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Anti-Terrorism Bill aimed at creating fascist dictatorship – III

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By Kalyananda Tiranagama 

(Continued from yesterday)

Declaration of Prohibited Places

On a recommendation made by the IGP, the President may publish a Gazette notification declaring any public place or any other location as a Prohibited Place, for the purposes of this Act. Prohibitions imposed may include entry without permission, taking photographs, video recording and making sketches of the place. – S. 85,

Wilful contravention of a Prohibition Order by entering or remaining in a prohibited place is an offence punishable with imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years and fine not exceeding Rs. 300,000.Any police officer may seize any movable property used for or concerned in committing any offence under this section. On conviction of the offender the Magistrate may confiscate such property. – S. 86

Defence Secretary armed with arbitrary power overriding the Judiciary to detain suspects till the conclusion of the trial

A new provision which was not in the PTA or in the CTB, has been added to the ATB giving arbitrary powers to the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence enabling him to order detention of terrorist suspects belonging certain selected categories facing High Court trials till the conclusion of the trial. It appears to be a provision added with a view to achieve a political objective rather than a legal requirements.It is not the Law, AG or the Judiciary that decides whether a suspect is to be kept in detention till the conclusion of the Trial, but the Defence Secretary.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any other law, the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence may, if he is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient to do so in the interest of national security and public order, make Order that an accused remanded by the High Court, be kept in the custody of any authority in such place and subject to such conditions as may be determined by him; his Order is only subjected to directions given by the High Court to ensure a fair trial; On the communication of his Order to the High Court and the Commissioner General of Prisons, it is the duty of the Commissioner General to deliver the custody of such person to the authority specified in such Order and the provisions in the Prisons Ordinance shall not apply to such person in custody. – S. 73

PTA did not contain this type of arbitrary, draconian provisions overriding the law, powers of the Court and the AG in respect of suspects indicted before the High Court.

Silencing Critics of Govt by Penalising them through Administrative Process without being charged in or convicted by a Court of LawUnder the PTA, the Attorney General has no option but to indict a person who has committed an offence under the PTA if evidence is available showing the commission of the offence.

Under ATB, the Attorney General can suspend or differ the institution of proceedings against a person alleged to have committed an offence under the Act for a period not exceeding 20 years if the suspect is agreeable to fulfil conditions laid down by the AG. – S. 71

It appears that this a ruse to be adopted to silence the persons engaging in struggles, agitations and campaigns against the Govt by compelling them to admit in public that they have done something that should not have been done and subjecting them to public humiliation and preventing them from participation in any future anti-govt political activities under the threat of being prosecuted years later with offences punishable with long term jail sentences running into 10 – 15 years if they fail to comply with the conditions imposed by the AG.

On application of the AG, High Court shall order the person alleged to have committed the offence to appear before Court, notify such person of the conditions imposed and provide him an opportunity to be heard and consent to the conditions imposed;

If such person fulfils the conditions imposed during the period given for fulfilling such conditions, the AG shall not institute criminal proceedings against the person alleged to have committed the offence. If the person fails to comply with the conditions without a valid excuse, AG may institute criminal proceedings against such person after the lapse of the period given to fulfil the conditions.

Conditions for suspension or deferment of institution of criminal proceedings

The following are the Conditions for consideration of suspension or deferment of institution of criminal proceedings against a suspect:

a. to publicly express remorse or apology before the High Court, using a text issued by the AG:

* In effect this will amount to pleading guilty, though the suspect is not yet charged;

b. paying reparation to the victims of the offence, as specified by the AG;

* This may not be applicable as in most of the cases, there will be no victims:

c. to participate in a specified program of rehabilitation;

d. to engage in specified community or social service;

* This will have a demoralising or humiliating effect on the suspects as most of them will be leading personal in trade unions, professional associations or social organizations when they are sent to a rehabilitation facility with other undesirable elements like drug offenders, or beggars; or required to engage in community or social service work like sweeping roads or cleaning public parks or other public places for 3 – 6 weeks;

e. to publicly undertake to refrain from committing an offence under the Act;

f. to refrain from committing any indictable offence, or act of breach of peace.

* Though breach of peace is not an indictable offence, every public protest, demonstration, agitational campaign with the participation of large group of people may result in acts of breach of peace.

* AG may impose a condition requiring the suspect to give an undertaking to refrain from committing an offence under the Act or any act involving breach of peace for 20 years, He may remain a virtual prisoner for life being unable to participate in any public protest campaign. This will operate like a binding order imposed by a Court of law on a criminal convicted of and sentenced for a criminal offence.

* This may result in subjecting the suspect to long time mental torture as he has to live in constant fear that he may be indicted under this Act any within that period of 20 years for the offence he is alleged to have committed punishable with long term jail sentence of 15 – 20 years.

* This Provision will have a deterrent effect on all social activists concerned with the welfare of the country and the people preventing them from participation in social struggles.

Violation of Fundamental Rights

Other than a few additions made further strengthening the existing provisions, the Anti-Terrorism Bill has reintroduced almost all the provisions in the Counter Terrorism Bill which appear to have the effect of curtailing fundamental rights of the people guaranteed by the Constitution.

Freedom of speech and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of engaging in trade union activities, freedom of movement within the country – are fundamental rights of the people guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution. In several fundamental rights cases our Supreme Court has held that people exercise their fundamental right of freedom of expression when they exercise their franchise at elections. At a time when elections are continuously being postponed, public protest against the harmful policies of the government is the only alternative avenue left to the people to express their disapproval in an effective manner.

Every organ of Government including the Judiciary is bound to respect, secure and advance the fundamental rights of the people. Fundamental Rights should not be abridged, restricted or denied except in the manner and to the extent provided in Article 15 of the Constitution. Many of the provisions in these Bills may inevitably result in the restriction, denial and infringement of fundamental rights of the people guaranteed by Articles 11, 12 (1), 13 and 14 (1) (a), (b), (c), (d) and (h) of the Constitution in their enforcement without adequate safeguards.

Most of the objectionable provisions in the Counter Terrorism Bill are found

in Sections 3 (1) (a), (b), (c); 3 (2) (c), (d) (f), (h); 4 (1) (c); 14; 62 and 67 of the Bill. Several of these provisions are liable to be abused without any safeguards to prevent such abuse, resulting in the violation the fundamental right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law, guaranteed by Article 12 (1) of the Constitution.

SC Determination on the Counter Terrorism Bill

Seven Determination Applications have been filed in the Supreme Court in respect of the Counter Terrorism Bill. Six of the Applications appear to have been filed by or on behalf of persons or groups seeking to review the PTA with a view to getting its provisions more relaxed and acceptable to NGO groups sympathetic to religious and racial extremists. Only one application has been filed by an opposition political party concerned with protecting people’s rights. It is sad to note that the Joint Opposition or Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna, BASL or any other professional organizations concerned with erosion of human and democratic rights of the people have failed to come forward to challenge this objectionable Bill.

It appears from the Supreme Court decision on the Bill that the Court has not been invited to examine the objectionable provisions contained in Sections 3 (1) (a), (b), (c); 3 (2) (c), (d) (f), (h); 4 (1) (c); 14; 62 and 67 of the Bill.

In its Judgement running into 12 pages (in the Hansard), in 11 pages the Court has examined various other points raised by Counsels concerned with rights of terrorists arrested such as Sections 2 dealing with jurisdiction under the Act; S. 4 (1) (a), (b) – imposing life imprisonment instead of death penalty for murder; S. 5 – imposing jail sentence of 15 years instead of death penalty for abetment of murder; S. 24 (1), 27 (1) – dealing with period of police custody and medical examination of suspects arrested; S. 36 (6), 39 dealing with Magistrate’s power to remand or release a suspect; S. 68 (5) – dealing with Magistrate’s power to remand a suspect declining to make a statement to the Magistrate, and S. 93 (3) defining the term ‘law’ to include international instruments which recognize human rights and to which Sri Lanka is a signatory.

Without much elaboration, regarding S. 62 (1) and 81 (1) of the Bill the Court has held that under Article 15 (7) of the Constitution the Parliament can enact legislation in the interest of national security, placing restrictions on the exercise of fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution and enacting such legislation cannot violate the fundamental rights.

It is sad to note that the Court’s attention has not been adequately drawn to the serious impact of Sections 3 (1) (a), (b), (c); 3 (2) (c), (d) (f), (h); 4 (1) (c); 14; 62 and 67 of the Bill on the fundamental rights of the people on various grounds which have nothing to do with national security or terrorism.

The Court has held that other than S. 4 (a) and (b), 68 (5) and 93 (3), the Bill can be passed with a simple majority.

S, 4 (a) and (b) of the Bill – the penalty for murder and abetment to commit murder is life imprisonment. In the Penal Code, penalty for murder is death penalty. This violates Article 12 (1).

S. 68 (5) – When a suspect declines to make a statement to the Magistrate, such fact shall be communicated by the Magistrate to the relevant Police Officer and the suspect shall be kept in remand custody. This violates Article 12 (1).

S. 99 (3) – For the purpose of this section the expression ‘law’ includes international instruments which recognize human rights and to which Sri Lanka is a signatory. This is inconsistent with Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution. AG had suggested certain amendments to overcome these inconsistencies.



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Features

The heart-friendly health minister

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Dr. Ramesh Pathirana

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.

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A LOVING TRIBUTE TO JESUIT FR. ALOYSIUS PIERIS ON HIS 90th BIRTHDAY

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Fr. Aloysius Pieris, SJ 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 on Nov. 23, 2019.

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.

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A fairy tale, success or debacle

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Ministers S. Iswaran and Malik Samarawickrama signing the joint statement to launch FTA negotiations. (Picture courtesy IPS)

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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