Features
The passing of an iconoclast
by Anura Gunasekera
More than fifty years ago, my friend Jayasena Sirimanne, then a struggling amateur actor-cum-producer, and I, impressed by the dark, saturnine good looks of Nihal Ratnaike, his deep, rumbling baritone voice, the tall broad shouldered frame on which clothes sat with an uncontrived elegance, his avowed Marxism and casual contempt for the established order, named him the “Maha Kalu Sinhalaya”. We found it quite natural to conflate Nihal, the journalist, with the deposed Walagamba fleeing the advancing Chola.
Nihal, in our youthful eyes then, was the eponymous dissident, the quintessential bohemian. He lived that life as it came to him naturally. Politically, he was committed to an intellectual attachment to the extreme Left but he did not actively fight for his convictions.
In my early twenties, his little single bedroomed flat on Havelock road was a very convenient place to sleep off the excesses of a night, before presenting myself at my parental home the following morning. That was an abode which very frequently saw similar traffic. Nihal was always unquestioningly hospitable, sharing with all-comers meals he cooked himself in his tiny kitchenette. One wall of the sitting-cum-dining-cum- bedroom was covered with packed bookcases, prominent among the titles that I can still recall being Hemingway, Steinbeck, Silone, Moravia, de Beauvoir, Henry Miller , Orwell, Wilde, Mailer, Fitzgerald and other dissidents and icon-bashers. The playwrights ranged from Shakespeare to Ibsen, Beckett, Arthur Miller, Nabokov et al whilst Eliot was a preferred poet. There were also shelves dedicated to Ceylon history. On every available ledge rested dusty brass figurines, and sculptures and carvings by local artists, whilst a wide range of paintings, line drawings and sketches adorned much of the wall space. Very prominently featured was an iconic poster of Che Guevara and, alongside, a billboard print from the Moulin Rouge. The latter he had acquired whilst living in Paris.
Before I met Nihal in person I used to be an avid reader of his regular column in the Daily News, written under the pen-name “Viranga”. I liked the name so much that when our son was born many years later, we named him Isuru Viranga. But that is another story.
In 1967 my friend, the late Trevor Rosmale-Cocq, amused by my admiration of the writings of “Viranga, introduced me to the real man. The meeting took place in the then Art Centre Club bar, a dimly lit watering-hole above the Lionel Wendt, the meeting place of choice for both the artful and the artistic of Colombo. It was then managed by Ananada Gunatillke, who soon became my friend, entirely because of my frequent visits to the place.
Nihal could be found at the club on most evenings. Before entering the place you knew he was there; the deep, distinctive rumble of his baritone emerging clearly from the babble of voices, punctuated occasionally by the belly laugh, an equally deep extension of the voice, the man himself leaning against the bar, glass in one hand and cigarette drooping from the other, invariably in intense argument, either about current politics, theatre, film, art or books. Those were the subjects closest to his heart, those which invigorated his senses.
In the group around him would be Ernest Macintyre, Winston Serasinghe, Dhamma Jagoda, Chitrasena, Nihal’s dear friend Bevis Bawa, Geoffrey- the equally famous but less outrageous other Bawa brother- journalist Ajith Samaranayake, painter Manjusri and other assorted writers, theatre producers, journalists, actors and actresses, playwrights and artists; not all of them at the same time but at one time or another. There would also be yet others , not to be classified as belonging any cultural milieu but simply interesting personalities, some who worked hard at sustaining such an image, like the eccentric Eustace Fonseka. Tony Muller was a fixture at Nihal’s side, generally unsmiling and uncommunicative, opening his mouth only to sip from his glass.
The Art Centre Club then was where the off-beats and the oddballs gathered, along with star-struck youth such as I, feasting off an exotic table. The conversation was always interesting and often brilliant, the company very colourful and bewilderingly varied, whilst the drinks were cheap and the older patrons very generous. Impecunious, unemployed youth such as I could stride in confidently, with only the return bus fare in hand and, a few hours later, stagger out with the bus fare still intact.
Nihal was one of those exceptional people with a genuine personal magnetism, which made others to gravitate to him. It was not a consciously cultivated state but a natural composite of luminous intelligence, sardonic wit, a deep sensitivity to social and political dynamics, a genuine caring for people and a brutal honesty of opinion. What you saw was what you got. His imposing physical stature and rich, deep voice complemented the other attributes.
When I joined the Police Department as a Sub-Inspector in 1968, Nihal was horrified. In his eyes the police was a necessary evil but also an “extension of a fascist regime”- his own words. He recommended that I read George Orwell’s “1984”, as an extreme case scenario of life under ultimate repression. Some years later, after I had read Solzhenitsyn, I suggested to him that life in Stalinist Russia was the closest one could get to the Dystopia of Orwell. However, whilst conceding the excesses of the Bolshevik regime, he rationalized them as a regrettable case of individual freedoms occasionally being subjugated for the common good. When I left the police to become a planter in a British owned company he was amused, asking me how I planned to justify my admiration for the revolutionary vision of Che Guevara, whilst being an agent of the oppressive colonial model of plantation management. I cannot remember how I dealt with that question.
As a writer and journalist and in his views candidly expressed on other platforms, Nihal was aggressively anti-establishment. He openly despised the United National Party political doctrine. Unsurprisingly, the very day after the UNP election victory in 1977, he was dismissed from his then position as Deputy Editor of the Daily News. When I phoned him from my estate home in Nuwara Eliya he said, ” Anura, the Dharmishta government has done something very Adharmishta to me”, his very words. Subsequently, he successfully contested his dismissal at Labour Tribunal and was awarded compensation. Later, he did a short assignment for “CARE”, followed by a spell as the editor of “Focus”, another publication which enjoyed a brief but interesting life. With the changing of regimes he returned to Lake House where he was, variously, Associate Editor, Editor-in-Chief and Director, Editorial. He was also Media Consultant to the Prime Minister during Ratansiri Wickramanayake’s term. In between there were also spells at the Sunday Standard and the Island.
Nihal was a deeply complex, non-conformist who led an extremely simple existence. He attracted people to his orbit very quickly and retained them as friends for life. He was genuinely indifferent to the accumulation of wealth and assets, or material gain. Quite content with what was sufficient for the day, he lived a life which was governed by his uncompromising principles and unconventional personal beliefs. His passing was also consistent with the way he lived, quick, without drama and extended farewells. He had left strict, detailed written instructions for his family, for the immediate and unceremonious disposal of his physical self. His much loved sisters, the twins Indrani and Manel, and Waruna, his loving nephew, all of whom cared for Nihal in his final years when ill-health enforced dependence on this otherwise fiercely independent man, followed his final directives to the letter.
Nihal would have considered this tribute an embarrassing ostentation but I feel obliged to tell the world of a man who, at an early stage of my life, compelled me to examine my world view from different angles. We disagreed often but delighted in the debate. In the last couple of years, restricted by Covid-induced protocols, we did not meet often. My last meeting with him was a couple of months ago, when I sat by his bed for a few hours and reminisced on old times, discussed the books that we both enjoyed, together deplored the current state of the country, chuckled over interesting incidents of the past and revived memories of old friends who have passed on.
Nihal was older than I with a near generational gap between us but, together, we have sat through the final rites of several mutual friends. Trevor Roosmale-Cocq and Abey Ekanayake were two such in the last decade. The most recent was in 2019, that of Scott Dirckze where, as he was laid to rest, Nihal said to me with great sadness, ” he was a good and dear friend; I shall miss him very much”. I shall say the same of Nihal, my dear friend of over half a century.
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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