The daily count of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Sri Lanka moved to 714 today (November 26) as 226 more people were tested positive for the virus, the Epidemiology Unit said.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 561,059.
As many as 528,806 recoveries and 14,258 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than 17,900 active cases in total are currently under medical care, official figures showed.
The Director-General of Health Services has confirmed 26 new coronavirus-related deaths for November 25, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,258.
The deaths include 16 males and 10 females. The latest coronavirus victims include one male aged below 30 years and three others between the ages 30-59 years. The remaining 22 are in the age group of 60 years and above.
A five member bench has been appointed to consider the fundamental rights petition filed against the supply agreement of the Kerawalapitiya Yugadanavi power plant.
Although the Attorney General appeared on behalf of the members of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister who have been named as respondents in the petitions which were called before a three-judge panel today (26), three Ministers have been represented by private lawyers.
Private lawyers appeared for Ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Vasudeva Nanayakkara.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a new coronavirus variant to be “of concern” and named it Omicron.
It had a large number of mutations, and early evidence suggested an increased reinfection risk, the WHO said.
It was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on 24 November, and has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.
A number of countries have now decided to ban or restrict travel to and from southern Africa.
It is not uncommon for a virus to change, or mutate, over time. A variant becomes a variant of concern when that mutation might affect things like transmissibility, virulence or the effectiveness of vaccines.
On Friday, the WHO said the number of cases of this variant, initially named B.1.1.529, appeared to be increasing in almost all of South Africa’s provinces.
It said “the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November”.
The WHO said it would take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant, as scientists worked to determine how transmissible it was.
A top UK health official warned that vaccines would “almost certainly” be less effective against the new variant.
But Professor James Naismith, a structural biologist from the University of Oxford, added: “It is bad news but it’s not doomsday.”
He said mutations in the variant suggested it may spread more quickly – but transmissibility “is not just as simple as ‘this amino acid does this'” and was determined by how mutations worked together.
If the variant were to spread more quickly, it would inevitably reach the UK, Prof Naismith said.
Meanwhile, US infectious disease chief Dr Anthony Fauci said that while the reports on the new variant threw up a “red flag”, it was possible that vaccines might still work to prevent serious illness.
“Until it’s properly tested… we don’t know whether or not it evades the antibodies that protect you against the virus”, Dr Fauci told CNN.
The WHO has warned against countries hastily imposing travel restrictions, saying they should look to a “risk-based and scientific approach”.
However, the UK, US, EU countries and Switzerland have temporarily halted flights to and from some southern African countries.
“It is now important that all of us in Europe act very swiftly, decisively and united,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.
South Africa’s Health Minister Joe Phaahla told reporters that the flight bans were “unjustified”.
“The reaction of some of the countries, in terms of imposing travel bans, and such measures, are completely against the norms and standards as guided by the World Health Organization,” he said.
Echoing his words, Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the South African Medical Association, told the BBC that the travel restrictions on her country were premature.
“For now, it is a storm in a tea cup,” she said.
Stock markets across the world also fell sharply on Friday, reflecting the fears of investors over the potential economic impact.
A “variant of concern” is the World Health Organization’s top category of worrying Covid variants.
The decision adds weight to the mounting scientific worry about the potential of this new variant, but it doesn’t change any of the facts.
The variant has an astounding collection of mutations which are thought to increase its ability to spread and bypass some, but not all, of the protection from vaccines.
However, we still don’t have the clear real-world data.
We don’t know for sure that it spreads faster, makes vaccines or drugs less effective or whether it leads to more severe disease.
The WHO have also given it a name and ended days of speculation that we would end up in the slightly ridiculous position of calling the new variant the “Nu variant”.
There have even been arguments about the correct pronunciation of the Greek letter Nu (it’s technically a “Nee”).
Instead, you can guarantee we’ll be talking a lot about Omicron in the weeks to come.
The Fertilizer Importers’ Association states that the Minister of Agriculture has stated that although the importation of chemical fertilizers is permitted, the importation of several major chemical fertilizers including urea is not permitted.
The Secretary of the Association Sujeewa Walisundera speaking to the Hiru News team stated that this was stated during a discussion held with the Minister of Agriculture.
New challenge for
Buddhism
The book is a
radical re-examination of religious conversion. This work examines key
moments in colonial and post-colonial history to show how conversion
questions the limitations of secular ideologies, particularly the discourse
of rights central to Portuguese, Dutch, British Empires. In the book, Palitha
Aritarathna says that religious conversion is probably one of the most
unsettling political events in the life of any society. (Sinhala Language )
books.google.lk
Invisible
Destructive force Behind Vanishing Nation (Helaya)
The book is a
re-examination of religious conversion gone through in a surreptitious way
also from this book Author mention how the invisible power of invaders trying
to Demise Buddhism and Shinhala Nation .At This book examines key point… of
cultural war towards their (Sinhalese) own nation , Palitha Aritarathna says
that ‘religious conversion is probably one of the most unsettling political
events in the life of any society and still no minister, no person would like
to talk the truth behind proselytizing effort of NGO and Some of extremist
are who believe right religion is their own only. In other way author is use
to mention that mutual understanding must be improve and who or they are
coming, visiting, working, touring, illegally staying at Another country or
Land should respect and protect its origins, (religion and
Nationality)planning to demise Buddhism and shinhalese is an a work that stop
immediately.. War on religion is a big shame. Avoid, Step back from
converting peoples and i
books.google.lk
New challenge for
Buddhism
The book is a
radical re-examination of religious conversion. This work examines key
moments in colonial and post-colonial history to show how conversion
questions the limitations of secular ideologies, particularly the discourse
of rights central to Portuguese, Dutch, British Empires. In the book, Palitha
Aritarathna says that religious conversion is probably one of the most
unsettling political events in the life of any society. (Sinhala Language )
books.google.lk
Sihala
Investigation
The book
primary investigative popular myths in Nationalist, religious, cultural and
Political event at Srilanka. Also author amid many historical notice point
that public should not forget if they really want to know the Srilanka where
heading now. Also in this book author had been challenge too many
undercover religious authority that acts in covert way to support terrorism in
the world and capture and demise other land in long run. Author refuses all
the extremism act in this world behalf of established real peace in the
world. Also encourage scientists, political leaders, and religious
authorities for help in established the real peace. Book Name: ‘Sihala
Investigation’ (Sinhala Language ) Limited edition not available at book shop
First edition. 2013 April
books.google.lk
The truth never be
hidden
The truth
never be hidden and a Sinhala poetry book that written by Palitha
Ariyarathna. The book can categorizes under an sonnet (Swatantra) or as an
imagery poems. But author himself in this book watch over the society by in
different way and his own glittering eyes looks and speaks about hidden
agenda that trying to demise Buddhism and its original nation (Sinhala
Nation) by secret way and he proclaimed from his book many of truth that has
been hidden in most unlikely places. Those who believe in that in Srilanka
there is a hidden agenda for ethnic cleansing of Sinhala Buddhist must read
and review this book. Palitha Ariyarathna says according to Buddha’s word
there are three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the
truth. The Books can be uses for Academic Institutions for research purpose.
books.google.lk
If a priest, to toss in another example, claims that someone is guilty of a crime (for example, an act of terrorism), he/she better substantiate the claim — saying ‘Aney, I am also a victim, it was those in my faith-community who suffered most,’ won’t do. ‘Victimhood’ does not confer special rights to insult anyone and hiding behind a robe or cassock is a coward’s scheme.
One country, one law. Now there’s something that has to prompt wild cheers from so-called liberals (including ardent UNPers, SJBers, not-so-red JVPers, funded-voices, rent-a-protest agitators and other Colombians). They are not cheering.
Why not? Let’s get that question out of the way first. Several answers. The more legitimate would be the composition of the Task Force on the subject appointed by the President, in particular its Chairperson, Rev Galabodaaththe Gnanasara Thero. In word and deed the Thero has espoused the notion, but with a caveat. The Thero has ‘Sinhala Buddhist’ instead of the word ‘One.’ That said, the Task Force has since appointment strived to broaden the composition and make it more inclusive. Nevertheless the name and history of its head can be disconcerting.
The objectors, however, haven’t called for a re-composition. They don’t seem to be interested in moving beyond sneer and jeer. The real objection, then, could be that it is their political opponents who have moved on matters they swear by. Well, their ‘swearing’ is essentially about trumping Sinhalese and Buddhists while safeguarding the privileges of other religious and ethnic communities. ‘One country, one law’ for them is just that. The many proposals for constitutional amendment stand witness to this state of mind. They want ‘secular’ applied to some but not for others and so we have both celebration and abuse of specificity. What applies in the general should not be trumped by the specific, but they don’t mind that.
That’s politics and not some high minded philosophical predilection. They want a green Sri Lanka, for example, but would cut down all the trees and poison the land, air and water rather than see this government delivering what they are supposedly fighting for.
So there’s a lack of trust. That’s understandable. After all, we don’t live in a country where anyone can claim the judiciary is absolutely independent, rule of law rules, there’s due process etc. Such things are promised but laws, institutions, officials and cultures make delivery a tough task. We also have unequal application of statute. There’s also very real and highly visible privileging. We could use the term ‘privilege’ when dissecting religious holidays, but even in the everyday we all know that laws are bent and rules ignored. A significant portion of the Police Force, for example, is deployed for VIP security. We see VIP convoys. Part of the pessimism could be explained by such things.
People are cynical about new laws being promulgated and for good reason. In many cases it’s not that the legislation is absent; there’s sloth or even absence when it comes to application. This does not mean that we should abandon the idea. It’s better to have the laws in place than not.
In this case, moreover, the vast majority of people voted for the notion. A total of 12.6 million voted for ‘one country, one law’ (6.9 million for Gotabaya Rajapaksa and 5.7 million for Sajith Premadasa). The other 33 presidential candidates either echoed this vision in their manifestos and rhetoric or were silent. In other words, 94.24% of the total number who cast valid votes (52.25% for Gotabaya and 41.99% for Sajith), picked candidates who believed that Sri Lanka is a SINGLE COUNTRY and therefore should have ONE LAW for all. Well, the people have spoken, haven’t they? We are talking of 12.6 million (or 94.24% of those who voted).
What Rajapaksa and Premadasa (and other candidates) promised is that there would be a single corpus of laws. In other words, what applies to a Sinhalese would apply to a Tamil, what applies to a Hindu would apply to a Muslim, etc. In other words, the fundamental concept of ‘Equality’ should be applied across the board. Alternatively, and this seems to be the most logical course of action, all such regional, ethnicity or religion based laws should be repealed. Anyway, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has the mandate. And the United National Party (UNP) is honor-bound to support implementation.
Will the Task Force get the job done? That’s left to be seen. In a sense, the logic of setting up this body can be questioned since there’s already a committee tasked to draft a new constitution. That committee would not be ignorant of mandates. It has deliberated for close to two years now.
On the other hand, this is a Task Force. There are ‘tasks’ that can be undertaken. They could, for example, wipe the dust off the report submitted by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Extremism on February 19, 2020, days before Parliament was dissolved. The mandate is clearly evidenced by the lengthy title: ‘Proposal for formulation and implementation of relevant laws required to ensure national security that will eliminate New Terrorism and extremism by strengthening friendship among races and religions.’ It is about national security and combating extremism, but does speak to the one-country-one-law idea.
The report contained recommendations on the following areas: 1. Education, 2. Banning face coverings which hinder identification, 3. National Defence Policy, 4. Amending the Immigration and Emigration Law in line with new developments, national and international, 5. Electronic, print and social media, 6. Amending the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Law, 7. Empowering Muslim civil society, 8. Empowerment and legalization of the NGO Secretariat, 9. Amendment of the Wakf Act, 10. Suspension of registration of political parties on ethnic and religious basis, 11. Issuing birth certificates with Sri Lankan Identity Number, 12. Establishment of a ministry of religious affairs that combines all religions, 13. Building and maintaining Dhamma schools and religious centers to ensure inter-religious cohabitation, and 14. Halal certification process. The proposals, then, certainly address the vexed issue which we could headline as ‘One country, many laws.’
There are short and medium measures that could be immediately implemented this side of constitutional amendment. There are several important measures which can be implemented by the ministries of education, defence, media, justice, telecommunications, religious affairs etc. The Task Force could strongly endorse the recommendations of the Sectoral Oversight Committee and this would go a long way in putting lots of things right.
As mentioned, we don’t have to wait for constitutional reform for all things. Existing laws can be implemented. Rules can be enforced. And the onus is especially on those who have made careers for themselves by shouting themselves hoarse about such things.
No one is above the law and no one should have extra privileges. He who is libellous, for example, should be duly charged be he/she a politician or a priest. Citing parliamentary privileges, for example, is like shooting an unarmed person in the back. If a priest, to toss in another example, claims that someone is guilty of a crime (for example, an act of terrorism), he/she better substantiate the claim — saying ‘Aney, I am also a victim, it was those in my faith-community who suffered most,’ won’t do. ‘Victimhood’ does not confer special rights to insult anyone and hiding behind a robe or cassock is a coward’s scheme. It won’t do in a one-country, one-law situation.
So there are lots of interesting things to talk about in this one-country, one-law business. Among them, hidden manuscripts and even hidden agendas. Keep things in the public domain. Facilitate open discussion. Skeletons may fall out of cupboards. Good for the country, all things considered.
malindasenevi@gmail.com. [Malinda Seneviratne is the Director/CEO of the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute. These are his personal views.]
The importation of inorganic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides was banned by a Cabinet Memorandum dated April 27. Subsequently, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) promoted the manufacture of organic fertilisers, perhaps hoping to replace inorganic fertilisers; but they were unable to get sufficient amounts of it manufactured due to obvious reasons. Probably the Finance Minister, having realised the utter foolishness of banning import of inorganic fertilisers and synthetic pesticides, lifted the ban and issued a gazette notification on 3rd August. According to this gazette notification, permission has been granted theoretically for the importation of virtually all chemical fertilisers, under import control licenses, although the government claimed that there is no shift in its organic agriculture policy.
After almost four months and agonizing millions of farmers in the country, the MOA has finally decided to allow importation of inorganic fertilisers and pesticides. Very recently, MOA decided to purchase ‘nano- nitrogen’, a liquid fertiliser from India instead of urea, as a source of nitrogen (N), which is an essential plant nutrient. As indicated by Prof. O. A. Ileperuma in his write – up in a recent publication of The Island, although the Agriculture Ministry arbitrarily called this nano- nitrogen, it is really a product best classified as nano- urea.(NU) During the last two weeks millions of liters of NU have been imported and distributed among farmers in some areas.
According to a website https://patents.google.com/patent/CN1269774C/en Nano-urea comprises 0.01 to 5 wt% of quinhydrone, 0.01 to 10 wt% of calcium cyanamide . The urea content of NU is 4 %. There were some who were of the view that Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDU) is caused by fertilisers. This is one of the reasons given to justify banning inorganic fertilisers and synthetic pesticides. In view of the fact that NU contains quinhydrone and calcium cyanamide (has undesirable effects – https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/calcium-cyanamide.pdf ) whether nano-urea will cause similar effects is not known.
Around 225 kg of urea has to be applied to a hectare of paddy which will yield 4 tons. N content of urea is 46%. Hence, 225 kg of urea will supply the app. 100 kg of N . NU has 4% N. i. e. 8 g of N in 1 liter of NU. Accordingly, 1,250 liters of Nano-urea should be applied per hectare, in order to provide 100 kg of N if it is the only source of nitrogen added to the crop. However, the Government is distributing only 2.5 liters of nano-urea per hectare, which is totally insufficient, and will severely reduce rice production. NU is supplied in 500 ml containers.
A farmer who cultivates a hectare will have to be given /obtain 2500 such containers, which is highly impracticable. The approximate cost of 1 kg of N from urea is around Rs 330.00 (currently 1 ton of urea costs nearly Rs. 150,000). A 500 ml of NU is bought at US$ 12.45. Hence the cost of one kilo of nitrogen in Nano-Urea” is around Rs. 125,000. Hence applying urea is much cheaper than applying nano-urea.
Nano-urea needs to be sprayed to the foliage, and it is possible that it could have a disastrous effect on living organisms, including human beings in the respective area, which the health authorities need to give serious consideration. The person who applies NU gets exposed to NU droplets, which are extremely small particles having diameters in the range of one to 100 nanometers. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a metre and they cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Nano products are new to the environment, and not enough research has been conducted on the long-term effects of nanoparticles on animal health and environment. There are no recommendations on the amounts, and frequency of nano-urea to be applied to different crops. With all these issues related to nano-urea, it is difficult to understand why the MOA decided to import nano-urea, instead of granular urea, which we have been using all these years. Urea is the most widely used nitrogen fertiliser in the world. It is effective on all crops, and its granule size allows uniform distribution over the soil surface.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Sri Lanka has not made any request for financial support.
IMF’S Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Masahiro Nozaki told Daily Mirror in an email that a staff team from the IMF is scheduled to visit Colombo from December 7–20.
Responding to a question posed on the visit, the IMF Mission Chief said that the delegation will be in Colombo to conduct 2021 Article IV consultations with Sri Lanka.
Under Article IV of the IMF’S Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds regular bilateral discussions with all member countries to review economic developments and policies; following approval by IMF Management the IMF’S Executive Board discusses a Staff Report based on these discussions.
The IMF has not received a request for financial support from Sri Lanka recently, but the staff stands ready to discuss options if requested,” Masahiro Nozaki said. United National Party (UNP) leader
Ranil Wickremesinghe was quoted as telling Parliament this week that Sri Lanka is bound to go for a dialogue with the IMF under section four of the UN Monetary and Financial Conference in December this year.
He had requested the Government to present the details of this dialogue to Parliament saying Parliament has the right to know details of the agreement to be reached. (EASWARAN RUTNAM)
The Health Ministry reported that another 211 persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, increasing the daily count of new cases to 740.
Six of the new cases are returnees from overseas while the other 205 cases are associated with the New Year COvid-19 cluster.
This increases the total number of Covid-19 cases registered in the country to 560,345 while presently a total of 17,713 infected patients are undergoing treatment island-wide.
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 27 coronavirus related deaths for November 24, pushing the country’s death toll due to the virus pandemic to 14,232.
The deaths include 19 males and 08 females while seven of the victims are between the ages 30-59 years. The remaining 20 are in the age group of 60 years and above.
South Asia needs in reviving SAARC for
various reasons. Covid-19 pandemic
remembered this reality again. South Asian countries should stand together to
tackle some common Regional problems. SAARC is that platform. But SAARC is
sleepy now. Thus, SAARC should be revived as a regional platform. A dedicated
partner’s role is very needed in this connection. It is Sri Lanka that can play
a significant role in reviving the SAARC. Sri Lanka is the only South Asian Country
which has very good relations with the other countries in South Asia. The ties
amongst Sri Lanka and other stakeholders in the region are well known. As an
active member in the SAARC, Sri Lanka should play an important role to revive
the dead alike SAARC. The journey of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) began in 1985 when India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal,
Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives formed the platform. In 2007, Afghanistan
joined SAARC. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are island states while Nepal, Bhutan
and Afghanistan are landlocked.
If Sri Lanka can play to revive the SAARC
this time, Sri Lanka would benefit from it. A free trade of zone could be created
in the region. As a regional country, Sri Lanka could benefit by reaping that
potentials. On the other hands, the Prestige of Sri Lanka would increase in the
region to some extent international arena.
Realizing the unprecedented progress the
world’s other regions have made, it was felt the same development is possible
if communication and cooperation within this region can be increased to the
desired level.
The EU, ASEAN, GCC and other regional blocs
have achieved prosperity by joining regional alliances. Their citizens
excluding some member states are not required to obtain visas if they wish to
travel from one allied country to another. They can travel from one country to
another by road, rail, sea or air without hindrance. These alliances give more
importance to regional trade.
After SAARC came up, it was hoped that
citizens of one country would be able to travel to another without a visa. One
country would provide transit facilities to another country as required. But
that goal has not yet been achieved. And the prospect of achieving that in the
near future is not very bright.
The main objective of establishing SAARC
was to make the region one of the most prosperous in the world by enhancing
regional connectivity and cooperation. But almost 30 years later, it is clear
that there is still a long way to go. So all countries including Sri Lanka
should consider this carefully. As a responsible regional Stakeholder in the
region, Sri Lanka should play a role to revive the SAARC.
There are many privileges, opportunities in
case of revival of SAARC for all member states in the sector of free trade,
tackling Covid-19, cooperation of counter-terrorism,
cultural exchange, public diplomacy, cricket diplomacy, removal of visa
restrictions, robust connectivity etc.
India is the largest of SAARC countries in
size and population. The second place belongs to Pakistan. Before SAARC, India
and Pakistan had waged three wars. Bangladesh was born in 1971 out of Pakistan.
Perhaps, this background has blocked the region from moving ahead.
Capitalizing available resources
SAARC is home to more than a quarter of the
world’s population. In recent times, the countries of the region have made
great strides in agriculture. While industrial development is promising, there
is a need to harness the potential for further development. The scope of
regional trade within SAARC is limited. If this is expanded, SAARC member
states will achieve unprecedented development.
Nepal and Bhutan are bounded on the east,
west and south by India. Although the two are bordered by China on the north,
their entire border is rugged. So, communication in that direction is
impenetrable. Nepal and Bhutan are dependent on India for foreign trade.
Although these two have long demanded transit facilities from SAARC through
Chittagong and Mongla in Bangladesh, the slow pace of implementation has
tarnished SAARC’s spirit.
The seven states of northeastern India are
called Seven Sisters”. They maintain communication with the Indian mainland
through a narrow route called the Chicken’s Neck. Communication through this
route is time-consuming and expensive. India is interested in establishing
transit by road, rail and waterways with these seven states through Bangladesh.
Although the transit is open by water, it is not fruitful through the year due
to the low navigability of the rivers.
Bangladesh is on its way to developing the
infrastructure required for transit by road and rail. It would like to be a
transit hub between South Asia and South-East Asia. Dhaka is focusing on
regional connectivity. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has always urged regional
countries to be connected.
Immediate concerns
A platform like SAARC is needed to address
problems like the Afghanistan crisis. But SAARC is inactive due to the
India-Pakistan dispute. Pakistan and India should work together to revive SAARC
to maximize regional interests.
Meanwhile, 54 common rivers through India
flow into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh. By unilaterally withdrawing
water from most rivers upstream, India is using it to maintain the navigability
of inland rivers, including hydropower generation and irrigation. Bangladesh
has faced an unfavourable situation due to this. New Delhi should work with
Bangladesh for better regional benefits. India should complete a fair Teesta
agreement with Bangladesh soon. As a big fish, it has some accountability
towards others.
From Bangladesh’s perspective, India has
always shown a disdainful attitude towards other SAARC members. Due to this –
among other reasons – SAARC is failing to reach its goal.
Although India has road and rail links with
Bangladesh and Pakistan, trade is conducted through transhipment due to lack of
transit facilities. Communication is not very easy as the citizens of these
three countries need a visa to communicate. At present, trade between Nepal and
Bhutan with Bangladesh is handled through transhipment in the absence of
transit. As a result, the import and export expenditure of both is
increasing.
India’s economy is growing rapidly.
Bangladesh’s economy is also booming. The economies of all other countries in
South Asia are also developing. For regional cooperation, the following
provisions should be introduced:
• Transit facilities between SAARC
countries are opened
• Visa system must be abolished
• Currency of one country must be easily
exchanged in another country or a common currency must be introduced
• Travel facility from one country to
another in a private car should star
• Flow of electricity, gas, oil and water
from one country to another must be made easily available
• Same SIM card must be used to talk from
one country to another easily and cheaply
• Scope for trade is maximized
This requires SAARC countries to show the
highest level of friendship and harmony towards each other and to make the best
use of opportunities and cooperation. All member states specially Sri Lanka must
play a role to revive SAARC as a regional cooperation platform.
Colombo, November 24 (SAM): Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is planning to visit New Delhi at the earliest, to seek from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urgent help to tide over the economic crises in the island, especially the part concerning foreign debt repayment. According to sources, a request has been made for an appointment with Modi. If the appointment is given, the Lankan Minister will make a day’s trip.
As stated by Foreign Minister G.L.Peiris, Basil Rajapaksa’s agenda is wide – to seek loans, investment and economic cooperation. Rescheduling debt repayment could be an unstated item, as Sri Lanka had already sought it earlier from India and China.
But experts wonder if a hurried one-day trip will help Sri Lanka, when the agenda is large, and lacking in focus. There is a manifest absence of detailed planning with the involvement of both sides. Further, it is not even clear if the Sri Lankans have worked out details to make the discussions useful.
During the virtual bilateral summit between Indian Prime Minister Modi and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in September 2020, the two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation in renewable energy with particular emphasis on solar projects under the US$ 100 million Line of Credit from India. Then on 16 June 2021, the agreement in this regard between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Export-Import Bank of India, was exchanged by the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, and the Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. S.R. Attygalle, in the presence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. But Colombo is yet to chalk out plans to utilize the existing US$ 100 million Indian line of credit.
The other nagging question is whether, in the foreseeable future, Sri Lanka will be able to repay loans even if there is rescheduling.
Be that as it may, if an urgent meeting is being sought with Modi, it is because of the parlous state of the Lankan economy. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the total outstanding government debt is LKR 15 trillion and the Debt/GDP ratio is 101%. 60% of the total debt is domestic and 40% is foreign.
In April 2021, foreign debt amounted to US$ 35.1 billion. Out of the US$ 35.1 billion, 47% (US$ 16383.4 million) was accounted for by international market borrowings; 10% (US$ 3388.2 million) was owned to China; 13% (4415.7 million) to the Asian Development Bank; 9% (US% 3230.9 million) to the World Bank; 2% (US$ 859.3 million) to India, and the rest was owed to others.
Sri Lanka’s gross official foreign exchange reserves fell to US$ 2,267 million in October 2021, down 73% August 2019.
Meeting foreign-currency debt-servicing needs for 2022 will be government’s immediate concern, economic commentator Dinesh Weerakkody says. According to him, two big payments are due in 2022 – a US$ 500 million bond in January, followed by US$ 1 billion of debt maturing in July. It is estimated that a total of US$ 5 billion will be required to service debt obligations (principal plus interest) and other commitments in 2022.
In 2020, imports were reduced by approximately US$ 3.9 billion (a 20% reduction in comparison to 2019) resulting in a US$ 2 billion drop in the trade deficit. This gave the government temporary breathing room to manage foreign debt repayments in 2020, points out Umesh Moramudali, a Colombo University economist in his detailed paper in The Diplomat.
Moramudali warns that with the increase in oil prices in the global market and an expected post-COVID economic revival in Sri Lanka in 2022, fuel import bills will rise again, putting further pressure on foreign reserves. Referring to the government’s policy of barring imports to save foreign exchange, Moramudali argues that the strategy of managing foreign debt through curtailing imports is not a sustainable solution for a country like Sri Lanka, in which more than half of imports are intermediary and capital goods.
The continuous restriction of imports will curtail economic growth. which is not something that Sri Lanka can afford right now,” he avers.
Sri Lanka has resorted to issuing International Sovereign Bonds (ISB) and roll over of foreign loans. Successive have been swearing by ISBs. This is because, unlike the IMF and concessionary loans, the ISBs carry few or no conditions. But the terms are not favorable for poor countries with low foreign exchange reserves.
In a stinging comment on the penchant for ISBs, Moramudali says: ISBs are commercial borrowings, have a short payback period, high interest rates, and no grace period. ISBs have a payback period of 5-10 years with an annual interest rate above 6% to be paid biannually. On top of that, there are principal payments – in other words the total borrowed amount of an ISB is settled at the bond maturity date, all at once, rather than being distributed over the years through annual repayments. Therefore, when an ISB matures, foreign debt repayment requirements skyrocket, resulting in a large foreign currency outflow. This leads to significant BOP vulnerabilities. Consequently, even if the foreign debt-to-GDP ratio is less than what it was two decades ago, Sri Lanka’s vulnerabilities are a lot more severe and alarming, because the debt dynamics of the country have completely shifted to a new paradigm.”
Sri Lanka is adamantly opposed to seeking IMF assistance because the IMF will impose conditions related to economic management which its populist governments have tended to sneer at. But what Colombo does not realize is that Sri Lanka might not be able to maintain a sufficient level of foreign currency reserves and meet foreign debt repayment obligations in the absence of IMF assistance, Moramudali points out.
With Sri Lanka’s low sovereign credit ratings and the ongoing pandemic, issuing ISBs does not seem like an easy option for the Sri Lankan government (indeed, it looks almost impossible in the near term),” he observes.
Due to the fear of COVID and lockdowns, there has been a great contraction of trade, low tax revenue, and lack of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Sri Lanka. Trade contracted relative to GDP, falling from roughly 33% in 2000 to roughly 13% in 2019. Tourism has completely collapsed because, unlike the Maldives, Sri Lanka has been too scared of opening its borders to foreigners. About 4 million of a total of 21 million Sri Lankans depend on tourism directly or indirectly. These were at the end of their tether in 2021.
Failure to provide comprehensive and consistent, long-term solutions to address structural weaknesses in the Sri Lankan economy has resulted in Sri Lanka’s running into serious Balance of Payment (BOP) crises every other year. Sri Lanka has been relying heavily on foreign loans for development purposes over the last four decades and has now gone in for swaps with a number of countries.
Swaps
Sri Lanka had sought assistance from China and India to resolve the foreign exchange crisis. In March 2021 Sri Lanka got a US$ 1.5 billion three-year swap facility from China. In August 2021 it got US$ 400 million swap with the Reserve Bank of India. Sri Lanka had signed the swap deal available to SAARC countries in 2020 and repaid it in February 2021 after rolling it over once. It entered into a SWAP deal for US$ 250 million with Bangladesh too.
But there is a silver lining in this dark cloud. It is that Sri Lanka did not default on loan repayments even in 2020 when conditions were excruciatingly bad. It repaid the US$1 billion bond by its deadline. A further US$ 400-500 million in other commitments were met. It kept intact its reputation for honoring sovereign debts.
Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Bangkok, Thailand
Director General of the National Office of Buddhism in
Thailand Narong Songarom and Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Thailand
and Permanent Representative to UNESCAP, C.A. Chaminda I .Colonne recently had
fruitful discussion on strengthening decade old traditional Buddhist and
cultural relations and cooperation between Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Warmly welcoming Ambassador Chaminda Colonne at the
National Office of Buddhism, the Director General Narong Songarom elaborated on
the role played by the Thai Supreme Sangha Council and the National Office of
Buddhism as the central government agency of Thailand, responsible for
administration of Buddhism under direct supervision of the Prime Minister of
Thailand, and assured fullest support for furthering and consolidating of
long-standing excellent bonds of friendship and cooperation.
After extending warm greetings from President, Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, Ambassador Colonne stated that under the
National Policy Frame Work Vistas of Prosperity & Splendour”, and the
twenty Foreign Policy guidelines of the present Government, priory has been
given for the promotion and protection of the Buddhism and to booster Sri
Lanka’s identity as a Theravada Buddhist Cultural Centre, which respects multi
religious values, by closely interacting with nations that respects similar
values and called to unite for facing the challenges of the 21st
Century.
Executive Committee and senior officials of the
National Office of Buddhism participated in the discussion. During the visit, Ambassador
Colonne also paid homage to Phra Si Sakkaya Thotsaphala Yan Prathan
Phutthamonthon Suthat, the Principal Buddha Statue of Buddhamonthon and Luang
Pho Wat Rai Khing statue, Phra Thepsasanaphiban, the Ecclesiastical Regional
Governor of Region 14 and the Abbot of Rai Khing at the Royal Temple in Nakhon Pathom Province.
At the invitation of National Office of Buddhism and Phra
Thepsasanaphiban, the Ecclesiastical Regional Governor of Region 14 and the Abbot
of Wat Rai Khing, the Royal Temple, Ambassador Chaminda Colonne jointly attended
with the Governor of Nakhon Pathom Province Surasak Charoensirichot, at the enshrinement ceremony of the Buddha’s relics
from Malwatta Maha Viharaya of Sri Lanka, Phra Sri
Sakaya Tossapalayana statue, Sukhothai Buddha image in pacifying the ocean
posture onto the directional arches of Phra Upali Maha Mongkon Stupa and the
ceremony of casting the statue of Luang Pho Wat Rai Khing (lap size of 32
inches) on the occasion of 99th Anniversary of Phra Upali
Kunupamachan, (Panya Inthapanyamahathera), former Abbot of Wat Rai Khing, the
Royal Temple. Somdet Phra Maha
Rajamongkonmuni, Councilor of Sangha Supreme Council and Chief Superintendent of the Central Sector of Wat
Traimitwittayaram temple attended as the Sangha President of this grand
religious occasion.
At the invitation of President and Chief
Executive Officer of the Thai Beverage Public Company Limited Thapana
Sirivadhanabhakdi, Ambassador Chaminda Colonne also participated at the Katina Ceremony
led by Abbot Athikaran Prasart Khemapunyo at Wat Dhammarama, Ayutthaya, historical
temple that Pra Upali Maha Thera stayed and started journey to Sri Lanka, on King
Boromakot’s order and King Kirti Sri Raja Singha’ s request to ordain people
and promote Buddhism in Sri Lanka in 1753. Initiatives were taken by the Thai
Beverage Public Company Limited for renovation of the historical site and Pramaha Poj Suvajo Thero handed over the first
release of cartoon strip or comic book titled Venerable Upali Thera The Jewel
of the Siam Vamsa” printed by Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University to
Ambassador Colonne, and the present Governor Weerachai Nakmas, former Governor
Widaya Pewphpong of Ayutthya, former Thailand Ambassador to Sri Lanka Poldej
Worachat were among the dignitaries participated.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s government has withdrawn a ban on imports of agrochemicals that it said was aimed at encouraging organic cultivation.
Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage announced on Wednesday the revocation of the ban, which took effect in April. But he said government subsidies, price guarantees for produce and technical support will only be provided to those who use organic fertilizer.
The ban, which many analysts said was more an effort to preserve Sri Lanka’s scarce foreign reserves, drew months of protests, with farmers saying they were in danger of crop failures and poverty.
Tea growers complained that the famous Ceylon Tea brand was at risk if yields fell, creating more opportunities for competitors.
Agriculturists said that while organic farming was a welcome approach, the shift away from chemicals should be gradual to avoid food shortages.
Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves dwindled to just two months’ worth of imports in August and its rupee currency depreciated 7.4% against the dollar in the first eight months of the year, according to the World Bank.
NEW DELHI — Sri Lanka will tap a Chinese company for a port project in Colombo, its largest city, that had been awarded to Japan and India before the partnership was scrapped this year.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s cabinet on Tuesday agreed to have state-run China Harbour Engineering develop the Eastern Container Terminal while stipulating that local authorities would handle all operations. It cited recommendations by a cabinet-appointed committee as the basis for the decision.
The apparent pro-China tilt of Rajapaksa’s government is seen as a factor in the change of plans. Beijing has invested heavily in projects on the strategically positioned island under its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
Sri Lanka had signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan and India in May 2019, under previous President Maithripala Sirisena, to jointly develop the Colombo terminal. The operating company would be 51% owned by the Sri Lankan government, with the rest held by Japan and India.
Rajapaksa, who took office in November of that year, indicated at first that the project would stay on course.
That changed this past February, when the cabinet decided that the operating company would be wholly owned by Sri Lanka, pushing Japan and India out of the project. The Japanese government called the unilateral move “regrettable.”
China has continued to provide financing for Sri Lankan infrastructure, taking control of projects such as roads and port facilities in the process. Concerns have been raised that this support is pushing the country into a debt trap.
Rajapaksa has said he wants to be “neutral” in Sri Lanka’s relations with India and China. The government recently reached an agreement with India’s Adani Group conglomerate to develop Colombo’s West Container Terminal.
The All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation stated that despite the decision to allow the private sector to import chemical fertilizers and pesticides from today(24), farmers will have to be compensated for the damage caused to their crops over the past few months.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage stated in a statement that the government’s decision on a green Sri Lanka will not be reversed.
The importation of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides was banned following a Cabinet Memorandum dated April 27.
At the same time, protests were staged across the country and farmers withdrew from cultivation during the Maha season.
Permission will be granted to the private sector to import agrochemicals such as chemical fertilizers and weedicides with effect from today (November 24), says Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage.
He made this remark addressing the special media briefing held this morning to announce Cabinet decisions.
However, the government’s policy to promote green agriculture in the country will not be rolled back, the minister stressed.
He added that a gazette notification green-lighting the import of chemical fertilizer by the private sector is expected to be issued within the day.
The President tabled a Cabinet paper on April 26 for promoting green agriculture and a gazette notification was issued subsequently issued to ban the import of fungicides and weedicides completely,” the minister went on, noting that almost seven months have passed since reaching the decision.
Yesterday, as a government receptive to the people, we decided to revoke the gazette notification dated April 26. Accordingly, permission will be given to import chemical fertilizers, and pesticides effective from today. However, no changes will be made to the government’s policy. The private sector is given the nod to import and sell chemical fertilizers.”
The government has decided to roll out a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine to people above the age of 20 years, Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella said today.
Relevant details of the vaccination program are expected to be announced in due course.
Meanwhile, administration of the COVID third dose for fully vaccinated immunocompromised and highly vulnerable comorbid individuals aged 20 years and above began on November 20.
The daily count of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Sri Lanka moved to 745 today (November 24) as 227 more people were tested positive for the virus, the Epidemiology Unit said.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 559,605.
As many as 527,929 recoveries and 14,205 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than 17,400 active cases in total are currently under medical care, official figures showed.
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 23 coronavirus related deaths for November 2, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus to 14,205.
According to the figures released today, the deaths include 11 males and 12 females while one of the victims is below the age of 30 years.
Four patients are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining 18 are in the age group of 60 years and above.
The Tamil politicians had planned to achieve a
separate Tamil state in Ceylon, long before Independence or Sinhala Only. The
words Tamil Eelam” was used for the first time in 1923, by Ponnambalam Arunachalam
when he spoke before the Tamil League. In
this speech he spoke of the ‘desire to preserve our individuality as a people.’
In 1931, HAP Sandrasagara said,”I will make Jaffna an Ulster and I
will be its Lord Carson. In 1935 C.S. Rajaratnam,
an Indian Tamil proctor resident in Kandy presented a memorandum to the British
administration asking for three self governing federal states. North and east for
the Tamils, the rest divided into two states for Kandyan Sinhalese and the Low
Country Sinhalese. This vision
of a separate Tamil state was maintained steadily thereafter. A select timeline
is given in Appendix 1.
Illankai Tamkil
Arasu Kadchi, ITAK said, [probably
in 1948] The Tamil-speaking
people in Ceylon constitute a nation distinct from that of the Sinhalese by
every fundamental test of nationhood, firstly that of a separate historical
past in the island at least as ancient and as glorious as that of the
Sinhalese, secondly by the fact of their being a linguistic entity entirely
different from that of the Sinhalese, with an unsurpassed classical heritage
and a modern development of language which makes Tamil fully adequate for all
present-day needs and finally by reason of their territorial habitation of
definite areas.
Tamil United Liberaton Front (TULF) declared the Vaddukoddai resolution in
1976.The first National Convention of the Tamil United Liberation Front meeting
at Pannakam (Vaddukoddai Constituency) on the 14th day of May, 1976, hereby
declares that the Tamils of Ceylon by virtue of their great language, their
religions, their separate culture and heritage, their history of independent
existence as a separate state over a distinct territory for several centuries
till they were conquered by the armed might of the European invaders and above
all by their will to exist as a separate entity ruling themselves in their own
territory, are a nation distinct and apart from Sinhalese and this Convention
announces to the world that the Republican Constitution of 1972 has made the
Tamils a slave nation ruled by the new colonial masters, the Sinhalese ,who are
using the power they have wrongly usurped to deprive the Tamil Nation of its
territory, language citizenship, economic life, opportunities of employment and
education, thereby destroying all the attributes of nationhood of the Tamil
people.
This Resolution
also wanted ‘restoration and recognition of the free sovereign secular
socialist state of Tamil Eelam based on the right of self determination
inherent to every nation. (See Appendix 2)
in 1977 TULF
stated that in the next general election
it seeks a mandate to establish an independent secular socialist state of Tamil
Eelam that includes all the geographically continuous areas that have been
the traditional homeland of the Tamil
speaking peoples of the country.’
At the first
Peace talks at Thimpu, (1985) the LTTE stated its conditions. Any meaningful solution to the Tamil national
question must be based on the following four cardinal principles:
Recognition of the Tamils of Sri Lanka as a
nation.
Recognition of the existence of an identified
homeland of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Recognition of the right of
self-determination of the Tamil nation
Recognition of the right to citizenship as a fundamental right of all
Tamils who look upon the island as their country.
The first three conditions have been received
joyfully by the opponents of Eelam. They
are bashed around, with great enthusiasm. The Sinhalese are not attempting to
squash any of this, commented Chandraprema. They intend to let this issue drag
on to its natural end. The Sinhalese like to fight to the finish.
The Tamil separatist movement has never deviated from its demands. TNA manifesto for the 2010 General election demanded
the right of self determination, power sharing on federal model and a re-merger
of north and east. TNA also wanted direct foreign investment to the north and
east.
TNA manifesto
for NPC election of 2013 said that the Tamils were a distinct people and from
time immemorial have inhabited this island together with the Sinhalese, the
North and East are the historical habitation of the Tamils. They are entitled as a people to self
determination.
The
TNA manifesto for the 2015 General election
was more elaborate. The manifesto said the Tamils are a distinct people
with their own culture, civilization, language and heritage. From time
immemorial Tamils have inhabited this island together with the Sinhalese
people. The continuous Tamil speaking Northern and Eastern province is the
historical habitation of the Tamil people and the Tamil speaking peoples.
The 2015 Manifesto spoke of the need to exercise our right to
determine our destiny, to ensure self government in the Tamil speaking north
east of the country within a unified and undivided Sri Lanka. Sovereignty lies with the people and not
with the State, the manifesto said. The
Tamil people are entitled to self determination.
C.V.Wigneswaran
gave a speech in Jaffna, in 2016 before representatives from the Swiss Institute
of Federalism, Fribourg, for which he
used the TNA Manifesto. His speech went on the Internet. There were over 100
comments within two days, most of them insulting.
R. Sampanthan, Leader of TNA gave a talk at
the 14th annual ITAK convention, 2012.
He said ITAK was created by Chelvanayagam for ensuring self
determination of Tamils. We must have unrestricted authority to govern our own
land, protect our own people and develop our own economy, culture and tradition
The
Tamils people have a distinct culture. The position that the north and
east are the areas of historical
habitation of the Tamil speaking peoples cannot be compromised. Sri Lanka was
united for the first time by the British. Up to 500 years ago, the Tamil people
had their own government in Sri Lanka, said Sampanthan.
The 30 years after independence were filled
with betrayal and humiliation. Agreements were never kept. Tamils could not
live as equals and their peaceful struggle was met with violence. The Tamil
Separatist Movement therefore took the historical decision in 1976 to ask for a
separate government for Tamil Eelam. ‘It
was the violence against the Tamils that drove them to take up violence themselves,
continued Sampanthan.’
Achieving Eelam by ourselves was becoming
increasingly unrealistic so we turned to India [and got] the 13th
Amendment. The rise and fall of LTTE has shown us that regardless of how strong
such movements may be, or how just its demands, it is not realistic for the
Tamils to resort to violent political struggle. Also a struggle that is built
on military might not last.
The struggle for political rights has now entered
an entirely new chapter, continued Sampanthan. Although the issue at hand is
the same, the prevailing conditions are different. In the new environment we
have found new ways of continuing with our struggle together with the support and assistance of
the international community, said Sampanthan.
An environment which may fulfill our duties is
slowly coming into existence. The world has recognized that the Tamils people
have faced continuous political persecution and that this persecution has begun
to manifest itself in new ways in recent times. The international community had
now started to exert pressure on the government. The intervention of the international
community and the pressure being exerted upon the Sri Lanka will oblige the
government to act. We must be patient, continued Sampanthan.We must work in cooperation
with the international community. We must follow their advice and also advice
them. We must prove to the international community that ‘that we will never be
able to realize our rights within a united Sri Lanka’.
We must
be patient until the international community realizes that the Sri Lanka government
will never give political power to the Tamils in a united Sri Lanka .We must be
patient till then. (Sampanthan repeats this exhortation to be patient about six
times.)
We are not defeated. We must act with wisdom and caution. The
softening of our stance in certain matters
are diplomatic strategies to ensure that we do not alienate the
international community. We have not abandoned our fundamental objectives. The
struggle is the same but the approaches we employ are different, the alliances
are different. US and India are now with
us, said Sampanthan.
Sampanthan is preaching high treason. To
counter this, Sampanthan also addressed his ‘dear Sinhala friends’. He told
them, our political aspirations to acquire the rights due to us and the right
to govern our civil, political
economic, social and cultural affairs ourselves is a reasonable demand. It is a
just aspiration with its roots in history. It is also a fundamental right of
our people. We do not seek to divide the
country. Just as you live in your homeland we also want to live in our
homeland.
This Tamil homeland is called Eelam.
The Eelam map starts north of Chilaw, goes up to Jaffna, then down the east
coast and ends at Panama. Eelam includes 1/3 of the land mass and 2/3 of Sri
Lanka‘s coastline. This means that a vast proportion of our valuable natural
resource will be held by a mere 10% of the population.
Eelam
takes in the oil producing seas near Mannar. Two successful hydrocarbon
deposits have already been found in the Mannar basin. On the east coast Eelam
gathers in the valuable Pulmoddai mineral sands, and Trincomalee harbor. The
east coast faces the Bay of Bengal along its full length. It is beautifully
positioned.
Eelam will
also get the sea around Eelam. Under UN Law of the Sea, Sri Lanka is entitled
to claim an extended area of seabed, which will amount to about 20 times Sri
Lanka‘s land area. A good chunk of this
will go to Eelam. Eelam will be getting, in the high seas, the
territorial waters, the contiguous zone, and the extended exclusive
economic zone, with its enormous untapped economic resources. (Continued)
APPENDIX 1
(1923) The word Tamil Eelam was used for the first
time in 1923, by Ponnambalam Arunachalam when he spoke before the Tamil League. In this speech he spoke of the ‘desire to
preserve our individuality as a people.’
(1931) In 1931, HAP
Sandrasagara said I will make Jaffna an
Ulster and I will be its Lord Carson.
(1935) C.S. Rajaratnam, an Indian
Tamil proctor resident in Kandy formed
the Federated Communities Progressive
Association in 1934.In 1935 Rajaratnam
presented a memorandum to the British
governor asking for three self governing federal states. North and east
for Tamil, with two other states for Kandyan Sinhalese and the Low Country Sinhalese.
(1935) In 1935, ‘ the
Tamil politicians forwarded to Britain a federal structure consisting of
3 federal states, north south Kandyan
which even the Jaffna newspapers had dismissed as impractical. (Jane Russell
“Communal politics under the Donoughmore Constitution” p 192)
(1948).
in 1948 Chelvanayagam started the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi,( ITAK) Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi means Sri
Lanka Tamil State Party”. It does not mean Federal Party. The inaugural and
first business meeting of the ITAK was held, in 1949, not in Jaffna but in Maradana at the GCSU Hall. Chelvanayagam made
his first
Presidential speech there. It was
published by ITAK and was known as the Maradana Resolution.
(1949)
HLD Mahindapala recalls that on Independence
day Feb 4, 1949 M Thiruchelvam, Neelan’s
father, then Deputy Solicitor General was seen
travelling in a car which flew the Nandi flag.
(1957) In 1957 Nadesan asked for regional autonomy. ( S Nadesan ‘Regional
autonomy’ reprinted in 1984)
(1959) In 1959 Chelvanayagam asked for
an autonomous Tamil state as a single geographical unit. (Wiswa Warnapala.
‘Ethnic strife and politics in Sri Lanka’ p 127).
(1959) In 1959
C. Suntharalingam founded the Eela
Thamil Ottrumai Munnani (Unity Front of Eelam Tamils) .
(1959) In 1959 there was a request for a ‘university for the Tamil speaking
people in the Tamil speaking areas in order to preserve their language and
culture’ This was refused (University Commission Report, 1959 p 149)
(1963) In
1963 Suntharalingam published Eylom: Beginning of the Freedom Struggle[1], where he said, I propose to invite
those Eyla (Eelath Thamils) Thamils who accept the policy that the time has
come for the partition of Ceylon and for the restoration of the Thamil state
that existed before the British took
over in 1802, to come forward and join the fight for the Freedom and
Independence of the Eyla Thamil Nation.(Wikipedia)
APPENDIX 2
VADDUKODDAI
RESOLUTION 1976.
The resolution unanimously adopted at the first national convention of the Tamil United Liberation Front held at Vaddukoddai on may 14, 1976. Chairman SJV Chelvanayakam
Whereas, throughout the centuries from the
dawn of history, the Sinhalese and Tamil nations have divided between
themselves the possession of Ceylon, the Sinhalese inhabiting the interior of
the country in its Southern and Western parts from the river Walawe to that of
Chilaw and the Tamils possessing the Northern and Eastern districts; And,
Whereas,
the Tamil Kingdom was overthrown in war and conquered by the Portuguese in 1619,
and from them by the Dutch and the British in turn, independent of the
Sinhalese Kingdoms; And,
Whereas,
the British Colonists, who ruled the territories of the Sinhalese and Tamil
Kingdoms separately, joined under compulsion the territories of the Sinhalese
and the Tamil Kingdoms for purposes of administrative convenience on the
recommendation of the Colebrooke Commission in 1833; And,
Whereas, the Tamil Leaders were in the forefront of the Freedom movement to rid Ceylon of colonial bondage which ultimately led to the grant of independence to Ceylon in 1948; And, Whereas, the foregoing facts of history were completely overlooked, and power over the entire country was transferred to the Sinhalese nation on the basis of a numerical majority
thereby reducing the Tamil nation to the
position of subject people; And,
Whereas,
successive Sinhalese governments since independence have always encouraged and
fostered the aggressive nationalism of the Sinhalese people and have used their
political power to the detriment of the Tamils by-
(a) Depriving one half of the Tamil people of
their citizenship and franchise rights thereby reducing Tamil representation in
Parliament,
(b) Making serious inroads into the
territories of the former Tamil Kingdom by a system of planned and state-aided
Sinhalese colonization and large scale regularization of recently encouraged
Sinhalese encroachments, calculated to make the Tamils a minority in their own
homeland,
(c) Making Sinhala the only official language
throughout Ceylon thereby placing the stamp of inferiority on the Tamils and
the Tamil Language,
(d) Giving the foremost place to Buddhism
under the Republican constitution thereby reducing the Hindus, Christians, and
Muslims to second class status in this Country,
(e) Denying to the Tamils equality of
opportunity in the spheres of employment, education, land alienation and
economic life in general and starving Tamil areas of large scale industries and
development schemes thereby seriously endangering their very existence in Ceylon,
(f) Systematically cutting them off from the
main-stream of Tamil cultures in South India while denying them opportunities
of developing their language and culture in Ceylon, thereby working inexorably
towards the cultural genocide of the Tamils,
(g) Permitting and unleashing communal
violence and intimidation against the Tamil speaking people as happened in
Amparai and Colombo in 1956; all over the country in 1958; army reign of terror
in the Northern and Eastern Provinces in 1961; police violence at the
International Tamil Research Conference in 1974 resulting in the death of nine
persons in Jaffna; police and communal violence against Tamil speaking Muslims
at Puttalam and various other parts of Ceylon in 1976 – all these calculated to
instill terror in the minds of the Tamil speaking people, thereby breaking
their spirit and the will to resist injustices heaped on them,
(h) By terrorizing, torturing, and imprisoning Tamil youths without trial for long periods on the flimsiest grounds,
(i) Capping it all by imposing on the Tamil
Nation a constitution drafted, under conditions of emergency without
opportunities for free discussion, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the
basis of the Soulbury Constitution distorted by the Citizenship laws resulting
in weightage in representation to the Sinhalese majority, thereby depriving the
Tamils of even the remnants of safeguards they had under the earlier
constitution, And,
Whereas,
all attempts by the various Tamil political parties to win their rights, by
co-operating with the governments, by parliamentary and extra-parliamentary
agitations, by entering into pacts and understandings with successive Prime
Ministers, in order to achieve the bare minimum of political rights consistent
with the self-respect of the Tamil people have proved to be futile; And,
Whereas,
the efforts of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress to ensure non-domination of the
minorities by the majority by the adoption of a scheme of balanced
representation in a Unitary Constitution have failed and even the meagre
safeguards provided in article 29 of the Soulbury Constitution against
discriminatory legislation have been removed by the Republican Constitution;
And,
Whereas,
the proposals submitted to the Constituent Assembly by the Ilankai Thamil Arasu
Kadchi for maintaining the unity of the country while preserving the integrity
of the Tamil people by the establishment of an autonomous Tamil State within
the framework of a Federal Republic of Ceylon were summarily and totally
rejected without even the courtesy of a consideration of its merits; And,
Whereas,
the amendments to the basic resolutions, intended to ensure the minimum of
safeguards to the Tamil people moved on the basis of the nine point demands
formulated at the conference of all Tamil Political parties at Valvettithurai
on 7th February 1971 and by individual parties and Tamil members of Parliament
including those now in the government party, were rejected in toto by the
government and Constituent Assembly; And,
Whereas, even amendments to the draft proposals relating to language, religion, and fundamental-rights including one calculated to ensure that at least the provisions of the Tamil Lanaguage (Special Provisions) Regulations of 1956 be included in the Constitution, were defeated, resulting in the boycott of the Constituent Assembly by a large majority of the Tamil members of Parliament; And,
Whereas,
the Tamil United Liberation Front, after rejecting the Republican Constitution
adopted on the 22nd of May, 1972, presented a six point demand to the Prime
Minister and the Government on 25th June, 1972, and gave three months time
within which the Government was called upon to take meaningful steps to amend
the Constitution so as to meet the aspirations of the Tamil Nation on the basis
of the six points, and informed the Government that if it failed to do so the
Tamil United Liberation Front would launch a non-violent direct action against
the Government in order to win the freedom and the rights of the Tamil Nation
on the basis of the right of self-determination; And,
Whereas,
this last attempt by the Tamil United Liberation Front to win Constitutional
recognition of the rights of the Tamil Nation without jeopardizing the unity of
the country was callously ignored by the Prime Minister and the Government;
And,
Whereas,
the opportunity provided by the Tamil United Liberation leader to vindicate the
Government’s contention that their constitution had the backing of the Tamil
people, by resigning from his membership of the National State Assembly and
creating a by-election was deliberately put off for over two years in utter
disregard of the democratic right of the Tamil voters of Kankesanthurai, and,
Whereas,
in the by-election held on the 6th February 1975, the voters of Kankesanthurai
by a preponderant majority not only rejected the Republican Constitution
imposed on them by the Sinhalese Government, but also gave a mandate to Mr.
S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, Q.C. and through him to the Tamil United Liberation Front
for the restoration and reconstitution of the Free Sovereign, Secular,
Socialist State of TAMIL EELAM.
And,
while taking note of the reservations in relation to its commitment to the
setting up of a separated state of TAMIL EELAM expressed by the Ceylon Workers
Congress as a Trade Union of the Plantation Workers, the majority of whom live
and work outside the Northern and Eastern areas,
This convention
resolves that restoration and reconstitution of the Free, Sovereign, Secular,
Socialist State of TAMIL EELAM, based on the right of self determination
inherent to every nation, has become inevitable in order to safeguard the very
existence of the Tamil Nation in this Country.
This Convention further declares – that the State of TAMIL EELAM shall consist of the people of the Northern and Eastern provinces and shall also ensure full and equal rights of citizenship of the
State of TAMIL EELAM to all Tamil speaking people living in any part of Ceylon and to Tamils of EELAM origin living in any part of the world who may opt for citizenship of TAMIL EELAM.
that the constitution of TAMIL EELAM shall be based on the principle of democratic decentralization so as to ensure the non-domination of any religious or territorial community of TAMIL EELAM by any other section.
that in the state of Tamil Eelam caste shall be abolished and the observance of the pernicious practice of untouchability or inequality of any type based on birth shall be totally eradicated and its observance in any form punished by law.
that TAMIL EELAM shall be a secular state giving equal protection and assistance to all religions to which the people of the state may belong.
that Tamil shall be the language of the State, but the rights of Sinhalese speaking minorities in Tamil Eelam to education and transaction of business in their language shall be protected on a reciprocal basis with the Tamil speaking minorities in the Sinhala State.
that Tamil Eelam shall be a Socialist State wherein the exploitation of man by man shall be forbidden, the dignity of labor shall be recognized, the means of production and distribution shall be subject to public ownership and control while permitting private enterprise in these branches within limit prescribed by law, economic development shall be on the basis of socialist planning and there shall be a ceiling on the total wealth that any individual of family may acquire.
This
Convention directs the Action Committee of the TAMIL UNITED LIBERATION FRONT to
formulate a plan of action and launch without undue delay the struggle for
winning the sovereignty and freedom of the Tamil Nation;
And this Convention
calls upon the Tamil Nation in general and the Tamil youth in particular to
come forward to throw themselves fully into the sacred fight for freedom and to
flinch not till the goal of a sovereign state of TAMIL EELAM is reached. (END)
