Features
Impressions of Mahatma Gandhi, the Great Soul
by Dr. W.A. Abeysinghe
Over the past seven decades or so, interpretations of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, some of which are lopsided, half baked and controversial, have been many and manifold. My readers may feel rather baffled, if I disclose the fact that my studies, however humble and disorganized they may be, have commenced on far back as the latter part of the year 1958 in the last century. A jewel of a book entitled ” An Autobiography or the Story of my Experiments with Truth” (I possess up to date, though in tattered pages) which I bought at a book counter of Ananda Bhawan at Pettah, Colombo, having paid Rs.1.25 during my teacher training days at the G.T.C.Maharagama has been dated by me as 25-11-58. Simply count the many years past, since then – from 1958 in the last century to Corona ridden gloomy year of 2021 of the present century!
From the day I concluded reading the incomplete unfinished autobiography of the great Indian Sage, I remained ‘Gandhian’ in spirit, heart and soul, transcending all my later studies of Marxism – or rather, Marxism – Leninism – culminating my doubts about the so called communist utopia of a classless society annihilating the bourgeois after having established a dictatorship of the proletariat ! And now, one would be rather amused to witness how this so called dictatorship of the proletariat ended up having enthroned a heinous autocrat – corrupt to the core – in the garb of a Russian Tsar, in the emergence of a man called who dreams to build a Chinese Super Empire encompassing Asia and Africa, and a Castro type degenerated family rule which brought into being the poorest state in the whole of Latin America !
So that, as a man who witnessed all these upheavals and political changes of universal magnitude, my attraction toward ‘Gandhism’ ( if you pardon me for the term) has been unavoidable.
At a time when crude nationalism raises its ugly head in the form of racialism, communalism and many other “tribal manifestations”, in my own country the life and, most importantly, the death of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi emerges supreme in the history of mankind. Undoubtedly His death, was that of a martyr, in the compact sense of the word.
I sometimes feel that most biographers of Mahatmaji have opted to glorify his death, rather than his many-faceted political, social and reformist life.
Louis Fischer, a conscientious biographer of Gandhi, who met the great Mahatma twice – in 1942 and later, in June, 1946, begins his book with a vivid description of Gandhi’s assassination.
I quote the two opening paragraphs of Louis Fisher, verbatim:
“At 4.30 p.m., Abha brought in the last meal he was ever to eat; it consisted of goat’s milk, cooked and raw vegetables, oranges and a concoction of ginger, sour lemons and strained butter with juice of aloe. Sitting on the floor of his room in the rear of Birla House in New Delhi, Gandhi ate and talked with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Deputy Prime Minister of the new government of independent India. Maniben, Patel’s daughter and secretary, was also present. The conversation was important. There had been rumors of differences between Patel and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This problem, like so many others, had been dropped into the Mahatma’s lap.
“Abha, alone with Gandhi and the Patels, hesitated to interrupt. But she knew Gandhi’s attachment to punctuality. Finally, therefore, she picked up the Mahatma’s nickel plated watch and showed it to him. ‘I must tear myself away,’ Gandhi remarked, and so saying he rose, went to the adjoining bathroom and then started towards the prayer ground in the large park to the left of the house. Abha, the young wife of Kanu Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma’s cousin, and Manu, the granddaughter of another cousin, accompanied him; he leaned his forearms on their shoulders. ‘My walking sticks’, he called them.”
Gandhi felt completely relaxed with his “two walking sticks” and even joked with them.
“So you are serving me with cattle fare,” Gandhi said and laughed.
“Ba used to call it horse fare”, was Abha’s prompt retort.
“Ba” was their affectionate shortened name for Kasturba, Gandhi’s predeceased wife.
“Isn’t it grand for me to relish what no one else wants!” bantered Gandhi in the same jovial mood.
As many martyrs of history, Gandhi knew and even sensed that he would some day he assassinated. He didn’t fear death, for it was manifested number of times when he staged many a fast unto death. Really, he was even prepared for it.
As he was nearing the fateful day of January 30, 1948 Gandhi had once expressed thus.
“To die by the hand of a brother rather than by disease or in some other way, cannot be for me a matter of sorrow…. I would deserve praise only if I fell as a result of such an attack and yet retained a smile on my face and no malice against the doer….. All perpetrators should be won over through love.”
“Tomorrow”, he explained. “I may not be here”.
He was aware of the strengthening of the police guard on Birla House, but notwithstanding Home Minister Patel’s earnest request, Gandhi would not permit the police to search those attending the prayer meetings:
“If I have to die I should like to die at the prayer meeting. You are wrong in believing that you can protect me from harm. God is my protector.”
That was how he took death and admonished his massive following, accordingly.
On that fateful January 30th 1948, Patel and his daughter immediately left Birla House while Gandhi, a little vexed at being unpunctual, made his way to the prayer meeting. Leaning lightly on the two girls, walking briskly to make up for lost time, he mounted the six low steps up to the level of the prayer ground. As he took a few paces in the direction of the wooden platform on which he sat during services, the crowd opened to enable him to pass through, bowing to his feet as he went by. Gandhi took his arms off the girls’ shoulders and for a moment stood there smiling, touching his palms together in the traditional namaskar gesture. Just then, a stocky young man in a khaki bush jacket jostled through the crowd, roughly pushing Manu away, and when he was directly in front of Gandhi, he fired three shots at point-blank range. Mahatma’s hands, folded in friendly greeting, descended slowly. ‘He Rama (Oh, God),’ he murmured, and sighed softly as the frail old body fell to the ground. The assassin was overpowered after a short and fierce struggle, and the police quickly took custody of him.
As soon an Gandhi was pronounced “dead” by the doctors first to arrive at the Birla House was Patel, who had left his master a while ago. He managed an outward calm, despite the unexpected shock of his life. Then came Nehru, and he wept unrestrainedly by the side of his dead “Bapu”.
And among those others who arrived just then was Mountbatten, the Governor General of newly born free India and former viceroy. He had to push his way to the door through the growing crowd. Just then he heard someone shouting in a loud voice, “It was a Muslim, who did it.”
Mountbatten turned round and shouted back: “You fool! Don’t you know it was a Hindu?” Some in the crowd wanted it to be a Muslim, for they could then have a pretext to run a riot. Mountbatten’s spirited response with his characteristic presence of mind had a calming effect on the excited crowd. A member of the Governor-General’s staff remarked to him: “How can you possibly know it’s a Hindu?” Mountbatten replied: “I don’t. But if it is a Muslim we’re all finished, so it may as well be a Hindu.”
Mountbatten stood by the Mahatma’s body momentarily and then, seeing both Patel and Nehru together in the room, he acted with his instinctive sense of timing. He drew the two leaders aside and told them of his recent meeting with Gandhi, when the Mahatma had said how deeply he wished that they would resolve their differences. Nehru and Patel looked at each other, and then at Gandhi, who now lay before them on the floor, wrapped in his shroud of khadi. They moved towards each other and embraced in a gesture of reconciliation.
For a long time Manu and Abha cradled the dead Mahatma’s head on their laps, while the other women watched in silence or chanted verses from the Bhagavad Gita.
That was how Mahatma rose in death as a martyr for India’s unity.
But his death, was much more.
It was meant for the good of the entire mankind.
Never in modern history has any man been mourned more deeply and more widely.
“The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere and I do not quite know what to tell you and how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we call him, the father of our nation, is no more,” Nehru announced the death of Mahatma Gandhi, in a hastily broadcast radio talk.
At the time Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi entered the Indian political scene, the Indian national movement was in a matured state. It was gaining momentum among the middle class Hindus and Muslims. But there existed a marked distance between the National Congress and the Indian peasantry.
Gandhi’s emergence in the national movement at that juncture, as Nehru described in his treatise The Discovery of India, was “like a whirlwind that upset many things.”
To quote Nehru:
“And then Gandhi came. He was like a powerful current of fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths; like a beam of light that pierced the darkness and removed the scales from our eyes; like a whirlwind that upset many things, but most of all the working of people’s minds. He did not descend from the top; he seemed to emerge from the millions of India, speaking their language and incessantly drawing attention to them and their appalling condition. Get off the backs of these peasants and workers, he told us, all you who live by their exploitation, get rid of the system that produces this poverty and misery. Political freedom took new shape then acquired a new content.”
Having fought for the liberation of the Indian community in South Africa, Gandhi returned to his native land on January 09, 1915. He brought along with him, two well sharpened political weapons – namely, passive resistance and non-corporation which during the later years of the Indian national struggle turned into Sathyagraha and a movement of civil disobedience against the British rule.
By about the dawn of the second quarter of the last century, Gandhi was the undisputed leader of the Indian national movement. Under his aegis, the national movement was geared not only toward Swaraj-home rule – but also to a wider moral, ethical and cultural movement aimed at reforming the primitive, illiterate and backward India into a vibrant new nation in the spirit of self-reliance and national awakening. His campaign of Kadhi and his struggle against untouchability and caste system should be viewed and interpreted in this context – that Gandhi was essentially a reformer.
Greatness of Gandhi lies in the fact that, unlike many other fighters for national independence the world over, he brought into being a reconciliation between political freedom and national reformation into one unified movement. His concept of future India was a far sighted and ever widening phenomenon.
The combination of Gandhi, the politician and Gandhi the reformer was remarkable indeed. To call him a saint – which is implicit in the epithet of Mahatma – does not reflect his true personality. His religious convictions and spirituality were an integral part of his personality. These attributes would, in time to come, totally eclipse the prevalent notion that Gandhi wrought the miracle of India’s freedom. Trite phrases like ‘Hindu saint’ and ‘Father of the Nation’ do not describe his true place in the history of human civilization.
Gandhi showed the world that the love of one’s people need not be inconsistent with the love of humanity. He strove to free the downtrodden from the shackles of injustice, slavery and deprivation. But he was also obsessed with the future of the entire human race. “There is no hope for the aching world except through the narrow and straight path of non-violence”, he wrote. “Milions like me may fail to prove the truth in their own lives; that would be their failure, never of the eternal law.”
When names of the giants of Indian independence movement are embedded in the fossils of history, Gandhi’s name shall shine for ever, for his humanist message of truth and non-violence.
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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