Features
The Stretch Run – Election 2020
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
The final week before the most important election in the history of the United States started on Monday, October 26, with both campaigns gearing up for their final appeals to the electorate.
The big news on Monday was the swearing in of Trump nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, to the Supreme Court of the United States at a reception at the White House, shortly after her nomination was confirmed 52/48 by the Senate. Justice Barrett’s Constitutional Oath was administered by Justice Clarence Thomas at the White House event, and her Judicial Oath by Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday.
Justice Barrett is the third conservative Justice nominated to the Supreme Court by an impeached president elected to the presidency with the support of less than one-third of the electorate. A decision by an unpopular president, which will ensure a conservative dominance of the highest court in the land for decades to come.
While the pandemic remains the central issue of the presidential election, the White House of Science and Technology issued a statement on Wednesday listing “ending the Covid-19 pandemic” as one of Trump’s top achievements of his presidency. A spectacularly deceptive statement, even for this White House. The Covid-19 pandemic shows no sign of ending. In fact, the virus had reached a record daily total of over 81,000 cases on Thursday, and the number of fatalities have exceeded 228,000. Mark Meadows, White House Chief of Staff, admitted during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that the administration had “lost control” of the pandemic. This startling admission means that Trump will continue to ignore the advice of the scientific community about face-masks, social distancing and avoiding crowds. He will take no substantive action to combat the virus, relying instead on therapeutic measures and vaccines, which are nowhere near the time frame falsely projected by Trump. Trump has been lying all along that the virus is “rounding the bend,” and that he is in complete control. A lie that is obvious to all except hard-core members of his cult.
The reality is that the Trump administration is going for “herd immunity” – the unrestricted infection, by taking no preventive measures to combat the virus, of at least 80% of the population which will ultimately provide immunity for all. The downside to this plan is that over two million Americans, especially the aged, the poor and minorities, will get infected by the virus and die. A minor consideration for Trump, as he is interested only in the welfare of himself, his family and his wealthy friends who will be able to take the necessary measures to avoid infection. Even if they do contract the virus, they will have access to the best medical treatment that money can buy, treatment not available to the vast majority of the American people.
Trump and Vice President Pence persist in holding numerous “super spreader” rallies during the final week, before audiences of tens of thousands of fans not wearing masks or practicing social distancing, evidence of their callous disregard for health of even their own supporters. As a contrast, Biden’s rallies are held less often and in strict accordance with scientific guidelines.
Trump, cognizant of the fact that his mishandling of the virus may cost him his re-election, has started to mock the virus at these rallies. He accuses the media of “over-covering” the virus, while “they remain silent if an airliner crashes, killing 500 people”. Trump chooses to forget that no airliner has crashed for the media to report, while twice the number of passengers in an airliner die every day from his incompetence in handling the virus.
Vice President Biden has given his plan to mitigate the virus from Day One of his presidency. He will act in accordance with scientific guidelines, mandate masks, social distancing and avoidance of crowds. He will give premier preference to the health of the people, and will re-open the economy when it is absolutely safe to do so.
An admirable and optimistic statistic has emerged during this last week, when over 80 million Americans had cast their votes by Thursday, October 29, either by standing in long lines or by mail-in votes. Remarkable for a nation which has been largely apathetic to elections – Americans have rarely reached voter participation of 60% in past elections. The early voting numbers represent more than 50% of the total votes cast in 2016, with five more voting days till Election Day. Generally, the great majority of voters turn out on Election Day, so the 2020 election seems to be well on the way to breaking all voting records.
The staggeringly high early voting numbers seem to be favoring the Biden campaign two to one, and put extreme pressure on Trump to have a big Republican turnout on Election Day. The election seems to depend on the ultimate result in Florida, which shows Biden with a razor-thin majority. Trump has to win Florida to have a realistic path to re-election, while a Biden loss in Florida will still leave him with many other alternatives to reach that magic number of 270 Electoral College votes.
Trump began the final week touting his Big Lie, that the greatest economy which he singlehandedly created was rocketing in spite of the pandemic. Wrong on both counts. He inherited a booming economy from the Obama administration, with 72 months of continuous economic growth and shrinking unemployment. The economy is in tatters today because of his incompetent handling of the Coronavirus. Over 20 million people are unemployed, with no hope of government help in the way of a second stimulus payment due two months ago. Millions are facing homelessness and over 20 million more will lose their health insurance, when Trump’s new-found majority in the Supreme Court is scheduled to repeal Obamacare on November 10. All this in the face of a long, dark winter.
Biden is currently enjoying a healthy lead in national polls of 12 percentage points. More to the point, Biden has slender leads in battleground states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, which Trump won with small margins in 2016, and cannot afford to lose on Tuesday. Translated into Electoral College votes, these numbers project that Biden will garner at least 300 electoral votes; the magic number of electoral votes needed to win the presidency is 270.
Tuesday saw the continuation racial unrest with the murder of another young black man, Walter Wallace Jnr., 27-years-old, in Philadelphia. Wallace, who had a history of mental disease and a criminal record, was brandishing a knife during a manic episode, and his mother was trying to restrain him when the Philadelphia cops arrived on the scene. His mother pleaded with the cops that her son was suffering from an episode, but the cops, when Wallace did not drop the knife as instructed, fatally shot him. There is no doubt that Wallace had to be stopped before he caused any harm; but it is sad that he was executed in front of his mother who was begging for restraint. The cops could have restrained him and taken him alive with less than lethal means, like a Taser or rubber bullets. There is no doubt that a white man would have been taken alive, given similar circumstances.
Biden’s campaign brought out the big guns in the final week, with President Obama campaigning for his Vice President of eight years. Obama slammed Trump for lying about ending the virus and belittling it, and for whining that the media was giving the virus too much coverage.
Melania Trump and the Trump children continued on the Trump campaign trail, though their efforts provided no new strategies, and were hollow echoes of hatred and fear, the hallmarks of the Trump strategy.
There is only one certain consequence of the 2020 presidential election. A close election will be disputed by Trump, who will refuse to surrender the White House. And he will use his suppliant Supreme Court and, worse, post-election violence instigated mainly by the Trump militia, to steal the presidency.
Winston Churchill once famously said, “Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else”. Americans have now tried the extreme option of four years of a captive and sycophantic administration run by a malignant, ignorant, lying sociopath. Hopefully they will wake up from this nightmare, realize how their choice of 2016 has nearly destroyed their democracy, finally come to their senses on November 3 and do the right thing. If, however, the American voter chooses, either by ballot or bullet, to continue on the slippery slope they embarked on four years ago, I can do no better than echo the condescending warning issued to Sri Lanka by Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, in a statement before his one-day visit to the island on Wednesday.
Pompeo has stated that the US “will ask Sri Lanka to make ‘difficult’ choices on its growing relationship with China amid criticism that the island is sliding toward authoritarianism.” Sri Lanka will make “difficult” choices, those which will best help meet her socio-economic needs, within the framework of her fledgling democracy. Sri Lanka needs no warnings as to the friends she should choose; that is her sovereign privilege.
However, the administration of the United States of America, the greatest democracy in the world, the vaunted cradle of freedom which Secretary Pompeo represents, would do well to recognize the slide towards authoritarianism they have embarked on since 2016, on a slope much more slippery than the one faced by Sri Lanka. Notably, its own strangely servile relationship with its main adversary, Russia, while throwing long-standing friends and allies under the bus; its flouting of the First Amendment by condemning an independent media, which its president has called the “enemy of the people”; its state sponsored racist violence against minorities; its partisan politicization of the judiciary; its government-sponsored voter suppression and election rigging; the rise of extra-military cadres of armed goons ready “to stand back and stand by” to act on Trump’s command. Secretary Pompeo would do well to be aware of “slide toward authoritarianism” of the world’s most powerful nation before handing out gratuitous and sanctimonious advice/warnings to a small, developing, sovereign 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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