the greatest humanitarian example by expressing solidarity with the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Despite the huge burden on the economy, food management, and limited resources, the country has been generously hosting more than a million Rohingya refugees for over a half-decade purely on humanitarian grounds.
Despite the fact that Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, its economy is burdened with an estimated $1.21 billion in annual support for the Rohingyas, and the cost may rise as their population grows, inflation rises, and foreign funding declines. Even Bangladesh, with its own financing at a cost of over Tk. 23 billion, has set up a modern-township at Bhasan Char to relocate more than 1 lakh Rohingyas with better living standards for them.
The history of the so-called “basket case” has changed. Bangladesh, as a friend and neighbor, recently provided a humanitarian potato aid package to Sri Lanka in a bid to resolve the ongoing food crisis in the country. Earlier, Bangladesh provided $2.3 million in emergency medical supplies and $250 million in the form of a currency swap to Sri Lanka, an island nation experiencing its worst economic and humanitarian food crisis since 1948, to replenish the island nation’s fast-depleting foreign reserves and ease pressure on its exchange rate.
It is to be noted that in the past, Bangladesh has provided relief by responding swiftly to natural and humanitarian disasters in other South Asian countries. In the immediate aftermath of the catastrophic floods in Pakistan and Myanmar and the devastating earthquake in Nepal, the Bangladesh government’s emergency relief and medical assistance were widely praised by the people and governments of the two countries.
Bangladesh, now ranked first out of eight countries in South Asia and fifth out of 121 countries across the world in Covid recovery index, expressed solidarity at its neighbor in critical state of Covid pandemic and offered emergency medical and safety equipment supplies to China, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Maldives to combat the massive surge in the coronavirus cases.
Bangladesh also extended its helping hand to Sudan, a poor African country unable to repay a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response to the IMF’s call, Bangladesh stood by Sudan and granted a “debt waiver” of $650 million on June 15. Earlier, Bangladesh had also given similar benefits (provided 0.70 million SDR) to Somalia to break the shackle of poverty as part of the IMF initiative.
Experts believe that Bangladesh is now looking at deeper integration with its neighbors, ultimately branding Bangladesh positively by building its image globally. The country’s continuous support and its vocal stance on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, the Israeli occupation of Palestine and its active attempts to assist people in crisis around the world have made the country “a symbol of humanitarianism”.
Sri Lankans make a unique and hilarious knicker-twisted nation, exasperated over lengthy fuel lines to the point of ousting a president and then entire families sweating lengthier lines under umbrellas to see his residence.
Any uprising cast as being spontaneous invariably runs into a bunch of problems, the most serious being the one about credentials. Who speaks for the aragalaya, one could ask. If anyone claims he/she speaks for the aragalaya (and many have, as individuals or groups), the immediate question is, who gave him/her the authority and on what grounds? This of course doesn’t necessarily mean that spontaneous mass uprisings are bad or are bound to fail. Sometimes things unfold and it is in the unfolding that leaders emerge.
As one might expect, the surge, whether all spontaneous or subtlety orchestrated (yes, such things happen too), made many want to have a piece of it. It was a low-cost adventure for many who had for years benefitted from a rotten system but had never once complained. Yes, they would whine now and then when preferred parties/politicians were out of power but even when sworn enemies were in power, they never balked at exploiting the very same rotten system.
There were those kinds of people, largely Kolombians who had most likely voted for Ranil/UNP or Sajith/SJB, Kolombians who were suffering from lifestyle deprivation but were certainly not feeling anything like the pinch that most people in the country were experiencing. They were a small but significant minority in the aragalaya. Their posts were in English. When they tried to speak in Sinhala, it was actually funny. Mind you, the issue was not that Sinhala was not their mother tongue.
Why am I talking about these politically marginal set of people, you may be wondering. Well, there’s a note that’s being circulated titled ‘’Why did we join the aragalaya?’ It is signed by ‘We, the people.’ Obviously convenient but possible dodgy. An interesting and telling read, though.
Here it is: 1. WE…protested against the Rajapaksa regime. 2. WE…protested against corruption, nepotism, violation of the rule of law and of human rights. 3. WE…protested in favour of economic stability, civil liberties and rights, the upholding of the constitution, the legislature and the preservation of our democratic values. 4. WE…protested as a Sri Lankan along with my brothers and sisters, for what I believed would be a new future for my country that is shaped in accordance with our constitution. 5. WE…DID NOT PROTEST in favour of anarchy, violence or to empower subversive elements who would deem to overthrow our democratic values. What’s happening now is NOT OUR ARAGALAYA!
In Number 4, there’s a slip from ‘we’ to ‘I’. I noticed in similar posts that this has been since corrected. It’s a personal angst obviously, but then again it is collectively subscribed to, going simply by the fact that it is being shared on multiple social media platforms. Ok, that’s out of the way.
So, ‘these people’ claim they protested against the Rajapaksa regime. Fair enough. They’ve protested against corruption, nepotism, violation of the rule of law and of human rights. Again, legit. Now, is it the case that all these nasties (corruption, nepotism, violation of the rule of law and of human rights) was the preserve of Gotabaya Rajapaksa or indeed the Rajapaksa clan? Obviously not. We saw such things galore even during the Yahapalana times during which there was little ‘yaha’ and even less ‘palana’ and, mind you, without having to deal with decades long buttressing of the import mafia, dependency on remittances and tourism, Covid-19 related shocks that lasted for two whole years etc.
Here are some questions: did ‘these people’ a) benefit or not from ‘the system’? b) did they always vote SLFP (or SLFP-led coalition) or did they vote for Ranil/UNP or Sajith/SJB? c) did they ever protest these nasties when the UNP or UNP-led coalition or coalitions the UNP was part of?
There’s talk of economic stability, civil liberties and rights, the upholding of the constitution, legislature and the preservation of democratic values. Lovelies, all of them, BUT, again, were these things sitting pretty until November 2019? We can run through three to four decades, name parties, name individuals and name ideologies and policies that took potshots at one and all. So here’s the question: did these worthies utter a single word about those other transgressions?
The darlings are claiming that they did not favour anarchy, violence or empowerment of subversive elements who would deem to overthrow democratic values. Lovely. Let’s break it down.
Throughout this aragalaya there were calls for and affirmation of anarchy. Sure, not all aragalists were anarchists in ideological bent or in action, but only the myopic and naive could dismiss the possibility that anarchy of the worst kind was festering and could very well erupt. Forget all that. Did these lovelies who are now in whine-land ever once say ‘hey, hey, hey…ease off guys’? Mirihana. Rambukkana. Warakapola. Temple Trees. Galle Face. President’s House. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s residence. Parliament. And let’s not forget the vandalism, arson, thuggery etc., that followed the unleashing of thugs from Temple Trees by forces beholden to or controlled at that time Mahinda Rajapaksa. Who called for, who indeed demanded anarchy and violence? Who called for and demanded subversion, who indeed subverted? What were the democratic values affirmed by pillage, destruction of public property, arson and thuggery? Why this sorrow now, but not then? Is it ok to be selective about these things? Is it ok to just go along, look askance when unpleasant things happen until the process yields an outcome that is, well, ok? And if the outcome is ok for you but not for others, if those others continue to do what you called for, cheered, took part in perhaps or supported one way or another, do you have a moral right to object?
Regardless of who started the fire (and it was certainly not lit in November 2019), if those who were mandated to quash it did not or could not, regardless of unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances (Covid-19, which by the way Gotabaya Rajapaksa did much to quash — efforts which were scoffed at by, I suspect, ‘these [very] people’: no cheers for all that by the way), then they can, do and even must come under fire, so to speak.
People were angry. People protested. Legit. People made demands that could not be delivered. That’s ok, for that is all legitimate in politics. Gotabaya could have come clear, said the unpalatable truths, expressed regret for errors despite good intention (let’s say), stated options being considered (if there were any) or simply said ‘there is a crisis of legitimacy, I agree, and therefore I believe that the democratic thing to do is to hold elections so the people can decide for themselves.’ He didn’t. Is that enough to call for his blood, though? If it was enough, then why didn’t ‘these people’ call for the blood of other who did much worse for so many decades?
Democracy. Let’s get back to the word/term. There are values associated with democracy and ‘these people’ have mentioned this. There’s also a thing called ‘representation.’ And so, sorry lady/ladies and/or gentleman/men, we need to unpack ‘the people’ a little, if you don’t mind.
How do we know what a collective really wants? How do we obtain the popular will? Well, elections. Sometimes there are mass uprisings. Mass uprisings can be orchestrated, particularly in times of hardship, but let’s assume that’s not what happened here, just for argument’s sake. So yes, there’s a mass uprising. What was it about? Well, it was reduced to evicting an elected president. There were some noises about system change, yes, but nothing to write home about.
And so you had ostensibly classless, religion-free, ethnicity-erased and even ideology-free people coming together. They even said it was a ‘nirpaakshika aragalaya’ or a struggle free of political parties. Now, they got what they wanted: Gota left. All well and good. Now what? Struggle done and dusted? Victory achieved? Now that Gota has gone home, should everyone else also go home? But why should everyone go home? There was no agreement was there that if and when Gota does go home, everyone would pack up and go home themselves? Things evolve and even if they didn’t, there are people out there who are not necessarily ‘these people.’ They have political aspirations whose shelf life haven’t expired. There was no referendum on what ought to happen, after all. It was assumed that the entire country, the entire voting population wanted Gota out. Now, without a referendum, can anyone claims that the entire country wants the aragalaya to fold up and the aragalists to go home? That’s the problem of representation. No election, no way to verify anything like that. If some want to go home, sure. If others don’t, so be it. And those who left cannot tell those who didn’t ‘well, the kind of anarchy we cheered is no longer acceptable.’
Democracy. There’s more to it. ‘These people’ didn’t give a hoot about established democratic procedures and institutions until Gota left. They didn’t give a hoot about constitutionally sanctioned procedures. Now, all of a sudden, they are swearing by the very same institutions, values and processes they themselves were ever ready to subvert.
‘These people’ claim, ‘What’s happening now is NOT [THEIR] ARAGALAYA! So what happened before ‘no’ WAS their aragalaya? The arson, thuggery, looting, pillage and destruction of public and private property before July 9 WAS their kind of Aragalaya? And is it that THEIR aragalaya is done? Is Sri Lanka now ‘all set’? Is there no political crisis any more? Has the economic crisis been resolved?
Let’s hypothetically fast-forward to, say, August 9, 2022. There are still long queues for petrol and diesel. There’s still galloping inflation. The constitution is intact (interesting fact: talk of repealing the 20th, restoring the 19th and so on seems to have disappeared). Presidential powers: intact. Sajith Premadasa is the President. There is no IMF bailout or there is and they’ve imposed conditions which exacerbate inequities and deprivation over and above ensuring chronic dependency and slavery. People are as or more anxious, fearful and incensed as they were in April, May, June and early July, 2022. The people storm the barricades. The people weather teargas, disregard water cannons, brush aside policemen and soldiers and aim to re-take President’s House, Temple Trees, Prime Minister’s office and the Presidential Secretariat. What would be the take of ‘these people’? Would they spur the aragalists to do what they’ve done in all these past few months? Would they say ‘go ahead and threaten politicians’? Would they, on social media platforms egg them on to search, ransack and burn houses? And if all that did happen, would ‘these people’ (as they did before) remain mum?
‘These people’ are not woolly-headed. They are not in cloud cuckoo land. They knew and know what they wanted/want. There are outcome preferences that have nothing to do with systems, systemic flaws and assaults on the rule of law, democratic institutions and values, and human rights.
‘We the people.’ I would love it if anyone who has posted, re-posted or shared that note has the courage to put his/her name to it. Then, we can do a background check and figure out who is who and what is what. In the name of democracy, decency, transparency etc., etc., etc. How about it, ‘[the] people’?
It is easy to make allegations, especially now that every one has access to social media. But subsequently, no attempt is made to take them to courts by the enemies of politicians who make these accusations.
See the book “Chavura Rajina”[Bandit Queen] on Chandrika Bandaranaike written by Victor Ivan
indicting Chandrika. Only thing she was finally indicted upon was the Water’s Edge land case. Every one has to be presume innocent until proven guilty. Yahapalanaya came to power with the express statement that they will investigate the Rajapaksas. A special unit was set up, with people like Champika R and Rajitha S driving it, sworn foes of the Rajapaksas.
They dug up the properties looking for loot etc., and also autopsied the bodies of the ruggerite several times. There is no doubt that there was financial corruption, esp with Basil Rajapaksa’s deals, or with Ravi Karunannayak, Bond scam etc., but why did the other side fail to prove in any of the claims? After all, there was no shortage of vindictiveness and wish to get revenge! Perhaps they (govt and opposition) and the courts are all corrupt and cover each other?
Then there is no point in talking. The last king of Kandy [Sri Wickremasinghe] was allegedly a tyrant. We have all heard of how he ordered the mother Ehalapola Kumari to pound the head of her baby etc. Sri Wickrema R was a victim of intrigue among the Adigras, some of whom worked secretly with the English. The king was caught and treated ignominiously by the enemy Adigars and handed over to the English. However, the British treated him with the decorum and dignity due to a king, both on land and even in exile. Even in the second world war, when heinous Nazi Generals were captured, they were treated with the dignity and decorum that was due to them. according to their rank.
I am no dedicated supporter of Rajapaksas; and GR must go as he has shown his incompetence as an executive president.
He is finally responsible for all failures of his regime even though he can say that he acted on the advise of his economic advisors (Prof. Lakshman, Cabral and others), and his agriculture and medical advisors (Prof. Priyantha Yapa, Dr. Padeniya, Prof. Channa Jayasumana, Ven. Ratana etc).
But when the Bolsheviks captured the Family of the Tzar, they ruthlessly killed even the young children. The extreme wing of the Aragala is nothing but the same sort. They allegedly threatened to burn the houses of Colombo judges if they allowed the road closure request made by the police on the 8th. Allegedly, they have threatend to burn the house of the IGP and others if the police lays charges on any Aragalaya people (according to soical media, and a news item in the Island)!
This is Fascism.
The language used in political discourse in Sri Lanka now lacks any sense of fair play, dignity and decorum. Today, the political discourse is that used by street politicians with their cries that started in the old days as “Bhangaweva or now, “Kaerali karav, palayav, pannanamu, kudukramu, raamuva galavamu, kadamu, thalamu, puchchamu” etc.
There is no sense of decency or civility.
A man’s right to limb and life, and his right to be given a chance to state his side of the story etc., are all denied by the very people who talk of human rights when it fits them.
It is mob justice and lynching.
The trial can wait! Is it redundant?
Aragalaya may have started as a people’s protest and a farmer’s protest against lack of fertilizers, fuel etc., but today it has been hijacked by shadowy political elements and has passed into the hands of Fascists, as I think Ranil Wickremasighe (also a fascist?) has said.
But they are not there, no orgaization exists, to MAKE biodiesel, biogas, or plant manioc.
Doing those is SIMPLER, easier, and more helpful to the country and the down-trodden people than doing all this agitation and sowing vindictiveness.
Sri Lanka is supposed to be a Buddhist country. Whether you are a Buddhist or a Marixts or an agnostic, the logic behind the Buddha’s message contained in the parable of the man writhing in agony with an arrow in his body is unbeatable.
The Buddha asked, if you see a man writhing in agony with an arrow in him, do you spend time asking who shot the arrow (Gotabhaya Basil or Ranil ete etc?), from which direction did the arrow (USA or China?), what wood it is made of?, was the man shot a corrupt rascal worth of being shot etc etc?
NO.
He pointed out that all those questions are IRRELEVANT.
The ONLY acceptable course of action is to save the person from suffering, by taking remedial action.
Instead, we see that even in these email they are trying to apportion blame, distribute head bands for more violence and hate.
The consequences of these actions are clear. The wheels of the cart will follow the idiot donkeys who are pulling it, inexorably, to further anarchy.
SYDNEY (IDN) – After a White Australian of Christian background Brenton Tarrant gunned down 50 Muslims praying at a Christchurch mosque on a Friday, it took the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern more than a day to call it a terrorist” act, and when she did so, the mainstream media in Australia and New Zealand quoted Tarrant’s mother as describing him an angelic boy”.
Social media users across the world have condemned the Western tabloids’ attempts to humanize the killer, while ignoring those Muslims killed – many of whom had fled such terrorism in their own countries to find refuge in New Zealand. If the killer had a Muslim background, headlines across the world would scream Islamic Terrorism Strikes ‘Peaceful’ New Zealand’ and would have described the killer as an evil” person and a product of a violent religious culture.
This thinking was reflected in a statement released by Australian senator Fraser Anning from Queensland following the Christchurch massacre. He blamed the New Zealand immigration program that allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate” who promote a violent ideology” as the cause of the attack.
He was condemned widely in Australia for spreading such hate speech. But his diatribes distracted attention from the violent nature of Christian identity politics, which the Western media prefer to call far-right”, white supremist” or Neo-Nazi” violence.
They never call it Christian Terrorism” even though using violence to spread or defend Christianity has a long history from the crusades of the 11th to 13th centuries, European colonial conquests and to contemporary violence against Muslim communities in Western countries.
Four days after the Christchurch massacre, Australia’s only high-profile Muslim media identity Waleed Aly said on the popular TV Show he hosts ‘The Project’ that he was gutted, scared, overcome with utter hopelessness — but not shocked by extremists’ violence.
He added that some eight years ago the then Shadow Minister for Immigration had suggested at a party room meeting that the opposition should use community concerns that Muslims fail to integrate to Australian society as political strategy. Though he did not name the person, he was referring to the current Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who threatened to sue him for defamation but later withdrew the threat.
Needless to say, similar strategies have been used by mainstream politicians and political parties in the West – the most notable are U.S. President Donald Trump and French opposition figure Marine Le Pen – to drum up political support from their Christian bases. The media tend to use the word race” rather than religion to discuss such issues, even though the word Muslim” refers to a religion rather than a particular race.
Germany hosts the second largest community of Muslims in Europe numbering around 5 million and last year there have been over 570 attacks on Muslims, but, these attackers are always described as ‘far-right” or neo-Nazis” not Christian extremists”.
In June 2018, when nine French men and a woman were charged in a Paris Court for planning to attack veiled women, imams, mosques and halal grocery stores across France, the New York Times (NYT) said the group claimed they were fighting an Islamic peril” but nowhere in the report was the word Christian used, instead they were described as a small right-wing vigilante group”.
In 2005, the popular American Christian televangelist Pat Robertson publicly called on the U.S. government to kill Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He was quoted in NYT as saying it’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don’t think any oil shipments will stop”. Though the newspaper did quote Venezuelan Vice-President Jose Rangel as saying that it is sheer hypocrisy for a nation supposedly fighting terrorism to let a Christian preacher make such a terrorist statement, NYT did not label Robertson as a Christian Terrorist”.
But, in 2013, Time magazine ran a cover story on ‘The Face of Buddhist terror” in Asia referring to how militant monks are fuelling anti-Muslim riots in Asia. But, when Christian evangelical preachers do the same it is not ‘Christian Terror’. Even the Burmese army that attacked Rohingyas were called a Buddhist Army” but NATO jets pounding so-called Islamic terror camps” in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq are not called Christian Armies”. Applying the same logic as for Myanmar it can be said so.
Leave aside the crusades and European colonialism that destroyed the Inca civilization of South America, in the post-war era we have had a whole chain of Christian terror groups that have killed people and bombed communities. There was the Irish Republican Army that almost assassinated British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984. In the 1970s and 1980s they terrorized the UK with bombings and assassinations but they were never called Catholic Terrorists” just merely IRA.
Between 1987 and 2004, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was involved in a terror campaign to create a Christian state in Uganda ruled according to the Ten Commandments. They killed thousands of people in the process and were described as one of the most ruthless terror groups in the world – even the U.S. State Department declaring them a terrorist organization. In 2005, LRA leaders were charged by the International Criminal Courts for crimes against humanity and war crimes. But, the western media never called them Christian Terrorists” just referred to them as LRA.
There is the infamous Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, which killed 168 people and two white Americans were ultimately convicted for the bombing. The media described them as belonging to a religious cult” or when it became obvious this was Christian they said both were radicalized by a Davidian religious sect” near Waco, Texas – a state well-known as a base of Evangelical Christianity movement that propelled both George W Bush and Donald Trump to the White House.
In China, when two Christian cult members were sentenced to death for murdering a woman at a McDonald’s restaurant, media reporting across Asia referred to them simply as members of a Chinese cult” even though it was stated in the reports that they belong to an underground ‘Church of the All Mighty God” that believes its founder is a reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
In the 1980s when the campaign for a separate Khalistan state for Sikhs in India intensified leading to the blowing up of an Air India flight flying between Montreal and London, and the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, these actions were described as Sikh Terrorism” by the western media, even though Sikh militants would like to call themselves the Khalistan Liberation Army”.
In north-east India there is a long simmering terror campaign in Nagaland to create a separate Christian state that has killed over 200,000 people, where the late American Christian evangelist Billy Graham has attracted pop-star status. Nowhere do we hear about Christian terrorists” in Nagaland, but, we hear a lot about the Hindu Saffron Armies”.
When I raised the question of why Turrant is not labeled a ‘Christian Terrorist’ when even his manifesto released on social media had references to threats facing Christianity, a Christian friend of mine in Sydney said: He is not a Christian. Because if one were to hold extreme Christian views, he would be handing out food to the poor.” Well one could make the same argument about the Muslims, Buddhists and the Hindus.
Perhaps the best strategy for the media, at least in Asia, would be to take religion out of reporting terrorism and investigate and analyse more mindfully the socio-economic issues that give rise to such conflicts. If that could be done, different religious movements could come together to help solves the pressing economic, social and environmental problems threatening human civilization, as the core values of all the major religions would entice them to do so. [IDN-InDepthNews – 01 April 2019]
Photo: Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Patsy Reddy, lays flowers for the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings at Hagley Park on 19 March 2019. CC BY-SA 4.0
