The airline will fly direct from Muscat to Colombo, Muharraq and Kuwait twice per week throughout winter
Oman Air is resuming flights to three more destinations as part of its winter network update.
The national airline of the sultanate will begin flying to Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Kuwait from Monday, October 25. The airline is also set to increase frequency to domestic destinations across Oman.
From Muscat, Oman Air will operate twice weekly flights to Kuwait, Bahrain and Colombo. Travellers flying to Sri Lanka should be aware that only citizens are currently allowed to enter the country. Tourist visas have been suspended, however transiting is allowed so long as flight connections are no longer than 10 hours.
Oman Air is resuming flights to Bahrain where quarantine rules are in place for visitors. Unsplash
Kuwait airport partially reopened on August 1. Citizens and those with residency visas can fly into the state with a negative PCR test result.
Bahrain is allowing tourists and non-residents to enter the country and has introduced new Covid-19 testing measures to try to prevent the spread of the virus. Passengers holding electronic visas and those eligible for visas on arrival can fly to the kingdom again.
Oman Air is also increasing its domestic network as part of its winter schedule update. The airline will now operate three daily round-trip flights from Muscat to Salalah. The capital of the Dhofar province is popular for its thriving marine life and annual monsoon season.
To the port city of Khasab in Oman’s Musandam peninsula, bordering the UAE, the airline will now operate six flights per week.
It will also fly six times per week from the Omani capital to the coastal city of Duqm.
On all flights, there will be social distancing measures in place, cabin crew will wear full personal protective equipment and passengers must wear face masks.
Oman reopened international flights on October 1 after closing its borders for more than seven months, in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus via air travel.
Tourists from some countries can once again fly into the sultanate, and will undertake a PCR test at the airport. Short-term visitors must then quarantine until they receive a negative test result. Those staying in Oman for more than seven days must quarantine for 14 days, even if test results are negative.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, April 22, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday kicked off his last foreign trip before the US presidential election, with India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia on his itinerary.
Top of his agenda is to mobilize those countries to confront China alongside with the US.
In New Delhi, the US and India, two of the countries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, will hold the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and are likely to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement that will allow for expanded military intelligence sharing. In the Maldives and Sri Lanka, it is anticipated that Pompeo will disparage the economic cooperation the two countries have been conducting with China and encourage them to seek “economic independence.” He is likely to incite Jakarta to be tougher on Beijing over the South China Sea issue and tout US arms in Indonesia.
The trip could be regarded as a chance to summarize Pompeo’s nearly three-year tenure as the secretary of state under the Trump administration. His term of office can be summarized in one sentence – he has pushed an all-round confrontation against China and endeavored to form an “anti-China united front” on the international stage.
With a clear anti-China attitude, Pompeo has bluffed his way in dealing with China. However, although he has done a lot, he gained only a little because what he advocates is detached from the basic reality of a gigantic China-US economic cooperation and runs counter to international common sense that countries should make policies based on their own national interests.
The purpose for India to move closer to the US is to increase India’s leverage in negotiating border issues with China. India is China’s neighbor and its strength is weaker than China’s. Will New Delhi stand at the forefront of the US anti-China line? It is not that silly. US-India cooperation may make China unhappy, but it will not exert psychological pressure that could force China to make strategic concessions.
The Maldives and Sri Lanka are two small countries whose interests lie in keeping sound relations with all major powers in order to gain more investment and attract more tourists. The US will not invest in them as they attract few American tourists. But since the US secretary of state proposed a visit, the two countries will have to warmly welcome him. The two countries will not make too much fuss or make any promises. That’s all. China has injected dynamics in the economic development of the two Asian countries, which have no reason to go against China just to cozy up to the US.
Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia. It once bought military jets from the US and had to withstand a cessation in the supply of jet components due to US sanctions. Jakarta will not forget that. It is quite easy for Indonesia to figure out from which country – China or the US – it can gain more respect and development profit.
There is no serious dispute over the South China Sea between Jakarta and Beijing, and the two sides have effectively managed their divergences. The core task of Indonesia is to develop itself rather than to confront a certain big country or to act as a US pawn. Jakarta’s wisdom will and shall never be humiliated by a white centralist like Pompeo.
The visit to four Asian countries will be a gloomy closing tour for Pompeo. As the secretary of state of the country hit hardest by COVID-19, Pompeo has traveled more frequently than his counterparts from other countries. This has increased the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Meanwhile, he has been spreading political viruses and fanning the flames of antagonism in the world. It is believed that many countries have ambivalent feelings about receiving him, because he brings no constructive outcomes but instead hegemonic demands to which the host countries can hardly respond.
China is the largest or main trading partner of many countries Pompeo has paid visits to. He asks them to take sides. But the question is, why should they? Being such a bully, Washington will only find itself as welcome as a storm.
Pompeo is one of the worst secretaries of state in US history, but he feels quite complacent. He thinks he can change the logic of international relations in the era of globalization with his inflammatory articles that will see him honored in history.
But he will end up being ridiculed by history as a political clown because he acts against the historical trend and refuses to face up to reality.
Another person infected with Covid-19 died today, bringing the total number of deaths reported in Sri Lanka to 16, says the Director General of Health Services.
The deceased was identified as a 70-year-old male from Colombo 02 area.
According to reports, he was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital on the 23rd of October to be treated for blood infection.
Due to complications, he had been moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital, where he was under medical until he passed away this morning.
UPDATE: Covid-19 cases confirmed in Sri Lanka shot up again as 88 more individuals were tested positive for the virus.
According to reports, 85 of the fresh cases have been identified as close contacts Peliyagoda Fish Market and several fisheries harbours.
The Department of Government Information said 03 arrivals (01 from the United Arab Emirates and -02 Filipino navymen have also been exposed to novel coronavirus.
Thereby, Sri Lanka registered 351 new infections so far today (25).
With the new development, the total number of positive cases confirmed in the country increased to 7,875.
The Epidemiology Unit says 4,054 active cases are currently under medical care.
Covid-19 recoveries reported in Sri Lanka reached 3,803 earlier in the day as 89 virus-infected persons were discharged from hospitals upon returning to health.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 infections registered by the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda cluster reached 4,398.
This question is being asked across numerous public portals and begs the Government to answer & relieve all doubts. Having got itself tagged as a ‘nationalist’ government (on top of all the other nasty words plucked out of the dictionary), no citizen expects the Government to do anything ‘anti-national’ especially in secret. The people’s apprehensions are with historical reason. Our island nation weathered countless invasions from South India & three western invasions but they came to occupy & plunder our resources and murdered our people, only because some amongst us, betrayed us. It is this trail of betrayal DNA that has continued to be part & parcel of our political framework even after independence. How many ‘inguru dee miris gaththa wage’ incidents have we experienced? Our people deserve better.
The political system too has been a cocktail of betrayals over the years producing frogs and kangaroos of politicians with no principles except personal gain. As a result, they are susceptible guinea pigs for international agendas with detrimental impact to the nation. By the manner a nobody was propped up via a well-funded campaign to become the President of the Nation, is a stark example of what is not impossible. Well-funded campaigns can turn the worst enemy into a hero and the greatest patriot into a zero. It is a reminder that the evil forces are lurking & searching for their prey.
We have had a Don Juan Dharmapala who not only gave up Buddhism but was more than willing to write off the entire nation to the Portuguese via a gift deed. We have had chieftains no different to the traitors in present day parliament who readily palmed off the island nation to the British simply to enjoy perks & privileges. We have had more than our share of turn coats and implants pretending to be faithful loyalists but paid to work for the other side. It is these traitors that end up doing the most harm and damage to the nation. They don’t care what kind of karma they accumulate.They did so in the past and they have continued to do so post-independence.
We have seen some of the most horrific betrayals post-1978. We were promised a dharmishta-rule but not only was democracy culled, even homes of Supreme Court judges ended up getting stoned. We then walked into a period of bheeshana – no one knew who was killing whom and all that our eyes witnessed were people burning on tyres, tied to lamp posts naked or being taken away in the dead of night, never to return. Coupled with that came the 3 decades of LTTE terror. While terrorists did reign with gun, traitors too made merry, striking deals even with the terrorists. We saw in 2002 the betrayal of the nation on paper, pretending to bring peace, giving terrorists territory officially, while the armed forces were confined to barracks. We somehow prevented the signing of PTOMs and ISGA and thankfully the Courts decided to demerge the falsely merged north & east provinces.
Peace dawned in 2009 but unfortunately Sri Lanka was to enjoy only 5 years of peace and a semblance of development. Another well-funded campaign ousted the winning President of the May 2009 LTTE victory and propped a puppet to rule. The five years saw a plethora of further treacheries with even the two pillars protecting Sri Lanka subject to humiliation and being locked up for trivila reasons in prison. The Maha Sangha and the Armed Forces were the targets of a campaign to structurally destroy the foundational defense of Sri Lanka.
It is in this broader picture that we must realize what our enemies are planning next. We know that with the LTTE tool, removed, the enemies turned to the UN to target Sri Lanka. The Geneva bogus resolutions were well planned. Then in 2015 the puppets were tasked to roll out a series of plans that would decide the next phase for Sri Lanka. The Nation was made vulnerable further. Every corner of public domain was infiltrated, systems were disrupted and traitors placed in positions of power. Every weakling was tapped.
A nation’s nationalism outlives the roles of those they tap to defend the nation. The nationalist lobby brought to power a man they deemed fit to rule. They gave him a victory of 69lakhs. That strength was further fortified via a 20amendment, with the trust and expectation that as custodian and guardian of the Nation, its People and all of its assets and resources would be protected and preserved for future generations.
The people expect much from the sitting President, the Prime Minister and the Government. The people have gone through much since independence. They have weathered so many corrupt leaders, bad governance and plenty of betrayals. They deserve better.
They certainly do not expect figureheads that they adore and admire to betray them.
People can identify the traitors and they openly curse them for their betrayals.
The UNP leader who posed himself as Mr. Clean, is today humiliated and ridiculed by his own party members and followers, then anyone else. This is not how he would want to depart. When closing his eyes, would he like to think that an entire nation curses him as a traitor?
Likewise, no person wearing the crown of patriot, would wish to end up treated like a zero or cursed as a traitor. No amount of riches, no amount of showering of praises by external parties, no amount of glorification can match a person who is revered by the masses. Mahinda Rajapakse knows too well how much the people love him. He remains the world’s only leader to have bus-loads of people visit him across a year after a democratic defeat. The sight was an envy to all his haters.
The reverence of the people, the manner that people look up to patriotic leaders can never be matched by whatever is to be gained betraying the nation. It is not worth its value in gold. To have a nation look up with admiration at their leaders is nothing that can be equaled in its weight of gold or for any treacheries committed. Look at how the yahapalana nadiya are today treated.
People are very worried about the MCC. They know the consequences. It’s worse than any prior betrayals and returns Sri Lanka two hundred years back to 1815. The manner US planes and officials are landing with no checking or quarantine regulations are bad omens of what’s in store for the future. We don’t want to be bulldozed in our own nation & have what belongs to us taken away. This feeling is shared by all communities. Our common issues can be dealt amongst us & by us – we don’t need external interferences or interventions.
The leaders in power, in particular the populist President in power must withstand all efforts to force signing of MCC – under duress or in secret, MCC must not be signed for any reason. Brute rule or anti-people actions will only worsen the people’s hatred at the outcome and is nothing any patriot would want to risk.
With
positive cases exceeding 7000, and a national daily high of 865 and cases being
reported in many parts of the country, what is striking is the sound of silence
from health officials. While it is understandable to have one spokesperson,
many other countries have generally had a non-health person as the chief
spokesperson, at times a President or a Prime Minister, but in equal standing
with the most senior health official of the country. The logic is simple. This
is a health matter.
The
people of the country have to know how a calm and contained situation in the
country became a Tsunami. It is time that an independent enquiry, preferably by
a senior retired judge/s is conducted without delay to assuage mounting
concerns amongst the public, and to restore the confidence people have in the
government ability to curb the pandemic spreading like wild fire in the
country.
If
in this instance, Brandix was responsible for the beginning of this second
wave, as most seem to believe, it is in their interest to provide all relevant
facts to the proposed enquiry so that they can be exonerated if the news
spreading in social media is fake news. An assurance from Brandix and the
government is too little too late now, not just to find out how this happened,
but also to identify measures that need to be taken to prevent a recurrence.
With intense pressure on export oriented industries that employ large numbers
of workers to keep their exports moving, the possibility of a recurrence is
more than likely.
No
doubt, political and administrative decisions need to be taken, firstly to
manage the outbreak and to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. However,
the basis for these decisions have to be health policy related. The public
needs a greater assurance that this is happening. It is not evident that this
is happening and that the public feels assured.
The
20th Amendment
The
20th Amendment will become law as soon as the Speaker signs it. The
Presidency assumes supremacy over the Prime Minister and the Parliament. One
wonders how this amendment and its reinstated powers in the hands of the
previous President or a future President like him would have been viewed? A
fundamental tenant of democracy, checks and balances, have been diluted or
eroded by the 20th Amendment. The issue is not about granting powers
to a President. It is about mechanisms in place to prevent the misuse of such
powers and also to make sure powers are used effectively and efficiently to
produce good outcomes for the people. The 19th Amendment had flaws.
Even some who were engaged in framing it conceded that. However, the answer
should not have been the thinking that one had to go back to the 18th
Amendment in order to rectify whatever flaws in the 19th Amendment.
Both amendments, the 19th as well as the 20th appears to
be personality driven and not necessarily what is the country’s best interest.
It is no secret that the thrust of the 19th Amendment was to contain
the powers of one Presidency and now, the 20th Amendment has been
enacted to restore most powers taken away from that Presidency.
The
Constitutional Council, the independent committees, COPE and COPA committees,
should have been strengthened and given more powers. The contention that the
independent commissions were not independent is not a reason to have diluted
their independence.
Mark
Pompeo’s visit, MCC and SOFA Agreements
It
is known that the US Secretary of State is not visiting Sri Lanka to have tea
with the President and the Prime Minister. He is coming to reinforce the
message that the US State department official Dean Thompson announced in
advance of Mr Pompeo’s visit that We encourage Sri Lanka to review the options
we offer for transparent and sustainable economic development in contrast to
discriminatory and opaque practices. We urge Sri Lanka to make difficult but
necessary decisions to secure its economic independence for long term prosperity”
What
was the immediate consequence of this statement? Reuters (Marc Jones, Asian Currency
News October 23rd) reported that Sri Lanka’s dollar dominated 2021
and 2022 bonds dropped 5 percent or more according to Tradeweb data and dropped
below 60 cents on the dollar threshold. This report continued to state” all
the tell tales crisis signs are there: a trembling currency, credit rating downgrades,
bonds at half their face value, debt to GDP levels nearing 100%, and almost 70%
of government revenues being spent on interest payments alone”
So,
if Mr Pompeo is visiting Sri Lanka with this news in the background, and the
more than a veiled attack on Sri Lanka’s close links with China, he has to be
after an outcome that provides the US an unprecedented Quid Pro Quo outcome for
some financial support. The only such deal on offer as far as known is the MCC
agreement and the USD 480 Million over 5 years it includes. There is another
agreement, not an economic one, but a Military one, unsigned yet, which is
probably what is of more strategic benefit to the US and that is the SOFA
Agreement. Under that the US Military could be in Sri Lanka at the invitation”
of the government of Sri Lanka. What this entails and what would happen like in
the Camel and the man in the tent story, is all too familiar when one looks at
the track record of the US in many countries.
In
terms of the financial crises outlined in the Reuters report mentioned above, MCC
agreement money is peanuts. It is US 30 cents per capita per year of the US
population of 327 million people over the five-year period. Sri Lankans working
overseas remitted more than USD 7 Billion per year before COVID struck. If the
country is to sell its soul, surely they should sell it for more than 30 pieces
of Silver?
It
has been reported that Mahinda Rajapaksa, as President, had made himself very
clear as to his and the country’s stand when Western countries led by the US,
UK, France etc, had applied pressure on him to allow LTTE cadres to be shipped
out of Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war in 2009. Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa,
his brother Gotabaya who is now the President, the Armed Forces of the country,
ended the war by defeating the LTTE, while rehabilitating more than 300,000
LTTE cadres thereafter.
Perhaps
it is time Sri Lanka stood with their heads high once again, and gave a similar
message to Mr Pompeo. That message should be that Sri Lanka welcomes US
assistance but it cannot be at the expense of China’s friendship and financial
assistance. Sri Lanka could assure the US that the country’s land or sea or
facilities, ports, airports etc, will not be given to any country for Military
purposes, and that all were welcome to invest in Sri Lanka according to the
sovereign laws of Sri Lanka.
If
Sri Lanka grovels now, the impact will be felt by the future generations, and
they will curse the current guardians for selling the country for 30 pieces of
Silver. If President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had the 20th Amendment
passed to reintroduce and reinforce the executive powers of the Presidency,
this is the time he could demonstrate how he would use such reinstated powers
for the benefit of these future generations.
The
US is in the throes of a Presidential election. Polls are suggesting that there
is a strong possibility of the incumbent President being defeated. Besides the
unfairness of any pressure being applied on Sri Lanka at this stage to sign
agreements, Sri Lanka should take into account the views of a Biden
administration should that come to pass on the 4th of November. Mr
Pompeo should respect such a stance.
Pompeo to visit Delhi, Colombo, the Maldives and Jakarta in coming days; US wants Rajapaksa government to loosen ties with Beijing, but it has already proposed a free-trade agreement with China
Sri Lanka’s government bonds fell heavily on Friday after the United States urged the country’s government to make difficult but necessary choices” regarding its ties with China.
Worries that this year’s Covid-19 crisis could see the country struggle to pay its debts have already seen its bonds slump almost 40% this year.
On Friday its 2021 and 2022 dollar-denominated bonds dropped 5 cents or more, according to Tradeweb data. Meanwhile, its 2025 and 2026 bonds dropped below the 60 cents on the dollar threshold.
We encourage Sri Lanka to review the options we offer for transparent and sustainable economic development in contrast to discriminatory and opaque practises,” US State Department official Dean Thompson told reporters ahead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Sri Lanka and other parts of Asia next week.
We urge Sri Lanka to make difficult but necessary decisions to secure its economic independence for long-term prosperity,” Thompson added.
US bullying countries, China says
China’s foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the comments as showing a Cold War mentality” and said the US was bullying countries to pick sides over their ties.
Sri Lanka’s finances were fragile long before the coronavirus blow, but unless the country can win support from its allies it runs the risk of having to default.
All the tell-tale crisis signs are there: a tumbling currency, credit rating downgrades, bonds at half their face value, debt-to-GDP levels nearing 100% and almost 70% of government revenues being spent on interest payments alone.
Sri Lanka’s central bank has repeatedly vowed, however, that the country will honour all its debt service obligations”.
External debt payments between now and December amount to $3.2 billion. Other costs could bring that up to $6.5 billion in the next 12 months, analysts estimate, while its FX reserves of just $7.4 billion leave it barely covered.
Rajapaksa government wants FTA with Beijing
The Sri Lankan government, headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said recently it plans to restart discussions with Beijing on a free-trade agreement, following a high-level meeting between the two countries.
Seen as close to Beijing, Rajapaksa has appointed several members of his family to top cabinet positions since his party won a commanding majority in August’s parliamentary elections, including his brother Mahinda, who previously also served as president.
Negotiations on a free-trade agreement were last held in 2017.
China has been making increasing inroads into South Asia with its Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at financing critical infrastructure in dozens of countries across the world.
In 2017, Sri Lanka signed over control of Hambantota, a Chinese-financed port, and land around it to Beijing after incurring heavy losses, to the alarm of the United States and regional power India.
Rajapaksa rejected accusations a week ago that China wanted to trap Sri Lanka into mounting debt with the port deal.
“Many geo-political analysis interprets this project as a ‘debt trap’ set up by China to gain control over Sri Lankan affairs,” Rajapaksa told the Chinese delegation, led by Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat.
“I want to prove that it is not the case and that this large-scale project will help improve the living standards of the people,” he added.
The countries also agreed to deepen ties in the agriculture, education, tourism, water supply and healthcare sectors, according to a summary of the meeting released by Rajapaksa’s office.
The Chinese visit comes as Sri Lanka faces mounting worries over the state of its finances, with rating agencies warning that a coronavirus-induced shock will significantly weaken its “already fragile funding and external positions”.
Rajapaksa said on the country’s trade deficit with China is too high and called on Beijing to increase the volume of goods purchased from Sri Lanka to bring it down.
Pompeo flying to Delhi Sunday, Colombo after
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State of Mike Pompeo is flying to India on Sunday to boost strategic ties with a nation that is locked in a military standoff with China.
As part of an intensifying pushback against China’s economic and military power in the region, Pompeo will also travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, two Indian Ocean countries struggling with a mountain of Chinese debt incurred to finance big infrastructure projects.
Pompeo will conclude his trip, which comes in the final week before the US election, in Indonesia, which is also locked in territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
“We’re looking forward to strengthening critical relationships with our friends and partners, emphasizing our deep commitment to the Indo-Pacific and advancing our vision for long-term partnership and prosperity in the region,” said Dean Thompson, principal deputy assistant secretary at the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.
Washington has been ramping up diplomatic pressure on China, and President Donald Trump has made being tough on Beijing a key part of his campaign to secure a second term.
Pompeo led a meeting of foreign ministers from India, Japan and Australia this month in Tokyo, a grouping that could be a bulwark against China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
Next month, India hosts ‘Malabar’, the biggest naval wargames in years, with the United States, Japan and Australia – an exercise that China has in the past opposed.
Beijing said this month that US accusations against China showed a “Cold War mentality”.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to join him, as India is due to sign an agreement that will give it access to sensitive US satellite data to help improve targeting of missiles and drones, Indian officials said.
“There is great further potential in our defence cooperation,” an Indian official said.
It will be the first visit by a US Secretary of State to Sri Lanka in over a decade, and Pompeo has said he would convey support for a “strong, independent and democratic Sri Lanka,” Thompson said.
He will urge Sri Lankan leaders to scale back dependence on China, which has invested billions of dollars building ports and highways but left the island nation deeply in debt.
The island is a key part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative but the government has in recent years sought to improve ties with India, United States and Japan.
Male, the capital of the Maldives. AFP photo.
Pompeo to visit Maldives, Indonesia also
Similar efforts are under way to push back against Chinese influence in the Maldives, tropical islands that lie on key shipping lanes.
Maldives is a small country with only about 420,000 people living on roughly 300 square kilometers of land, but it is strategically located close to India’s Lakshadsweep islands – and the major US military base at Diego Garcia.
“Expected discussions … include the global battle against the Covid-19 pandemic as well as ongoing and future collaboration,” the Maldives government said in a statement.
Pompeo’s visit to Indonesia comes amid an escalating US-China rivalry in the South China Sea, which China claims as almost entirely its own territory. The claim is opposed by many states in the region, including Indonesia.
The State Department this week approved the potential sale of three weapons systems to Taiwan, including sensors, missiles and artillery that could have a total value of $1.8 billion.
Taiwan, which China says is a renegade province, also claims large parts of the South China Sea.
COLOMBO: Authorities in Sri Lanka on Saturday (Oct 24) closed at least two fishery harbours and many stalls after a surge of 609 cases linked to the country’s main fish market.
The government also widened the curfew in parts of Colombo. At least 11 villages were isolated in the densely populated Western province, which includes the capital.
Health authorities on Wednesday temporarily closed the fish market on Colombo’s outskirts after 49 traders tested positive for the coronavirus. By Saturday, the number of cases went up to 609.
Hundreds of traders and fishermen are being tested.
Authorities say the outbreak is related to a cluster in a garment factory early this month, which has grown to 3,426 cases, almost half the country’s total of 6,287. It broke a two-month lull in infections.
Several thousand people have been asked to quarantine at home. Schools and key public offices are closed, gatherings banned and restrictions imposed on public transport.Advertisement
What More UK director Tony Grimshaw OBE has unveild the company’s new export destination
ONE OF the county’s most notable exporters has announced plans to extend its international reach further still with a deal to trade with Sri Lanka.
Padiham-based What More UK hopes that the deal, which will make its range of home accessories available to the 20 million inhabitants of Sri Lanka, will encourage other British firms to consider the opportunities that could lie ahead thanks to thinking internationally.
This comes only weeks after the company unveiled a similar deal with the Central American republic of Costa Rica and less than a year after the firm added Senegal, in West Africa, to its list of export destinations.
What More director Tony Grimshaw OBE said: British companies have lots of advantages over other countries when it comes to export.
For one thing the UK is ideally positioned geographically for export and we have a reputation for building top quality products that are made to last.
That’s why all our products have prominent British branding with an easily recognisable Made in Britain logo.”
Since 2009 the economy of Sri Lanka has grown by an average of 5.3% each year firmly placing it in the category of Asian Tiger Economy and now joins 75 other countries around the world that Padiham’s What More exports to.
The firms will hope that deals like this will help to illuminate the continuing importance of the UK manufacturing sector, which still makes up around 20% of the economy at places the UK in the top 10 manufacturing nations in the world and have also been keen to stress the firm’s environmentally friendly methods.
Good produced at the company’s facility in Altham include storage boxes, kitchen and cookware, garden ware and products for the home laundry and utility room.
All of these are made from single use plastics diverted from landfill.
Hilton Colombo has temporarily suspended operations after one of its employees has tested positive for COVID-19, the Daily Mirror learns.
When contacted, the hotel confirmed that it had temporarily halted operations since Friday but failed to share more details. The hotel is expected to release a statement shortly. Health officers from the Colombo Municipal Council confirmed that a positive COVID-19 patient was found from the area where the hotel was located but could not confirm whether it was from the hotel premises. Further investigations are ongoing.
The Daily Mirror learns that Galle Face Hotel has also temporarily suspended operations. The area PHI has informed the hotel to halt operations and all hotel staff will be subjected to a PCR test today.
Shangri La hotel has also been informed by the PHI to cancel some key events scheduled to take place at the hotel but it is not confirmed if this is due to the detection of a positive patient or as a precautionary measure. The hotel is expected to release a statement shortly. (JAMILA HUSAIN)
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Diana Gamage yesterday said she would continue to support President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to build the nation.
Speaking during an adjournment debate in the House, she said she decided to support President Gotabaya as she felt he is capable of building the nation.
During his tenure as the Defence Secretary he did a lot of work. Thousands use walking tracks built by him,” she said.
She said the country does not need a President without powers. We need a powerful President. Why should we spend funds and hold a presidential election and tie the President’s hands and throw him into a river expecting him to swim? He will not be able to swim when his hands are tied,” she added.
I would have voted in favour of the 20th Amendment even if Sajith Premadasa was the President of this country.” (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)
While claiming that the Brandix Apparel Ltd. should take the responsibility for the second wave of the COVID-19, National Peoples’ Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday a thorough investigation should be carried out against the company and take necessary action.
Moving the adjournment debate on COVID-19, he told parliament that Brandix had acted in an irresponsible manner where they had neglected health guidelines.
It is reported that Brandix had neglected health conditions of their workers. The factory had forced them to work disregarding their health condition. When the workers were complaining of fever and vomiting, they had only been given painkillers and forced to work. The factory had only been concerned on reaching their production targets,” he said and added that negligence of the factory was very clear as more than 1,000 workers were reported as infected within two days.
He said the laws should be equally applied to this factory as well.
Mr. Dissanayake said the government should investigate the allegations that some people arrived from India and had gone into the Brandix factory without undergoing proper quarantine process.
He said the second wave was spreading fast compared to the first one and added that it was spreading into the community now.
The government should reveal whether the COVID-19 is under control or spreading into the community now. The government should explain it with facts and figures,” he said. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)
he World Health Organisation (WHO) had informed the Health Ministry that a vaccine approved by the WHO may be available for COVID-19 shortly and the ministry was preparing for that, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said yesterday.
In her reply speech on the adjournment debate, she told Parliament that the WHO had instructed the ministry to prepare the country for the vaccine.
The WHO has advised us to prepare the country for the vaccine. They have not informed us exactly what the injection is. The ministry is preparing for that at the moment,” she said.
The Minister said even though the opposition claimed that COVID-19 had spread in the community, none of the health ministry or the epidemiology unit has confirmed it as yet.
It is a technical matter to confirm whether COVID-19 has spread into the community. It should be done according to criteria of the WHO,” she said. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)
Even though the Government had shortcomings in their past decisions with regard to containing the COVID-19 virus, the recent decisions taken by the Government are satisfactory, and if it continues in this manner, the situation would gradually return to normalcy, Public Health Inspectors Union of Sri Lanka (PHIUSL) said.
Its Secretary M. Balasooriya told Daily Mirror the health and law enforcement authorities were doing their best in promptly tracing cases and attending whenever there was a positive case.
It is of utmost importance to maintain this momentum in order to successfully contain the virus and return to normalcy,” he said.
Commenting on whether there is a necessity to go for a countrywide lockdown, he said neither the country nor the people can afford to go for a total lockdown as it would adversely affect the country’s economy and livelihood of people.
Therefore, imposing the quarantine curfew to high-risk areas where movements must be restricted, is a good option. However, if the situation seems to be getting worse, there is no other option than looking for strict steps for the security of the whole people.”
Meanwhile, he claimed that several Public Health Inspectors have come under verbal attack and threat when they direct certain individuals for the quarantine process.
Several of their members had come under threat when they were involved in placing people under quarantine process in the areas like Divulapitiya and Minuwangoda.
Although the majority of people corporate with them, some individuals ignore their instructions violating quarantine guidelines.
This is because people are too in high stress and feel unconformable when they are placed under quarantine,” Balasooriya said.
Hence, we don’t blame them. We have also instructed our respective inspectors not to be harsh on them but calmly explain the gravity of the situation in terms of spreading the Covid-19 virus.
He stressed people’s support was extremely important in containing the virus and therefore, requested to cooperate with them and adhere to their instructions.
Quarantine curfew is imposed in several more police division in Colombo with immediate effect, stated the Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva.
Accordingly, Maligawatte, Keselwatte, Dam Street, Barber Street, and Foreshore Police Division will be under quarantine curfew from here on.
The decision will be in effect until further notice.
Nine other police areas in Colombo District, namely Mattakkuliya, Modara, Wellampitiya, Bloemendhal and Grandpass, Kotahena, Dematagoda, Maradana, Gothatuwa, and Mulleriyawaare also currently under quarantine curfew until further notice.
In the meantime, quarantine curfew came into force in Payagala, Beruwala, and Aluthgama police areas of Kalutara District with immediate effect last night (23) and will be effective until 5.00 am on Monday (October 26).
Persons living in curfew areas have been requested to restrict their movements and interactions.
The decision came after the recent surge in Covid-19 positive cases in the aforementioned and localities.
Ninety-two more individuals have tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19, Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said.
According to the Army Chief, all of them are close contacts of the coronavirus patients linked to Peliyagoda Fish Market.
Meanwhile, a total of 368 cases of COVID-19 positive cases have been identified within the day far.
Thus, the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda cluster has registered a total of 4,050 positive cases.
Following the latest update, the total number of Covid-19 confirmed in Sri Lanka shot up to 7,521.
The Epidemiology Unit’s statistics revealed that 3,792 active cases are still under medical care at selected hospitals across the country.
Recoveries from the virus now stand at 3,714 after 70 persons infected with the virus were discharged from hospitals earlier in the day upon regaining health.
Sri Lanka also witnessed its 15th death this morning, as a 56-year-old from Kuliyapitiya fell victim to Covid-19.
A team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers has recovered a T-56 rifle and a revolver, which allegedly belong to the notorious underworld figure ‘Podi Lassie’.
The firearms have been found from the house of the suspect’s grandmother in Telwatte, Ambalangoda, according to reports.
The CID officers had led ‘Podi Lassie’ to the location where the two firearms were recovered last evening (23).
‘Podi Lassie’ who was recently granted bail by the Galle Magistrate, continues to be held by the CID under detention orders.
‘Podi Lassie’ has been named as the second suspect in the case filed over the death threats made in public at the Boossa Prison, against the President, the Defence Secretary and certain high-ranking officers of the Prisons Department.
The
Sinhalese in independent Sri Lanka have been nationalistic, but never narrowly
communalistic; they have never illtreated non-Sinhala minorities on the basis
of race or religion. Those who are wallowing in a sea of misinformation having
been swept there by tides of hostile propaganda over the decades, may bristle
at this, but the truth must be stated. The nationalism of the Sinhalese is not
a construct of the last colonial era. Contrary to what Eurocentric theorists,
their local clones, imperialist lackeys and their modern dupes believe, it is
an inclusive nationalism. In their long history, the nationalism of the
Sinhalese has been synonymous with patriotism or the love of their country,
their island homeland. The JVP of 1971 and 1987-89 shed blood in the name of
the country, not in the name of a race or a religion unlike respectively the
defeated LTTE and the recent NTJ. To point this out is not being communalistic;
it is only reacting to a false criticism. The racists and the extremists among
the minorities raise false allegations of communalism against the majority
community to justify their own communalism.
Today,
even a section of the Sinhalese polity including some young members of the FB
generation, seem to think that to be a nationalist is the same as being a
racist. That misconception is largely because they are not well enough informed
about their own true history and truly admirable, multifaceted heritage, a
legacy that is enjoyed by all communities in common: the still functional parts
of the ancient hydraulic system, archaeological remains that attract foreign
tourists and earn foreign exchange for the public coffers,and many other
treasures. But anti-national individuals and agencies still censor Anagarika
Dharmapala, the pioneer national revivalist of the colonial era, as a hate
figure for ideologically rekindling, around the beginning of the 20th century,
the nationalist spirit of the patriotic Sinhalese that had been choked in the
course of a number of popular uprisings by force of arms by colonial invaders
following the 1815 British intrigue. All the Sinhalese leaders who caused the
1948, 1956, 1972, 2009, and 2019 restorative revolutionary watersheds to happen
were inspired by Dharmapala and were opposed by the real racists and received
little support from non-Buddhist religious extremists.
The
‘divide and rule’ policy of the British imperialists was naturally to the
greater disadvantage of the majority community than to the minorities, who in
fact stood to gain from it. The British exploited the minorities to weaken the
historical defenders of the land. It may be plausibly argued that they used
them as tacit allies to restrain the Sinhalese from rebellion, in return for
privileged treatment (although this was limited to an elite that politically
mattered to them, while the majority of the dispossessed mixed masses
consisting of common Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims shared the rigours of
colonial exploitation without discrimination).
Particularly,
the racist leaders of the Tamil minority feared that a parliamentary system of
government where the Sinhalese would hold power because of their numerical
superiority would mean a loss of their privileged status (hence the notorious
50-50 seat allocation demand of G.G. Ponnambalam which was contemptuously
rejected by the Soulbury Commissioners in 1946. All the overtures that
Sinhalese leaders from D.S. Senanayake to Gotabaya Rajapaksa made to the few
but powerful racists (among the minority politicians) who somehow manage to hoodwink
their people and persuade them to vote for them have failed to convince them to
cooperate wholeheartedly with the majority in making unitary Sri Lanka a strong
sovereign state where they harbour equal stakes and enjoy equal rights and
share equal responsibilities.
The
false allegation of Sinhala communalism finds a convenient platform in the
demand for the constitutional emasculation of the institution of the executive
presidency (if complete abolition is not possible). This is because it is usually
a Sinhalese who stands a chance of getting elected as president by the pan-Sri
Lanka electorate. These minority politicians (the extremist few, not all
minority politicians) propagate the idea that all Sinhalese are communalists,
and that every president will be biased against their people. But this is
a fallacy. Though, at present, there is no likelihood of a minority politician
becoming president because the minority polities are still mostly under the
sway of racists and religious extremists, it is not an impossibility. If the
non-racist, non-extremist politicians that there are among them are allowed to
emerge dominant, they certainly will find more favour with the average
Sinhalese voters than a conceited Premadasa or a clueless Sirisena, and a correspondingly
modest and knowledgeable Tamil or Muslim president will no longer be just a
dream. There are many examples from the past to illustrate the
possibility of such an eventuality, but this is not the time for dwelling on
the subject.
Unwarranted
dilution of the powers of the executive presidency was what was achieved by the
controversial 19A, which, effectively divided people’s sovereign power between
the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker. It was a three-headed
monster, as a government minister recently said. As a result of it the
sovereign people had to put up with a severely dysfunctional parliament that
brought disaster to the country for an interminable four and a half years
before it was finally dissolved by the President and a fresh Parliament
elected. The potential for the continuation of such a corrupt
malfunctioning parliament is greater when the executive power of the President
to dissolve it is curtailed or is completely taken away. That provides a
situation open to exploitation by the Rishads and Hakeems of this world.
The
Island editorial/October 20, 2020 made the following comment, which suggests
the despicable way they are ready to cock a snook at the sovereignty of the
people:
‘Bathiudeen
brought down the hurriedly formed Sirisena-Rajapaksa government, in 2018, by
refusing to vote with it in Parliament. That administration crashed, unable to
raise a simple majority in the House. This time around, Bathiudeen can give the
present regime the kiss of death by voting for the 20A. If he and his four MPs
vote for 20A, as expected, those who claim that he and the government have
struck a secret deal will be vindicated. The only way the government can avert
such a situation is to engineer the crossover of some other Opposition MPs so
that it does not have to depend on Bathiudeen…..’
Who
is this Bathiudeen? He was one of the Muslims forcibly evacuated from the North
as a result of Prabhakaran’s ethnic cleansing policy. When Bathiudeen came down
to Colombo he was a penniless youth with nothing but the worn out clothes on his
body, it is said. Today, he is a billionaire with palatial houses here and
there, and thousands of acres of land in his possession, with some more lands
given to his relatives. He was able to help himself to such great wealth and
also indulge in philanthropy at the expense of the state because he
became a politician and managed to join the winning side continuously from the
previous MR government to the end of Yahapalanaya, and battened on the
suffering of the fellow members of his own displaced community. During the near
decade in power, he was charged by environmental groups with the devastating
deforestation of the Wilpattu forest reserve; he was rumoured to be
complicit in importing cocaine hidden among goods in CWE containers, illegally
exploiting the ilmenite containing mineral sand deposits at Pulmudai for
personal profits, abusing the CWE to propagate extremist Islamist ideology, and
he was even accused of having connections with the Jihadists who carried out
the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels. When the police finally
started looking for him to arrest him on the charge of having abused
state/public property by transporting by CTB buses some 10,000 voters from
their new places of residence to their old (for casting their vote a second
time it was alleged in the media) on the day of the presidential election in
November last year. How is it that an extremely unscrupulous, originally
insignificant penurious politician has been allowed to invest himself with such
power as the Island editorial has described?
This
is because the minority communalists who stick that label on the majority have
been empowered by the existing faulty electoral system being abused, and the
majority community effectively disenfranchised in the process. Having to strike
a deal with political criminals or to ‘engineer the crossover of some other
Opposition MPs’ as the Island editorial suggests in order to get 20A or any
other nationally important piece of legislation through parliament, is a
wretched proposition for any sovereign nation even to contemplate. But, isn’t
there any prospect for the nation to reverse this unfortunate self inflicted
anomaly? In my opinion, there is. It is to get rid of our own fear of adopting
strategies that might run the risk of being attacked as racist, Sinhala
Supremacist, discriminatory towards minorities, contrary to international
standards, etc. We have to learn not to give a fig to such unfounded
accusations.
At
present, the Sinhalese are scrupulously guiltless in this respect. Still they
are treated as if they were the worst racists, human rights violaters,
xenophobes, chauvinists in the world. Sometimes their own leaders criticise
them for being jaatiwadin, or racists as Premadasa and Sirisena have already
done:
Former
president Sirisena was heard, at the Easter Sunday Attacks inquiry recently,
referring to racists among the Sinhalese. In a Twitter message, which was only
in English and Tamil, but not in Sinhala, during the presidential election
campaigning period, SJB leader Premadasa charged that Muslims were subjected to
discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese! He toured the North, presumably
to show the northern Tamils that he was a champion of Tamil rights. He was
given a heroic welcome in Jaffna and he garnered many Tamil votes, too. But it
is not that they fell for stratagems; they knew that he was ready to betray his
own people for a mess of (electoral) pottage. Could a person who doesn’t care
about his own kind be concerned about other people?
The
alleged Sinhala racists are none other than the few monks and some young
Sinhala activists who are merely reacting to proven cases of harassment,
aggression, and subversion against them by some extremist elements from among
the minorities. Considerable numbers of young Tamils and Muslims are also among
their supporters. Had the successive governments taken them seriously, the
slaughter of innocents on April 21 could have been avoided. They represent
millions, but are they taken notice of? Are they given proper media coverage?
Global media (international TV channels such as Al Jazeera, CNN, BBC, etc)
broadcast distorted news about them. There’s no place for them on the You Tube,
either.
The
true situation in the country is different from what is usually reported in
these media. Why did the nationalists win very nearly two thirds of
parliamentary seats, with the racists and religious extremists getting fewer
than what they usually win? The result surprised even the nationalists. This
shows that the Sinhalese electorate can decide the future of the country by
themselves. But they naturally prefer to do so with the participation of the
minorities. If the Sinhalese MPs in parliament forget their partisan divisions
and remember the patriotism of their ancestors who shed their blood to save
their motherland for all its inhabitants, they will voluntarily help the
government to muster the two thirds majority required or even more for
introducing a completely new constitution when the time comes for that.
Not
less than the survival of the unitary state, the nation, the dominant Buddhist
culture and the island territory is at stake. The America-led West and
India seem to have found a deus ex machina opportunity to further crank up
pressure on economically doddering Sri Lanka in the fast expanding mysterious
Brandix Covid-19 cluster and in a court judgement given in UK that is
favourable to the LTTE rump still active there: It was reported in the media on Wednesday
(October 21, 2020) that UK’s Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission has concluded
that the Home Office decision to keep the LTTE as a proscribed terrorist
organisation was flawed and unlawful. So, the British parliament is likely to
lift the ban on the organization in that country. Britain is one of the forty countries
that proscribed the terror outfit. As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, this will
make little difference to the status quo, because the UK has practically always
allowed its members to behave as if there was no ban on it.
So,
all MPs in parliament, please forget your party, ethnic, religious and
interpersonal differences in the name of our motherland. At the time of
writing, the ad hoc 20A is to be put to the vote. It will be passed with
necessary amendments. It is good if this was carried out without the government
having to strike secret deals with communalists or to engineer crossovers from
the Opposition (which would be a slap in the face of the voting public). The
more momentous responsibility that you are going to fulfill is to create
a sound new constitution for our country that will save our nation from
squabbling geopolitical powers who are promoting their own separate national
interests at our expense, leaving us in perpetual political instability and
endless economic misery. You Hon. MPs, especially the fresh thinking young
ones, owe our resplendent island homeland no less.
(PS:
The 20A was passed in parliament with 156 voting for it and only 65 against.
The votes cast in favour exceeds the required two thirds majority by 6
votes. It is obvious that the government did not have to make undue special
overtures towards Muslim MPs. There were only 6 Muslim votes but they were not
critical, they were dispensable. It is clear that the Muslim MPs thrust
themselves on the government side without being asked. Probably, they did this
on the prior instructions of Hakeem (and Rishad as well). I think so because,
about two weeks ago, Hakeem told media men that he wouldn’t vote for 20A
but that the other members of his party would probably do so. The government
had better be careful: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. The government, it
seems, was short of only 2 votes for acquiring the required number of votes,
which was 150. Those two votes came from Tamil MP Aravind Kumar and SJB’s Diana
Gamage. The latter violated her leader’s injunction, for which she must be
praised.
The
drafting of a completely new constitution commenced two or three weeks before.
This will get into top gear now. The drafting committee is headed by the
renowned PC Romesh de Silva, and includes other legal luminaries such as
Manohara de Silva and experts in related fields such as geologist and
geopolitical analyst and commentator Prof. Gerald H. Peiris. They can be
expected to produce a document that will be as much acceptable to the minorities
as it is to the majority.)
Nought from the Greeks
towards me hath sped well.
So now I find that ancient proverb true,
Foes’ gifts are no gifts: profit bring they none – Sophocles
(496 – 406 BC),
Don’t look a gift horse
in the mouth is a proverb about not questioning the value of a gift. The proverb refers to the practice of evaluating
the age of a horse by looking at its teeth. A certain exception to this rule
would be the MCC agreement which reportedly is very high in the agenda of US
Secretary of State Mark Pompeo’s visit to Sri Lanka next week.
In a
wide ranging article published in the Lankaweb (MCC LIES: Sri Lanka is not
getting $480m signing MCC Posted on October 18th, 2020), Shenali Waduge has elaborated on this
agreement and what it means to Sri Lanka in terms of the proposed gift. As she
has rightly said, 327 million Americans are giving Sri Lanka USD 1.50 each (USD
480 M over 5 years) or US 30 cents per year. There is also a saying that
beggars should not be choosers. However, despite the impact of COVID, Sri
Lankans are not beggars, therefore they must choose what is in their best
interests. One million Sri Lankans working overseas remitted USD 7 Billion per
year until COVID hit Sri Lanka and the rest of the world.
As
Shenali Waduge explains, the MCC funds will be released in tranches over 5
years if Sri Lanka meets numerous pre requisite conditions. It is these
conditions and what it means to Sri Lanka were they to be met, that should
occupy the minds of those who advocate the signing of this agreement. These are
what is in the gift horse’s mouth and which looks like stench emanating conditions.
Despite the unpleasantness, Sri Lankans must look at these conditions
remembering the old adage that there is nothing called a free lunch. It would
be foolish to imagine that Sri Lanka is being given this gift for the sake of
love and affinity. One should also consider the proverb not to trust Greeks
bearing gifts.
As mentioned in
the Phrase Finder (https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/beware-of-greeks-bearing-gifts.html), this proverb has its genesis an allusion
to the story of the wooden horse of Troy, used by the Greeks to trick their way
into the city. It is recorded in Virgil’s Aeneid,
Book 2, 19 BC: “Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is,
I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts.”
Although
no suggestion is made that the USA is an enemy of Sri Lanka, the section of the
phrase this proverb has its genesis an allusion
to the story of the wooden horse of Troy, used by the Greeks to trick their way
into the city” has relevance, if one sits back and
considers what is in this agreement for the US and whether it is indeed the
horse of Troy being used to gain entry into Sri Lanka for its own strategic
reasons.
The US has two key strategic
reasons to be interested in an entry into Sri Lanka. Firstly, the emergence of
China as its competitor for world’ super power status and its influence in Sri Lanka.
China already has a foothold with its investment in Hambantota, a Port, an
airport with a run way longer than in Katunayake, and vast acreage of land
around the Hambantota port given on a 99-year lease by the
Sirisena/Wickremasinghe government. Although there is no Chinese Military
presence in Sri Lanka, it would be foolhardy to imagine that will not be a
reality should a need arise for China for it to bring its Military in if its
interests in the region are threatened. Secondly, the future of the US bases in
Diego Garcia.
In an article titled Is the United States about to lose control of its
secretive Diego Garcia military base? Jenni Marsh of CNN (March
11, 2019) says Britain has now been
instructed to properly finish the process of decolonization, and return the
Chagos Islands, located half way between Africa and Indonesia, to Mauritius. The
ruling, though non-binding, potentially creates a huge problem for the United
States. Today, Diego Garcia is one of America’s most important — and secretive
— overseas assets. Home to over 1,000 US troops and staff, it has been used by
the US Navy, the US Air Force and even NASA — the island’s enormous runway was
a designated emergency landing site
for the space shuttle. Diego Garcia has helped to launch two invasions of Iraq,
served as a vital landing spot for bombers that fly missions across Asia,
including over the South China Sea, and has been linked to US rendition efforts”
It is
interesting to note the graphic of US bases throughout the world, and its base
in Diego Garcia (Chagos Islands) and its key strategic position in the Indian
ocean, and its proximity to Sri Lanka. One should wonder whether the twin
reasons for US interest in Sri Lanka are in fact the driving, motivating force
for it to gain that entry through the MCC Agreement.
THE LOWY INSTITUTE (https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/decolonise-diego-garcia-why-america-should-not-fear-mauritius) also
mentions The United States military base on Diego Garcia has a problem: it is
housed inside an unlawful jurisdiction, the British Indian Ocean Territory
(BIOT). According to the African Union, UN General Assembly and a
recent advisory opinion of
the International Court of Justice, BIOT is a colonial holdover that violates
the territorial integrity of Mauritius. Britain refuses to dismantle BIOT out
of deference to its ally, the US. This is a mistake. Full decolonisation is in
the interest of all sides. America’s support for
British sovereignty over Diego Garcia is based on the assumption that
London is a preferable landlord” to Port Louis. If this was ever true in the
past, it is not true today. British control over Diego Garcia and the rest of
the Chagos Archipelago is illegal, unpopular, unnecessary, and at odds with the
idea of a rules-based” order in the Indo-Pacific. By contrast, Mauritius holds
the keys to a long-term agreement over Diego Garcia that would be consistent
with international law and beneficial to America’s broader strategic objectives
in the region”.
While
the Lowy Institute argues that the future of the base need not be a problem for
the US should they negotiate with a willing Mauritius, there is an element of
uncertainty over the future of this very vital base that serves US strategic
objectives. In this context, it should not be unreasonable to assume that there
could be a long term US interest in Sri Lanka on account of any developments in
Diego Garcia that are detrimental to US interests.
It is
possible that the US Secretary of State is very keen to secure an agreement on
SOFA as well during his visit, besides the MCC Agreement. If he manages to do
so, the triumvirate of agreements that could take Sri Lanka well into the
strategic hold of the US would be complete. MCC funded road developments
reportedly establishing road works between a land corridor from the Western
province and the Eastern province, Land banks, selling unlimited parcels of
land to non Sri Lankans once land legislation is changed, which Sri Lankan politicians
are quite capable of doing, entry of US military personnel into Sri Lanka
(under SOFA), are all within the realm of certainty, not just possibility.
It
can be argued that Sri Lanka’s engagements with China have also been short
sighted and this has placed the country in jeopardy from super power rivalry.
Sri Lanka’s strategic relationship with India too could have been better as it
could have been used to act as the circuit breaker between the US and China
tensions over Sri Lanka.
Sri
Lanka needs all three countries, India, the US and China to be her friends and
it has to demonstrate to all three that they are not favouring one over
another. It needs to be non-aligned as far as these three countries are
concerned. The MCC Agreement, the SOFA agreement should not be signed as they
are very clearly entry Visa’s for the US military. However, in return, Sri
Lanka should assuage concerns that the US and India have about possible Chinese
intentions in Sri Lanka. In this regard, a Constitutional provision that no
country would be permitted to operate any Military bases in Sri Lanka, no
country would be permitted to use Sri Lankan Ports, Airports and any land or
sea territory for Military purposes of another country, could be considered.
Once such a Constitutional provision is enacted by Parliament, Sri Lanka could
sign an agreement with China consistent with the constitutional provision.
From
a longer term perspective, Sri Lanka should seriously consider a tri nation
foreign policy compact between China, India and Sri Lanka, with India looking
after US interests, to manage strategic relationships between the three
countries and the US. The writer proposed such a compact in an article titled Sino,
Indo, Lanka tri-nation centric foreign policy to end interference by other
nations” (http://www.ft.lk/Opinion-and-Issues/Sino-Indo-Lanka-tri-nation-centric-foreign-policy-to-end-interference-by-other-nations/14-668484). It is
worthwhile for Sri Lanka to consider such a compact as it could assuage
concerns between the super power rivals, US and China, and India about foreign
policy and economic policy decisions taken by Sri Lanka that could have an
impact on the strategic interests of these countries.
Maithripala Sirisena was not born with a silver spoon. He was no presidential material but he controversially became President with a thumbs up by 62lakh voters in January 2015 aided even by foreign governments & a coterie of civil society organizations & NGOs. Today, these entities regret that decision. His impassioned address to the Nation in October 2018, drew our attention to the shabby treatment he was subject to by the Colombo 7 UNP gang. With all of these odds against him, he still managed to prevent not only the signing of MCC inspite of the preconditions associated with it being rolled out oblivious to his understanding. More importantly, he prevented the privatization of State land through the Land Special Provisions Bill. A government is only custodian of the land and therefore, President Sirisena did right by preventing the privatization. This single deed by Maithripala Sirisena which has won the appreciation of the Nation, is what President Gotabaya will be measured on as well as US Secretary of State arrives to pressure Sri Lanka to If President Sirisena had the ability to withstand the pressures to sign MCC and privatize State land, there is little doubt that President Gotabaya would reject MCC and ensure Sri Lanka’s lands, assets & resources remain with the State and to the People of Sri Lanka.
President Sirisena’s emotional address to the nation on 28 October 2018 explained why he was prompted to remove PM Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minister. https://fb.watch/1ix4u57NOv/
The Address prompted all to question how land statutes were being amended & passed divesting land to foreigners ignoring the President’s seal of approval. The President’s speech drew our attention to the new Land Ordinance Special Act allowing the sale of crown land to private parties & valid for only 7 years. What kind of law was this when sovereignty of land is vested in the People? President also mentions the National Economic Council. The NEC too made its reservations on the MCC and concluded that it was detrimental to the sovereignty of the Nation and should not be signed. President Sirisena mentioned the Land Ordinance Special Act & the Land Bank that had been presented to Parliament in mid-October 2018, which President Sirisena had objected to & did not allow to pass cabinet. If this Act had been passed 84% of crown lands would have been privatized & would eventually have fallen into foreign hands. MCC Agreement clearly gives the history to how it was introduced in 2015 and all of its demands are mentioned by the President.
An Indian paper carried news that the former PM had declared that English laws would apply to Colombo Port City and that a British team was arriving to work out modalities. It was also rumoured that the same British law was to apply across the MCC ‘economic corridor’ along the 7 targeted districts that MCC Land Project was to fund. What it meant was that the stretch of land under MCC Land Project would be divided between foreign corporates and operate under British law.
The People do not vote to bring a government to power, for that government to vest sovereign land into the hands of foreigners.
State Land as per Supreme Court Land Ownership Bill Special Determination No. 26A-36/2003 declares that State Land is held by the State in TRUST for the People.
State Land is vested in the Central Government & can only be ALIENATED under the SEAL of the President.
A private party cannot make a prescriptive claim on State Land (Section 15, Prescription Ordinance)
State Land is administered by the Land Development Ordinance which grants permits to cultivate & develop land & issued with certain conditions primary of which is that they cannot be leased or mortgaged.
No development can result in Sri Lanka losing its ownership of land & having that passed on to foreign hands!
What is the point in saying Sri Lanka’s sovereignty is inalienable & with the People when a Govt elected for a term thinks STATE LAND is their personal property to sell claiming that to be a FOREIGN INVESTMENT – what eventually happens is we loose our land, the foreigners walk away with the profits & turn our citizens into cheap labourers & the govt MPs pockets the commissions!
At least 4 times President Sirisena had prevented the Land Privatization Bill and that is indeed commendable. Whatever his faults, Sri Lanka must be grateful to this single act that prevented signing of the MCC.
We now have a popular president with a people’s mandate and now all the more powerful with the passing of the 20thamendment.
The People are looking up with more hope then they had before and with full faith that President Gotabaya Rajapakse will deliver.
Three main features of that manifesto is regarding Foreign Policy, Protection of National Assets & of course National Security.
The treacheries ended with the fall of yahapalana governance. The winning President who ordered the defeat of LTTE in May 2009, is today the Prime Minister, the defense secretary is today the President the former President is in Parliament but the former Prime Minister failed to even win a seat to re-enter Parliament. The fall of the UNP affords plenty of lessons. The fall of yahapalana also affords plenty of lessons.
That the former President Sirisena weathered humiliations for not being born with a silver spoon, did not stop him from preventing the privatization of Sri Lanka’s land and signing of MCC. We must applaud that. President Gotabaya Rajapakse may not have been born with the silver spoon from Colombo 7 but he belongs to a proud & illustrious family from South Sri Lanka. Mahinda Rajapakse, our PM would want to remain regarded with the highest esteem as being the modern defender of the Nation and Gotabaya Rajapakse no doubt will match the patriotism with professionalism and ensure not an inch of Sri Lanka’s soil is plundered or bartered.
The Nation and its Citizens now regard Gotabaya Rajapakse as the protector of the Nation & President Gotabaya Rajapakse must withstand all international pressures as the Nation will watch him deliver & he shall deliver.
There are some ground realities all of us need to come to terms with. While in Sri Lanka, only the TNA chants ‘Eelam’ & Pro-LTTE slogans, that too closer to some election or event, to give themselves some cheap publicity, all of the demands for Eelam are coming from Tamils living on foreign shores. Not only are these Tamils holding foreign passports but are working overseas, educating their children overseas, have bought property overseas and are either foreign citizens or standing in line to becoming one. So why would they take such pains to declare Eelam in Sri Lanka, when it would be easier to declare it in UK? Numerically too, the calls for Eelam are coming from more Tamils living overseas than a handful of isolated chants from Sri Lanka. Moreover, while it looks an elusive dream to declare Eelam in Sri Lanka, with the patronage and support given by UK MPs towards the Eelam cause, Her Majesty must seriously consider declaring Eelam at least in Tooting or Harrow.
If anyone is in doubt as to where & by whom the most calls for Eelam come from, all they need to do is to look at the number of LTTE diaspora entities operating from UK, the number of initiatives they run on a daily basis, the events they hold daily, the fund raising they manage, the emails, social media platforms they operate, the documentaries, panel discussions and even talk shows they sponsor – as against the feeble voices of the TNA. Isn’t it hilarious to see Sivajilingam with less than 20 people commemorating Prabakaran & the ‘dead’ when the hyped up dead figure was 40,000 while others claimed 200,000 ‘dead’. Surely, they could have rounded up these families to shed a few tears (If they were actually ‘dead’). LTTE Diaspora even run offices that train people to claim asylum – this includes paying to be tortured (burnt with cigarette butt ends), trained to cry & how to act in front of the asylum officers. This training is said to cost some 5000 sterling pounds.
Look at the number of British MPs on board the Eelam cause. In all probability they would be the first to come forward to hoist the LTTE flag in Harrow or Tooting. They seem to attend more LTTE events than they do British functions. None of these British MPs are too bothered about the LTTE diaspora crimes that swindle money from Britishers credit card scams, welfare and charity cheating, money laundering and human smuggling. When the British Parliament is even permitted to be hired for LTTE diaspora events, the Queen would no doubt be only pleased to assist in helping declare Eelam. With Brexit, and Britain getting isolated, the British MPs must be thinking the booty of LTTE kitty may come in handy.
Britain may be out of the EU, but Britain is not alone, LTTE & Eelam can help generate the income that the Brexit has denied.
Thankfully, Sri Lanka has only to put up with the theatrics & melodrama acts of the TNA from season to season. Since the end of LTTE defeat in May 2009, Sri Lanka has not experienced a single act of terror by LTTE. However, this cannot be said of the countries that provide safe haven for LTTE remnants.
France has a ‘Little Jaffna’ in Paris itself. It is the epicenter of violence with at least 10 types of violent gangs operating with swords & knives. Many killings have also taken place. In 2016, the Tamil Coordinating Committee head was shot dead, the previous TCC head was also shot dead. In 2009, Paris police had to arrest some 200 Tamil protestors for their unruly behavior. There is no end to the raids by French police across Paris. Who would imagine a Tamil getting his hand chopped off outside a Ganesh Temple in Paris! While chopping hands off the LTTE Eelam gangs are also involved in racketeering, burglaries, violent assaults and drug trafficking.
Across the Channel, in July we heard of a gruesome murder of a 5 year old stabbed to death by her Tamil mother in Mitcham, two more kids were murdered in April the same year. In Tooting the Tooting boys killed another in 2015. A Tamil man was stabbed through the heart in 2011 at a child’s birthday party. The UK police recorded 4 deaths & 200 incidents between 2000 & 2002! Shocking statistics. In 2007, the UK police declared credit card frauds of Tamil gangs amounted to 70million sterling pounds!
To top it off the UK Court found the British Tamil Forum guilty of sexual abuse, discrimination & victimization demanding compensation be paid to the victim. Without paying 70,000 sterling pounds, the BTF blames the UK High Court, accuses the victim of ‘tarnishing’ BTF image and declares itself bankrupt & quickly opens BTF Forum UK Limited. This looks a repeat performance of how TRO transferred monies to White Pigeon before TRO was banned by UK. So, it looks as if the LTTE Diaspora are not only making a mockery of UK laws but manipulating UK MPs to their advantage.
It is therefore only a matter of time that Eelam will get declared in Tooting or Harrow. We can only wish the LTTE Diaspora, the best of luck to do so. Let us see which LTTE Diaspora group can beat each other to declare Eelam –
Eelam in Canada
Eelam in USA
Eelam in France
Eelam in Tamil Nadu
Eelam in UK
Which LTTE Diaspora will declare Eelam first? Let the competition begin – & end soon!
First
year of President Gotabaya Rajapakse is almost coming to an end. Firstly he had
to work without a parliament, then Covid 19 followed by 19A,
The
poor performers of the government in the first year had a field day during the
period without parliament. Then these inefficient Ministers used Covid 19
as an excuse for not performing. The President need a team of
committed, loyal men and women to whom he can delegate tasks confidently.
But,
we have seen the emergence of toothless tigers in the cabinet attempting to
become lions during the period of 20 amendment. The attitudes of Wimal
Weerawanga, Udaya Gammanpila, Vidura Wickremanayake, Vasudeva Nanayakkara
were despicable, as they made the firing shots to awaken TNA, Tamil diaspora,
NGOs, anti-government social media, Muruththethuwe Ananda Thero, Elle
Gunawansa Thero, Medagoda Sumanatissa Thero ( much low key player), Bengamuwe
Nalaka Thero and remanants of UNP/SJB. . Especially Wimal
Weerawansa’s actions were unacceptable. His actions against the 20A had
nothing to do with the promises made to the public during the elections.
But his actions were mainly due to fact that he was annoyed with Basil
Rajapakse for two main reasons viz. introduction of Dr Sarath
Weerasekera to Colombo District, which eroded his ambition to score the
highest number of preferential votes. Secondly Wimal was extremely
annoyed when SLPP ( BASIL) fielded 4 pohottuwa candidates to the Kaduwela
District, the main vote bank of Wimal. If Wimal decided either to abstain or
vote against the 20A, his party position would have been similar to that of the
Rauf Hakeem. The government’s readiness with a back-up has now been
demonstrated.
However,
Mahinda Rajapakse was able to persuade the President to appoint Wimal as the
Minister of Industries, a position technically should be given to a qualified,
experienced, knowledgeable person with commercial negotiation
skills.
In
less than 3 months from the general election, Wimal has tarnished his political
standing. Undoubtedly the President has lost faith in
him. The attitude displayed by Minister Wimal was a
blessing in disguise, as hierarchy has been able to identify the true nature
and colour of this former JVP politician.
The
President has already made a public announcement that the biggest
problem of the country is that no one is working”. This
includes his Cabinet Ministers as well. The lack of commitment to the given
tasks, but eagerness to get involved on issues outside your own portfolio by
some Cabinet Ministers, unfortunately compels the President to get involved
to monitor the WORK IN PROGRESS, as the Ministers are hibernating.
Sajith
Premadasa who has worked extremely hard single= handedly, brought in Diana
Gamage to politics, made her the Assistant Secretary of his new Party, elevated
her to the rank of a National List MP by-passing several key personnel
and in less than 3 months she betrayed the Party
Leader!
It
is always better to identify the loyalists as against the snakes under the
grass.
The
value of a Dual Citizenship need to be demonstrated to the country, by
recruiting Mr Basil Rajapakse to the Cabinet of Ministers, immediately. This
Clause must remain in the new constitution going forward.
There
are compelling reasons to bring on Basil Rajapakse as a Minister Without
Portfolio, as quickly as possible, to straighten out lacklustre,
non-performing passengers in the Ministry.
Part 2 of this series is on international relations. The series
starts with India. Despite its impressive size, India is a very young sovereign state,
dating only from 1947. Before foreign rule, India consisted of a number of
separate kingdoms. These vanished under Muslim and British rule.
The
responsibility of creating the new
Republic of India in 1947, from an inherited jumble of
princely states and British ruled states, was given to Nehru, who solved
the problem by creating a set of linguistic states. In the process all sorts of adjacent areas
were dragged in against their wishes, to form contiguous states.
Andhra Pradesh was the first to be created. It was created out
of former Madras province, Hyderabad,
and Mysore, so that Telegu speakers would constitute its majority. Karnataka
was created by merging the Kannada speaking areas of southern Deccan. Madhya
Pradesh was created out of linguistically heterogeneous area of the former
Centre Province and Madhya Bharat. Gujerat, Maharashtra, Bombay became one state.
These artificially, hastily drawn states were not going to last
and India knew this. The Indian constitution
therefore permitted the formation of new states, provided that the division was
helpful to India. Parliament can
create, abolish, truncate, or rename
states. It can alter boundaries,
increase or decrease the size of states.
India has eagerly accepted this invitation to
fragment. The original boundaries are disappearing, said analysts. Gujarat
broke away from Marathi speaking Maharashtra.
Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and
Uttaranchal were carved out of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Telengana became India’s 29 state in 2014. Telengana was enthusiastically
received in India
More new states have been asked for. Maharashtra said they want
a new state of Vidharba. Uttar Pradesh
wanted to divide into Harit Pradesh, Sundelkhand, and Provanchal. In Assam the Bodo people want Bodoland, and
Karbi want their own state. West Bengal wants Gorkhaland for Nepali speaking
Gorkha community, and Cooch Behar for the locals. In Rajasthan they want a Maru
state. All these states complained that
the existing states had confined development to the centre. India’s northeast is a very combustible
region. Some 250 ethnic groups are arrayed against one another.
State governments are now very powerful . The states are unruly
and difficult to control. Power is flowing away to state capitals where some s
strong men and women are ruling, said analysts.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati cancelled a land grant made by the
central government, banned a meeting Sonia Gandhi was attending and diverted
her motorcade in 2010.
The states are now represented in regional parties, and the
central government consists of coalitions of these parties, so states cannot be
ignored at central level either. A new dimension has come with coalition
governments at the centre, said analysts. State parties are now able to
interfere in centre policies and influence centre-state relations. .
The
Indian central government has been in headlong retreat for the past three
decades, said Chandraprema. The powers
of the Central government were challenged in Supreme Court in West Bengal vs.
Union (1962) Rajasthan vs. Union (1977).
In
the West Bengal case, the central government had wanted to take over some coal
bearing state land. West Bengal said that centre could not take over land
vested or owned by the state. In the
Rajasthan case, Central government had asked six states, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Punjab, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa to dissolve its assemblies and hold
fresh elections. The states said this
request was illegal.
The Indian Constitution gives the President the power to take
over a state when necessary. By 1998, President’s rule had been declared 106
times in the states. But President’s
rule is now questioned.
The
M.M.Punchhi commission of 2010 supported this approach. The commission was willing to
allow the states to decide on who would be their governor. It was prepared to
restrict the discretionary powers of the Governors of the states in appointing
and dismissing chief minister and informing the central government that a state
of emergency has arisen. The commission also recommended that when a situation
of public disorder justified central government intervention in a state that
the state be asked before intervening. They also recommended that the imposition of presidents
rule on a state should be subject to judicial review.
Constitution of India recognizes only one common citizenship for
the entire Indian people, but the
Indian states are not interested in creating a unified India. They
emphasis language .There is linguistic chauvinism and intolerance. State
jobs are exclusively for the majority language group. India had the world’s biggest ever electricity
power outage In July 2012, where three regional grids, collapsed entirely. The
reason was that every state draws far more than their specific quotas from the
power grid.
The states oppose each other. There are disputes over territory
and water. Karnataka and Maharashtra are fighting over Belgaum, they both want
it. It is a Marathi speaking district which had been given to Kannada speaking
Karnataka in 1955. Maharashtra has gone
to courts. New Delhi is on the side of Karnataka, because otherwise it will get
involved in reopening boundary cases. Commission appointed to study the matter
stated that Belgaum belongs to Maharashtra but still the two states are
fighting over it.
There
are fights over water management between the states. Punjab and Haryana fought
over Sutlej water, Kerala and Tamilnadu
over Mullaperiyar dam. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are now fighting
over Bhabli dam. Delhi and Uttar Pradesh had a running feud on a host of things
including bus routes. Jammu and Kashmir want to leave Mother India and join
Pakistan.
In 2006 Kerala and Tamilnadu were clashing over Mullaperiyar
dam. The public also joined it and burnt
Kerala buses, and blocked the road between Tamil nadu and Kerala. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh deployed at Tamil nadu’s request, the Central Reserve Police
Force to protect the dam which irrigated the states four districts.
India has two national languages, Hindi and English.
No one knows English and Hindi is spoken only by about 42% of the population. There
are also 22 state languages, which operate only in their states. These include
Tamil, Malayalam, Telegu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujerati, Rajastani, Urdu, Punjabi,
Kashmiri, Hindi, Bihari, Oriya (Orissa) Bengali, Assamese. Primary education is
in these languages. In the 2014 general election, the media reported that MPs
took their oaths in Hindi, English, Kannada, Assamese, Oriya and Sanskrit.
There
is also the Hindu Muslim clash, which is well known.
Hindus and Moslems have fought over the Babri mosque at Ayodhya. In Gujarat, Muslim mob had in 2002 burned a
trainload of Hindu activists at a railway station. Then in 2014 also in Gujerat,
Hindus had locked 23 Muslims who had fled into a house and then set it on fire.
India presently has 28
states and 22 languages. Kuldip Nayar notes that that India has many fissiparous
tendencies. The states are solidifying into separate entities and threatening
to become permanent compartments. Consensus is becoming difficult. Even basic
issues cannot get approval in Parliament.
India will eventually
‘Balkanize’ into separate sovereign states, despite the anti-secession clause
in the Indian constitution. It will be a
messy break up. Landlocked states will try to get access to the sea. States will fight over boundaries and water. Experts now warn
of water wars due to scarcity of water and have identified India as one country
where this will take place.
The
international community knows that India will eventually break up. That is why
India is never described as an emerging political power, only an economic
power. Once it balkanizes it will not be an economic power either. ‘TIME’ says China views India with disdain.
China thinks India can be easily dissolved into its composite, regional
parts. ( continued)
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,
participating in the celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations,
reiterated Sri Lanka’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development
Goals by 2030.
We are firm in our commitment to achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and create a greener and more
sustainable environment for the future,” Prime Minister Rajapaksa said. I call
upon my fellow world leaders to work collectively in restoring compassion back
to the eco-system in our respective countries.”
Due to the prevailing pandemic, the event
took place virtually under the theme ‘Shaping Our Future Together.” In his
remarks, the Prime Minister thanked the United Nations for providing support to
Sri Lanka in a wide range of sectors and highlighted the importance of member
states supporting the United Nations in becoming a more agile and accountable
institution.”
Complete Remarks by Prime Minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa for the Virtual Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the
United Nations
Thank you, Your Excellency and the United
Nations, for inviting me to participate in the celebrations for the 75th
anniversary of the U.N. It is indeed an historic occasion, especially given the
long-standing partnership Sri Lanka has had with the U.N. for 65 years.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has
prevented us from joining you at your office for this celebration. However, I’m
glad technology has brought us together virtually.
I want to start by thanking the United
Nations for its support to Sri Lanka in fighting the Coronavirus outbreak. As
the world takes on the challenges of this unprecedented global health crisis,
it is more important than ever to work collectively on our shared challenges to
overcome this pandemic.
Seventy-five years ago, on a day like
tomorrow, the United Nations was created to be a global organization to act as the
center of discussions on international cooperation, economic and social
development, and international peace and security. It was the optimism of the
U.N.
Charter that instilled our faith in the
U.N.’s ability to create a better world for us and our children. The global
platform has helped bring world leaders together during some of the most
challenging times, such as today. As Member States, I believe we need to
support the United Nations as it evolves into a more agile and accountable
institution. The world is changing dramatically, and an upgraded United Nations
must both adapt and stay relevant.
Having overcome a three-decade long war,
Sri Lanka is on a transformative journey to becoming a more sustainable and
resilient country. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all desperately
searching for solutions to build back our economies, societies and global
networks. We are firm in our commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals by 2030, and create a greener and more sustainable environment for the
future. I call upon my fellow world leaders to work collectively in restoring
compassion back to the eco-system in our respective countries.
I appreciate the United Nations support
for a wide range of sectors such as health, education, environment, agriculture
and food security. One of my most important memories working with the U.N. is
when I had the opportunity to work with children, especially after the Easter
Sunday attacks and during the pandemic. In addition to remaining committed to
children’s rights and safety, I remain equally committed to addressing the
challenges faced by women and girls, the elderly and the differently-abled, and
look forward to working closely with the U.N. Resident Coordinator and the
Country Team.
I extend my best wishes to the entire U.N.
team here in Sri Lanka as you mark United Nations Day tomorrow, and I expect to
continue the close cooperation in the years to come.
Calling on Prime Minister Mahinda
Rajapaksa at Temple Trees this evening, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea
Woonjin Jeong called Sri Lanka one of the safest countries,” and said he is
actively encouraging Korean investors to explore opportunities in Sri Lanka.
Several decades ago, Korea was one of the
largest investors in Sri Lanka. Currently, there are more than 115 Korean
companies operating in the country, and total trade between the two countries
stood at US$ 327 million last year. Both countries are keen on increasing that
number.
Ambassador Jeong also congratulated the
Prime Minister on the victory in the recently-held General Election and said it
was trust and confidence” that resulted in the mandate the Government
received. He also commended the Government on its handling of the pandemic and
said the Korean Government would be providing tangible support to Sri Lanka in
coping with the COVID-19 crisis.
The two delegations discussed a number of
priorities for further cooperation between Sri Lanka and Korea that included
FDIs, exports, tourism and migrant workers.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa recalled the
phone call with Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun earlier this week and
renewed his invitation for the Korean Prime Minister to make his first ever
visit to Sri Lanka.
Noting that the Korean Prime Minister is
keen on visiting Sri Lanka, Ambassador Jeong said, We are and will always be
close friends.”
