Features
CEYLON’S SOLITARY SILVER MEDAL
by ECB Wijeyasinghe
Thanks to a satellite in the firmament, the Moscow Olympiad is now viewed in armchair comfort even in the middle-class homes of Sri Lanka.There was a time when admirers of the culture and games of Ancient Greece had to be satisfied with taking Homer to bed and dreaming of Helen of Troy or Ulysses till the crack of dawn. T.V. and other Olympics have changed all that. Owing to their possession of an enormous vocabulary the Greeks had a word for everything and a name for every game under the sun.
In the field of athletics, however, they excelled to such an extent that it was the secret ambition of every young man to look like a Greek God. All the classical deities were supposed to be physically perfect with a chiselled grin or grizzled chin according to the specifications of the patrons of the Arts. When sculptors finished making a statue of one of the gods, everybody started admiring it. Ultimately they had to add a fig leaf, in order to prevent what is known as “as vaha” or “evil eye” from having a malefic influence on his work.
All the specimens of physical perfection that Ancient Greece nurtured were given an airing at the Olympic Games whose origins are lost in the mists of antiquity. But if Classical scholars like Ronnie Abayasekara and Lester Fonseka are to be believed, the first Olympiad was held in Athens in 776 BC and consisted of a race run over the length of the stadium.
After that it was held every four years until 393 AD according to the historians. The important thing is that the business of running with or without a torch was reckoned a man’s exclusive sport and here is something that the modern suffragette can take up with the ancient Greeks. Women were not allowed in the stadium either as competitors or spectators.
As the contestants had to concentrate 100 per cent on the events they were engaged in, they were not allowed the luxury of distractions. Hence, the Greeks in their wisdom, thought that females should remain at home while their husbands and brothers did the struggling to win the laurels.
PIONEER
Incidentally, the prize in the olden days was a branch of wild olive to adorn the brow. There were no medals. Even Nero, at a later date, had a try at acquiring some kind of laurel at the Olympic Games, though there were no items on the program suited to his own peculiar genius. Fiddling while a fire was on was not on the agenda.
I am somewhat allergic to dates but not to names, and all recorders of Olympiads will dip their flags and salute the memory of one man. He is Pierre de Coubertin, the gallant French nobleman who triumphed over every conceivable hurdle and breathed fresh life into the ashes of the Games that had lain dormant for nearly 1,500 years.
It happened in 1896. When the bugles blew in Athens once more to summon athletes from the four corners of the world to the stadium the dream of the idealistic French baron bore fruit. Since then almost every four years in different cities of the world the Olympic flag has flown, except during the time when the Great Wars were on. Then of course, runners were not heroes unless they ran in the right direction.
Without attempting to poach on the preserves of my esteemed friend M. M. Thawfeeq and the tribe of learned sports scribes of the calibre of Elmo Rodrigopulle, T. M. K. Samat, Lal Gunasekere, Rangi Akbar, Lawrence Machado and Vajira Goonewardene, I must be forgiven if I say that there are four years etched in the calendar of my Olympic memory.
MEMORIES
1924 in Paris belonged to Paavo Nurmi. The Flying Finn made dazzling runs in the 10,000 metres four years earlier and four years later, but in 1924 he was at the top of his form. In the course of six days he ran in seven long-distance races and breasted the tape ahead of his competitors in each of them. One afternoon in Paris he captured the 1,500 metres, followed just over an hour later by the 5,000 metres, in each case in new Olympic record times.
In the sizzling heat of this Parisian summer, Nurmi also won the 10,000 metres cross-country event, finishing nearly two minutes ahead of his fellow-Finn Ritola. In the course of his amazing career which spanned nearly a decade he won seven Olympic gold medals and three silvers. No man during this century has done more to put Finland on the map of the world.
1936 in Berlin will always belong to the black men. Jesse Owens, the shoe-shine boy from the cotton fields of America knocked the bottom out of the Nazi theory of racial supremacy, and gave Hitler a head-ache from which he never recovered. Owens won the 100 metres, 200 metres and Long Jump, setting up records every time. When he died last month experts described the great Negro as the Champion Athlete of the century.
1948 in Wembley was the year of the Dutch, while Emile Zatopek was the hero of Helsinki in 1952. Mrs. Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands was the outstanding personality in the London games in 1948, when for the first time a Dutch Burgher made Ceylon’s presence felt at an Olympiad in perhaps the most strenuous athletic event on the card.
The Dutch lady left her Anglo-Saxon sisters panting behind her in the 80 metres hurdles, the 100 metres and 200 metres. She also “anchored” the 400 metres relay team and gave the members of the local DBU the thrill of their lives because hitherto everybody thought the dames from Delft were built more for comfort than for speed.
Ceylon has good reason to remember 1948 and Wembley because at an age when most athletes hang up their spiked shoes and dream of the past, our own Duncan White built like a greyhound, secured a silver medal coming second only to the American world-beater, Roy Cochran, in the 400 metres hurdles.On that bright afternoon in the Wembley Stadium, Duncan White who 12 years earlier in 1936 was mainly responsible for winning the Tarbat Challenge Cup for his famous school, Trinity College, Kandy, went over the hurdles like a man possessed. He probably had the intuitive feeling that he was creating history, because his performance has not been surpassed by a local athlete. White was beaten by Cochran, but the stopwatches showed that both of them had broken the Olympic record.
It seems a pity that Duncan White, who brought so much glory to Ceylon, was compelled to seek fresh pastures far, far away from the land of his birth at a time when Sri Lanka needed men of his fibre and determination. There are some people who attribute Duncan White’s success to the inspiring presence of Willorage Hector Douglas Perera, an Uncle of Sri Lanka’s Air Force Chief, Harry Goonetilleke. My closest association with an Olympic personality was when I lived next door to the home of W. H. D. Perera at Chelsea Gardens in Kollupitiya.
MANAGER
Hector, as his friends called him was not an athlete but he had an arresting personality. Dark and handsome he had a flair for organization. He was, in many respects, said to be like Baron de Coubertin, the man who resuscitated the Olympic Games. As a young officer in the Port of Colombo he was one of the pioneers of the Carnival idea and his “Harbour Lights” netted a few lakhs for charity. Subsequently he went as the Manager of more than one Ceylon team to the Games.
W. H. D. Perera died about 14 years ago but his wife Maisie, is still an active office-bearer in the Women’s International Club while his daughter, Sondra Sriananda is a gifted pianist who can play Boogie-Woogie and Beethoven with equal ease.
Now that the Olympic Games are in full swing and those who put their cart before the horse are watching their TV sets with almost Spartan fortitude, it is nice to see the Lion Flag flying in the Moscow stadium though there may not be another Duncan White to bring a medal home.
(Excerpted from The Good At Their Best first published in 1980)
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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