Features
A view from the ‘crow’s nest’
A long watch: War Captivity and Return in Sri Lanka
Reviewed by Ransiri Menike Silva
I have just been released, for the second time from the grip of ‘A Long Watch’ after an interval of about two years, and found it as arresting as before but this time with an added awareness and sensitivity that had eluded me the first time. Authentic accounts of escapee prisoners of war (POW’s) had always interested me, irrespective of the era or the nationality. But this was different. It was OUR story revealed by a senior ranking Naval officer who had been captured by the LTTE and held prisoner for eight years.
My first introduction to it took place some years ago. I was visiting my brother, a retired Naval officer, to find him in animated conversation with a lady visitor. At the end of her stay, she left behind some papers which my brother waved at me saying that it was the manuscript of a book being compiled for publication about the Naval officer Ajith Boyagoda who had been a prisoner of the LTTE for eight years. As my brother was also a well-known writer, she had requested his comments. This was Sunila Galappatti who had interviewed Boyagoda.
I was excited at the thought of reading it when it was published, but it reached the public only a long while later. I grabbed several copies of it, when at a leading bookshop I found it leaning contentedly against my own book, ‘The Blue Door’, on a crowded shelf.
It is a well compiled book with short informative chapters whenever possible, which gives the impression that the narrator is speaking to you direct and not through a third party. For this novelty in presentation, Sunila Galappatti has to be congratulated and applauded for it is she who listened to his story, gently drawing out lurking details, some extremely painful, to set them in a proper sequence that could be absorbed in its entirety without a break. An onerous task performed with dedication that reveals Sunila’s versatile literary skills.
The narrative leads gradually up from his youth to the point of his capture by the enemy, along with a few others and not by himself. This fact has been deliberately omitted from the twisted, falsified versions touted in order to (wrongfully) convince the public that he went over willingly. It is ironic that this same little group of captives were together during their incarceration and released almost together, thereby forming a bond that has continued to this day through direct contact with one another whenever possible.
From the point of his capture, the story undergoes a change of mood. The overnight change in their status, from free men to captives, causes a subtle alteration in the character of individuals, each affected in a different way.
The fluctuations in their daily routine caused by the sudden unpredictable moves indulged in by their captors, is an added obstacle to any form of acceptance of their situation. These involved being shepherded into trucks, sometimes blind-folded, and driven in the night for long hours through unknown territory to be deposited in yet another camp. Hearing a familiar bark in two different locations convinced Boyagoda that the journey taken through a long circuitous route was a ruse to give the prisoners the impression that it was a long distance away and not the short direct one it really was.
Surreptitiously exchanging facts about the LTTE among themselves, the Sinhala prisoners became aware of the fact that some of their fellow captives were themselves unwilling slaves of the LTTE movement. Arrested on fake charges these civilians were inducted into their labour force which had many gaping vacancies. (Shades of the South!)
The majority of people, in both the North and the South, are ignorant about the origins of the LTTE movement, which was a fight against the caste system practiced by the Hindus, which debarred low caste people from entering a Kovil even for religious worship.
Velupillai Prabhakaran belonged to a low caste, and began to realize the unfairness of it and the implications it had on the majority of the citizens, on reaching adolescence. Exposure to Christianity where all men are considered equal had him converting to that faith.
After that, his eye focused on one target; the annihilation of all High Caste Hindus. Gathering a band of like-minded youth around him they created as much destruction as they could.
At this time, across the seas in Tamil Nadu a secret movement had been formed with the aim of creating a Tamil Homeland, with Jaffna as their chosen site.
Hearing of Prabhakaran’s activities they decided to use him as their cat’s paw. Taking him and his supporters to Tamil Nadu they indoctrinated them with their ideas while also giving them military training, thereby subtly moulding them into the shape required. They were brought back to Jaffna with the main target of a Tamil Homeland implanted firmly in their immature brains, the original anti-caste goal pushed to the sidelines.
Prabhakaran was instigated into assassinating Alfred Duraiappah after which he was rowed away to a haven in Tamil Nadu. Many years later he returned as an adult, with an over inflated ego and besotted by an insatiable greed for power. He even distanced himself from his own family who refused to be converted to his new way of thinking, his father remaining a loyal clerk in the Jaffna Kachcheri, who had served under my brother when he was the Government Agent there.
His activities attracted western powers who considered him the perfect tool for the manipulation of their own hidden interests and so stepped in the USA, the UK, Norway and others assisted by Anton Balasingham who had acquired a ‘white’ wife through dubious means. It was only after Jaffna was over-run completely by the Government Forces that it revealed to what horrendous extent they had assisted.
An entire city had been created underground with housing, car parks, offices, residential areas and a highly advanced fully equipped hospital with vital drugs and qualified medical staff.
Air power was assured with ground to air missiles, air planes, trained pilots and a proper airstrip that our own helicopter pilots had spied from above.
The Sea Tigers had their diving and other underwater training at a vast swimming pool. A special, secluded heavily guarded area was also set aside for King Prabhakaran to indulge in jogging and other health enhancing activities. My family and I saw these as ‘tourists’ soon after the destruction of the LTTE and before they were rightfully reduced to rubble by our Army.
All these developments had taken place with the full knowledge of succeeding governments in power at the time which had had underhand dealings with the enemy under the guise of ‘Peace Pact’, ‘Peace Accord’ and other such fanciful labels. The LTTE was also rewarded substantially when at the request of the President in power at the time, they eliminated those whom he believed were a threat to his position of TOP DOG in the country.
The lower ranks were not spared either, with 600 young policemen being offered on a golden platter to Prabhakaran.
“Into the Valley of Death
Rode the six hundred”
It was Boyagoda’s misfortune to be a participant in a disturbing situation when a highly placed ‘officer’ of the LTTE patted jeeps and other valuable equipment and declared sarcastically “Gifts from Premadasa.” That was the infamous era of the ‘Premadasa Yugaya’ which is now being glorified by his son who is threatening to inflict upon us the same once again.
Boyagoda’s captors and fellow prisoners comprised a collection of ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’, which gave birth to an intimacy in relationship between individuals irrespective of age or position in life, though an unexpected hurdle was encountered in the incompatibility between the generations. The detailed descriptions of the terrible tortures they had to endure is searing as some are inhumanly savage. Yet this is nothing new to us who are aware of the interrogating tactics of Police Forces everywhere. Although they themselves were not too brutally tortured physically, occasional muffled screams would reach them from some unlocatable source convincing them that hidden torture chambers existed elsewhere.
Their apparent journey through a dark unending tunnel despaired them until a faint glimmer at the far end appeared with the involvement of the ICRC. That was when Boyagoda had a new status thrust upon him, that of ‘SHOW’ prisoner. As public eye-wash he was ordered to have a proper bath (a luxury!) then spruced up in new attire and given a good feed before being displayed to groups of media men, university students, merchants and other curious folk, with cameramen working overtime.
After each such exhibition he was whisked away, divested of the false costume and dropped back in the same cesspit he had wallowed in, prior to the charade, in which he had been an enforced actor.
Being the highest ranking officer of the government forces they held on a leash, he became the LTTE’s chief bargaining tool. This transparent ruse did not fool the ICRC which was an independent institution and tolerated no spies in disguise at their meetings with the prisoners thereby enabling Boyagoda to speak freely. He revealed the terrible conditions under which they were forced to exist – not live, and appealed for help. Positive results followed. Their next visit saw them loaded with ‘goodies’ for the prisoners; books, magazines, outdated newspapers, letters from their families, clothes, extra nourishment, medicines etc.
By this time Boyagoda had undergone a significant change. His eye-sight and hearing had deteriorated badly along with his mental faculties. He was weak, almost a walking skeleton and physically inactive. Announcing their discovery to the outside world the ICRC invited assistance from whoever was interested in helping them. It was then that Boyagoda began receiving monthly issues of Newsweek and National Geographic Magazines which Vijitha Yapa had gifted as a two year subscription in Boyagoda’s name. Thank you Yapa for that act of unreserved generosity, a true Dana in the Buddhist sense.
Later the ICRC also succeeded in arranging meetings between the prisoners and their immediate families, which carried with it the faint possibility of release through an exchange of prisoners. This did not affect Boyagoda, who was fully aware of his unchanging position – that of main bargaining tool of the LTTE. Finally, after eight long excruciating years in captivity he was chosen for release, but ironically not as a personal reward but in exchange fora very important LTTE member they wished to have back.
Now another phase of Boyagoda’s life begins. His transition from captive to free man is as excruciatingly painful as the ordeal he had endured in reverse order eight years earlier.
He was unable to adapt himself to ‘normal’ life either socially or domestically. He did not belong anywhere and was a stranger even in his own home. At first, he would walk around the house searching for a member of the household to obtain permission to use the toilet. The poignancy of this impacted most forcefully on me, being almost moved to tears by the deep sadness it generated.
His professional life was equally devastating. The Navy he rightfully belonged to, did not want him, as his presence was an embarrassment to them. They were keen on ridding themselves of him whom they believed to be a traitor. Much had changed in the period between his capture and his release. There had been an escalation in violence which affected the priorities in duty and performance. An added ordeal was the mid-ocean smuggling of drugs and other dangerous things which forced them to be extra vigilant. Had there been informers? Perhaps, but they would never be able to identify them. Personnel death rate was high.
So they mistrusted anything that had even a brush-stroke of the enemy daubed on them. They could not afford to be negligent. Such situations are inevitable in a state of war and have to be accepted.
When he was released he was sick; malnourished and weak with an unsettled mind. But instead of giving him the vital care he needed, he was treated like a flea infested mongrel. Even some wives of Navy personnel whom I know, were firmly convinced that Boyagoga had gone across to the enemy willingly, with the LTTE according him a high position and also financially supporting his family in his absence. Seeped in self-righteous misconceptions they shunned the devastated family of their colleague who were treated like lepers. Learning of this shocking behavior on the part of people I knew, I lost all regard for them. To such pitiable people, I have only this to say, remember the words of Jesus Christ – “Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone.” But on reflection I have the feeling that these bigoted buffoons may even refuse to acknowledge the existence of Jesus Christ!
The same clique of Navy personnel who were captured along with and shared their period of incarceration together with Boyagoda were released about the same time as he. The Navy welcomed them back in to the service where they ran into one another at Naval Head Quarters, and still keep in touch after retirement.
Now here is an interesting conjecture. Many, including the Navy had vehemently denied the existence of these people, so how come they suddenly manifest themselves in human form now? I suppose one has to trek to the Himalayas to get a solution from the hermit ascetics there!
The excellent training given to its cadets by the Navy was proved by the ‘Old Guard’, Boyagoda’s colleagues and friends who stood loyally by him as they had done with his family throughout his incarceration. Treated like something ‘the cat brought in’ he would on occasion be hauled out of obscurity whenever it suited various groups of people, mainly the politically motivated ones. Suddenly he would find himself hauled up to the main stage sharing it with prominent personalities. A (comic) repetition of his former role of ‘SHOW PRISONER’!
The personal revelations and reflections recorded in the book was an eye-opener for me. My attitude to life was changed by the over-all view I had gathered, even though I had myself weathered many a storm in my own life.
This is not only a ‘must read’ book but also one to be ‘re-read’ many times over. It should also be shared, lent, gifted, passed around and talked about at every turn. I am grateful to the great duo; Commodore Ajith Boyagoda and Sunila Galappatti for gifting us this panorama of life, the over-all view one gets from the ‘Crow’s Nest’ of a ship.
And now to end this on a hilarious note. Those of our vintage will remember the infamous IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force) deal, with its ‘Parippu Drop’, struck between our President, J.R. Jayawardena and the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. The entire country was against it, even inciting schoolboys to parade the streets in protest. At a ceremonial parade for the visiting dignitary, a young Naval rating had suddenly raised his rifle and brought it down in an attempt to hit Rajiv Gandhi and failed. Years later, this boy had confessed to his senior officers that he still regretted missing his target that day, which had been J.R. and not Rajiv!
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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