Features
THE STORM IS COMING
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
“The devil whispers to the warrior slyly, can you withstand the coming storm. The warrior responds, ‘I am the storm.” Anon.
Hurricane Ian, predicted earlier last week to reach Category 4 levels, hit Florida on Wednesday morning, wreaking catastrophic damage to life and property. By the time it made landfall in the shores of southwestern Florida, the severity of the storm was downgraded to Category 3. But in that time, it had claimed at least 19 lives, a number that is certain to rise.
It continues to cause great damage to environmental structures, homes and property, and power outages. Although the eye of the hurricane has begun to diminish in Florida, it is still packing an increasingly formidable punch as it moves across the state of Florida towards South Carolina.
President Biden pledged on Wednesday that the federal government will be with Florida and South Carolina “every step of the way to help the states clean up, rebuild and get them moving again”. An encouraging reassurance that we now have come to expect from a President of all states of America, Red and Blue.
Beyond human tragedies, the ultimate damage caused by Hurricane Ian will be in the region of $20 to $40 billion dollars. These numbers will increase exponentially as it continues its catastrophic path north towards South Carolina.
Politically, the USA has been experiencing a perfect storm in the White House over the past six years, following the perfect lull of the Obama presidency. During which the nation had enjoyed eight years of integrity, decency and a thriving economy, in spite of having inherited the war-torn, near recession economy left by the Republican Bush administration in the early years of the 21st century.
Eight years when we could look up to the American Dream, when the son of an African immigrant/student and a white woman from Kansas could rise to the highest position of the land. And a descendant of an African slave could aspire to being the First Lady. A president who delivered the greatest scandal-free and prosperous two-term presidency the country has ever seen. Who, together with the First Lady, raised two daughters who grew up in the White House so gracefully from pre-teens to beautiful, highly educated young ladies without a trace of scandal. A family we could all look up to as a role model for the world.
Just after Obama’s presidency was announced in November 2008, Jon Stewart, comedian, satirist and then anchor of the popular TV Daily Show, made, at the end of the live show after the election, this memorable statement: “At last, we are now what we always said we were.” His meaning was obvious; The nation had finally shed its racist fetters of white supremacy and embraced cultural diversity and inclusiveness. Man, was he wrong!
A totally different type of storm has been engulfing the nation ever since the questionable election of the most dangerous, unhinged lunatic to the presidency in 2017. An election which confounded the optimism behind Jon Stewart’s words. The USA was not getting less racist and more inclusive with the election of a black man to the presidency. In truth, it was the complete antithesis.
The USA has, till the middle of the 20th century, been a racist nation of a majority of white supremacists, desperate to maintain their control over people of skin colour different from their anemic pink/orange. But after the Civil Rights Act of 1965, that racial hatred was driven below the surface. Unfortunately, Jim Crow was not dead. He has just been driven into hiding.
Systemic racism and white supremacy combine to threaten the nation with the worst storm of violence in centuries. A storm that will break with the inevitable arrest of Trump and his acolytes, sooner than later, for their attempt to destroy democracy after the 2020 elections. The restoration of accountability will result in an explosion of random violence not seen since the Civil War. And for the exact same reason – the retention of white control and supremacy over dark skinned minorities.
“We are the storm” is the slogan of the Republican Party of Texas, which the New York Times described as “an unusually visible example of the Republican Party’s dalliance with QAnon.” This was one of the catchphrases of the QAnon cult, along with other rallying cries of American and global fascists, known simply as “The Fourteen Words” or “14/88” – 14 words – “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”, followed by the secondary slogan, “Because the beauty of White Aryan woman must not perish from the Earth.” The numbers 88 refer to a repetition of the eighth letter of the alphabet – HH – Heil Hitler.
It is a little known, well concealed, fact that the threat of Nazism in the United States in the 1930s was far more in evidence than we are taught today. The narrative is that America entered the War after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, stepped in to turn the tide for the Allies and helped save the world from fascism. This narrative ignores the fact that there was a considerable minority of Americans who were rooting for Nazi Germany. “America First” was a slogan of the pre-war, pro-Nazi American isolationist movement, now reborn as a slogan for the neo-Nazi cult of former president Trump.
QAnon is a radical right political movement, consisting of racists espousing far right conspiracy theories, who crawled out of the woodwork in 2017 after the election of Donald Trump. The core QAnon conspiracy theory is “that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic sexual abusers of children, operating a global child sex trafficking ring, are conspiring against Trump, claiming that this cabal (read Democrats, progressives) has been conspiring against Trump in a continuing “witch hunt” since the beginning of his presidency. In their demented minds, Trump is still the president of the United States, the Chosen One, who has been chosen by the Christian God to lead America into its destiny of White Aryan domination. Aryan Shades of the 1930s of Hitler and pre-WWII Germany.
From its inception, Trump has been denying any connection with, indeed ignorance of, this lunatic fringe of the Republican Party. He said at a public rally that he had no connection, indeed no knowledge of QAnon, except that “he has heard that they really like me.” He also denied all connection with violent white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys and, the Oathkeepers, until he used them to incite the insurrection of January 6, 2021.
It would have been difficult to top the accusation and conviction of a defeated president for the crime of sedition, of inciting a violent insurrection against the legally elected government carrying out its constitutional duties at the citadel of American Democracy, the Capitol.
But nothing vile is beyond Trump. He has now been accused of stealing 28 boxes of classified documents from the White House, and storing them in an unsecured basement room at his resort/club in Mar a Lago, Florida. On being informed of this theft, the FBI requested that all documents be returned to the National Archives, where Top Secret and classified documents are stored in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). Such documents are accessible to only those with the highest security clearance.
Trump’s lawyers returned 15 of these boxes, with a signed statement that these contained all the documents removed by Trump when he left the White House. The FBI received information that more boxes containing documents were still at Mar a Lago. When Trump’s lawyers denied this, they obtained a search warrant, signed by a Trump appointed Judge, to search the Mar a Lago resort. During the search, conducted in the presence of Trump’s lawyers, 13 more boxes were found, again in an unsecured location, accessible to any tourist/guest/member at the resort.
Trump has said that all the documents were his, mainly newspaper clippings which would be needed when he was writing his memoirs. They were not. They were classified documents, more than 100 containing the title: Top Secret SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information), a heading given to documents of the highest secrecy. Some of these documents gave details of the nuclear capabilities of allies and adversaries, and CIA and Secret Service operations.
Trump said that he had declassified all the documents found at the White House. When it was pointed out to him that no evidence of such declassification was available, Trump, remaining true to his image of narcissism, ignorance and complete denial of the rule of law, said that he had declassified the documents in his mind, telepathically. I kid you not.
Of course, this is most credible when we read some of the ignorant statements made by Trump during his presidency. The choicest of these were that “disinfectant is a cure for Covid” (of course it is, death is a certain cure of all ailments), that “the noise of windmills causes cancer”. And the winner, that Puerto Rico is “an island surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water!”
What completes escapes his criminal mind is that the stealing of ANY White House documents, classified or unclassified, and storing them in an unauthorized location is a felony, tantamount to espionage and treason. These documents belong to the people of America, and are stored in National Archives.
What was Trump’s motive in stealing these documents? Ever the grifter, ever the criminal, he planned to sell them to the highest bidder. Evidence is emerging that he has already sold some of these Top Secret documents, especially when it was found that some documents in folders marked Top Secret were missing.
Attorney General Garland is closing in on Trump on both the insurrection, espionage and treason charges. The District Attorney of New York last week brought a $250 million civil lawsuit against Trump and three of his children, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, for tax evasion, insurance and bank fraud. The Attorney General of the state of Georgia is said to be finalizing its case against Trump, Lindsay Graham and Rudi Giuliani for election fraud in 2020. And the January 6 Special Congressional Committee has unearthed video evidence showing Trump minions, headed by felon Roger Stone, planning the overthrow of the results of the 2020 presidential election in June, 2020, a full four months BEFORE the election they were sure Trump was going to lose. This incriminating video was supposed to be shown at a public hearing of the Committee last Wednesday. The hearing was postponed because of the hurricane, and will be aired next week.
Trump has at last realized the inevitability of his conviction for multiple civil and criminal crimes: tax evasion, bank, insurance and election fraud, extortion, obstruction of justice, and the biggies – sedition, espionage and treason. In desperation, he has publicly aligned himself with the radical right, violent organizations like QAnon and others, hinting at violence if any legal action is taken against him. He is now wearing QAnon lapel pins in public, overlaid with white supremacist phrases “The Storm is Coming” and “WWG1WGA”, an acronym for “Where We Go One, We Go All.”
It has taken a long time to come this point, especially as there has long been overwhelming evidence against Trump on felony counts of fraud, obstruction of justice, sedition, espionage and treason. The USA is fast becoming the Land of the Free – Felons.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is a very patient and cautious man who has, in the past got convictions by gathering indisputable evidence. He is acting in character, and consensus is that he will indict Trump very soon.
And the violence that will be wrought by Trump’s white supremacist allies on his arrest will be swiftly quelled by the National Guard, with weaponry that will make these thugs’ AR 15s look like mousetraps. A National Guard which will be immediately called to action by a President totally dedicated to preserving the safety of all citizens of the nation.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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