Features
Gota’s cowardly escape and Ranil’s dangerous tomfoolery
by Rajan Philips
“Gota goes, plunging country into chaos.” That was the headline in The Island on Thursday, July 14. Gota keeps going – from Sri Lanka to Maldives, to Singapore, and probably to Dubai ultimately. And the country keeps plunging from one crisis to another. Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not resign on July 13 as he had promised on July 9. Instead, he appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe to be Acting President while he (Gota) is overseas. The Speaker of Parliament waited in vain till midnight on July 13 for Gota’s letter of resignation. Nothing came.
But the Speaker was given further assurance that the letter will come after Gotabaya Rajapaksa reaches his destination, whenever and wherever that might be. The Speaker even considered the possibility of declaring the presidential post vacant. He should have also considered the possibility of abolishing it altogether! The letter of resignation finally arrived via email on Thursday night. The letter was to be scrutinized for its permissibility for a formal announcement about Friday.
The resignation delay has led to the cancellation of the parliamentary session scheduled for Friday for receiving nominations for interim presidential candidates. With that the vote to elect an interim president from among our current lawmakers, which is scheduled for next Wednesday, July 20, may also have to be postponed. The uncertainty and chaos will continue for a few more days. As the JVP has suggested the July 20 vote need not be postponed at all, especially on account of a resignation letter from a President who furtively fled the country.
Acting President, First Ever
Meanwhile, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Acting President, is not waiting for anything or anybody. He is acting very vigorously as if he has been President from 1978. He has conveniently forgotten that on July 9, both he and Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised to resign on July 13. The country was expecting two resignations and the Speaker to become Acting President. Instead, there were no resignations on July 13, but two presidents – one on the run, and the other acting out. The Speaker has been kept waiting. Everything is by the book – the Constitution – according to Ranil Wickremesinghe. But the people are enraged – bell, book and candle!
Ranil Wickremesinghe should have been honest and forthcoming, and explained to the country why he has not resigned, and how and by whom it was decided that Gotabaya Rajapaksa could leave the country and leave Ranil Wickremesinghe to be Acting President. The country did not get to see the swearing in, if indeed there was any, of Sri Lanka’s first ever Acting President under the 44 year-old JRJ Constitution. All that the people saw and heard was a televised statement by Mr. Wickremesinghe at noon on Wednesday (July 13). The statement was ill-advised and ill-timed. It was also provocative in tone and politically foolish in content.
As reported worldwide, Mr. Wickremesinghe declared that he had ordered the military to “do whatever is necessary to restore order”. Even as he called on the protesters to withdraw from the occupied buildings and co-operate with authorities, he issued the ultimatum to aragalaya protesters: “We can’t tear up our constitution. We can’t allow fascists to take over. We must end this fascist threat to democracy.”
When did aragalaya protesters become fascists? The minute after Ranil Wickremesinghe became Acting President? It is bad to tear up even a bad constitution, but it is worse to risk tearing up the country. Even Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the military man, did not dare ordering the military to do whatever is necessary. Another military man, Sarath Fonseka, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s substitute candidate in the 2010 presidential election, publicly appealed to the military chiefs to ignore the excessive orders of the newly minted Acting President.
To their credit, and throughout this crisis the military leadership has been exemplary in its cautious approach to the crisis and have appeared to be more empathetic to the suffering people than many of the civilian political leaders. Strikingly, after the Acting President had made his order to the military chiefs, the chiefs called upon political party leaders to meet with the Speaker and “tell them (the) next political steps they intended to take until a new President is elected and called on the public and young protestors to be calm.”
Quite a contrast to the over-the-top statement of Wickremesinghe. As well, there has been no indication of the new Acting President (AP) reaching out to other party leaders. Except, there was one report according to which the AP had asked Speaker to find a nominee for PM in parliament acceptable to both the government and the opposition. Is Wickremesinghe the Queen’s new Viceroy, expecting the Speaker of Parliament to do errands for him?
On the other hand, in none of the media reports on the statements of military chiefs did I find a direct reference to the order issued by the Acting President. The military chiefs described their role as defenders of the Constitution and asked for the people’s support. Military chiefs and the IGP even attended the Party Leaders meeting convened by the Speaker on Thursday, July 14. The governing SLPP did not attend the meeting, but all the other party leaders who attended unanimously decided to ask, “Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to vacate his position at the earliest possible (time) to defuse the prevailing crisis situation.” Defusing the situation is what is called for and that is precisely what Ranil Wickremesinghe failed to do in his maiden statement as Acting President.
Looming Uncertainty
Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to be having a conveniently timed amnesia about the sequence of events that elevated him first to be Prime Minister and now Acting President. Both elevations came courtesy of an embattled President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who for all the narratives about him as a war hero has shown neither the head nor the stomach for a straight political fight. So, he turned to Ranil Wickremesinghe to be his saviour and that of the Rajapaksa family. First, to avoid resignation in May, and two months later in July to leave the country before a travel ban could be imposed on him as it has been on his brothers and former and now disgraced aides. This is how all of Sri Lanka sees the Ranil-Rajapaksa twosome.
And that is why public protests boiled all over again on July 13 when people became suspicious that they were being duped again by the RR-twosome. They have been partially duped for sure – with only one resignation arriving via email and the other finessed away via the Acting President arrangement. The aragalaya protests ever since they began in March have had their ebbs and flows. For what they have achieved in getting rid of an upstart dynasty, the protests have been remarkably peaceful and even decorous. The excesses that occurred on May 9 and again on July 9 and July 13, will have to be seen in the context of the provocations that preceded them.
That said, the torching of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s 5th Lane residence in Colombo is an unforgivable act of arson for which no condemnation can be enough. At the same time, there have been plausible indications that the burning was not by the main protesters but a set up by other troublemakers with their own agendas. Ever since 1977, Sri Lanka has gone through spates of killings, vandalisms, burning properties and burning libraries, and years of war itself. The aragalaya emergence has kindled hopes in the minds of many activists that there is an opportunity now to recast Sri Lanka’s politics anew. Some superstructure recasting is necessary anyway to repair the broken economic base.
If Gotabaya Rajapaksa had resigned two months earlier along with his brothers, the country would have been on the path to recovery that much sooner. The question now is whether the country can survive the continuation of Ranil Wickremesinghe in one office or another without plunging into another crisis. He is certainly the lightning rod for all political castigations, most of which are self-inflicted. But he is not the only hindrance to the country forging a new path ahead.
In fact, there is no one inspirational or charismatic enough leader to take a clear lead before the people, bypassing Ranil Wickremesinghe or anybody else. When there are no outstanding leadership prospects, the preferred alternative is for the contenders to work together rather than against one another. Yet, there is no hope for a consensus candidate for the interim president position, only a growing list of contenders. A highly contested vote in parliament for the interim president will not make it easy for the winning candidate to reunite the party leaders and MPs to set up a ‘caretaker government’ until general elections can be held to elect a new parliament.
The current parliament, even though it has still not reached the halfway mark of its five year term, has totally lost credibility and it is only dragging on because elections cannot be held soon enough. Yet in the dire circumstances of IMF negotiations and procuring essential supplies, the parliament has a role to play, and the current MPs must play their part, even if they are to be corralled and coerced to doing it. Ideally, the interim president that parliament will soon elect could be someone who has no political ambition beyond the caretaker-purpose that the current parliament must fulfill before it is dissolved. In other words, the interim president must be someone who will not be contesting the next parliamentary or presidential election. Such a criterion might facilitate MPs coalescing around a consensus candidate instead of polarizing around multiple contenders.
Ranil Wickremesinghe could have been such a consensus candidate, but he burnt his boats when he became Gota’s Prime Minister without consulting other opposition parties. Even as Prime Minister he fatally neglected or failed to get a handle on the fuel supply and distribution situation. The fuel crisis was the trigger for the new wave of protests that demanded the resignations of both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned and Ranil Wickremesinghe has wormed his way to becoming Acting President. He could go on to become interim president, but only with the support of the discredited Rajapaksa party – the SLPP. That would be a Pyrrhic victory or kiss of death, or both. A more statesmanlike option for Mr. Wickremesinghe would be to step back from the presidential fray, but commit himself to continuing his intercessions with the IMF and other international creditors to rescue Sri Lanka from its financial quagmire.
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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