Features
Another Sketch of 1971 Events
by ACB Pethiyagoda
Mr. Gamini Gunawardena’s appreciation of the late Inspector General of Police, Stanley Senanayake, in The Sunday Island recently brought to my mind personal ‘Random Sketches of Events in Contemporary History’ (the subtitle of GG’s article).
To start at the very beginning I had the pleasure of meeting the elegant Stanley in the mid 1950s at a mutual friend’s home in Kalutara when he, Stanley, was Director of the Police Training School. The friend and his family migrated; we went our separate ways according to the dictates of our employment; and out of the blues I had, in late 1971, an official note from the Inspector General of Police together with a personal note appended. Its tone and contents spoke volumes for Mr. Stanley Senanayake’s geniality.
Toward the end of 1970 and very early the next year, JVP activity was not that evident in the upcountry plantation areas except for some scribbling on walls of public buildings. However, a general build up of their activity in other parts of the country, except in the North, was reported in the newspapers, making one and all sit up and expect an impending flare up — when, where and in what form was anybody’s guess.
The guesses were as many as the expressions of admiration of Rohana Wijeweera’a ability to hold a crowd captive at his public meetings, whether they agreed with his ideologies or not.
Early in 1971 a real jolt was felt by me when driving back to work very early of a Monday morning after a weekend out; a group of four on the road was discerned in the dim light partly hidden by a roadside tree between Ginigathena and Hatton. They appeared to be khaki clad. While realizing this as strange, I noticed one stepping forward and signaling me to stop.
Without so much as a pause to think, I sped away and stopped only outside the Hatton Police Station. The scary incident was related to the OIC who said there were no police patrols at that time on that stretch of road. After an entry was made, I proceeded to Mayfield Estate where I was Superintendent at the time.
Night travel was given up; serious thought given to contingency plans in the event of possible disturbances and consequent disruption of work on the estate. Safety and food supply to about 1,000 workers with a total population of around 6,000 was the sole responsibility of the superintendent.
Although friends and fellow managers discussed this tense situation there is no recollection of any announcements or advice from government departments or the Planters’ Association. It was on account of this apparent lack of preparedness that when the JVP attacked several police stations on the night of April 5, 1971, the entire country, except the Northern and Eastern Provinces, was jolted and galvanized into action —even to the extent of appealing to India and Pakistan for help.
Action as far as the upcountry plantation sector was concerned for about the first day and a half was a collective wringing of hands faced with the enormity of the anticipated problem. In addition to safety and continued food supply, the scarcity of liquid fuel would result in the cessation of manufacture and extended stoppage of work. These were too frightening to even consider at that early stage of the possible conflagration. Another consideration was the safety of buildings — factory, stores, offices, bungalows, dwellings of workers, vehicles, which were then not covered against riot and civil commotion.
Newspapers and mail ceased to arrive. With no TV and radio and signals from Colombo not being received by those beautiful contraptions known as radiograms (radio and record player of different rpms in one unit), we were starved of news. Telephones which at the best of times functioned only off and on, were permanently off. When calls to Colombo and other outstations were booked, the operators, if any of them had reported for work, declared lines were out of order.
We were thus cut off and left to fend for ourselves. In this situation, about seven of us superintendents of neighbouring estates met to form a mutual help club. The Europeans backed out on the excuse their embassies had advised them to keep their hands off local politics. They could not, or did not want to differentiate between politics and strategy for survival under difficult circumstances by sharing available resources.
Hence, the four Sri Lankan superintendents decided to band together to face the common problem as best as they could. I write entirely from memory, so inaccuracies are possible, though not probable.
Labour union leaders on each estate were summoned by the respective superintendents and made aware of the prevalent situation.
They readily agreed to conserve food stocks in hand and not demand more than the rationed quota of rice and flour for a week issued by government until fresh stocks arrived. When? There was no answer to that question. As for security they agreed to an unofficial curfew- workers nor their family members would be allowed to wander around after dark outside their quarters; and strangers apprehended forthwith.
A day or two after the first attacks on police stations, news seeped through that the Nanu Oya Police Station had been abandoned. The station serving Mayfield and some surrounding estates and villages was at Patana on the Talawakelle-Nawalapitiya road. One of the cooperating superintendents and I rushed there early in the morning to find the sergeant in charge preparing to lock up and decamp with his three constables, without a semblance of authority from his superiors.
Reasons for this intended dereliction of duty which could result in their dismissal from service was that four men could not perform duties day and night with the possibility of attack by the insurgents. The station had only two kerosene lamps and two hurricane lanterns for lighting and there was no fence round the building, leaving the entire premises vulnerable to attack. These shortcomings had been reported to inspecting officers but to no avail.
After some discussion a deal was struck: three of us planters would guard the station in the nights while the policemen could rest after day duty, the ancient bolt action rifles and ammunition being handed over to us. As for lighting, by nightfall that day the station had electric lights with power tapped from Craigie Lee tea factory just across the road.
The fence was completed the next day with barbed wire from the stores of the concerned superintendents. Mention must be made here that superintendents of reputed companies in those times had a great deal of discretionary powers and such powers were hardly ever misused. The day after the gentlemen’s agreement, at least three planters assumed guard duty at the station every night – one in the building and two in a hillock behind.
In spite of our inexperience in this type of work and constant fear that we could be attacked, there was a feeling of bonhomie as we knew we were performing a duty by the people of the area, our families, shareholders and employees. We had no doubt that they would appreciate our sense of responsibility, and they certainly did.
Conditions seemed to be changing for the better for the country in the news that came down the grapevine. Large numbers of insurgents were giving themselves up or had been arrested. Evidence of this was seen at the small Patana Police Station in the backwoods when cells filled with the overflow from the Hatton Police Station were brought in.
The young men were in pitiable condition, physically and mentally due to exposure – hiding in the wildernesses for several days and the trauma of arrest and possibility of being beaten up as well. Conversations (certainly not interrogation – that was for the police) revealed that these men were highly motivated and committed and had undergone tremendous personal hardships for long periods of time for the Movement, and even after capture would not decry the road they had taken to rectify the actual and perceived social injustices prevalent in the country. Such loyalty to an ideology was to be admired and sympathized with, had it not been violent. Sacrifices made by them would not lead to their Utopia.
Giving my name and the estate I was managing to one of them, I asked whether I was on their rumoured hit list. He replied that he knew of me and where I worked as he was a teacher in the Agrapatana area and said that I would have been spared as I was not a hora. Thanks to all the gods above, I intoned!
Asked whether they would uproot all tea and plant bathala, he replied: “Yes.” Such planting would be in areas where tea lands bordered habitations which the British had plundered, leaving the displaced villages landless and in poverty. Food for thought that day and even now forty years later.
During the first few days of April’ 71, our homes were also very tense. With no communication with the outside world, foodstuffs unreplenished, constant fear of attacks, we felt marooned. Some relief was felt when two other superintendents’ young families came over to stay with us, bringing their provisions as well. There was a welcome sense of security in numbers — however small.
By the third week of April conditions were fast returning to normal. One evening returning home from work, I found the ASP Hatton at the entrance with two fully armed policemen. Heavens! Am I being arrested for something untoward at Patana? Such fears were soon dispelled when the officer walked up, thrust his hand to shake mine while thanking me for assisting his men and him.
Some months later, the government’s letter of appreciation for the support given to it during the insurgency, signed by the IGP, was received. It was good to have such a letter — the first of its kind —because letters from government always contain some unwelcome message or call for payment. Better still was the personal note from Stanley Senanayake recalling our meetings a decade and half earlier.
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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