Features
Christmas the wonder in the eyes of a child
by Kumar David
I have wondered why though I am an agnostic Christmas has always been meaningful to me. The merrymaking, the family gatherings, eating and drinking in excess and getting Aunty Rose pissed as a coot on sweet sherry was part of it. Though even for those from middle-class Ceylonese Christian homes it seemed it was only unwrapping gifts, running around like urchins in the neighbourhood and the arrival of Santa in a rickshaw, accompanied by Chinnama’s tall “butler” Yohanis ringing a big station bell (wherever did it come from?), before I was sixteen I got it. Christmas is not only about the sparkle and the wonder in the eyes of a child. It can transcend class and culture.
Did you know that 33% of the world’s population is below 20 years of age? In Africa 46% is under 15 years, 26% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 25% in Asia. At the other end of the spectrum in Europe and Japan the pyramid is inverted, the population is ageing and the price of coffins must be rising. It behoves us on this Christmas morn to ponder how best to respond to this changing global demography. The last time the world was so topsy-turvy and standing on its head was in the 1930s and you know what happened then, Nazis and concentration camps, holocausts and eventually a war that destroyed maybe 50 million people and much of civilisation.
The State as perpetrator
Perhaps the biggest attitudinal change in the last two decades is public distrust of the state. There are many reasons; fear of the state machinery itself, gloom of never-ending post-Covid syndrome (expert opinion is mostly pessimistic), moral confusion in the US and uncertainty of a 300-strong emergent Chinese middle-class about what is happening to it (contradictorily it is strong state leadership that underwrote China’s material success),. A notable development is fear in the eyes of the lower-middle-class which does not trust the state in ways that its welfare hungry predecessors did. It fears for its business and political freedoms, it fears that its commercial productivity will be constrained.
Is uncertainty driving people to accept ruthless law-and-order regimes (Duterte in the Philippines, African dictators, India’s Modi), religiosity, ethnic and caste intolerance? Revulsion of the post-WW2 state as an oppressor is a sentiment that has accumulated over time. The Argentine military dictatorship threw its political opponents still alive out of helicopters; Chile’s Pinochet carted is opponents by the truck load to footfall stadiums and gunned them down with machine guns, “Statistica” lists Egypt, Syria, Yemen and China as the worst human rights violators as of 2021, Bush and Tony Blair knowingly lied to the United Nations in order to kill hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Syria. About half a million people flee Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador each year to get away from poverty and violence from gangs linked to the state. Belgium, civilised (sic!) Northern European and Christian, is also the home of “The Heart of Darkness”. In 1963 the Belgian State orchestrated the murder of Patrice Lumumba. In 1994 It inspired a racist divide-and-rule policy which set the stage for genocide in Rwanda and slaughter of one million people. Who can trust the state anymore, and which one?
Were I, in illustration, say a bit about every relevant country it would be endless. Instead I will devote just two paragraphs to a case of abuse of state power that most Lankan readers know little about – Mexico, or to be accurate Mexico under the soiled regime of former President Enrique Peña Nieto (Dec 2012 – Nov 2018). In the state of Veracruz, whose Governor was Nieto’s henchman Javier Duarte de Ochoa, human and democratic rights violations, murder of journalists, collaboration with drug dealers, beatings, arrests under false pretexts, violence against women and denial of public access to cell-phone, CCTV and public records was the order of the day. Duarte was convicted in September 2018 of embezzling millions in state money. During Durate’s 2010-2016 Governorship Veracruz was Mexico’s most dangerous state; it was soaked in a sea of drug cartels, police atrocities and official collusion with organized crime.
A string of Duarte cronies and looters have been released on bail after the hasty appointment of Flavino Ríos Alvarado as Interim Governor of Veracruz for just two months (October-November 2018). Current leftist Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (in office from December 2018) took a hard-line against the former Veracruz goons on the campaign trail but has softened since election as President, raising concerns whether his anti-corruption agenda was only skin deep. The Guardian says “Demonising egregious examples like Duarte is a convenient vote-winning ploy but rooting out systemic corruption is a more thankless task”. A two-hour Netflix documentary “In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case” is about these Veracruz atrocities; it is scary because such things are universal. No wonder the state is despised by people everywhere. In Sri Lanka It is not only the thuggish police and the brutal military alone that are feared. Corrupt politicians, another aspect of the state, are also despised.
Hatred of the state as an instrument of oppression (military and police) or of corruption (politicians, officials and big-government) has been growing in recent times everywhere. It is therefore necessary to learn a little about anarchism. An Englishman William Godwin (1756–1836), whose life overlapped the French Revolution, considered the state an illegitimate tool of domination and was an early anarchist though he never used the term. German Wilhelm Weitling (1808–1871), sceptical of all justification for authority structures can also be considered an early anarchist but he too did not use the term.
The legendary Louis-Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881) has an important place in the story of the working-class. He held that the taking of power had to be the act of a small minority and that there could be no transformation without a temporary dictatorship to disarm the bourgeoisie, confiscate the wealth of the church and large property holders, and bring great industrial and commercial enterprises under state control. Next would be to form industrial and agricultural-production associations and develop education to render the people capable of organising society for their own benefit. Blanquist anarchism advocated replacement of the state by stateless societies and free associations. It clearly has affinity to libertarian Marxism. The only genuine Blanquist that I knew was Kelly Senanayake in the late 1970s; I don’t know where he is or what has become of him in the last 50 years. He was a cut above JVPers of the period and he was not a racist.
The Left and the Liberal Intelligentsia in Lanka
Is it the “blight man was born for”? The wonder in the eyes of a child comes at a peculiar conjunction in a left context. The Frontline Socialists (FSP) is in a pre-anarchist bind, the NPP-JVP has to resolve its attitude to the state and the economic role of the state. The business (a), and land-owning (b) classes, share with the liberal bourgeoisie (c), expectations that Ranil’s expectations or IMF promises will pan out ok. If you want to put faces on it, (a) is the big corporations and companies, (b) the estate owning classes, and (c) the intelligentsia including the educated elite and modernists in the Central Bank and NGOs. There is actually an intellectual divide between (a), (b) and (c), and the Lefties. This divide is obscured because some of the elites and many leftists are English speaking and well educated.
Programmatically the far-left in Sri Lanka is out on a limb. Kumar Gunaratnam, leader of the FSP (Front Line Socialists Party) declares that Parliament should act according to FSP views but it does not have one single elected member! “It is essential to devise constitutional methods to give representation to the FSP’s demands and to the views of other groups related to the youth uprising who are not represented in Parliament.” Phew! On the Tamil question the FSP is more backward than the JVP. FSP theory states “(W)e don’t accept self-determination or devolution for Tamil majority areas . . . Devolution was imposed by India. We won’t divide the country into ethnic territories . . . we are going to explain to the Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people that this is not a solution. (Colombo Telegraph, Editorial 8 August 2018). Fortunately, the JVP’s salvation from this idiotic position on the national question is its embrace of an alliance with the NPP.
I have taken pains to point out that for far more reasons than I can explain here, distrust of the state has become near universal on the Left, among intellectuals and liberals, and also of course among far-left radicals. Class-wise the independent lower-middle-classes see it as in impediment to their economic improvement. I have also been at pains in the above paragraphs to underline that far-left flirting with anarchism is a miasma. Nonetheless a state-led economic policy is necessary in the early stages of growth but that state must fade away as society prospers into a free development of men and women. I have persevered with this line for some time and am likely to persist (sorry).
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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