The current economic crisis in Sri Lanka is a consequence of misguided economic management based on deluded policies that have become operative since 1970 elected government and the management of government banks have been politicalized by the elected government and party members were attempting to control all affairs of banks, which were including recruitment of employees and granting credit facilities to customers. National Savings bank was established to promote savings, it was turned to manage the wrong way by beginning providing credits against public savings. The administrators had a lack of understanding of bank management.
The government banks became like a prostitute the consequence of such a situation was providing financial support to wrong customers without credit policies. The best option is to change this situation by providing credit support based on internationally accepted policies. When I was working in the Bank of Ceylon I developed credit policies with the support of international finance consultants and the bank management changed all these good policies and allowed to change credit policies and to play with the capital of banks. People of the country have no idea why the government banks need to privatize to make financial disciplines and convert them to be viable banks in the country with credit policies.
The following steps must be taken by the government.
Fifty per cent of the capital structure of all banks should be privatized and proceeds should be used to improve the capital structure of banks.
Credit facilities of banks based on policies and no political influence should be allowed to operate banks.
Banks must have independent management and the management decisions force them to be personally accountable to bank executives and
The current staff of banks should be reduced to the required level.
The current government is only a caretaker government with a cocktail cabinet. Its mandate was to only deal with the financial crisis. The prime minister has no mandate to give state land to anyone as title ownership. The same prime minister attempted to do same since 1999. He was ousted by the previous President for this very reason. The present President must also act & protect the State (People, Land, Resources) which he pledged to preserve & protect based on which he was elected President.
84% State land cannot be sold – State land can only be leased
Whether it is to citizens or foreigners land cannot be sold & is generally leased under various schemes for numerous terms.
Outright ownership cannot be given & if so given, it can be legally challenged.
Why can’t a govt sell land or give title ownership to State land?
A Govt is only a temporary custodian of the State (comprising the land, the resources & the people)
Public Trust Principle/Doctrine applies to State Land.
A Govt is only voted for a term of office & thus has no moral right to cut tracts of State land & sell or to give title ownership especially to only one segment of people (farmers)
State land & its resources belong not only to this generation but future generations as well.
The unwritten rule is that what we enjoy has to be left for future generations to enjoy just as we are enjoying what was left for us.
GoSL is committing a fundamental rights violation giving only farmers title ownership to state land ignoring all other citizens. That a Govt cannot give all citizens State land title ownership is the reason why a Govt is allowed to only lease State land not sell state land or give title ownership to State land which can be sold.
What if a govt sells or gives title ownership to the 84% State land?
If a govt decides to give title ownership of the 84% State land then State land no longer becomes under the State.
Giving title ownership of state land to a citizen or foreigner means land belonging to the State falls into private ownership. Once it falls into private ownership, the private owner can do as he/she likes with the land. The state has no legal right over the land.
This is why the statutes related to land clearly declare that State land can only be leased.
Successive governments for political & corrupt purposes have attempted to deviate from this principle & created emotive campaigns to justify giving away state land.
Campaign: to give farmers ownership of state land
The issue of state land has emerged following repeated attempts to give title ownership of large tracts of leased land to farmers as title ownership. That this effort failed previously shows that people realize the dangers of this initiative.
This campaign is cunningly using propaganda that farmers cannot take loans, farmers deserve their own piece of land etc. This is to arouse emotions of farmers to negate any opposition by people who see the greater dangers & long term implications that will be felt by the farmers themselves.
What those who wish to give title ownership to state land hides, is that foreign investors have been demanding large tracts of farmland under their control and Governments have tried various googlys to cater to this demand. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is also eyeing these lands and explains why the sudden rush to give farmers state land ownership. This highlights how governments are not only endangering our sovereignty, by land sovereignty, our food sovereignty & people’s livelihood sovereignty as well.
No government should be allowed to take such unilateral decisions most of which is done without consultation, without looking at the long term repercussions & in secret.
We expect the legal fraternity to not be part of this same insidious campaign as these are fundamental right violations of the People, as the constitution clearly advocates that sovereignty is inalienable & with the people and the State is the people.
What are the advantages of a farmer given title ownership of leased State land
He gets a piece of paper saying he owns the land
He can mortgage the land
He can even sell the land
Note: contrary to what is being told, farmers do take loans from banks & banks do offer facilities to farmers to take loans and banks gives loans without a deed ownership to the land. Therefore, the key excuse being used by the Prime Minister to give state land title ownership is incorrect.
What are the disadvantages of a farmer given title ownership of leased State land
Co-Ownership of land is not allowed – so farmer can only write land to one family member even if he has many children. This can cause family disputes & create animosities.
Farmer who mortgages the land to the bank may lose the land if he defaults payment
Bank will acquire the land & auction it (foreigners are given approval to buy land & this is exactly what is likely to happen)
Farmer & family will be asked to vacate land
Farmer cannot seek intervention of govt as he is a private land owner
Farmer & family are left on the road – no home, no land, no livelihood – not even the piece of paper giving title ownership of a land he and his family had been living in for generations.
Imagine 50,000 farmers given title ownership of state land
50,000 farmers presume have an immediate family of 5.
He can only pass deed ownership of land to one member of family. What if this member asks others to vacate land. So many social disputes will emerge.
50,000 x 5 member families – all on the road with no home, no land, no livelihood – who is going to look into their welfare or future? No one, as the Govt is now helpless, as govt has forsaken control of state land & no longer has state land to resettle these farmers.
Imagine 84% state land falling into private ownership?
Govt will not have ability to tax
When a govt doesn’t have ability to tax – it has no revenue
A govt is virtually not required if the entire island is in private hands (owned by either locals or foreigners)
These seventy plus politicians will soon depart but not before leaving a legacy of problems to the country unless legal channels prevent them from doing so.
The legal fraternity in particular the judiciary must uphold the principle of Public Trust Doctrine and safeguard the land – for without land, there is no sovereignty of any kind for anyone.
High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda met with the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs of India Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, today (27) to discuss urgent matters pertaining to bilateral energy cooperation. The meeting was held at the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs in New Delhi.
At the outset, High Commissioner Moragoda briefed Minister Puri on the acute challenges that Sri Lanka is currently facing with regard to the supply and distribution of petroleum products and the severe hardships that the people are undergoing.
While thanking India for the assistance that was extended in the form of lines of credit to import fuel, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka discussed with Minister Puri the possibility of securing petrol and diesel supplies that are required by Sri Lanka at present on an urgent basis. Minister Puri responded positively in this regard and assured the High Commissioner of all possible support to Sri Lanka at this critical juncture. The High Commissioner and the Minister also discussed modalities through which India and Sri Lanka could further expand cooperation in the petroleum sector to help overcome the immediate crisis and to ensure the energy security in Sri Lanka. In this context, High Commissioner Moragoda and Minister Puri discussed ways and means through which Sri Lanka could establish long-term ties in the petroleum, oil, gas and related logistics sectors
Colombo, June 27 (newsin.asia): A high-level US diplomatic delegation, which is currently in Sri Lanka met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday. The delegation stated that the US Government will continue to strengthen the relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at all levels. The delegations comprises officials belonging to the US State Department and the US Treasury.
President Gotabaya commended the delegation for their visit and briefed them on the current economic and social crisis in the country. The President also briefed them on the progress of the ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund.
Kelly Keiderling, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, U.S. Department State and Robert Kaproth, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Asia, U.S. Department of Treasury stated that US President Joe Biden is very interested in the future of Sri Lanka.
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The US President has instructed that Sri Lanka should be supported in this difficult period and all possible assistance to the country should be extended.
The delegation expressed confidence that with the implementation of the program with the International Monetary Fund, relief to the vulnerable families and will continue to have a positive impact on the future.
They said that they were pleased with the similarities between the President’s understanding and their understanding of the economic reform process taking place in the country.
The delegation commended the President on the free space given to anyone to express their opinions without any hindrance to the right to freedom of expression.
The US government has provided US $ 100 million as medium-term assistance to Commercial Bank to promote and uplift small scale businesses and also US$ 5.75 million and another US$ 6 million for humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka.
Fuel volumes will be dispensed only to vehicles attached to essential services with effect from midnight today (June 27) until the 10th of July, Minister Bandula Gunawardena says.
He revealed this addressing a special media briefing held today to announce the decisions taken at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Accordingly, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will supply diesel and petrol only to essential services such as ports, health sector, distribution of essential food items, and transportation of agricultural products hereafter, the cabinet spokesperson noted.
The Cabinet of Ministers decided to continue essential services and suspend other operations until the 10th of July, the minister said further.
He went on to assure that a mechanism to provide a continuous supply of LP gas and fuel would be in place after the 10th of July.
Inter-provincial transport services will be temporarily halted due to the availability of limited stocks of fuel, Minister Gunawardena added.
Meanwhile, school principals and provincial education authorities are given permission to decide on how lessons are delivered to the students amidst this crisis situation.
The Cabinet of Ministers have approved the proposal to gazette the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution and to present it to the Parliament, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said.
The amendment, which had been referred to as the 21st Amendment so far, will in fact be the 22nd Amendment, as another draft 21st Amendment has already been gazetted.
Last week, the draft constitutional amendment was tabled and passed during the Cabinet meeting following extensive discussions.
The 22nd Amendment was initially tabled in the Cabinet on June 06 by Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and the discussion on it had been adjourned on multiple occasions due to failure to reach a consensus.
The Constitutional Amendment is expected to empower Parliament over the executive president and annul the 20A to the Constitution, which had given unfetted unfettered powers to President after abolishing the 19th Amendment.
Under the 22A, the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and the National Council will be held accountable to the Parliament. Fifteen Committees and Oversight Committees are also accountable to Parliament.
The final draft of the amendment has yet to be publicized.
Sri Lanka’s exports recorded the USD 5 billion mark in the first five months of this year, according to the Export Development Board (EDB).
Earnings from the merchandise exports increased by 9.9 % y-o-y to US$ 980.2 million in May 2022 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs.
This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of Apparel & Textiles, Coconut based products and Electrical & Electronic Components.
Major product sectors except Spices & Concentrates, Tea and Rubber-based products; Apparel & Textiles, Coconut based products, Electrical & Electronic components and Food & Beverages, Seafood and Ornamental fish, recorded increased exports in May 2022.
Exports of Apparel & Textiles increased by 30.1% y-o-y to US$ 482.7 million in May 2022. The increase was driven by both Apparel and Textiles.
For the first five months of 2022, merchandise exports increased by 9.7% to US$ 2,400.6 Million compared to the corresponding period of 2021.
Major product sectors except Tea, Rubber-based products and Spices & Concentrates; Apparel & Textiles, Coconut based products, Electronics & Electronic Components, Food & Beverages, Seafood and Ornamental fish, recorded increased exports.
Apparel & Textile exports increased by 16.3% to US$ 2,400.6 Mn during the period of January to May 2022 compared to the same period of 2021.
Except Gloves, Mitts & Mittens of Textile (-2.61%) and Made-up Clothing Accessories (-9.99%), Yarn (-32.7%) and Made-up Textile Articles (-3.04%), exports of other sub categories of Apparel & Textiles sector increased.
Strong Export Growth recorded for top 5 export markets in the month of May 2022 and the period of January to May 2022.
During the month of May 2022, exports to United States, Sri Lanka’s single largest export destination, increased by 25.02% to US$ 266.42 Mn compared to the month of May 2021. The better performance led by increase in exports of Apparel & Textile (40.83%) and Coconut based products (29.69%).
The single largest export destination of United States of America recorded US$ 1,364.08 Mn worth of exports in the period of January to May 2022 – a significant year on year increase of 20.32 % in comparison to US$ 1,133.71 Mn recorded in 2021.
The Coalition for Economic Democracy in Sri Lanka (CEDSL) is a group of concerned academics, activists, agricultural, fisheries and industrial workers, students, business persons, trade unionists, and professionals based ‘in country’ and overseas, including the diaspora, who uphold the values of economic rights and justice in public policy making.
In the wake of two years of economically-devastating Covid-19 lockdowns, quantitative easing, and money printing globally, we call on international actors to heed the people’s demands for a DEBT JUBILEE and CANCELLATION as a priority.
We wish to draw your attention to key issues regarding the current debt crisis and its social, political and economic impacts which are not adequately represented in public discussion, yet crucial to the well-being and security of Sri Lanka’s citizenry.
A CALL FOR DEBT JUSTICE
International support is welcome to ease the economic burden on the people of Sri Lanka which includes shortages of fuel, food and medicines that impact livelihoods and health, increasing poverty and inequality. However, due to an International Sovereign Bond (ISB), debt trap and depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the US dollar, sustainable solutions are needed rather than the short term sale of strategic assets that benefits ISB holders and hedge funds that sustain dependent development.
In May/June 2022 Sri Lanka’s debt was estimated to be US$51 billion with current debts of US$5 billion to be paid to ISB holders and hedge funds like BlackRock. They secured huge United States (US) government ‘Covid-19 bailout’ funds to asset-strip and impoverish countries around the world during the economically-devastating Covid-19 lockdowns.
Contrary to widespread media disinformation about the sources of debt and the causes of default, this is the first time that Sri Lanka, in April of this year, defaulted as an independent state. It is the debt owed to ISBs that amounts to almost 50% that has caused the default at this time.
The Asian Development Bank and World Bank have indicated willingness to roll over its multilateral debt, so too the bi-lateral debt holding Asian countries including Japan, China and India. Along with debt cancellation there is need for de-dollarization and trading in a basket of currencies. The loss of such autonomy and sovereignty due to the ISB debt tap and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stepping in to devalue the currency is at the root of the current shortage of food, fuel, meds, fertilizer, gas, etc. The purported shortage of ‘exorbitantly privileged’ dollars is the most devastating impact of the entire staged” default.
While the return of stolen assets by the Rajapaksa family, some who are US citizens, is vital, we believe that there is an even greater need for DEBT JUSTICE, a DEBT JUBILEE, and DEBT CANCELLATION as the current international financial architecture is not fit for purpose, particularly, the IMF which works for the global 1 percent and imposes austerity on the rest.
SRI LANKA-IMF NEGOTIATIONS INHERENTLY UNEQUAL
The gross lack of transparency in on-going negotiations between the IMF and a government that lacks legitimacy but purports to represent the citizens, is a consequence of an inherently unequal relationship between Sri Lanka and the IMF, where the US and former European colonial powers have overwhelming decision-making power. While the IMF demands ‘transparency’ and that all creditors be treated ‘equally’, the names of the ISB holders behind Sri Lanka’s default are a closely guarded secret!
In 2019, Sri Lanka was classified by the World Bank as an Upper Middle Income Country (MIC), making it ineligible for concessionary development loans, and forcing it to borrow from private capital markets at high interest rates. The new government that came to power cut taxes causing a significant loss of government revenue. The 2019 Easter bombings and policies undertaken during two years of militarized Covid-19 lockdowns and mass injections have triggered the current debt crisis leading to the staged default.
In 2019, Sri Lanka was classified by the World Bank as an Upper Middle Income Country (MIC), but just three year later in 2022 certain international actors want Sri Lanka to be re-classified a ‘Least Developed Country’ (LDC), and the island to join the world’s poorest of the poor[1] – in Washington Consensus parlance, a “Highly Indebted Poor Country” (HIPC).
LDC status will mean a significant loss of economic and foreign policy autonomy and sovereignty at a time when it is vital that Sri Lanka and other developing countries act in their own self-interest rather than be forced to join geostrategic blocs that are being formed in the Indian Ocean region such as the QUAD at this time of Cold War 2.0.
We consider that the people’s sovereignty and national policy autonomy is being undermined through non-transparent deals with politicians who are not democratically elected and have a history of amassing ‘odious debt’, the burden of which citizens are being forced to bear. Particularly notable on the accumulation of odious debt are the current odious, newly appointed Prime Minister, implicated in the country’s biggest financial fraud over the Central Bank bond scam, and the President, a US citizen until 2019, whose family wallows in nepotism. They are now negotiating with the IMF to sell national assets?!
There is a clear pattern of disinformation, exaggeration and fear-generation regarding Sri Lanka’s debt in local and global media messaging. This understates the intrinsic Wealth of the Nation, its strategic assets, and the strengths of this country given the failure to differentiate between illiquidity and insolvency in the context of a proposed IMF fire sale of assets and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
The IMF’s traditional approach to debt restructuring though privatization of SOEs, austerity measures, and fire sale of assets of countries merely causes more problems and places the burden on the poor as is evident from Argentina, to Greece and Lebanon. However, odious debt is an outcome of speculative and reckless ISB lending sans due diligence to governments that lack legitimacy and are known to be corrupt. In fact, the IMF which works for the Global 1 percent is a part of the problem and not the solution. So too are processes of datafication, manipulation of matrices, indices and algorithms to ensure ‘pumping and dumping’ of countries into the MIC debt trap, LDC or HIPC status and Paris Club ‘solutions’ of asset stripping of countries.
SOUTHERN PEOPLE’S VOICES TO BE HEEDED
The bail out of the country should not lead to bailing out of the corrupt political and bureaucratic elites and related oligarchs whose policies, corrupt governance and deals have caused the present crisis of unprecedented scale in our country. The international institutions and people in Sri Lanka should work together to ensure that these elites are held accountable and appropriately dealt with.
There is an urgent need for Southern voices and perspectives in development, debt cancellation and debt justice in the International Aid Architecture as many countries in the Global South face a similar situation of odious debt as an outcome of speculative and reckless lending by ISB traders who must be also held accountable.[i][2]
The demand of many Sri Lankans is for debt cancellation and de-dollarization and trading in a basket of currencies, not IMF re-structuring; for example, to enable the purchase of discounted oil and gas from sanction-hit Russia perhaps in exchange for tea. Sri Lanka should have the economic and foreign policy sovereignty to source its needs from any country that offers good value for money.
A firm No” to a IMF fire sale of strategic assets and asset stripping: A list has already been prepared of strategic lands, airports, ports, transport, telecom frequencies and energy infrastructure to be privatized. The dastardly sale of the Yugadhanavi power plant to US-based New Fortress has already further compromised national energy security and policy sovereignty and autonomy.
Today the interests of Sri Lanka are being represented by foreign law firms, Lazard and Clifford Chance in so-called IMF negotiations with ISB traders. On numerous occasions, Lazard, which has been involved in both advising on privatisation and then profiting from its advice, has undervalued the price of state companies, enabling its asset management branch to purchase the stock at low prices and re-sell it for considerable profit.[3]
If the debt negotiations are so complex that Sri Lankan law firms and accountants cannot represent the interests of the citizens of the country, and the debt data is itself contested, the debt is odious, its holders unknown, and the negotiations none-transparent. Then fundamental question arise regarding legitimacy, transparency and accountability of the very process of so-called IMF negotiations. Such concerns were also raised in IMF negotiations in Greece, Lebanon, Argentina and other countries.
The United Nations Charter and international law affirm the Right of Peoples to Self-Determination and permanent sovereignty over their wealth, resources and economic activity as a precondition for the realisation of all human rights. So too, principles of sovereignty and independence of states, equality in relations with other states, and national policy-making autonomy cannot be eroded by global Covid-19 and other ‘pandemic’ and climate catastrophe narratives.
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS: long-term, medium term, short term
We seek much more than debt relief, and demand DEBT JUSTICE. While the crisis in Sri Lanka is being framed as a humanitarian disaster” it is quite clear that it is more complex with economic, political, social and geopolitical dimensions and dynamics.[4] Solutions must hence be duly designed, tailored and targeted to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, and to restore sovereignty to the people of Sri Lanka and their State.
We demand a DEBT JUBILEE and to write off the odious debts held by ISB debt holders like BlackRock (that also holds Adani stock), that engage in reckless lending that has debt trapped several countries including Sri Lanka. Covid-19 saw the greatest transfer of wealth in human history from the bottom of the economic ladder to the top.
We call on the Government to urgently begin a process of de-dollarization and trade in a basket of currencies in order to restore Sri Lanka’s monetary sovereignty and pursue a course of development that promotes South-South cooperation and responds to the needs and aspirations of the Sri Lankan citizenry. The relevance of the current International Development Architecture for Sri Lanka and other debt trapped countries in the Global South must be questioned. Sri Lanka needs to reconsider its relations with institutions like the IMF, WB, OECD, and Paris Club of Donors in a manner that affirms, not dismantles, its sovereignty and policy autonomy, both exercising the ability to negotiate as an independent country free of IMF conditionality and US sanctions, and working in the interests of its citizens.
We call on the Government to immediately stop all initiatives and actions underway for the privatisation of strategic assets, including lands, airports, ports, telecom frequencies, transport and energy infrastructure, and reverse all actions already commenced or implemented as valuations did not consider the island’s geostrategic value and security concerns.
We call on the Government to develop aNational Energy & Food Security Policy taking full cognisance of the current global energy wars, geopolitics and ‘climate catastrophe’ discourses that force small states to bear the carbon costs of the Global Military Business Industrial Complex. Of utmost importance in ensuring food security is the maintenance of food supply chains, and prioritization of fuel for the Fisheries and Agriculture sectors in the context of fuel rationing; rationalization of taxation, and targeting the wealthy – to enable the most vulnerable groups such as farmers, fishers precarious workers in the informal sector, and small and medium term enterprises to regain their livelihoods. In the absence of such a policy, climate narratives like the rush to green energy” and organic fertilizer without an adequate transition plan and transfer of technology given the island’s tiny carbon footprint has contributed significantly to the current fuel, food and economic crisis in Sri Lanka and in other parts of the Global South.
The strengthening of governance and government institutions is paramount to address the effects of Covid-19 lockdowns which gave rise to a pandemic of corruption and a lack of accountability due to national institutions and oversight agencies being debilitated under the guise of lockdowns, holidays due to staged fuel shortages, de-centralization and inept digitalization. Services like public transport can be improved through more energy efficient and environment friendly measures, including the abolishing of duty free car permits for politicians and the privileged ‘professional’ class. Finally, there is an urgent need for a Buy local” State-led consumer education program so that citizens support local industry and manufacturers.
SIGNATORIES
Dr. Dharshana Kastiriaratne, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Computing, Computer Science & Software Engineering, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)
Mr. Jeremy Liyanage was a teacher of the Social Science, lecturer in Community Development and held positions in the church, community and government sectors. Before founding the charity, Bridging Lanka, he worked in senior policy positions in local government in Australia
Dr. Michael Roberts – former Professor, Department of Anthropology, Adelaide University; Rhodes Scholar for Ceylon, and a historian and lecturer at the Dept of History at Peradeniya University. His major works are in agrarian history, social mobility, nationalism and ethnic conflict
Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake is a social and medical anthropologist with research expertise in international development and political economic analysis. She was a member of the International Steering Group on Southern Perspectives on Reform of the International Development Architecture”
Professor R. Cheran – Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, University of Windsor, Canada, and a prolific poet
Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda – Emeritus, Department of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Colombo, and constitutional expert in Sri Lanka
Professor Kristian Stokke – Department of Sociology and Human Geography
University of Oslo, specialising in political geography with focus on democratization and citizenship conflicts in Southeast Asia
Dr. Rohini Hensman is a writer, independent scholar and activist working on workers’ rights, feminism, minority rights and globalization
Mr. Herman Kumara – National Convener, National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, Chairperson, Praja Abilasha Land Rights Network and Board Member, Right to Life Human Rights Organization
Mr. P.C Nathan – Deputy Secretary General of Ceylon Mercantile and General Workers Union (CMU), one of the largest trade unions in the commercial sector in Sri Lanka
Mr. Lacille De Silva – former Director, Administration, and former Director, Legislative Services, Parliament of Sri Lanka
Mr. Ranjit Seneviratne – Marine Engineer and former official with the FAO in Rome who now champions non-chemical, biodiverse ‘forest garden’ methods of cultivation
Mr. Hiran Fernando – retired Chemical Engineer who worked at Unilever for more than 25 years and is now involved in civil service initiatives
Mr. Thiyagaraja Waradas – Senior Lecturer, Department of International Relations, University of Colombo, and Commonwealth Scholar, University of Bath
Dr. Asoka Bandarage – academic and distinguished (adjunct) professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She taught at Yale University, Brandeis University, Macalester College, Georgetown University, European Peace University and Mount Holyoke College, MA where she received tenure
Mr. Ananda Weerasekere – retired Human Resource Management Specialist and Social Activist
Mr. Gamini Lindagedara – Mechanical Engineer and Social Activist
Dr. Peter Rezel – Senior Consultant and Medical Doctor at Strategic Inspirations, and Director, Human Resources and Regional Internal Audit Audit – Asia with the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Mr. Asoka Siriwardena – former Lecturer in Political Science; international civil servant at the Commonwealth Telecom Organization London, and retired Deputy General Manager, Sri Lanka Telecom
Mr. Bernard Edirisinghe – Documentation Coordinator, Free Media Movements, former Programme Manager, South Asia Small Arms Network, and former Parliamentary Coordinator, Ministry of Power & Energy
[1] Should Sri Lanka join the ranks of the Poorest of the World’s Poor”?
News is just out that Sri lanka has been taken to the Courts in the USA by a bond holding company, Hamilton Reserve Bank Ltd, which owns $ 250 million of International Sovereign Bonds, requesting a Court Order for payment. This refers to a portion of the loan the payment of which Sri Lanka defaulted in April 2022.
This is an exact replica of what happened to Argentina. In my words, written in August 2014:
Argentina is in the dog’s house once again. This time it is hounded by the Vultures- the Hedge Funds who have obtained a ruling from the US Supreme Court that debts amounting to $ 1.5 billion on bonds has to be paid at full value immediately. This decision made the Argentinian Economic Minister remark that the Hedge Funds were Vultures as they refused to negotiate terms for payment and instead obtained a Court Order.”(From the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development, Godages: 2017).
Thus now Sri Lanka is being attacked by Vultures- because Sri lanka had to default on international sovereign bonds recently in April. I wonder how Sri Lanka can ever pay up a Court Order, because the sad situation today is that people are starving for the lack of food and medicines. I read a news item where patients in hospitals are groaning in pain due to the lack of medicines. People have been in queues for days to buy essential gas for cooking and fuel for automobilies and fifteen have died in queues. We live within powercuts as we have no dollars for coal and oil supplies. The Vultures will be on us, attacking us soon and I do not know how Sri Lanka can face it.
It is unfortunate that right now the country is ruled by a Prime Minister , Ranil Wickremasinghe who failed to enter parliament through the elections. The United National Party of which he was the leader was routed at the election and he crept into Parliament though the National List- in short he was not elected by the people.
Further it is quite evident now that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe is not trying to get the economy moving- by creating employment cum production programmes going. The people cannot afford to buy as they have lost their employment and it is up to any Government to come up with employment creation in such a manner that the people get involved in making what items they did import earlier. In 2020 I found Tomato sauce & Vinegar made in USA , fruit juice made in Australia , banana crisps made in Vietnam for sale and this is an endless list of small items that we can produce which we did import with borrowed dollars. The dollars have dried up and we can no longer import due to the lack of dollars. The immediate need is to get down to produce what we imported, which we are not doing. We do not need a single dollar to attend to this task. It is all an expense in Rupees in the manner we ran the country before 1977- then everything was done with Rupees and dollars were collected on a strict basis and used to import food and first and a small sum for a limited sum for essentials like fridges and cars. Not a single person is required as the public sector of 1.4 million is there.
But that is not how Prime Minister Ranill Wickremasinghe sees it. He talks big and states that Sri Lanka will face more severe hardships- perhaps starvation. Instead he has his own agenda- privatize loss making public ventures. Of course kick backs are associated with privatizations. We sell for a song and at the end the venture privatized does not belong to Sri lanka- a foreigner comes in and works it and takes away the profits- not in rupees but in dollars from our reserves. We do have a worthwhile public service that has been put into the barracks by the IMF in 1977 when the IMF decided that the public sector should not attend to any commercial activity and with that dictate the administrators who ran the powerlooms, the small industries, large industries, the sleuths that made Sri Lanka self sufficient in paddy- the staple crop in 1970- I happened to be one of them, were all made redundant- continued doing something, paying homage to petty politicians that were placed over them. This mass of administrators have to be called to work to direct programmes that will bring production and employment.
Instead of pursuing tasks aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the people, our Prime Minister’s latest task has been to grant deeds for crown lands, which he has done well, commencing last week- called a ‘Land For All’ Programme that has within a few days granted thousands of deeds to people who own crown land. It is all a piece of paper given with pomp and pagentry. These were crown lands alienated on a specific proviso that it has to remain with the peasantry and cannot end up with business magnates and multinationals. This was the dictate of our founder D.S.Senanayake. What is not said- hidden, is that this was a pre requisite for the MCC Grant of $480 million from the USA – the terms being to hand over a third of our country, a corridor from Colombo to Trincomalle including districts Kandy and Kurunegala to the USA for 200 years.
This was a prime concern in the 2019 Presidential Election where the then UNP under Ranil Wickremasinghe did commence giving deeds for crown land held by the peasantry which was stopped by public outcry, but Ranil Wickremasinghe said that he will sign the MCC Compact agreement the very next day if he won. President Gotabhaya declared that he would not sign such a give away of our sovereignty. Now as a Prime Minister instead of implementing production and employment programmes to bring incomes to the people and also produce what we imported he has commenced this granting land deeds. I will not be surprised to hear any one of these days that he has signed the MCC Compact Deal.
It is up to President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and his Ministers to immediately look into this activity that may end in the sale of our sovereignty for 200 years to the USA. Mind you the British ruled Sri lanka for less than 150 years.
Garvin Karunaratne, former GA Matara, Ph.D. Michigan State University
Author of: Microenterprise Development… The Way Out of the IMF Stranglehold, Sarasavi, 1997
How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka & Alternative Programmes of Success, Godages, 2006
How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development, Godages, 2017
How the IMF’s Structural Adjustment Destroyed Sri lanka, Godages, 2022
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis in not unique. Other countries have been in it and some are currently in it too. Economics is all about trade-offs. One basic premise of economics is that resources are limited but needs and wants are unlimited. The way to succeed economically is to manage needs and wants (not resources) to achieve best economic outcomes. Having decided on what needs and wants are crucial (and what must be given up, sadly), then comes resources management.
A full-scale economic overhaul takes time. It is doubtful whether Sri Lanka can survive until then as a functioning society. Quick goals must be achieved first in order to keep the Sri Lankan society functioning so that bigger long-term goals can be achieved.
Foreign commercial loans (ISBs and SLDBs) cannot be repaid. This is a painful economic fact. They must be defaulted officially. No interest payments and no repayments. It will result in court cases and ultimately Sri Lanka will be declared officially bankrupt. This official declaration is only symbolic. In substance Sri Lanka is bankrupt for months. A bankrupt nation need not repay commercial loans. This alone can save Sri Lanka in the long run. Bilateral loans (loans from foreign countries) must be repaid. These are not a huge burden.
Despite the crisis, an enormous amount of foreign currency leaves Sri Lanka today. Gold is the most popular medium of taking value out of Sri Lanka. All ports and airports must be equipped to nab gold. Sri Lanka must ban the importation of gold too.
Dollars are hoarded by various individuals for profit. This is because banks do not give the best rate for foreign remittances. Banks must be instructed to pay a higher rate than the prevailing rate in the market. Banks must be compensated in rupees for the additional amount. This will attract a sufficient amount of forex into the banking system which can be used to purchase fuel, fertilizer and other necessities. The bad side is this will further drive up inflation which is already at 130%. However, it is an essential choice the government must make and suffer the cost. Once foreign reserves are built, inflation will ease. However, this painful initial step must be taken.
These three simple strategies can save Sri Lanka from total collapse. Once again, resources are limited. Painful choices must be made to manage limited resources. If scant resources are wasted on face-save measures, there won’t be enough resources to run the country.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the worst President we’ve had. He’s the worst leader, counting all presidents, prime ministers, ministers, chairpersons of local government authorities and maranaadhara samithi. He’s the worst Sri Lankan ever. Let’s assume.
Let’s assume that as the all-powerful Executive President, all ills are attributable to him. Let’s assume that although this implies that he can lay claim to all positives, he had nothing to do with effectively handling the Covid-19 situation, the vaccination drive and enforcement of safety protocols which (by the way) eventually enabled and empowered those who hate him the most (and whose hatred is rooted in political preferences and other things that predates the current economic crises) to rub shoulders with fellow political travelers in demonstrations, protest marches, arson, theft and thuggery. Let’s assume that he did nothing at all.
No, let’s go further. Let’s assume that Covid-19 was an insidious creation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa himself, a virus which he unleashed on the world with the express intent of wrecking the tourism sector, effecting a serious dent in remittances by expatriate workers, restricting movement etc., etc. Let’s assume that all this in aggregate made himself eminently eligible to the tag ‘party-pooper.’
Today, we are in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis. Today, more than ever before, we have been forced to think about things like energy security, food security, food and nutritional sovereignty, the need for development banks and the folly of embracing uncritically and indeed nurturing to near perfection an import mafia. Let’s assume, though, that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s rhetoric and action with regard to at least two of the above, namely renewable energy and environment-friendly agriculture, had nothing to do with such ‘needs.’
Let us not assume but acknowledge that regardless of intent, overall understanding and objectives pertaining to sovereignty that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was largely unsuccessful. Let’s assume that this had nothing to do with the resilience of entrenched interests of corporate thugs and public racketeers, but let’s not assume but rather acknowledge that party and family played a massive role in scuttling good intention, not just about energy and agriculture but basic management of the economy, upholding procedures established to ensure fiscal discipline, robust and meaningful tax regimes etc. Let’s not assume but acknowledge that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s greatest failure was that he could not (or would not) unfetter himself from party and family.
Forget all that. Let’s return to the first assumption. Let us repeat. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the worst President we’ve had. He’s the worst leader, counting all presidents, prime ministers, ministers, chairpersons of local government authorities and maranaadhara samithi. He’s the worst Sri Lankan ever. Let’s assume.
We should mention, at least parenthetically, that he is but (and at worst) a symptom of systemic flaw. At least that’s what those who can see beyond personality and party could (but probably for reasons of political convenience do not) conclude. Never mind. Let’s assume ‘Gota is the System’ and kid ourselves that getting rid of him gives us system-change. Well, let’s say it paves the way for system-change. Yes, let’s not talk about utter naïveté in these matters. Let’s assume. Let’s conclude.
Now, treating all assumptions as established fact, let us wave the flag of the logical response: ‘Gota should go!’ How do we move from there, i.e. beyond a slogan whose utterers aren’t political innocents and among whom are those who have benefited for decades (as a class and as individuals) or else are ill-educated about constitutions, constitutional reform and the whole brouhaha over amendments (the draft 21st was shot down by the Supreme Court, whose observations amount to law-makers being given a resounding F on the subject of ‘Constitutionality’)?
Of course Gotabaya Rajapaksa can resign. Can happen, but hasn’t. He can be removed, constitutionally. Can happen, but hasn’t. And so we have pundits saying ‘the people, the international community and the Opposition’ have to come together to remove him. In essence, to secure the numbers necessary to remove him constitutionally. He can be ousted in other ways, but no one is seriously talking about ‘revolution’ here. Revolution would include system-change and ‘system’ would include the economic theories (sic) that went a long way to bring us to where we are, dealings with the IMF and other Bretton Woods Institutions etc., but no one is seriously considering such options right now. It’s just ‘Gota must go,’ or ‘The international community, the Opposition and the people must get together and send Gota away.’ Thereafter, parliament (or rather ‘The Opposition’) can figure out who should be the next president. Lovely.
Let’s get back to the movers and shakers. The international Community, one. Yeah right! Do they mean, the US, UK, EU and other members of The Quad? Now if those are the addresses to which grievance are addressed and succour sought, good luck!
The Opposition, two. Yeah right! And yeah, those who want Gota sent away utter not a word about capabilities of the current Opposition (never mind legitimacy which is ultimately measurable only through the ballot). The Opposition, if we just take the SJB and the JVP, essentially back-stabbed the ‘Aragalaya’ and ‘Aragalists,’ not to mention the fact that they deliberately planned to pursue their party interests by preying on general anxiety, fear and anger. Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake hilariously claimed that they would take up the prime minister’s post if Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned. Each ought to have been more honest and said ‘I become PM if Gota resigns, and then I have the inside track to the Presidency.’ Anyone who places bets on such dishonest people and parties (whose track records are as bad or worse than those of the SLPP) are ridiculously naive or at least politically suspect. The SLFP, then? Really?
‘The people,’ three. Now that’s a different category altogether. We cannot and should not say ‘yeah, right!’ or be dismissive in some other way. Democracy is about the people. How do we measure the weight of the people factor, though? The numbers at protests, the decibel levels of the rhetoric? Yes, in a way, never mind that among these ‘people’ are agents provocateurs and others whose political history doesn’t make one really cheer, especially given long and profound silence about what ‘the system’ has done and to whom for decades.
In a way, yes, ‘The people’ count. They need to be counted. Literally. My friend Sugath Kulatunga, commenting on dubious individuals including ‘intellectuals,’ professionals, the clergy and artists marking ‘presence’ at Galle Face, made a pertinent observation.
‘I believe [they] have had no lessons in Civics at school and are not aware that Sri Lanka is a democracy with a written constitution where tenets of majority rule and rule of law are enshrined.’
If you want to step out of all that, by all means. Just don’t dabble in constitutions and parliamentary affairs. A precedent set where a bunch of people even with legitimate reasons to protest (and the legitimacy of the protests are indisputable, let us not forget) browbeat the elected and obtain eviction without measuring the true nature of a) popular discontent, and b) agreement about the would-be successor’s ability to turn things around does not bode well for participatory democracy.
The silliness of all this talk about the Gota-Ranil combine being a failure is easily measured by a simple question: name another combine that can deliver. The truth is, politicians and parties as they stand today, given histories and fixations about economics, cannot deliver us from the evils they’ve showered us with. We might have to look elsewhere, but certainly not at the international community, the Opposition or ‘people’ who are deliberately left undefined.
Anarchy, then, by all means, but then call it that. Just don’t sugar-coat it with democracy-speak.
The most popular desire everywhere all around the world is of serving one’s own country. People feel honored when their sons sacrifice their lives for the esteemed and prestige of their homeland and it is really a hard luck for the whole youth of a nation if illogical restraints are hurdled into the way to completion of this sacred desire. Today the whole of the Indian nation is raising its protesting voice against BJP government’s decision of changing the procedure of induction into the Indian army. Now onwards, there won’t be the permanent soldiers but the temporary Agniveers defending the country. The status of the Agniveers would be like those of the daily-wagers and for a very short period of four years. For many of my esteemed readers the term Agniveer would be strange and new but today in India this term is very much popular and root cause of the rapidly disturbing law and order situation as well.
The Union Cabinet, according to media reports, has recently introduced the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in all three branches of the Indian Army including the Navy and the Air Force. This recruitment would be largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis. Just after a short period of four years the streets of India would be thronging with the innocent ‘Agniveers’ and there would be hundreds groups of extremists and terrorists alluring those Agniveers to join them. According to the details provided to the media the youngsters ranging from the age of 17 and a half to 21 years will be inducted into the three services of the Indian Army. After completion of the four-year tenure, 25% of the recruits will be retained for regular service and the remaining 75% would be said good-bye forever. It is yet not clear what those 75% would be doing after being kicked out of the army with no permanent benefits.
After getting a training of four years, experts apprehend, these Agniveers would be a hot-cake for those who are interested in establishing their personal armies and even for the groups involved in different terrorist activities. Moreover this new scheme of induction of personnel below officer rank would shatter the decades-old selection process which was however based on merit and there was a future surety to the employed ones. Now this tenure-track type of system of induction would give birth to depression and disappointment among the so called Agniveers. Reports say that every year around 45,000 to 50,000 soldiers will be recruited under this scheme and recruitment will be done twice a year.
Countless young men, who had been dreaming of becoming a part of the military forces, are protesting against the Agnipath scheme as they are unhappy over the changes in selection system. They say that after serving for four years in the army and after ending up with no pension and no monetary benefits, they would be standing nowhere. A number of experts on military affairs and opposition leaders belonging to different Indian political parties are of the opinion that this scheme would adversely impact the functioning of the armed forces. They are demanding the time-tested recruitment system which had been opted for decades.
More interesting is the fact that no specific criterion has yet been described for the selection of Agniveers. It seems that the selection procedure would be completed at local level and the local unit commanders would be all in all in making decisions. The only restriction is that of the age bracket. Keeping in view, India’s present ‘secular’ scenario, it is very much sure that in the suggested force there would be no place for the Muslim and the Sikh youth; only the Hindu young-men would be entertained. Since there would be only Hindu soldiers in this newly formulated force, it is quite sure that during their training, more poison would be injected in the veins of the Agniveers against the Muslims and other minorities and influenced by that venomous ‘preaching’, the Agniveers would target the Indian religious minorities like guided-missiles. After completion of the four year tenure, each of the Agniveers would be like a blazing suicide-bomber ready to explode on the minorities particularly on the Muslims and the Sikhs.
Mr. Modi’s desire of making India a Hindu country is not hidden from anyone; the present Agnipath induction scheme also reflects his desire. It seems that Mr. Modi has designed this scheme just to produce another RSS type of force which would be more skillful, more trained and more poisonous than the RSS. One finds a lot of resemblance between the RSS and the Agnipath force. An introduction leaflet about the RSS says, The initial motive behind formation of RSS was to provide character training through Hindu discipline and to unite the Hindu community to form a Hindu nation. The organization promotes the ideals of upholding Indian culture and the values of a civil society and spreads the ideology of Hindutva to strengthen the Hindu community.” In that entire introduction, there is no reference to the Indian nation; it is all about the Hindu nation. Various historians are of the opinion that the RSS drew its initial inspiration from the Italian Fascist Party which was very much vibrant during the World War 11. The RSS also started working on the same lines mapped out by the Italian Fascist Party and with the passage of time grew into a prominent Hindu nationalist umbrella organization sheltering rather feeding several affiliated organizations. These organizations patronize different educational institutions and think-tanks to spread Hindutva ideology. Now the Agnipath Force would provide another strong support to the RSS philosophy with the help of young Agniveers.
Mr. Modi is doing nothing unexpected by introducing Agnipath like schemes as ‘kill the minorities’ has ever been the salient feature of his character. His political party had been warning the Muslim and the Sikh community to get out of India. And above all the horrible pictures of burning houses and blood-dripping human bodies in Gujrat massacre 2002 are still there to describe Modi’s temperament but the problem is that in spite of all these facts and figures, Mr. Modi and his followers try to introduce themselves as the great ‘seculars’ and on the basis of that claim of secularism, they try to win sympathies and favors of the world. This ridiculous contradiction certainly needs world’s attention. No religion, either it is Hinduism or Sikhism, Buddhism or Islam advocates hatred; if someone tries to disfigure the philosophy of a religion in the name of love for that religion, he must be taken to task rather dealt with iron hands. Without doing so, an extremism-free world could never be dreamed of. Extremism is no doubt the first step to terrorism leading to a large scale endless destruction.
Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, twice Central Bank Governor and former State Minister for Finance, issued the following media statement last week on exchange rate flexibility.
The decision to allow the Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) to be flexible” from March 7, 2022 onwards is sometimes described by certain persons as being a unilateral” decision of then Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal. Therefore, this statement is to provide the factual position so as to set the record straight.”The decision to allow flexibility in the exchange rate was taken by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka based on a Monetary Board Paper dated March 7, 2022 submitted by all three Deputy Governors (Mr Mahinda Siriwardene, Mr Dammika Nanayakkara & Mrs Yvette Fernando), Director – Economic Research Department and Director – International Operations Department.
The Board Paper stressed the need for changing the exchange rate policy immediately in order that the exchange rate acts as a shock absorber” in the face of adverse developments in the global front on Sri Lanka’s already fragile Balance of Payments, including the increase of the crude oil price to nearly USD 140 per barrel and the worsening Russia-Ukraine war.
Based on that Board Paper and the discussion at the meeting, the Monetary Board decided to ‘allow the market to have a greater flexibility in the exchange rate with immediate effect and communicate that the Central Bank is of the view that forex transactions would take place at levels which are not more than Rs. 230 per US dollar.’
From the above it will be clear that, while the Monetary Board had expressed its ‘view’ as to the level at which forex transactions would take place as a market guidance, a clear decision had been taken to allow for the flexibility of the LKR in the forex market. On the same day, a statement was issued to the media in line with the above decision.
Further, within about a week of floating the LKR, the President made a formal announcement that the government had initiated discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a programme.
Subsequently, Governor Cabraal resigned on April 4, 2022, on which day, the LKR was trading at Rs. 289.73/299.99 per USD in accordance with the new ‘flexible’ exchange rate policy as announced by the Monetary Board. After Governor Cabraal’s exit, the Monetary Board chaired by the new Governor Dr. Weerasinghe continued with the ‘flexible’ exchange rate policy, whist the Government and CBSL also took a series of far reaching decisions which included the decisions to: sharply increase policy interest rates by 700 bps from April 8, 2022 onwards, and to discontinue repayments of forex loans and interest from April 12, 2022 onwards.
In the meantime, the LKR continued to depreciate to a range of Rs. 364.23/377.50 against the USD by May 12, 2022, at which point, the Monetary Board had apparently once again decided to ‘fix’ the exchange rate at a new range between Rs.355.00/Rs.365.00 per USD. Such move to ‘fix’ the exchange rate seems quite similar to the policy adopted by the Monetary Board chaired by Governor Professor W D Lakshman which ‘fixed’ the LKR exchange rate at a range of Rs.199.00/203.00 per USD from September 6, 2021 onwards.
It must of course be understood that there will always be conflicting opinions among stakeholders as to the value, timing and methodology to be followed in ‘fixing’, or ‘floating’ or ‘pegging’ a country’s currency. It is also quite possible that after decisions are taken to ‘float,’ ‘fix’ or ‘peg’ the currency, others could, claim that the decision was right or wrong or implemented differently.
However, it must be appreciated that the decision-making authority has to take its decision based on the prevailing circumstances, expert advice, practical ground conditions, judgment of future expectations and outcomes, etc. when viewed holistically. That is obviously why the Monetary Law Act provides the authority to the Monetary Board to change financial and monetary sector policies (including the exchange rate policy, interest rates, statutory reserve ratios, etc) when it deems appropriate to do so, from time to time.
It must also be appreciated that the implementation of policy measures is carried out by the professional and technical staff, of the Central Bank and they would naturally ensure that the policy measures being implemented are based on legal and binding decisions of the Monetary Board, which is the decision making authority, and not based on ‘unilateral’ decisions of a single person.”
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera says that a token system to distribute fuel is to be introduced from tomorrow (June 27).
Speaking during a press briefing in Colombo today, he said the decision was taken at a meeting of the Security Council chaired by the President and the Prime Minister yesterday (25).
However, the Minister requested the public not to wait in queues at filling station until the next fuel shipment arrives as the stocks of fuel held by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) are being distributed only for essential purposes.
He further stated that the exact date of arrival for the next fuel shipment cannot be confirmed as the moment.
The Security Council had met last night, on the instructions of the President and the Prime Minister. Accordingly, they have decided that from tomorrow, if there are people queuing up at filling stations, the security forces including the Army, Air Force, Navy and Police will be deployed at every filling station from tomorrow to give everyone in the queues a token in the order they are queuing up,” he said.
He said that the token will be issued after obtaining their telephone number so that it cannot be changed. The minister said that by the day after tomorrow they will not be able to deliver to every filling station until they receive the next fuel shipment.
Until then, he said they intend to inform the consumers in the order of the tokens when a fuel bowser is delivered.
He therefore requested the public not to queue up for fuel in the next couple of days until the matter is managed in the coming days.
I know the pain. I know the pressure and the anger. It could be against me or the government or the ministry, the president or the prime minister, but I urge you not to line up at petrol stations in the next few days. You can get the token and go home,” he said.
Two ministers will be flying to Russia tomorrow (27) and they will discuss matters including fuel imports during the visit, according to Minister Kanchana Wijesekara.
The Minister of Power and Energy revealed this during a press briefing held in Colombo today. He was responding to a question raised at the media briefing regarding Sri Lanka not seeking oil from Russia.
Speaking further the Minister said that the misters are traveling on another diplomatic visit and hoped that the discussion would be held in due course during that visit and that a favorable answer would be forthcoming.
He said it is a misconception to say that they are not interested to obtain fuel from Russia. We have made requests, and there are diplomatic channels to go ahead with it.”
The truth is that the ship that was to come earlier had also been proposed to bring down a shipment from a Russian company. The first letter of credit was also rejected because of a ship from a Russian company from international banks.”
He said: As far as I know, two ministers are going to talk to Russia about certain issues on their way to another diplomatic affair. We hope to receive a favorable answer. It doesn’t matter who we get from. If we receive at a lower cost, we will try it.”
The Ministry of Education says that schools in the Colombo Zone and other major cities will remain closed next week, from June 27 to July 01.
However, the ministry said that rural schools can function as normal on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during next week.
Accordingly, issuing a notice, the ministry informed that the educational activities in the schools during the week from 27th of June to 01st of July 2022 will be conducted according to the following manner:
1. The schools where students and teachers are not having transport difficulties must be conducted normally just as the rural schools were held from 20.06.2022 to 24.06.2022 and if there are teachers facing the transport difficulties, the principal will arrange a flexible timetable for them without considering from their personal leave.
2. The urban schools which were not held last week must be conducted 03 days a week viz. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 07.30 am to 01.30 pm. The discretion of deciding the number of days conducting primary classes in these schools lies with the principal.
For the absent days of the students the learning activities will be continued through inline teaching / assignments / home based activities.
3. Actions will be taken not to consider the absent days of the teachers due to transport difficulties as personal leave.
4. The Ministry of Education extends its gratitude to the teachers and principals who contributed to conduct the schools even amidst of transport difficulties from 20.06.2022 to 24.06.2022.
The caretaker Prime Minister is once again trying to complete the project given to him – his vision was to destroy agriculture, transfer agricultural land and see farmers in jeans. He even promised chewing gum and gold chains to the farmers in Polonnaruwa in 1999. This was the Parakumba era Ranil wanted to create! Imagine King Parakramabahu in jeans! Giving land is nothing but a subtle inducement to sell the land given to farmers by the state to farm. The land eventually gets sold to foreigners or enemies. When food is no longer produced in Sri Lanka, it is a lottery for importers. It ends any program for self-sustenance but opens doors for bogus western funding on the pretext of resurrecting agriculture. We have inherited land and resources, passed down to us by our ancestors, not to have it siphoned off as is being planned. The eventual outcome impacts Sinhalese, Tamils & Muslims. If those living on state land allocated for agriculture do not wish to continue, they should be told they can leave & that land can be given to someone who wants to continue agriculture. State land cannot be transferred into private ownership which results eventually in selling state land which is a violation of the Public Trust Principle as a Government is only custodian of the land & not owner to be handing ownership to anyone.
State land is not for sale – State land can only be leased
84% of Sri Lanka’s land is held in Trust by the State. A Govt is only custodian of the Land. This means a government has no moral or legal right to sell the land. The govt can only lease the land. Therefore, the government cannot give title ownership to any state land & this is an illegal act & can be reversed by legal channels. Constitutionally too the Government cannot give title ownership of state land to private hands (local or foreign).
This is the golden rule.
Getting the farmer to do what the Government cannot do!
Given this scenario – What the government is cunningly trying to do by giving title ownership to state land is to get the farmer to sell the State land as the Govt cannot directly sell State land.
State land ownership cannot be given to one segment of people
State land belongs to not only this generation but future generations as well
We are enjoying what has been passed down by our ancestors.
Farmers are only a segment of the State (People)
A Government cannot give a segment of the State title ownership of the land
This violates fundamental right on equality” to all, clearly established in Article 12(1)
If a government is giving ownership of state land to farmers – then they must give title ownership of state land to all 22million people as well as include provision for state ownership for future generations. This is something that cannot be done, which is why a government cannot give ownership of state land to one segment of society or sell state land except lease it.
Farmers are in debt
If farmers are in debt, it is because they have taken loans & they cannot pay the loans.
This means without title deed ownership, they have been able to take loans.
This nullifies the claim by those promoting the need to have title ownership of land to obtain loans & that without title ownership of the land they cannot take loans.
State Banks and private banks give loans and have been doing so for decades.
The banks will provide details of how they give loans to farmers.
Farmers in debt given title ownership
Silent message – Leave State land + Give up Farming
A farmer in debt & given title ownership is one step towards luring him to give up farming & give up his land. The outcome is suppressed by a campaign to project notion that the government is doing a great favor to the farmer by handing him title ownership of state land.
Six dangerous scenarios are created by handing title ownership.
From a farmer living on state land, once given title ownership to this land, he becomes a private land owner & the state washes its hands from any responsibility or assistance to him.
Farmer then can be lured to sell land now under his ownership – this money invariably will get divided amongst large family living on acres of state land. Ultimately he may not have much left.
A farmer living for generations on state land with his family after selling newly owned land will be asked to vacate the land with his family.
This farmer & family will have to find alternate place to live & livelihood– Govt is not bound to help
Imagine 50,000 farmers given title ownership to state land & lured to sell their land, leaving farmers & family without a land to live, without a home to live in, without a livelihood to live on? Look at the ultimate outcome of giving title ownership!
If farmers are given ownership of state land – All citizens have right to demand title ownership of State land as well. This will create an ugly precedent & unwanted trouble for Sri Lanka.
What are the options
Covid and the current economic crisis has shown us that we cannot rely on importing food. We have to grow our own food & we have to protect food security of Sri Lanka.
Farmers are farming on state land.
The Government has to provide all assistance to all its departments & officials to help farmers & farming.
If farmers have fallen into debt – the Govt has to work out a relief package for them after auditing why they have fallen into debt.
If farmers require training on modern ways of farming – this has to be given to them.
If farmers are unable to sell their products because of third party mafia – the govt has to stop it & take quick action.
Farmers have to be regarded as crucial to Sri Lanka’s self-sustenance. No government can allow farmers to farm with difficulty on their own without assistance. The problem has arisen primarily due to lethargy of governments and inefficiency of public officials tasked to help farmers. These officials have to be changed & governments need to buckle up with a proper national plan that is practical and not just nice on paper.
If any farmer does not wish to continue farming – the solution is not to give him title ownership of state land (with ulterior motive to having the land sold by the farmer), but to offer him an alternative :-
He can leave farming – but in so doing, he & family have to vacate state land & find alternate livelihood & this land will be given to a farmer wanting to farm
He can be helped with loans & continue farming on leased State land (govt should also consider writing off old loans)
When foreign governments & international monetary organizations ask a government to privatize state land & enable foreign ownership – a government has to think of crafty ways to forsake State land. Offering title ownership is that crafty plan.
Farmers must look beyond the joy of owning a piece of paper & the bigger dangers that lie ahead for the farmer & his larger family who loses state patronage after becoming a private land owner. Politicians and activists realizing these dangers must explain to the farmers the ultimate outcome.
The USA needed supportive persons in Sri Lanka if its plan to take over Sri Lanka was to succeed. Though Sri Lanka did not realize it at the time, Neelan Thiruchelvam was USA’s best link with Sri Lanka.
Neelan Thiruchelvam was a leading advocate of Tamil separatism from the 1970s onwards. Unlike the rest of the leaders of the Tamil Separatist Movement, Neelan came from the social elite in Sri Lanka. He was also clearly the best educated, the most articulate, and the most knowledgeable regarding political concepts, though he was certainly not the great legal mind he was projected to be.
He had a high profile, and high standing, both locally and abroad, on the subject of Tamil Separatism, camouflaged as ‘minority rights.’ His death was a blow from which the Tamil Separatist Movement has never recovered.
The USA link would have come about when Neelan went to the US for further studies. He went to Harvard on a Fulbright scholarship and obtained his doctorate there. Later he was Edward Smith Visiting Fellow and Lecturer at Harvard Law School as well as Fello2w in law and modernization at Yale Law School (1972–74).
The regard in which Neelan was held by the USA became known in Sri Lanka only after his death. When Neelan died, USA cried. There was a condolence meeting attended by US officials in a Washington. What this showed was not Neelan’s greatness but his usefulness to the US.
U.S. President Bill Clinton said he and his wife were “shocked and saddened” by Neelan’s tragic death. Hillary Clinton had been “deeply moved” by her meeting with Neelan in 1995. With his death, a powerful voice for reconciliation in Sri Lanka has been silenced, he said.” Samantha Power, Special assistant to US President and senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights said that she became friends with Neelan, when she came to Sri Lanka to have discussions with President Rajapakse in 2010.
TIME recognized only two Sri Lankans in its obituaries column. they were Neelan and Prabhakaran. TIME carried an obituary of Neelan when he was assassinated in 1999. TIME said that Neelan was a tireless activist in the sphere of human rights and on behalf of ethnic minorities. He was highly regarded around the world as a legal scholar and an advocate for peaceful resolution to interethnic strife.
Due to the US link, Neelan was also recognized elsewhere in the western world. UN Chief Kofi Annan also expressed sympathy on his death.Condolences and condemnatory messages came from the Foreign Ministers of Canada and Australia. The Times (London), The Guardian, The Independent, The New York Times, and Toronto’s Globe & Mail, observed analysts.
Mangala Samaraweera, Foreign Minister in Yahapalana government, was very pro-USA. Mangala Samaraweera was in Washington in February 2016 as Foreign Minister for a Sri Lanka – U.S. Partnership Dialogue. There was a media presentation where US Secretary of State Kerry met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister. Mangala looked strained. He was not his bouncy self. Probably due to the gravity of the occasion. (https://youtu.be/dQ7SdFkhcdg)
Sri Lanka under Samaraweera as Foreign Minister supported the 2015 UNHRC Resolution on Sri Lanka put forward by USA. in his apparent school boyish and sycophantic eagerness to endear himself to the Western promoters of the UNHRC resolution of October 2015 on Sri Lanka and his naive rush to placate the expatriate Tamil groups, who are still pursuing the Eelamists agenda through other means with the apparent acquiescence of their patrons in the West, he conceded far more than what the drafters of the resolution had expected, said Mathias Keitel. In many countries, compromising the national constitution with such audacity would have resulted in prosecution before the courts.
Many people were alarmed by his style.Mathias Keitelsaid that the interests of Sri Lanka are being systematically compromised by its buccaneering foreign .Minister Mangala Samaraweera. Dr Dayan Jayatilleka pointedly observed in a recent article, that Foreign Minister Samaraweera poses an existential threat to the State’s sovereignty and security, and gravely jeopardizes political stability and governability.”
Minister Samaraweera was in Los Angeles after attending the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. About 200 residents from Southern California were present at the September 25 event, 2016, which was the first featuring a visiting government dignitary in that period. Notably absent were Buddhist monks from the local Sri Lankan temples.
In contrast to other Sri Lankan leaders who from time to time have addressed the expatriate community here, Mr. Samaraweera, speaking for about 20 minutes, solely in English, did not have one good thing to say about Sri Lanka from independence to present. None of the warm nostalgia for the homeland usually evoked by leaders from all sides of the political divide.
Quoting extensively from the late Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore, he painted a grim picture of a country that couldn’t evolve,” a nation, contrary to the promise shown when it became independent, is still struggling to move forward.” Touching on Sri Lanka’s economic future, he said the government will take measures to make it easier for foreign investors to do business in the island as well as for foreign nationals to buy land.
Journalists based in Washington and New York have noted that, from the time Mangala Samaraweera assumed office as Foreign affairs minister, he has taken upon himself to denigrate the previous leadership of the country before his Western counterparts, sometimes embellished with unsubstantiated tall yarns, (One recalls his tales of the Rajapaksas siphoning off $50 billion to foreign tax havens or Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election campaign being funded by the Chinese). Badmouthing a previous leadership which could return to power at some point, with foreign counterparts, is not in the country’s best interests.
The former Army Commander, Mahesh Senanayake was among those who had been sent on compulsory leave in 2010 after Fonseka suffered defeat at the Presidential election. The government accused him and others of backing Fonseka, and trying to stage a military coup against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Senanayake left the country and went to USA where he worked on intelligence in Afghanistan and Libya then held a senior position in the American embassy in Dubai. He served USA for five years.
He returned to Sri Lanka in 2015 and was reinstated by President .Sirisena. Mahesh Senanayake was a candidate at the Presidential election of 2019. Had he won, US would have felt comfortable with him. He did not win. Thereafter he left the country. He now lives in Dubai and works as a Consultant-Advisor to National Airlines, USA, said the media.
Senanayake had a distinguished service in the army. He participated in the Eelam war. He was actively involved in all operations in the North and East and was also instrumental in introducing the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol concept to the Sri Lanka Army.
Senanayake served as the Regimental Centre Commandant of the Special Forces Regiment, Commander 211 Infantry Brigade – Vavuniya, Commander Special Forces Brigade and the General Officer Commanding 52 Division -Varani, Jaffna. He also held the position of Director of the Army Command and Staff College and Director of Planning at the Army Headquarters during the decisive period of the humanitarian operation.
Gen. Senanayake has been honored with the Rana Wickrama, Rana Soora, Vishishta Seva Vibhushana and the Uththama Seva medals for his unblemished services in the Army and his gallantry and bravery in the face of the enemy during the Eelam operations.
Mahesh Senanayake had trained in USA. He is an alumnus of General Staff College, USA. He had followed CGSC course in 2000. General Mahesh Senanayake (Rtd) was inducted into the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) International Hall of Fame in 2021. He is the first-ever Sri Lankan Army Officer to receive this honor.
He has been conferred this honor in recognition of his outstanding military leadership for the nation and commitment to preserving global peace, said USA. His contribution towards the resettlement of internally displaced persons and reconciliation process following a 27 year civil war in his country is truly noteworthy. He was a trusted and important partner in bilateral cooperation between our two countries.”
General Senanayake said, I am extremely happy and honored as a Sri Lankan, to be inducted into the International Hall of Fame, which only a very few military and civilian members have been fortunate to receive. Since 1973, only 287 global military leaders received this prestigious honor and I am humbled and proud to have been able to bring this prestige and fame to my country. I am grateful for the knowledge, wisdom and experience I received from CGSC this was definitely instrumental in charting out my military career and I am grateful for the CGSC for this honor and recognition.”
Give Aussies a Ticker Tape parade as a farewell gesture by driving them through the streets of Colombo (Galle Road near Galle Face Green) once this popular Australian cricket tour is over.
This is exactly what the Australians did in Melbourne on February 17, 1961 when they bid goodbye to the West Indian Cricket Team led by Frank Worrell.
Australia beat West Indies by 2 to 1 in a close contest which went down to the wire.
In a time of misery let us thank the Aussies for bringing smiles on to faces of our fellow Sri Lankans in more ways than one.
Cricket always brings people together. This Australian tour has really caught the spirit and imagination of the cricket loving Sri Lankan public. It has helped to drown our sorrows and anxieties.
In the following video clip, we see Sri Lankan Cricket fans cheer Australian Cricketers in an extraordinary display of warmth and generousity of spirit towards a rival foreign team rarely seen in playing fields.
‘Extraordinary’ Colombo crowd reception has Aussies stunned | Sri Lanka v Australia 2022
Mr.Patrick Brown Mayor of Brampton,Ontario/ Candidate for Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Office of the Mayor City of Brampton 2 Wellington Street West. Brampton, Ontario L6Y 4R2
Dear Mayor Patrick Brown:
I just received an email about YOU which said, Patrick Brown and the Brampton City council passed the controversial Tamil Genocide Memorial on Brampton Public property with blatant disregard to the peace loving Canadians. Brampton Parks and recreational facilities are for the benefit of all residents regardless of race, religion or ethnic origin……”
Hey! Patrick, this is one more incident to prove positive that my proclaiming that Patrick Brown is a Clown in Conservative politics.” Are you Nuts or What?
Attached to that email was an image on a Facebook poster of You pretending that you were a Cardboard -Sandow emulating the German Bodybuilder Eugen Sandow of the 1880s, in a singlet vest showing pumped up pectorals, trapezoids, deltoids, biceps and serratus muscles.,
And here is what it said – an image of a film camera projecting the words –TAMILS FOR PATRICK PRESENTS – PATRICK BROWN in & as. MR, BROWN – Barrie to Brampton”.
You know what Patrick Brown, that tough image of you does not impress me nor phase me out. My challenge to you for a public debate on your Godfather love in”: with the Tamil community still stands. You tell me where and I will be there with bells and whistles.
My three incentives to get you to debate me still stand.
I will pay You a debating fee of $500 from my pocket, If your debating fee is a $1000 I am prepared to send a hat around during the debate and you can have every penny and dollar notes that have been dropped into the hat;
I will let you have the former rooky Tamil MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan, your sidekick when you bicycled with her showing the film Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields, to parliamentarians, and former MP Paul Calandra, your friend in Tamil Love-ins, to sandwich you as prompters during the debate, and
I will let you have 10 of your Brampton City Councillors stand 25 feet away from me after the debate and pelt me with rotten eggs and tomatoes for the next 30 seconds. This is on one condition, that I am allowed to wear a helmet.
The challenge is on Patrick Brown, will you accept it? Prove to me that you are no tough cardboard Sandow, and that you are a real Sandow ready to demolish your critics on your “Tamil Love-ins”, like me?
There was another attachment with the original email. There was a photo of you wearing some kind of a halloween costume to depict that you have now been baptized to be the Godfather of the Brampton’s Tamil Snow-Tiger community.
Your face still looked white, and the garb was white with a shawl, with a yellow band running down
the middle.
Patrick that image was hilarious and I couldn’t help but laugh at you. There were words beside your photo which said, B2B -MR . BROWN: FromBarrie to Brampton – (and some tamil letters after). Hmmm,,, Did B2B” mean Bullshxxxer2Bullshxxxer”Hmmm..a strange way to introduce You, I thought.
The text beside your photograph said – Patrick Brown – A name well known in the Canadian Tamil Community. He is one of the noteworthy young political leaders who do not hesitate to associate himself with the Tamil community in Canada….”
Hey! Patrick, if it was a classic Tamil man that you wanted to be portrayed as when you were Christened as a true Tamil and given you the name Sivapatrik Brownlingam, then the ethno- cultural make-up artists failed you badly and miserably..
Here’s what should have been done – stripped you completely and painted your face and body with one of the 50-shades of a Tamil-brown with a diluted Kiwi brown shoe polish.
Your upper torso should have been bare, and your lower body should have been covered with a pure white rectangular piece of cotton cloth. It should have been wrapped around the waste and brought between your thighs and up again covering Your crotch,
There should have been a white consecrated thread (Janeau) tied across
your body dropping down from one shoulder which suggests the development of a male from a boy to a young man.
There should have been three horizontal lines of ash across your brown Kiwi shoe polished face
and a large red moon dot (bindu) between the eyebrows, which depicts your ‘Third eye”.
The three horizontal lines of ash on a Hindu Tamil represents Lord Siva’s
three fold power of Will (iccha shakti), knowledge (Jnanasakti) and action (kriyashakti).
Hey Patrick, if you want to be adopted as a Tamil Godfather, don’t be a God damn joker, Do it properly.
And I hope your Tamil constituents won’t let you down, when you finally establish the first Canadian-Tamil Kingdom of Brumpton-Eelam-Makkum’s First Viceroy. Good luck Patrick!
Now that you and your stupid Brampton Councillors passed the controversial Tamil Genocide Memorial on Brampton’s public property, when it had been established even in the UN that there was no Tamil
Genocide, so be warned, with a copy of this letter to the Chiefs of the First Nation peoples of Canada,
I will request them to ask You and your Councillores that you establish a Memorial in the City of Brampton for the Genocide victims of the First Nation Residential School kids. This happened at our own door steps and not 14,012 kilometers away as you and your foolish Councillors said did happen in Sri Lanka. Well…you all opened a can of worms, and I hope you all are ready for the fall-out.
Mayor Patrick Brown when are we going to have a public debate on your
‘Love-ins; with the Canadian Snow-Tigers. Don’t be a cardboard
Sandow Patrick. Show us you debating strength and skills. I am no politician, I am
just a Geologist-Palaeontologist-Museologist and an Award winning
Published Canadian poet still romancing with my Motherland, Sri Lanka,
And no one is going to hurt her unfairly, and that includes YOU, Patrick Brown,
I want to meet you across the debating table. Will you gift me with that
luxury.
Sincerely Asoka Weerasinghe (a Canadian-Sinhalese-Buddhist)
If one believes in the simple mathematical calculation and minimum political honesty by public representatives in the Indian Parliament and State legislative assemblies, the largest democracy on Earth is expecting a lady tribal President in New Delhi. As Draupadi Murmu, a simple Janjati family woman turned a teacher turned a politician, gets the recommendation from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government for the Presidential elections scheduled for 18 July next, her victory becomes almost imminent.
Hailing from Mayurbhanj locality of Odisha, who taught in Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, the NDA’s Presidential candidate earlier served Jharkhand as its Governor and her own State as a minister. After arriving in New Delhi, Murmu has filed her nomination papers in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president JP Nadda, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, etc. Her main opponent will be a seasoned politician, who had lately shifted his loyalty from the saffron party. Yashwant Sinha, a former Union minister, has been declared as the joint opposition candidate for the Presidential polls.
Election Commission of India had recently announced the schedule of Presidential elections as the five-year tenure of President Ram Nath Kovind comes to end on 24 July 2022. The nominations (for 18 July
polling) are accepted till 29 June and the poll-result will be available on 21 July. For records, any citizen of Bharat can become the country’s President after fulfilling a few conditions. The aspirant must be at least 35 years old and he/she has the qualification to be elected as a member of Lok Sabha. On submitting the nomination, the aspirant needs 50 recognised proposers and 50 seconders.
Unlike other democratic nations, the common Indias do not elect their President directly, but the Head of the Republic is voted by the people’s representatives (meaning the Parliamentarians and
Legislators) with the basis of Electoral College. It includes 543 members of Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament), 233 members in Rajya Sabha (the upper house) and 4,033 members of legislative assemblies across the vast country. Value of an MP’s vote in Presidential elections varies with the total number of Legislators in State (including Union Territories) legislative assemblies. An MLA’s vote-value depends on the number of electorates of the concerned State/UT.
The ruling BJP has 92 Rajya Sabha members (including four nominated MPs, who cannot vote) and 301 Lok Sabha MPs, which is more than the half of combined strength of both the houses. The saffron party also enjoys support from its alles like Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, Apna Dal, Asom Gana Parishad, Mizo National Front, National People’s Party, etc. As the BJP retains power in 18 States, it enjoys impressive numbers (along with the political allies) among Legislators too.
Meanwhile, in Murmu’s home State, the Biju Janata Dal government chief Naveen Patnaik urged all political parties of Odisha to support her (even though they are not NDA allies). Patnaik, who is in power for over two decades, also appealed to the opposition parties to withdraw their candidate (Yashwant Sinha). Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy indicates his party YSRCP may support Murmu. Others which may join the league comprise BSP (Uttar Pradesh), TRS (Telangana), AAP (Delhi & Punjab), JMM (Jharkhand), AIADMK (Tamil Nadu), etc.
For the ruling BJP, there were a number of choices for the Presidential polls including the incumbent vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and a few reputed Governors of different States. But the party, which has been facing public angers (ofen turned violent) for the Nupur Sarma-Profet Muhammad controversy, Agniveer defece policy, other burning issues, silently picked up an efficent and honest Santhal political personality to replace a Dalit (Kovind is the second Dalit President of India after KR Narayanan) in Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The struggling life of Murmu can also impress anyone who looks through her days from a poor tribal family to complete her studies at Bhubaneswar Ramadevi Women’s College against all odds. Born on 20 June 1958, Murmu started her career as a teacher before joining the Odisha politics. She was elected to the State legislative assembly twice as a BJP member. Murmu served various portfolios as a minister of the State government in Bhubaneswar. Incidentally she became the first woman Governor of Jharkhand (2015 to 2021).
Her first reaction over the development was a big surprise. ‘I am surprised, I was not able to believe it,’ said Murmu while speaking to journalists and added that she would work with the constitutional guidelines if elected to the coveted post. PM Modi in an initial tweet commented that Murmu has a rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (ABVKA), backed by BJP’s influential ideologue
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, termed Murmu’s candidature as a
historic moment for 120 million Janajati people of India.
Janajatis are an integral constituent of tradition and inheritors of an esteemed culture of the great Indian nation. However they have been overlooked and disregarded for many centuries,” said Ramchandra Kharadi, president of ABVKA, which is identified as India’s largest tribal non-government welfare organisation. He asserted that a historical decision has been taken to nominate a Santhali Janajati lady as the Presidential candidate when the nation is celebrating the glorious 75th years of its independence.
