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උතුරේ දූපත් 3ක දෙමුහුන් පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්ති පද්ධතිය ඉදිකිරීම සඳහා ඉන්දියානු සමාගම් වලින් පමණක් ලංසු කැඳවා තිබේ.
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සුනිත්‍ය බලශක්ති අධිකාරියේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජෙනරාල්වරයා විසින් නිකුත්කළ නිවේදනයක් මගින් මේ බව දන්වා ඇති අතර, ලංසු ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම 2023 සැප්තැම්බර් 14 දිනෙන් අවසන් වන බවත් දක්වා තිබේ.
අදාළ ලිපිය පහළින්…
ඊයේ දින කුරුන්දි විහාර භූමියට පැමිණි දෙමළ අන්තවාදී දේශපාලන නායකයන් සතුටු කිරීම සඳහා ගොන් කතාවක් කියන ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ පොලිස් අධිකාරිවරයකුගේ හඬපටයක් අප වෙත ලැබී ඇත.
ඔහුට අනුව පුරාවිද්‍යා ආඥා පනතේ විධිවිධාන අනුව එම දෙපාර්තමෙන්තුවේ අධීක්ෂණය යටතේ පුරාවිද්‍යා රක්ෂිතයක ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කටයුතු කිරීම නීති විරෝධීය.
අධීක්ෂණයට බලයක් ලැබෙන්නේ දෙමළ බෙදුම්වාදීන් ඊට එරෙහිව ගැටුමක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම නිසා බව ඔහුට වැටහෙන්නේ නැත.
මේ තොත්ත බබා නිලධාරියාගේ නම ඩී.යූ.පී අමරතුංග බව සහ ඔහුගේ නිලය ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ පොලිස් අධිකාරී බව සහ සේවය කරන්නේ මුලතිව් දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ බවට අප වෙත තොරතුරු ලැබී ඇත.
ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ, ටිරාන් අලස් මහතා සමග හා රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා සමග ඩීල් එකක් ඇති බව පෙරටුගාමී සමාජවාදී පක්ෂයේ දුමින්ද නාගමුව මහතා සිරස රූපවාහිනී නාලිකාවේ විකාශය වූ වැඩසටහනකට එක් වෙමින් නැවත වරක් පවසයි.
ජවිපෙ නායක අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා දුපතක ආයෝජනය කර ඇති බවට තමන් පැවසූ කතාව සම්බන්දයෙන් ඔහු එහිදී පවසන්නේ ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් හැකි නම් CIDයට කැඳවන ලෙසත් එයට උත්තර සැපයීමට සූදානම් බවත්ය.
President appoints retired Major General-led team to shape contemporary security policies
Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremeshinghe
President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday highlighted the need for a comprehensive review of Sri Lanka’s national security strategy to chart a course devoid of entanglement in the emerging international rivalries and maintain neutrality in the Indian Ocean region.
The review will include a broad range of factors, emerging economic trends and the impacts of climate change, Wickremesinghe said, addressing a Naval gathering in the southern district of Galle.
The President has already appointed a team led by a retired Major General to report to the National Security Council for formulating contemporary security policies.
He said the dynamics of today’s landscape witness the encroachment of global power struggles into the Indian Ocean’s realm.
On one front, a contest for supremacy unfolds between the United States and China across the expanses of the Pacific Ocean. Simultaneously, a power struggle emerges between the Western nations and Russia in the context of Ukraine. This competition for influence extends even to remote reaches such as Niger in Africa,” he said.
Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka should maintain neutrality in the Indian Ocean region.
Undoubtedly, the Indian Ocean hosts the world’s pivotal trade routes, making Sri Lanka an integral player at this stage. As we navigate these waters, it is imperative that we chart a course devoid of entanglement in these international rivalries, maintaining an impartial stance. Our foremost concern must be the safeguarding of our security within this sphere,” the president said.
He said the utilisation of submarines in the Indian Ocean has increased. In light of this, the island nation’s maritime security strategy should be directed towards the development of a robust programme tailored to submarine surveillance and control.
Upon the compilation of the review report, a blueprint for modernised security policies of the National Security Council will be adopted.
Sri Lanka which is going through its worst economic crisis since independence has faced criticism over larger budgetary allocations for defence spending while the healthcare and education budgets remain lower.
Demands are to prune its security forces and reduce the level of presence in the former north and eastern conflict zones to promote reconciliation with the Tamil minority.
The island wants to join the world’s largest free trade and economic cooperation agreement. The announcement by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who also wants to ‘demilitarise’ the Indian Ocean. For analysts and experts, it is an important step to revive the country’s economy and open up new avenues for growth and development.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – Colombo aims to become the first South Asian country to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the largest free trade and economic cooperation agreement in the world, following the conclusion of the initiatives to optimize the credit, announced by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, during a speech marking the 56th anniversary of ASEAN – an association that brings together 10 nations of South-East Asia – which was held on 8 August in the capital of Sri Lanka .
“We must join the RCEP” and “there is no reason” not to do so underlined the head of state, adding that trade agreements with India and Bangladesh are necessary for the development of the nation. And at the same time he hopes for the “demilitarization” of the Indian Ocean, aligning itself with the objectives already set by ASEAN.
Signed after eight years of negotiations on November 20, 2020, the RCEP involves the 10 ASEAN nations – Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam – China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zeeland.
The an area represents at least 2.3 billion people (equal to 30% of the global population) and boasting a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of .3 trillion in 2022, approximately 29% of global GDP.
Sri Lanka wants to enter the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and start free trade negotiations with ASEAN, not before having concluded the agreement with external creditors relating to the over 40 billion dollars needed to meet the requests of the Monetary Fund international (IMF).
The island’s leaders believe these are necessary steps to rebuild a nation hit by the worst economic and social crisis since independence and increase its foreign currency reserves.
Interviewed by AsiaNews, the economist Harin Wijesinghe underlines that “among the advantages of the RCEP are the reduction of trade barriers, including tariff concessions by trading partners”.
Moreover, the “improvement of market access, economic and technical cooperation, small and medium-sized enterprises and the streamlining of customs procedures”. Membership “will facilitate market access for exports of agricultural products, as partner countries have agreed to reduce customs tariffs”.
The deal involves ASEAN nations and free trade partners (FTA) and aims to cover trade in goods and services, including intellectual property. Furthermore, it would open “to foreign investors – concludes the expert – at least 65% of the service sectors such as telecommunications, finance, distribution and logistics”.
Colombo has already entered into a trade agreement with Singapore and is also actively negotiating with Thailand. The nation has immense potential as a trading hub in the Indian Ocean and is rapidly rising as a gateway to South Asia.
Economists Chandima Tennakoon and Anuruddha Senanayaka are of the opinion that the RCEP will create new commercial opportunities between Asian countries and accelerate the economic recovery of the region.
The agreement will also eliminate tariffs on more than 90% of goods over the next 10-15 years and introduce investment and intellectual property rules to promote free trade.
Academic and analyst Ruwan Kariyawasam believes that “President Wickremesinghe’s statement on membership” underscores “Sri Lanka’s determination to strengthen its economic connectivity within the wider Asian region”. This also includes its alignment with ASEAN’s future vision for the Indo-Pacific region.
“These partnership proposals – he concludes – highlight the commitment to promote economic cooperation and trade links, which will open new paths for growth and development”.
It is no secret that President Ranil Wickremesinghe always rooted for a federal solution. Nevertheless, regardless of his own personal beliefs, he, as an astute politician, is also aware that majority of the country (which is not to be read as ‘majority community’) bitterly oppose such a power-sharing structure that will effectively castrate the Central Government.
13A opposed more by the minority communities than the majority
This has not stopped him from trying to dabble with it and the last time he did, it almost cost him his political career. Even at that time, he knew he was taking a dangerous gamble. Therefore, he never took ownership of the proposed constitution that TNA Spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran penned. In that document, a question mark was designed to be cast on the word ‘unitary’. Even in the English translation, the word ‘unitary’, that had established legal context, was replaced with the Sinhala word for unitary with a slash and a Tamil word that translates as a collective. As such, the Yahapalana Government tried to play a mean trick on both sides of the divide on the question of unitary status of the country.
Of course, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s then political debacle was not simply due to the promotion of federalism or the attempted chicanery. The Central Bank bond scams, treacherously co-sponsoring the UNHRC 30/1 Resolution, persecuting war heroes, retarding the robust economic growth of seven per cent to a mere two per cent and the Easter Sunday Attack were the primary factors that almost booted out of politics.
However, it is notable that the minority parties, who he had been unashamedly and unreservedly serenading and courting, did not come to his rescue at his hour of need. This is because federalism is opposed more by the minority communities than the majority.
RW’s rise to power from the ashes
In 2019, voters sent him to the ‘naughty boy’s corner’ with only one national list seat for UNP – the oldest political party. Not a single UNP member won at the 2020 General Election that was held on 5 August. Everyone in that party, including Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, failed to win enough votes even to warrant a count.
By that time, the UNP had been reduced to a ‘ghost town’ as the then Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa left to form his own party, the SJB. He took with him majority of the UNP MPs, who were only too happy to escape the sinking ship.
It was with this one national list seat that Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the lone UNPer, entered the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka. Undeterred, he used his wit, honed by over 50 years in politics, to turn every opportunity to his advantage. Two years later, on 21.07.2022, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the eighth Executive President of Sri Lanka.
A country like Japan would have included into their textbooks the fall and rise of Ranil Wickremesinghe to teach their children the value of perseverance. Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka we do not teach these kinds of life lessons to anyone.
The man of the hour
It was a jarring moment when Ranil Wickremesinghe became the President. The man we got rid of two and half years ago was back. However, there were more pressing issues. Our country was in near anarchy and he might be the only person who could save us.
When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was voted into Office in 2019 with one of the strongest mandates, he was expected to lead our country into prosperity and instill discipline. While not everyone blames him for the near economic collapse, almost none exonerates him for mismanaging anti-government protests.
When he resigned on 14.07.2022, every essence of democracy was under siege and was about to be overrun by anarchists. The situation needed to be rolled back quickly and the only man who could do it at that moment was Ranil Wickremesinghe.
He was a prominent member of the Ranasinghe Premadasa Government, who played a pivotal role to break the 1988-89 JVP insurgency. His methods were not popular then and still have the power to send shivers down anyone’s back. Everyone knew he would not tolerate any nonsense. Therefore, even those who worked hard to depose him in 2019 were not totally opposed to Ranil Wickremesinghe assuming the presidency.
As expected, as President, he restored order and put everyone – including foreign diplomats, who were running interference with internal affairs, in their place. This time there was no bloodshed and within days the country was back in business. This earned him a second glance from those who despised him.
The hour has passed. what now?
President Wickremasinghe was indeed the man of the hour. However, even at that crucial moment, the question remained as to what he would do when the hour passes. He always felt that rather than the Sinhala Buddhist majority community, his meal ticket came from the minority parties. As such, he was always an ardent supporter of federalism and hence the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (13A).
Last July-August, it was desperately hoped that the era of the Yahapalana Government would have served him as a valuable lesson and he would never traverse that path again. In many ways, he did seem to have reformed. During his one year in Office, anyone who mocked or ridiculed Buddhism has found themselves in deep trouble with the law. This must be compared to the productions as ‘Budunge Rasthiyaduwa’ by KK Srinath, which key characters of Yahapalana Government endorsed.
Exactly a year has passed since the last protester had been packed off home. According to Verité Research (Pvt) Ltd survey, 60 per cent believe that the ‘Aragalaya’ was a flop. Thus, any threat of anarchy has been nullified for the moment. Unfortunately, the other threat, the threat of federalism, which was feared by many when Ranil Wickremesinghe became President, has manifested.
Late 2022, President Wickremesinghe broached the possibility of implementing the 13A in full. There were some discussions with all the parties on this subject. Other than a promise for a definite solution by February 2023, nothing really came out of it. Last week, President again pledged to implement the 13A.
Strengthen the economy to bin 13A
This has again agitated the nationalists. Whether they will be able to quell it as they did last time remains to be seen.
It is noteworthy that the 13A is India’s pet project. This is the reason for the TNA to demand it even though their one time master, the LTTE rejected it and accused India of betraying the Tamil aspirations.
India has been our superhero during our economic crisis. Since then, we have entered into a number of agreements with India. As such, even if President Wickremesinghe might no longer believe in the 13A, he might not be in a position to reject it.
Therefore, there is an important task for all those who oppose the 13A. That is, we must get our act together and strengthen our economy. This must be a national and not a mere government effort. While depending on another economy, it is just not feasible for our government to act independently.
ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com
(The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of
Ceylon Today)
By Shivanthi Ranasinghe
In a significant stride towards enhancing bilateral relations, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Kenya Kananathan and the Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya, Musalia Mudavadi held a successful meeting aimed to advance mutual interests in trade, investments and collaboration across various sectors. The discussions underscored the commitment of both nations to foster fruitful partnerships for their economies and peoples. The meeting, held at the Prime Cabinet Secretary’s Office, showcased the commitment of both nations to strengthen ties for mutual benefit.
High Commissioner Kananathan commended Kenya’s impressive economic progress and expressed Sri Lanka’s keen interest in deepening bilateral cooperation. Highlighting Sri Lanka’s strengths, he noted the active involvement of Sri Lankan businessmen in diverse sectors within Kenya. One of the pivotal points of the discussion was the engagement of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in key sectors of the Kenyan economy. He emphasized that Sri Lankan businessmen were already actively contributing to Kenya’s development landscape, particularly in industries such as apparel manufacturing, renewable energy, tea trading and tea manufacturing and infrastructure.
High Commissioner Kananathan conveyed Sri Lanka’s keen interest in exploring new avenues of economic engagement with Kenya. Emphasizing the rich cultural heritage and strategic location of both nations, he highlighted the opportunities for enhancing trade and investments. The Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya reciprocated this enthusiasm and underscored the importance of building stronger economic bridges between the two countries.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi acknowledged the significant role that Sri Lankan investors and businesses play in various sectors in Kenya. He highlighted the potential for further expansion and collaboration, particularly in areas where both countries have expertise and resources to share.
Both agreed on the importance of mutual collaboration to address common challenges and seize emerging opportunities. They identified specific sectors where joint efforts could yield substantial benefits, including agribusiness, renewable energy, and sustainable tourism.
In a display of goodwill and commitment to their shared goals, High Commissioner Kananathan and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi announced their intention to establish a joint working group. This group will facilitate regular exchanges of information, explore potential partnerships, and coordinate efforts to maximize the advantages of collaboration.
The successful meeting between the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of Kenya marks a significant milestone in the journey of the two nations towards closer economic and trade ties. With both sides expressing their determination to work towards mutually beneficial outcomes, the future holds promise for a stronger and more prosperous partnership between Sri Lanka and Kenya.
Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi acknowledged the pivotal role that High Commissioner Kananathan played in enhancing the bilateral relationship between Kenya and Sri Lanka. He highlighted the ongoing initiatives and engagement activities undertaken by the High Commissioner to bridge the geographical gap and strengthen the diplomatic bond between the two countries. High Commissioner Kananathan expressed his gratitude for the Prime Minister’s kind words and affirmed his unwavering commitment to strengthen ties between Kenya and Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena visited the Yunnan Xiaguan Tuocha (Group) Co., Ltd., China’s premier tea enterprise integrating research and development, production and sales of tea in Dali in Yunnan Province on August 18.
He held detailed discussions with the Chief Executive and top tea researchers about the possibilities of further strengthening the cooperation between tea research in Sri Lanka and Xiaguan Tuocha, which is known for its large production scale, excellent quality and technology, good brand reputation, complete sales network, and international reputation.
The Xiaguan Tuocha brand was created in 1902 and has a history over 110 years. The company’s predecessor was the Kangzang Tea Factory founded in 1941. After privatization reform in 2004 and several generations of hard work, it has become a group company with deep historical heritage, the CEO explained to the Prime Minister.
With the theme, ‘integrity management, quality first’, it is known for high-quality tea products and services to the world”, he said. The Yunnan Xiaguan Tuocha has already exchange data and expertise with Tea Research Center in Thalawakele and it has expressed willingness to assist research and development undertaken by tea industry in Sri Lanka.
It has a reputation as the national frontier tea designated production enterprise and raw material reserve enterprise, the national tea processing technology research and development center, the national key leading enterprise of agricultural industrialization.
The officials pointed out that the company produces more than 200 varieties of five major teas, mainly Pu-erh tea and it has won several international awards.The products are sold nationwide and are mainly sold to more than 30 provinces and cities in China, and exported to more than 10 countries including the European Union, Russia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. It has been listed as authorized vendor in Vancouver, Canada. Our focus is to provide you high-quality tea from Xiaguan Tuocha and we will extend support to the tea research and development in Sri Lanka,” the official assured the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister invited the Xiaguan Tuocha to send a team to Sri Lanka to further discussions on cooperation in tea research.
State Minister Janaka Wakkumbura, Governor of Eastern Province Senthil Thondaman, Yadamini Gunawardena MP and Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanyake were also present on this occasion.
Several decades ago, at school we used Philip’s Modern School Atlas and saw countries of Asia, Africa and South America were given different colours to symbolise which colonialists – British, French, Belgian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch or Italian – had subjugated those countries. On the occasion of the 77 th Independence Day of India on August 16, Sri Lankan newspapers carried a 5-paged Supplement of which two segments (1) Promoting Connectivity, Catalysing Prosperity India -Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision” and (2) For the People Development Cooperation” attracted our attention.
The first segment deals with the MOUs and declarations exchanged between the two countries when Ranil Wickremasinghe met Modi in mid-July. It gives a detailed account of the so-called (1) Maritime connectivity (2) Air connectivity (3) Energy and power connectivity (4) Trade, Economic and Financial connectivity and (5) People to – people connectivity which are stepping stones in making Sri Lanka a vassal state of India. On the whole Connectivity of Sri Lanka to India.
The most intriguing part in the Supplement was Sri Lanka map in which each province was given a different colour from lemon yellow, vermillion, rose, crimson red, grass green, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna to yellow ochre, as in the aforementioned Philip’s Modern school Atlas, showing different projects undertaken by India in each province.
They are (1) Northern Province: Petroleum pipeline, Kankasanthurai port, fisheries harbour in Point Pedro, Jaffna Cultural Centre, hybrid power project in the Islands, power grid interconnection (2) Eastern Province: Trincomalee oil tank farm, energy and investment hub in Trincomalee, Sampur solar plant, surgical unit in Batticaloa (3) North Western Province: vocational training center in Puttalam (4) North Central Province: multi-ethnic trilingual school in Polonnaruwa (5) Central Province: 5000 unit cold storage project in Dambulla, Kandyan dancing school, Nuwara Eliya University (6) Western Province: West container terminal at Colombo harbour (7) Southern Province: Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Auditorium, smart class room. In addition, it mentions about Indian housing projects in North and East, Uva, Southern, Sabaragamuwa and Western provinces, all nine provinces of Sri Lanka painted in different colours showing Sri Lanka under Indian hegemony and suzerainty. Who gave permission to Indian High Commission panjandrums or what right they have to paint Sri Lanka in this manner?
Several centuries ago French seized Trincomalee forcing British troops to surrender, without firing a shot and bloodshed. Several centuries later Trincomalee and the entire North and East will be handed over to the Indian proxies at Ranil Wickremasinghe’s behest, Indians providing necessary infrastructure facilities of a future Federal State, the embryo of Tamil Eaalam, with full implementation of 13 A.
Prime Minister of Sikkim appealing to the Indian Parliament in 1975 for Sikkim to become a State of India, Indian Army taking over the city Gangtok, disarming palace guards, abolishing the monarchy, union with India and Sikkim becoming the 22nd State of India is a harsh lesson to all Sri Lankans. Will Abraham Sumanthiran play Sikkim Prime Minister’s role?
The fourth lesson of pre-1971 JVP was titled Indiyanu Vyapthawadaya” (Indian Expansionism), in which the JVPers targeted Indian plantation workers: alleging that their allegiance was to India, that in every line room there were calendars depicting pictures of Gandhi, MGR, Jayalalitha, Gemini Ganeshan, Savitri and Sivaji Ganeshan, that they were provided with permanent employment, wages and foodstuffs such as flour, luxuries” other villagers did not enjoy. JVP planned to uproot tea bushes from tea plantations. Wijeweera got the opportunity to grab the anti-Tamil flag from K. M. P. Rajaratna former MP for Welimada, the arch anti-Tamil and his wife Kusuma, MP for Uva-Paranagama, both joining Dudley Senanayake’s Hath Hawula” (seven-party coalition) in 1965.
JVP had no hatred towards Borahs and Sindhis who controlled the wholesale trade and textile industry. India waging a border war against the Peoples’ republic of China was not an issue for them.
Now the present JVP and NPP have no qualm when Indians getting a firm foothold in Sri Lanka painting the town in red”.
The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord of July 1987, led to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of November 1987.
JR Jayewardene is remembered with contempt as the person who got the 13th Amendment accepted in Parliament. At the time, it was thought that this was forced on Sri Lanka by India, thanks to JR’s poor diplomacy. It is now found that this was the work of the USA, not India. USA was behind the India-Sri Lanka accord of 1987, said analysts. This makes sense. The 13th Amendment is linked to Eelam. It benefits USA, not India.
The two Bills were placed on the Order Paper of Parliament on October 9, 1987. Having obtained the opinion of the Attorney General under Article 77, the President proceeded to invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Articles 120 and 121 to determine whether the 13th Amendment required the approval of the people at a referendum by virtue of the provisions of the Article 83”
The 13th Amendment and Provincial Councils Bills were sent to Supreme Court to determine whether they conformed to the Constitution and whether they needed a referendum. There were 28 petitions against the two Bills, argued by eminent lawyers. They argued; inter alia that this Bill affected the sovereignty of the country, its unity and its future.
Five of the nine judges, Chief Justice Sharvananda, Justices Colin Thome, H.D. Tambiah, J Atukorale, and KAP Ranasinghe found the Bills acceptable; while four others held that they were not acceptable resulting in a wafer thin majority of 5-4 in favor of the two Bills. Justice R. Wanasundera, L.H. de Alwis, H.A.G. de Silva and J Seneviratne, said both bills needed a referendum. Justice Ranasinghe stated that two clauses required a referendum. (https://www.scribd.com/document/263018852/In-Re-the-Thirteenth-Amendment-to-the-Constitution-2-Slr-1987#)
In 2017, Justice Wanasundera headed a Commission initiated by the Patriotic National Movement. In the report of this Commission, Justice Wanasundera said, the so called majority judgment of the Chief Justice Sharvananda, Justice Atukorale, Percy Colin Thome and Thambiah along with that of Justice Parinda Ranasinghe (who, by and large agreed with them, but dissented on one important matter) the wealth of informed and learned opinion in legal circles is that the reasoning in those judgments are mistaken and patently erroneous.
Critics differ in their interpretation of this Supreme Court ruling. Some say that the Supreme Court sent three separate determinations, not a single‘collective’ determination, leaving Parliament to figure out what to do with them. Others say that Supreme Court did not make any ‘determination’ at all, but had sent recommendations for consideration of Parliament. They note that Supreme Court did not specify the amendments necessary to make the Bills legal, either, though they were empowered to do so.
Critics declared that Parliament should have prepared fresh Bills, taking care to omit the provision for a referendum and sent them back to Supreme Court. Instead Parliament approved the original Bills, which called for a referendum, saying that they only needed 2/3 majority, not a referendum. No referendum was held. Supreme Court had said that the Provincial Council Bill should come only after the Amendment Bill became law. Instead, the first bill, (13th Amendment bill) was passed in Parliament two days after the vote on the second (Provincial Council) Bill, which sought to amend the first bill.
In this confused manner, on 14 November 1987 the Sri Lanka Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987. Members of Parliament were put into a hotel the night before and taken to Parliament in a van from there, with President Jayewardene holding undated letters of resignation from them. Had there been a second assembly (Upper House), this matter would have taken longer. The Bills received the Speaker’s Certificate, preventing any further discussion of its validity within Parliament.
If the UNP did not have a two thirds majority in Parliament in 1987, the Provincial Councils would never have been imposed on Sri Lanka despite pressure from India because there would have been no way to amend the Constitution. The only reason why India succeeded in imposing its will on Sri Lanka was because the UNP government at that time happened to have a two thirds majority in Parliament.
But the 13th Amendment continued to be discussed outside Parliament, specially the highly questionable manner in which it was passed in Parliament. The Amendment was forced upon Sri Lanka by India, critics said, any statement made under duress, threat or compulsion is illegal and invalid in Sri Lanka law and in the Vienna Convention on law of Treaties. It is interference in the internal governance of a country.
The Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties (1969) which presumably both India and Sri Lanka would have signed clearly indicates the grounds on which the validity of the Accord may be challenged. In keeping with the doctrine of Sovereign equality, Article 52 of the Vienna Convention provides that a treaty procured by coercion of a state” will be void.
The 13th Amendment was dangerous, said critics. The 13th Amendment gave legal recognition to the provinces of Sri Lanka and also permitted them to merge. It is directly linked to Eelam, they added. The 13th Amendment is a prelude to the breakup of the country. Provinces could merge, which meant that Sri Lanka could break up into autonomous units.
The 13th Amendment cripples the state and makes Sri Lanka ungovernable, said critics. The Provincial Councils will need to compete with each other, to attract foreign investment, creating greater disunity. The country would then become chaotic and ungovernable and interested parties, such as India, could move in.
Provincial Councils are on a par with the Parliament and there is a division of legislative power.”The existing structure is sufficient to be used by India and the Tamils to prise open the unity of this country and divide our country. Division of the country and creation of a separate Dravidian state is being done step by step covertly and incrementally, analysts said.
The limitations of the 13th Amendment have been noted. The Provincial Councils cannot go beyond the country’s constitution. They can function only ‘subject to the provisions of the Constitution’. Provincial statutes could be declared void by the law courts if they are inconsistent with Constitution. The President of Sri Lanka can take control of a province, if there is mismanagement. Further, Article 157A of the Constitution prohibits a wide range of acts which relate to the creation of a separate state within Sri Lanka. Chapter 6 of the Penal Code gives a list of offences against the state prohibited by the Penal Code. A ‘new’ constitutions is now mooted to strengthen the 13 Amendment, remove barriers like the ‘concurrent list‘ and make the Provincial Councils supreme and sovereign .
Most people, judging by comments in the media, are against the 13th Amendment and want it repealed. In 2012 OPA called for the repeal of the 13A, saying Sri Lanka did not ask for it, the PC system has totally failed and only added a financial burden, and also administrative confusion. Provincial Councils are a temptation to separatism, 13A it a threat to sovereignty, independence and unitary status. Neither the government nor people wanted it (Island. 1.12.12. P 4).
Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya, All Ceylon Buddhist Congress and the Collective for the abolition of Provincial Council systems (CAPCS) formed in 2013, say 13th Amendment was imposed on the country from outside. It challenges the supremacy of Parliament. They are opposed to the granting of land and police powers to the provinces, and the power to merge provinces. .”
The most urgent and pressing duty on us is to remove these pieces of legislation from our statute book, said Gunadasa Amarasekera in 2017. There is a demand, at least in a section of the government, that the 13th. Amendment (13A) devolving powers to elected Provincial Councils should be repealed or substantially amended to bring about greater central control, said analysts in 2021. ( Continued)
මෙම සිද්ධියෙන් මනාව පැහැදිළිවන පලමු කරුණනම් මෙතරම් ජාතික වැදගත්කමකින් යුතු දිස්ත්‍රික්ක 5ක මිනිසුන් දසලක්ෂ ගානක හා කර්මාන්ත ශාලා,රජයේ කාර්‍යාල, රෝහල් වැනි රාජ්‍යායත සිය දහස් ගානකට බලබපාන ඉතා වැදගත් සේවාකාක් ක්‍රියත්මක කිරීමට අමාත්‍ය මන්ඩල අනුමැතිය ලැබී චීන සමාගමක් සමඟ ගිවිසුම්ද අතසන්කොට වසර 5 ½ ක් ගතවනතුරුත් රජයේ සහ රාජ්‍ය ආයතනවල පවතින අකාර්‍යක්ෂමතාව සහ නොසැලකිල්ල නිසා මෙම සන්වර්ධන යෝජනා ක්‍රමය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට නොහැකිවූ බවය.වර්තමාන සභාපතිවරයාට එය විසඳීමට ගතවී ඇත්තේ දින 5 ක් පමණකැයි මේ පුවතින් කියවේ.ඇදාල ඇමැතිවරයා සහ නිලධාරින් අවුර්දු 5 1/2ම මෙම ගැටළුව විසඳීමට පියවර නොගත්තේ මන්දැයි දන්වත් සොයා බලා අප්‍රමාදයට සහ වගකීම් පැහැර හැරීමට එරෙහිව වගකිවයුතු පුද්ගලයින්ට දඬුවම් කලයුතු නොවේද. වසර 5 ½ ක් තිස්සේ මෙය ක්‍රියාත්මක නොකෙරීම නිසා රටට සිදුවූ පාඩුවද ඔවුන්ගෙන් අයකරගත යුතුය
තමාට හිමි රාජකාරිය පිළිබඳ මනා අවභෝධයක් ඇතිව ඇපකැපවීමෙන් එය ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් කෙරෙන දේවකාරි‍යක් යන ආකල්පයෙන් යුතුව පිරිසිදු දෑතින් එය ඉටුකරන්නේනම් ඕනෑම දේශපලකයෙකුට මෙන්ම රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරියෙකුට වුවද මෙවැනි විස්කම් කිරීමට අපහසුවක් නැත
මෙහිදී තවත් වැදගත් කරුණු කීපයක් ගැන සඳන්කිරීමට මා කැමතිය. එනම් පළමුවම තක්සේරුමුදල දෙස බලමු. රජයේ තක්සේරු දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ තක්සේරුව 16, 90,000 දාහකි (මිලිය 1.69 කි පුද්ගලික තක්සේරු කරුගේ තක්සේරුව රුපියල් කෝටි 4.1 කි. (මිලියන 41). ඉඩම් හිමියන්ගේ ඉල්ලීම ලක්ශ 90 කි (මිලිය.09. කී ආසියාණු සන්වර්ධන බැන්කුවේ නිර්ණායක අනුව එය රුපියල් ලෂ 96 කි(9.6 ම්). මෙයින් ගම්‍යවන පළමු කරුණනම් රජයේ තක්සේරුව නියම වෙළන්දපල වටිණාකම බවය. එයින් පැහැදිලි වනුයේ තක්සේරු දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ තක්සේරුව යථාර්තවාදි සහ සාධාරන තක්සේරුවක් බවය. පුද්ගලික අන්ශයේ තක්සේරුව මිලියන 41 වීම මේ රටේ පුද්ගලික අන්ශය රජය මෙන්ම ජනතාවද ගසාකන ආකාරය මැනවින් පෙන්වයි. ආකාරය පිළිබඳ කදිම උදාඅහාර්ණයකි. වර්තමාන රජය සියලුම රාජ්‍ය ආයත පුද්ගලීකරණය කිරිමට පාර්ළිමේන්තුවේ චන්දය දෙන මහජන නියෝජිතයින්ට මෙය කදිම පනිවිඩයකි. ආසියාණු සන්වර්ධන බැණ්කුවේ තක්සේරුරුව එතරම්ම භයානක නොවුවද එයද එම බැන්කුවේ පටන් වන්දිලාභියා දක්වා සිටින අතරමැදියන්ගේ මලුවලට යන ගාණනද ඇතුලත් බවට සැක නැත.
රාජ්‍ය මුදල් වියදම් කිරීමේදි මෙන්ම ජාත්‍යන්තර ආයතන වලින් ආධාර ලබා ගැනීමේදි අප කවුරුත් හොඳින් සිහියේ තබාගතයුතු කරුණු රැසක් මේ පත්තර වාර්තවෙන් අනාවරණය වී ඇතැයි මම සිතමි.
අවසාන වශයෙන් ඉඩම් හ්හිමියන්ගේ ඉල්ලීම වු ලෂ 90 (මිලියන 09) ඔනාම ව්‍යාපාරිකයකුගේ හැසිරීම අනුව සිතිය යුතුයයි සිතමි. කෙසේ වුවද පුවත් පතේ කියන ආකාරයට මේ ඉඩම් හිමියන් ශතයක්වත් නොගෙන මීට දැක්වූ විරෝධ ඉවත් කරගෙන මෙම සත් ක්‍රියාවට ඉඩ දුන් බව ඇසීම මුලු රටටම, විශේෂයෙන් දකුණු හා සබරගමු පලාත් වාශීන්ගේ ඉමහත් සතුටට හේතුවනු නොඅනුමානය. ඉඩම් හිමියන්ගේ නම ආටිගල බව ඇසූවිට මා සිහියට ආවේ අප පේරාදෙනිය විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ ඉගෙනගන්නා කාලයේ එහි උපකුළපති වරයා වශයෙන් කටයුතුකළ ප්‍රතාපවත්, අභීත මෙන්ම ශිෂ්‍යහිතවාදි සර් නිකොලස් ආටිගල මහතාය. එමපරපුරේ ගරුත්වය රැකීම පිළිබඳව මුලු මහත් රටවාසීන්ම අදාල ඉඩම්හිමියන්ට කෘතඥතාව දක්වන බව මට නිසැකය.
අවසාන වෂයෙන් වසර 5 1/2 ක් තිස්සේ කිසිම මැති ඇමතිවරයෙකුට හෝ නිලධාරියෙකුට නොකළ හැකිවූ ප්‍රාතිහාර්‍යක් රට වෙනුවෙන් ඉටුකළ මහජන උපයෝගිතා කොමිසමේ සභාපති මහැදුරු තුමාට මම යළිත් වරක් මගේ ඉස්තුතිය සහ ප්‍රශන්සාව පුදකරණ අතරම මේරටේ සියළුම දෙශපාලකයින් සහ රාජ්‍ය නිළධාරින් තම රාජකාරිය කිරීමේදි එතුමා ආදර්ෂයට ගෙන ජනතා හිත සුව පිණිස දිවා රෑ කටයුතු කරණු ඇතැයි මම සිතමි.
Writing a good review is a valuable skill, whether you’re reviewing a product, service, book, movie, restaurant, or any other type of experience.
A well-written review provides useful insights and helps others make informed decisions. Here’s a guide on what to include and what to avoid in your review:
What to Include in a Good Review:
1. Introduction:
· Start with a catchy introduction that gives a brief overview of what you’re reviewing.
2. Context:
· Provide relevant context about the product, service, or experience. Explain why you tried it or why it caught your interest.
3. Description:
· Describe the product or experience in detail. Mention its features, characteristics, or aspects that stand out.
4. Personal Experience:
· Share your personal experience with the product or service. Explain how it met your expectations, exceeded them, or fell short.
5. Positives:
· Highlight the strengths and positives of the product or experience. Discuss what you liked, enjoyed, or found impressive.
6. Negatives (if any):
· If there are shortcomings or areas that need improvement, mention them in a constructive manner. Avoid overly negative language and offer suggestions for improvement.
7. Comparison (if relevant):
· If you have experience with similar products or services, compare them briefly to give readers a better perspective.
8. Value:
· Explain whether you believe the product or experience offers good value for the price or effort invested.
9. Details:
· Include specific details, examples, or anecdotes that support your opinions and observations.
10. Audience Consideration:
· If the product or experience is targeted at a specific audience, discuss how well it caters to that audience’s needs and preferences.
11. Visuals (if applicable):
· If possible, include relevant images or visuals to illustrate your points.
What to Avoid in a Review:
1. Bias:
· Avoid writing overly biased or one-sided reviews. Provide a balanced perspective, even if you have a strong opinion.
2. Personal Emotions (Excessively):
· While sharing personal experiences is important, avoid overly emotional or rant-like language. Stick to objective observations.
3. Vague Statements:
· Be specific in your descriptions and avoid vague statements like “It was great” without explaining why.
4. Unsubstantiated Claims:
· Back up your statements with facts, examples, or reasons to make your review more credible.
5. Inappropriate Language:
· Maintain a professional tone and avoid using offensive or inappropriate language.
6. Irrelevant Information:
· Stick to discussing aspects directly related to the product or experience. Irrelevant details can distract readers.
7. Lengthy Tangents:
· Keep your review concise and to the point. Long-winded tangents can make your review hard to follow.
8. Spoilers:
· When reviewing books, movies, or other media, avoid giving away major plot twists or surprises without warning.
9. Incomplete Reviews:
· Avoid writing reviews that lack substance. Provide enough information for readers to make informed decisions.
10. Lack of Constructive Criticism:
· If you have criticisms, present them constructively rather than resorting to purely negative comments.
Remember that the goal of a review is to provide useful information to others.
Honest, well-structured, and balanced reviews are more likely to be helpful and respected by readers.
Conclusion:
· Summarize your overall impression and reiterate the key points you discussed. Conclude with a recommendation or final thoughts.
Sasanka De Silva
Pannipitiya.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena held a meeting with Vietnam Vice President Tran Luu Quang on the sidelines of the 7th China – South Asia Expo in Kunming, Yunnan Province in China on August 16.
The Vietnamese Vice President acceded to the request made by the Prime Minister to explore possibility of new areas of trade and investments in addition to the current joint ventures in the public and private sectors.
He said Vietnam has undertaken massive development projects and there would be employment opportunities for professionals and skilled Sri Lankan workers.
The Prime Minister discussed with the Vietnamese Vice President about expanding cooperation in agriculture with special focus on rubber, coconut and tea, and fisheries, alternative energy and mining.
He said that increase of flights between the two countries would help the growing tourist arrivals and Vietnam agreed to cooperate in promoting tourism to Buddhist places of worship.
Vietnamese Ministers and senior officials, Ministers Tharaka Balasuriya, Janaka Wakkumbura, Parliamentarian Yadamini Gunawardena and Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake also were present on this occasion.
The Prime Minister held discussions with the Vice Presidents of Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Minister of Commerce of the Maldives, and others with many foreign representatives who participated in the 7th China-South Asia Expo and the 27th China Kunming Import and Export Expo, which was held with the participation of 60 member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (RCEP).
I am told the Samanala water after feeding the Hydro plant at Kapugala empties in to Katupitiya oya a RB head water river of Walave ganga above the UdaWalawe Reservoir that can use the same water for agriculture under Uda Walave and why does the Minister refuses to release Smanala water and corporate to save thousands of acres that produce food for people. I am sure he also knows that food is more important than electricity to man 18.8.203. Could any one explain
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda addressed the students of the 63rd National Defence Course at the National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi, (18 aug) on the theme ‘Evolution of India-Sri Lanka Relation: Opportunities and Challenges.’
At the outset, High Commissioner Moragoda highlighted the uniqueness of India-Sri Lanka relations drawing examples from historical ties to the present-day dynamics which involve a wide range of critical facets that define the relations between India and her closest maritime neighbour Sri Lanka.
During his interactive session, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner focused on key thematic areas of cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, culture, defence, and regional dynamics in the Indian Ocean, and explained how the India-Sri Lanka relations over the years have grown from a transactional phase to a special relationship. He also highlighted the importance of elevating the existing special relationship to a strategic level with the gradual progression of recently inked initiatives.
While thanking the Indian Government for the timely assistance rendered during the recent economic crisis, High Commissioner Moragoda appraised the audience of the current status concerning Sri Lanka’s economy and the economic stabilization efforts that are underway. He also stated that the future bilateral cooperation would heavily focus on connectivity and investment based on a reverberant economic integration road-map that was agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries.
The Sri Lankan High Commissioner also highlighted key pillars charted in the Integrated Country Strategy launched in 2021 for Sri Lanka Missions in India and its achievements.
High Commissioner Moragoda, emphasizing the importance of the recent official visit of the Sri Lankan President to India explained that the five key connectivity-focused enablers mapped in the India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision would remain the driving force in propelling the existing relations towards a new era.
Speaking on the defence cooperation, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka thanked the Indian government for the assistance rendered in enhancing the capacities and capabilities of the Sri Lankan armed forces over the years. He also stated that India’s security concerns in the immediate neighbourhood as well as in the Indian Ocean are Sri Lanka’s security concerns as well, and therefore, Sri Lanka pays a great deal of attention, especially to the developments that are taking place in the Indian Ocean.
The 63rd NDC course comprises 120 students representing the Indian military, Indian Civil Services, and friendly foreign countries, including two senior military officers from Sri Lanka.
The NDC is dedicated to the intellectual development and strategic enculturation of selected senior officers of the armed forces and civilian government services of India and those from foreign countries, for higher leadership positions and responsibilities.
COLOMBO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the importance of learning Chinese along with English for school children, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said on Thursday.
The PMD said the president made such remarks while addressing the annual prize awarding of a leading school called “Anula Vidyalaya” in Colombo on Wednesday.
“Schools and higher education institutions must be established as centers of knowledge dissemination in these fields. Consequently, our strategy encompasses the establishment of non-state universities alongside state institutions,” said the president.
A scheme akin to the subsidized loan systems abroad has been devised to enable students to pursue education in non-government universities without financial constraints interrupting their academic pursuits, he added.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Forty years ago this July, back in 1983, Sri Lanka was devastated by an anti-Tamil pogrom in which several hundred people were killed, triggering a civil war that plunged this paradise island into a deep abyss. That darkest chapter ended only in 2009 with the killing of LTTE leader Prabhakaran and another 100,000 or so people – Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, more than a thousand Indian soldiers as well as India’s former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
You would have thought that Sri Lanka, a tiny island nation of 22 million people about the population of Mumbai, would have at least begun laying some of its ghosts to rest. But the worm has been turning in paradise for so long that it has embittered even the Middle Path proposed by the Buddha as a metaphor for peace and reconciliation; decades later, Sri Lanka’s Buddhist Sinhala majority simply seems unable to share power with its Tamil minority.
So, when President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently spoke in Parliament about the need to at least partially implement the 13th Amendment that promises to devolve some powers to the provinces, including those where Tamils are in a majority – and which has been part of the country’s Constitution since the India-Sri Lanka accord was signed in 1987 – it was variously received with disdain, shock and a sense of betrayal.
Travelling across Sri Lanka this past week has been an exercise in observing a deeply riven nation that seems unable to come to terms with itself. This is such an incredibly beautiful country – the streets of Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee, Nalanda Gedige, Matale, Kandy, and Colombo are so shockingly clean that you wonder why Sri Lankans want to spend their time sweeping the dirt and filth away and showcasing a First World image when a hundred other crises are constantly presenting themselves.
Or, perhaps, that’s exactly why. When there are so many crocodiles in the river, you ignore their gaping mouths and reach for a semblance of order in your lives.
Also read: Take care, Rajiv Gandhi told Prabhakaran. Even gave bulletproof vest before Sri Lanka Accord
First, an enumeration of the crises, at least as seen by an outsider. There is the economy, now struggling to revive with a little help from the IMF (which has lent Sri Lanka its first $2.9 billion tranche) and India (which has lent $4 billion). It’s been a year since the unprecedented economic chaos led to former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country and the unelected Wickremesinghe being named prime minister and then president; Sri Lanka defaulted for the first time in its history and stared at paying a foreign debt of $51 billion, its GDP falling by 7.8 per cent and inflation rising to nearly 70 per cent by last September.
A year on, the news is far better. An April IMF report says the economic contraction will be far less severe (-3.1 per cent in 2023 and growth of 1.5 per cent in 2024), while inflation has halved to 35 per cent. From all accounts, Wickremesinghe is using the crisis to initiate economic reforms by reducing subsidies, trying to attract foreign investments and rolling loans for another year. As poverty doubles, he knows he is facing the severest challenge of his over 40-year-long political career.
Second, the continuing insecurity in the Sri Lankan Sinhala elite about sharing power with their Tamil and Muslim minorities seems astounding at best and inexcusable at worst. The Sinhalas are a rank majority, about 16.5 million or 75 per cent of the population, while the minority Tamils are 5 million or 15 per cent of the population. Of course, a large part of the insecurity is based on the Tamil Tiger-led insurgency that fractured the country for several decades.
But the fact also remains that the civil war has been over for 14 years. Moreover, the ruthless LTTE not just killed thousands of Sinhala people but decimated the ranks of the Tamil leadership. It’s a no-brainer that this tiny country needs reconciliation if it has to move on from the horrors of those years, that no reconciliation is possible without dignity and that dignity presupposes equality between all sides.
The scandal at hand is about a 36-year-old piece of legislation called the 13th Amendment, which is very much part of the Sri Lankan Constitution, although many citizens argue it was pushed down their throat in 1987 when the India-Sri Lanka accord was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and JR Jayawardene. The legislation, though, has still not been implemented. Why, you might ask. Do the Sinhalas hate it so much? Perhaps. And that’s because the 13th Amendment guarantees the exercise of land and police powers in all provinces, including the North and East provinces in which Tamils are a majority — presumably, the Sinhala-majority elite is nervous that the Tamils will also exercise these powers to the detriment of the nation.
A clear and complete lack of trust between the Sinhala elite and Tamil minority is apparent across the country – a Sunday Times editorial this past week described any leniency on the 13th Amendment as giving in to extremist elements”. Interestingly, Wickremesinghe has put a Tamil politician, Senthil Thondaman, as governor of the Eastern province — the Thondamans of the Ceylon Workers Congress are part of Wickremesinghe’s government today and have always loved the status quo above everything else.
They represent the upcountry Tamil population — indentured labour imported by the British from India 200 years ago — who have known poverty intimately, have compromised with most governments over the decades and understand that if they want to wield power, they cannot confront the Sinhala elite but must get around them.
In an interview in his beautiful, colonial period office in Trincomalee, Thondaman told me that he, his party and the Tamil people were comfortable with the fact that only land powers should be given under the 13th Amendment. He said he agreed with Wickremesinghe’s proposal that powers over the police will not be given. We know we have to compromise with the majority Sinhalas, we have to try and get what we can, so why fight,” Thondaman said, cutting a natty figure in his blue jeans and baby pink shirt.
Also read: How Indian forces responded in Sri Lanka after a botched Jaffna operation: Lt Gen AS Kalkat (retd)
The third crisis testing Sri Lanka these days is the return of the Indian hegemon” – the words find themselves splashed liberally across the local media. And what, pray, constitutes this so-called hegemony”? The string of Indian projects, both private and government, that have come up as well as those in the pipeline. From the Adani Group’s investments in the Colombo Port to investments in wind farming in the northern region; from the Indian government’s interest in jointly developing the Trincomalee harbour to constructing a Sampur thermal power plant as part of transforming the Trinco region into an energy hub; from linking Dhanushkodi on the tip of Tamil Nadu to Talaimannar in the north with ferry services — the list is endless.
What is interesting is that most of these projects have seen the light of day in the last year as the economic crisis hit the country — and India bailed out Sri Lanka with its timely offer of aid and assistance.
Luckily, private business is far more excited with the idea of Sri Lanka riding on the growth spurt in the Indian economy – they want the ghosts of the past, led by the 1987-1991 Indian Peace-Keeping Force, to be finally laid to rest. That Sri Lanka must do with India what ASEAN did with China two decades ago, by becoming a satellite state and riding the profits of the fifth largest economy in the world.
The fourth crisis is about the expanding Chinese presence in Sri Lanka. The Hambantota Port has been leased for 99 years, you need permission to enter the Colombo Port city – two- and three-wheeler vehicles, for example, are not allowed inside – and a $10 billion loan exists on the cards, which the Chinese took forever to agree to roll over when the crisis hit last year. And now, Ranil Wickremesinghe is wending his way to China in October.
Never a dull day in Sri Lanka? It’s clearly one of the most interesting places in the world.
Jyoti Malhotra is a senior consulting editor at ThePrint. She tweets @jomalhotra. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)
Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditor China, is likely going to help the cash-strapped country in effectively addressing the debt challenges as it has to finalise the external and internal debt for restructuring of $41 billion by September before the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) first review, reported PTI. The IMF is set to conduct its first review of the $2.9 billion bailout granted to the island country in March, this year from September 11-19.
Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi quoted that they are always Sri Lanka’s reliable strategic partner and appreciates that Sri Lanka has always been friendly to China and stood by them on issues related to its core interests.
Sri Lanka is currently negotiating with its external creditors to meet the IMF’s condition for its first review. The IMF in March approved a nearly $3 billion bailout for the crisis-ridden country. To restructure the debt of $41 billion, the crisis-hit country should agree with all its external creditors by the coming month on the programme.
The first review will consider the programme’s performance until the end of June and if it gets approved by both the executive board and staff, it would allow a disbursement of around $338 million to Sri Lanka.
IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura who visited Sri Lanka in June issued a statement in which he said that Sri Lanka’s economy is showing tentative signs of improvement, in part due to the implementation of critical policy actions. But he also pointed out that it remained challenging. Now, more than ever, it is essential to continue the reform momentum under strong ownership by both the authorities and the Sri Lankan people,” he added.
Sri Lanka witnessed its worst economic crisis in history after the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell into a critical low and the agitated public of the country came out on the streets in the form of protests due to shortage of electricity, fuel, fertilisers and essential commodities.
Under Neighbourhood First Policy, India also extended its help to the cash-stricken country. India provided multi-pronged assistance of about $4 billion to Sri Lanka, last year through multiple credit lines and currency support.
දශක තුනකට ආසන්න කාලයක් යුද්ධයක් පැවති රට තුළ යුද්ධය අවසන් වී පැවති සාමකාමී වාතාවරණය නිමා වෙමින් අද වන විට ඉතා අඳුරු කාල පරිච්ඡේදයකට යොමුවෙමින් පවතින බව රණවිරු අපි වෙනුවෙන් අපි ජාතික සංවිධානයේ සභාපති බලලත් නිලධාරී ජයලාල් නිශ්ශංක මහතා පවසයි.
මෙම යුද්ධයේ දී රණවිරුවන් 30,000ක් පමණ දිවිපිදුවේ ද 14, 500ක් පමණ ආබාධිත වූවේ ද උතුරු නැගෙනහිර බෙදීමට එරෙහිව යුද වැදුනු නිසා බවත්, 13 වැනි සංශෝධනය හරහා එම දෙපළාතට පොලිස් හා ඉඩම් බලතල ලබාදීමෙන් බෙදුම්වාදීන්ගේ අරමුණ ජයගන්නා බවත්, රණවිරුවන් දිවිපුදා රට වෙනුවෙන් කළ කැපකිරීම සියල්ල එමගින් අවසන් වන බවත් ඒ මහතා පවසයි
මේ මොහොතේ නැවත වරක් මාතෘභූමිය ආගම් වශයෙන්, ජාති වශයෙන්, භූමිය වශයෙන් බෙදා වෙන්කරමින් වෙනම රාජ්‍යක් ගොඩනැගීම සඳහා තිබූ සැලසුම්වල පිඹුරුපත් නැවත මතුවෙමින් පවතින බව දෙවන පරපුරේ නායක උවිඳු විජේවීර මහතා පවසයි.
ඒ මහතා මේ බව පැවසුවේ ‘13 පරදවමු සහජීවනය ගොඩනගමු‘ යන තේමාව යටතේ දෙවන පරපුර විසින් සංවිධානය කළ සම්මන්ත්‍රණයකට එක් වෙමිනි.
ජනවරමක් නොමැති නායකයකු විසින් භූමියේ ඒකීයත්වය විනාශ කිරීමට සැලසුම් සකස්කරමින් පවතින බවත් උවිඳු විජේවීර මහතා මෙහිදී සඳහන් කළේය.
එමෙන්ම මෙරට ෆෙඩරල් රාජ්‍යක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට ඉන්දි
Sri Lanka has made the biggest contribution to China in history by gifting Vinaya Pitaka to 400Ad Buddhist monk Faxian who travelled through the old Silk Route in search of Buddhist scripts, said a chief prelate announcing a series of Chinese funded welfare projects to mark the 10th anniversary of ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative.
Chief Incumbent of the Sambodhi Maha Viharaya Ven. Boralande Vajiragnana Thera addressing a media briefing at the temple yesterday said the fundamental cause of China – Sri Lanka friendship to begin about 2,000 years ago and the constant Chinese assistance to us on numerous occasions in the history was this reason.
The Thera said a series of welfare projects and donation of funds and agricultural equipment to Sri Lanka worth of Yuan 1.3 million will take place in Kandy, Anuradhapura, Galle and Colombo during an eight-day programme commencing from September 1.
The special occasion would be the tenth anniversary of China’s OBOR initiative as well as the commemoration of the seventh anniversary for the friendship agreement between Ven. Yao Zhi of China’s leading Dafo Buddhist Temple in Guangzhou and the Sambodhi Viharaya in Colombo, the Thera said.
One of the main features of the programme was to hold an international conference to commemorate the China – Sri Lanka Buddhist affiliations on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road on September 3rd at the BMICH.
Meanwhile, medical equipment worth Yuan 1.1 million (Rs.50 million) to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital is to take place on September 2 and distribution of agricultural and self employment equipment worth of Yuan 200, 000 will take place in Anuradhapura on September 5th.
The series of programmes will be organised by the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and coordinated by the Long Hua Institution of Sri Lanka.
Prof. Hao Weimin of Director Long Hua Institution of Sri Lanka said China has always been a close friend of Sri Lanka and had assisted with donations collected by seven Chinese temples worth up to Yuan 7.8 million (Rs.350 million) during the Covid-19 pandemic period in 2021.
Chief Incumbent of Mahanuwara Managama Viyaraya Ven. Paranagama Gnanawimala was also present at the press briefing. (Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana)
A tense situation arose when a group led by Tamil National People’s Front leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam entered the Kurundi temple and conducted a Pongal Pooja, Mullaitivu police said.
Police said however the situation was brought under control.
According to a court order obtained from the Mullaitivu Court, a group, including MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, had gone to perform a Pongal Pooja at the Kurundi temple. However, the temple’s donors had opposed them, deeming it illegal, resulting in a heated exchange of words between the two parties.
Subsequently, Chief Incumbent of Kurundi temple Ven. Galgamuwe Shantabodhi Thera arrived at the scene and, in accordance with the court order, granted permission for the Pongal Puja to proceed.
However, he advised the group, including the Member of Parliament, against engaging in such unethical activities in the future. The group was aggressive towards the monk as well.
The Mullaitivu police arrived and diffued the situation. They also contacted officials of the Archaeological Department, who designated an appropriate area for the Pongal pooja. The participating individuals conducted the Pongal pooja and then had left. (Romesh Madusanka)
After a brief but productive visit to Yunnan capital Kunming to attend the 7th China-South Asia Expo, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena reached the ancient capital of the province, Dali City, known for agriculture research in addition to being a major tourist attraction.
He first visited the Science and Technology Campus on backyard of Gusheng village, on the banks of Dali Lake where the most successful hybrid varieties of rice has been developed after years of research. The latest paddy variety developed at the Institute gives four times the yield given by the normal rice paddy.
Vice Chancellor of the research campus, Prof Zhoo Jin explained that the new paddy seeds require only a small quantity of water and it can be used in dry zones. He invited the Prime Minister to through the first lot of hybrid paddy seeds to the irrigated paddy field in the Camus to commence the new harvesting season.
The Leader of the Dali Canger Liuxiang Agriculture Development Company’s agriculture experts group, Dr He Yanghong said the newly developed paddy will be very useful to raise the income of the farmers. We have used these hi-yielding paddy and other crops to alleviate poverty in Yunnan Province,” he said.
The Prime Minister invited the agriculture campus to send a team to inspect a place in Sri lank to grow the new high yielding paddy as pilot project.
Later Prime Minister Gunawardena visited the Gusheng village and Erhai Ecological protect, preserve and sustain environment.
State Minister Janaka Wakkumbura, Yadamini Gunawardena MP and Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanyake were also present on this occasion.
Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera says the prevailing arid weather has destroyed at least 39,000 acres of paddy land across the country thus far.
A comprehensive report on the paddy crop damages is expected to be released in the coming weeks, the lawmaker said further while addressing an event.
It is estimated that the damages to paddy cultivation will exceed 50,000 acres by the time the report is released, Minister Amaraweera added.
Minister Amaraweera, who attended a meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Agriculture last week, had assured that immediate steps would be taken to resolve the problems that have emerged in purchasing paddy from farmers.
As the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) has not allocated enough money to purchase paddy, only a certain amount of paddy has been purchased with the funds received from the Treasury, the lawmaker had told the committee. In light of this situation, the farmers are not interested in selling paddy due to not getting the expected price, he had explained.
Meanwhile, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said at least 210,652 people from 60,943 families are now facing drinking water issues as a result of the prevailing drought.
The government has slashed the import tax on maize, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says.
Accordingly, the import tax of Rs. 75.00 on 1 kilogram of maize has been reduced to Rs. 25.00 with effect from Thursday (Aug. 17).
Taking to Twitter, Siyambalapitiya explained that the move aims to bring down the price of animal feed produced using maize.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has received an invitation to participate in the Summit of the Group of 77 (G77) plus China, which will take place in Cuba in September, foreign media reported.
The Cuban Ambassador to Sri Lanka Andrés Marcelo González has delivered the letter of invitation from the Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to the Sri Lankan president during a meeting, the official state news agency of Cuba ‘Presna Latina’ said citing diplomatic sources.
‘Current challenges of development: Role of science, technology and innovation’ is the central theme of the upcoming event, which is scheduled to be held in Cuba on September 15 and 16.
The G77 plus China was founded in 1964 within the Non-Aligned Movement and is a coalition of 134 countries that promotes collective economic interests of its member states and the creation of enhanced joint negotiation power at the UN.
The group has enormous challenges for the development of their nations, which together represent 80 percent of the world population and more than two thirds of the UN membership.
-with inputs from agencies
Sri Lanka continues to swing wildly between being a ‘Donor Darling’ flooded with foreign ‘aid’ that has significantly impeded its post-colonial development and industrialization on the one hand, and being a pariah (outcast), on the other.
Last year the country went from being South Asia’s wealthiest nation with the best social and human development indicators to a ‘bankrupt’ beggar, humiliated and shunned by the so-called international community amid a pretentiously named ‘Aragalaya’ protests.
At the time, only South Asia regional hegemon and good neighbor, India, was willing and able to help out Eurobond debt trapped Sri Lanka as the strategic Indian Ocean island staged its first ever Sovereign Default losing Economic Sovereignty and policy autonomy to the Washington Twins and colonial Club de Paris that represents predatory OECD-DAC Eurobond holders,
The narrative in the local and global corporate media echo chamber was that there was no fuel, food, and certainly no tourists to generate exorbitantly privileged and copiously printed US dollars to buy necessities. Famine, fear and 15-hour power-cuts were promised also to promote fear, Brain Drain and institutional debilitation via the local media bereft of investigative journalism after the Aragalaya protest regime change operation saw installation of the US-Force backed Ranil Rajapakse regime.
Simultaneously, last year around this time there was an embargo on ships bringing fuel to the strategic island as the US Marines Sea Vision training program unfolded with coordinated economic hybrid war-style supply chain disruption to make the economy scream” as President Nixon famously had instructed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to do in Cold War Chile, before the violent overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Leftist Salvador Allende and the installation of General Pinochet.[i]
Miraculously this year, Sri Lanka, perpetually in the cross-hairs of Cold War big power rivalry– pumped, dumped and destabilized by various exogenous political-economic shocks to make economy and society scream is back! This after the strategic island too mana from heaven in the form of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to enable magical US dollars to materialize.
No one in Sri Lanka has yet questioned the adequacy of the US Dollar fiat currency to measure the ‘wealth of nations’ given that the US has a debt of $ 32 Trillion and counting and was downgraded by one of its own rating agencies.
Meanwhile the BRICS emerging economies having overtaken the G7 economies and are de-dollarizing fast, while the US backed Ranil Rajapakse regime and opposition turn a blind eye to the New Development Bank.
Indo-Pacific Environmental Security Forum: Another Shangri La Show?
Sri Lanka, which seems to suffer from a Geostrategic Resource Curse, is once again a ‘donor darling’, currently hosting the Indo-Pacific Environmental Security Forum (IPESF) 2023 at Colombo’s Shangri La Hotel that overlooks South Asia’s busiest Port.
One year after a Staged Default and rapid local currency deprecation to beggar the natives, ‘more than 140 senior officers from foreign defense forces and top-level environmentalists from 28 countries in the Indo-Pacific are taking part’ in at the confab at Galle Face.
Two weeks earlier France’s President, Emmanuel Macron had paid a historic midnight visit to Sri Lanka and then on the heels of departing Macron, a Japanese Government team was in town to shower aid on the US Force backed Ranil Rajapakse regime. The Chinese were in Colombo earlier in the month.
One year after staging its first ever Sovereign Default for rapid currency depreciation and mass impoverishment, Sri Lanka is back–a donor darling!
France’s Macron, in retreat from West Africa, where Mali and Niger have cancelled a host of colonial era Agreements, announced plans to set up a brand new Office for the French Agency for International Development (AFD), in Colombo!
AFD in Sri Lanka would enhance France’s claims in the ‘Indo-Atlantic’ or western Indian Ocean, and enable among other things the French Fisheries empire and trawler fleet stationed in the Seychelles to continue neo-colonial looting of Indian Ocean Tuna and other ocean resources.
France claims to be an Indian Ocean country although it is in the Atlantic Ocean, and has claimed extensive Indian Ocean sea bed at UNCLOS while in dispute with Mauritius, while France, Spain, EU and other Distant Water Fishing States (DWFS), have been accused of looting Indian Ocean fisheries at the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. (See EU accused of Neocolonial plundering of the Indian Ocean in the Guardian). [ii]
Meanwhile local fisheries organizations of impoverished Indian Ocean rim countries have called for a ban on French, EU and other DWFS like Japan, South Korea, EU and Taiwan, Republic of China. These are ironically big Aid donors” to the Fisheries Sector and NARA, while their fisheries corporations are overfishing and causing environmental crisis in the Indian Ocean World region where many littoral countries have high rates of poverty.
A ban on French, EU, Japanese and other DWFS operating in the Indian Ocean under the ‘Free and open Indo-Pacific” theme song would enable the depleted fish stock of the Indian Ocean to recover. It would also enable Sri Lanka and other small countries that engage primarily in ‘artisanal fishery to industrialize and leverage their valuable fisheries resources that are currently looted by DWFS for local consumption, as well as, export to earn much needed foreign currency.
India the regional hegemon would need to lead on this initiative also to ensure food security for the impoverished Indian Ocean littoral countries and islands.
Elephant in the Room: Environmental Impacts of Militarization and War
The 4-day Environmental Security conference in Colombo that commenced this week is happening with the US Indo- Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), and Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG), at a time when human trafficking threats were being talked up. Meanwhile, Moscow is holding an International Security Conference with Chinese Defense minister, Li Shangfu, in attendance.
Lots of nuclear armed warships have been taking trips to strategic Sri Lanka’s ports and the QUAD’s Malabar War games saw the standing and deaths of 100 pilot whales and Dolphins in 2020, the devastating climate impacts of militarization, on-going US-led NATO proxy wars in Europe and Africa, and the war machine are not on the Environmental Security Confab agenda!
In fact, the military business industrial complex and ongoing wars in the world is the elephant in the room of the so-called Environmental Security Forum (IPESF). However, the distracting buzz in Colombo’s corporate media echo chamber that amplifies conflict is that a Chinese Research and Survey Vessel Shi Yan 6, would be reaching Sri Lanka in October for joint research operations with the National Aquatic Research Agency (NARA), in October.
Previously when a Chinese Research Vessel Yuan Wang 4 was in the Colombo port back in 2019, the island was hit by a series of mysterious and deadly ISIS-claimed Easter Sunday attacks on churches and tourist hotels. Four Chinese Research Scientists were killed at Kingsbury Hotel.
As the Shi Yan 6 approaches Sri Lanka in October the Indian Ocean island nation which suffers from a Geostrategic Resource Curse would need to be on high alert for more Mr. Al Bagdadi does not return from the grave to stage another IS terror attack– to make Sri Lankan society and economy scream again!
It not exactly a secret that the Islamic State (IS) was initially set up by the CIA after the US-led invasion of Iraq and the disbanding of Sadaam Hussein’s army, in order to do regime change in Syria and promote a Sunni-Shia divide in the Levant region.
The Indian Ocean as a zone of Peace as Cold War Returns
The environmental impacts of war and militarization appear to be Elephant in the room of the current Environmental Security (IPESF), Shangri La Forum in Colombo, which rather focusses on trendy topics like finance for climate change, Partnerships for climate resilience, Data science in climate risk management, etc.
Indeed, it appears that Mother Nature is being financialized and weaponized with talk of Anthropocene climate crisis, Debt for Nature Swaps (DFNS) based on opaque Carbon credit calculations, while bond scams and Odious debt are green and blue washed like the Diego Garcia Military base on the Chagos Islands that is illegally occupied by the United Kingdom and US.
Ironically, Diego Garcia along with the Chagos Islands have been Blue-washed into a Marine Protection Area (MPA)! Discussions on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Sovereign Bonds for climate transition financing and conservation further distract from the elephant in the room—the Environmental Impacts and costs of war, military bases, and the global Military Business Industrial Complex.
Clearly, Eurobond trapped Sri Lanka that is caught in the US led economic war on the emerging BRICS economies that have overtaken the G-7 at this time. needs to re-affirm the Non-Aligned Movement’s (NAM), declaration of the Indian Ocean as a ‘Zone of Peace’, free of militarization, terror attacks, foreign military bases and nuclear armed submarines and aircraft carriers that beach and kill hundreds of pilot whales and dolphins disoriented by sonar systems.
The war machine and its Carbon and Sonar emissions constitute a far greater clear and present danger to environment and humanity in the region as a new Cold War escalates.
The lead to make the Indian Ocean a ‘Zone of peace” was taken over half a century ago by the world’s first woman Prime Minister. Sri Lanka’s Sirimavo Bandaranaike, and raised it at the Non-Aligned Heads of State Conference in Cairo in October, 1964, and subsequently at the Lusaka Conference of Non-Aligned States in September 1970 and the Singapore Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in January 1971.In 1971 Sri Lanka was successful in having the United Nations General Assembly, by a vote of 61–0 with 55 abstentions, declare the Indian Ocean, together with the air space above it and the ocean floor subjacent thereto, a ‘zone of peace’ for all time.[iii]
A Partitioned Indian Ocean a Zone of War amid Climate Hypocrisy
The Indian Ocean increasingly partitioned into the ‘Indo-Pacific’ to the east and ‘Indo-Atlantic’ on the west, dominated successively by US and France has become a ‘Zone of War’, while its impoverished littoral countries and islands are asset stripped and subject to Ocean Grabbing.
In the context, it is important that Sri Lanka to once again work with India to unify the Indian Ocean world and leverage the legacy of world’s first woman Prime Minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, and seek de-militarization and GENUINE PEACE in the Indian Ocean world which should be free of environmentally destructive nuclear weapons. It was arguably also because of this Zone of Peace initiative that the strategic island was later subject to a devastating globally networked 30-year ‘ethnic conflict’. Other NAM leaders and their countries were also subject to devastating social and economic shocks in the course of Cold War regional refractions.
Rather than war and military carbon emissions, spectacular forest fires that increasingly seem to be staged, with stories of drought and floods are the dominant images of Anthropocene climate catastrophe” in the Global Corporate media echo chamber. These images and narratives generally precede advertisements of solar panels, Electric Vehicles, and other lucrative green technology.
Conversely, it is unfashionable to talk about REAL environmental threats and hazards (Anthropocene or otherwise), like the global military business industrial complex, the threat of nuclear war, or the NATO war machine, now seeking to extend into the Indian Ocean and Asia with an office in Tokyo, Japan.
Rather, discussion of carbon credits and Debt for Nature Swaps (DFNS), are trending and avidly marketed at UN Conferences of the Parties (CoP), hot air meets, to benefit predatory Eurobond traders who have ensnared over 50 Global South countries in post Covid-19 lockdown debt traps!
No one wants to embarrass the US government and its EU partners in NATO, or their Asian proxies, intent on promoting the post-Covid-19 Great Reset with Green Technology, Blue Bonds and scams for Global Governance by talking about massive environmental impacts of the Military Business Industrial Complex.
Indeed, talking about non-trivial environmental impacts, such as, wars, bombings, the Nord Stream pipeline attacks that release massive methane gas into the atmosphere is unfashionable, particularly among well-funded climate activists like Greta Thunberg and the gravy train of UNese-speaking, DFNS marketing, environmental NGO ‘protesters’, local and global.
However, long ago departing US President Dwight D. Eisenhower with great prescience warned American citizens about their military business industrial complex in his 1961 farewell address. According the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, the US spends more than the next 7 countries on carbon intense, environmentally destructive militarization, wars and maintaining over 750 military bases around the world. This war machine and culture of war represents the greater environmental threat to the planet and humanity than fossil fuel used in the Global South at this time.
Nevertheless, in the final analysis, Sri Lanka should be grateful that the big powers seem to be talking rather than once again pumping, dumping and de-stabilizing the strategic Indian Ocean island at the Colombo Shangri La Environmental Security show.
Aug 12, 2023
The impoverished West African state of Niger is the latest flashpoint in the struggle by the imperialist powers for a re-division of the world. The issues involved in the NATO-Russia war in Ukraine—a fight for territory, strategic resources and regime change—are erupting all over the globe, in China and Taiwan, and now in the Sahel region of Africa.
Although stalled for the moment, what would be a devastating war led by the most powerful country in the African region, Nigeria, to oust the coup leaders in Niger and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum is under active preparation. At a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the Nigerian capital Abuja Thursday, leaders agreed to activate a standby military force and threatened that no option had been taken off the table.”’
They agreed a new round of sanctions on Niger, which has been plunged into blackouts by electricity cut-offs and seen food prices rise 60 percent amid a blockade and the freezing of assets and trade.
A conflict would draw in the entire region. Senegal, Benin and the Ivory Coast have already pledged to send troops to aid Nigeria. Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have declared for the military coup leaders in Niger.
Behind the proposed ECOWAS action stand the imperialist powers, who are intent on blocking Russia and China from further penetrating a continent whose strategic significance is growing rapidly. The long-term decline of France’s economic position in its former West African colonies—culminating in the last three years in a dramatic collapse of its military presence in Mali, Burkina Faso and now perhaps Niger—has thrown open the Sahel region to intense geopolitical competition.
Bazoum was considered an important Western ally. The US and the European powers have responded to the coup against him by cutting aid to Niger supposedly provided on humanitarian” grounds—on which it relies for 40 percent of its annual government budget. They are determined to secure their interests whatever the cost.
Speaking Tuesday after difficult” talks with the coup leaders, US Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland—veteran of the US-backed 2014 coup in Ukraine—threatened, We’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point.”
Caution over a proposed military intervention by ECOWAS has centred on concerns that such action has not been properly prepared and would spark mass opposition throughout the region. A misjudged war could explode the social powder keg in Nigeria, where the US and Britain are heavily invested politically and economically.
A great deal is at stake. The United States currently has 1,500 soldiers of its 6,500-strong declared African deployment stationed in Niger across two bases—one of which is the regional hub for drone missions. France has 1,100 troops in the country, Italy 300 and Germany around 100.
Niger is a major uranium producer, providing a quarter of Europe’s supply. It is due to start exporting oil and plays a central role in policing migration out of Africa to Europe. It has become a frontline state in a battle for economic and military pre-eminence in West Africa and across the whole continent.
Africa is home to an estimated 30 percent of the world’s mineral wealth, including 90 percent of its chromium and platinum—crucial to the green energy transition. Another such mineral is cobalt, of which 70 percent of the world’s supply is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By the end of the century, Africa could also account for a fifth of the world’s lithium supply.
The continent also produces 65 percent of the world’s diamonds and is home to 40 percent of its gold reserves, 12 percent of its oil and 8 percent of its natural gas, while Morocco alone is home to 75 percent of the world’s phosphate rock, crucial for fertiliser.
In terms of markets, Africa’s consumer expenditure is on track to grow from $1.4 trillion in 2015 to $2.5 trillion in 2030.
The US and Europe are concerned not to let Niger be another loss to the claims made by China and Russia on these riches and opportunities.
[i] https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8i.htm
[ii] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/05/eu-accused-of-neocolonial-plundering-of-tuna-in-indian-ocean
[iii] The Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace Robert O’Neill and David N. Swartz https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-09293-2_16
The Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara today emphasized the need for a comprehensive multi-stakeholder task force combining relevant ministries and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to implement programmes aimed at the welfare of workers.
The Minister has requested the ILO to conduct a study on the programmes implemented for the welfare of workers by the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment. A discussion on the above was held today at the Ministry premies.
It was attended by Imon Brimblecombe, Chief Technical Adviser of the International Labour Organization and Head of Regional Action Service Unit, and Mariko Ouchi, Senior Social Security Specialist of the ILO, among others.
The minister during the meeting emphasized the need to establish this task force involving all relevant parties including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Empowerment and Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations in addition to various departments of his Ministry.
Also he emphasized the importance of the ILO acting as an observer and playing a key role in these discussions.
The Ministry has recently taken the necessary steps to implement a comprehensive labour reform programme with the introduction of an unemployment insurance system, maternity benefits, and new methods of providing compensation to workers.
The inaugural Dialogue between the Pathfinder Foundation and the Asia New Zealand Foundation was held in Colombo.
The event explored several key areas of interest for Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and by extension to small states in the Asia Pacific, consequent to a renewed interest in the region by major powers and the consequential multiple challenges that small states face in dealing with the rapidly changing geopolitical situation.
The themes focused upon were: Indo-Pacific Strategic Security Dynamics: space for middle and small-sized states to shape regional order, Domestic policy reform and regionalism for prosperity and integration, New Zealand – Sri Lanka regional foreign policies, Managing bi-lateral ties with global powers in the 21st Century – approaches by New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
The Asia New Zealand Foundation participants comprised Prof. David Capie, Head of the Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University, Wellington; Suzannah Jessep, Director, Asia New Zealand Foundation; Dr. Manjeet Pardesi, Victoria University, Wellington, Traci Epps, Independent Trade and Law Specialist.
The Pathfinder Foundation participants included Dr. Dayaratna Silva, Executive Director, Pathfinder Foundation; Dr. Bhagya Senaratne, Department of Strategic Studies, Gen. Sir John Kotelawala University; Subashini Abeysinghe, Research Director, Verité Research; and Dr. Pavithra Jayawardena, Department of International, Colombo University.
Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman, of the Pathfinder Foundation, made the opening remarks with Prof. David Capie, while the Sessions were alternatively chaired by Ahmed A. Jawad, Director of Pathfinder Foundation, and Prof. David Capie of Wellington University. Michael Appleton, the High Commissioner for New Zealand, graced the occasion as a distinguished invitee.
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