Features
JUDO FIGHTING IN SRI LANKA – Part 56
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
Discovering Judo in 1969
Just before I sat for the General Certificate of Education – Ordinary Level (grade 10) examinations in Ceylon in late 1969, I discovered Judo. Growing up in the Bambalapiitya Flats in Colombo, I noticed that the eldest son of the family in our next door flat, Raju Arulanandam. occasionally wore an unusual uniform with a brown linen belt while doing some fitness exercises. I had just turned 16 and Raju was about 10 years older than me. Due to his friendly personality and various athletic talents, Raju was our neighbourhood hero, who was very popular. Raju’s younger brother Roshan was around my age and a close friend of mine.
One day I saw Raju and Roshan (in similar uniforms) going to the beach behind our flat. When I followed them, I was baffled to see Raju throwing poor Roshan around on the beach. “What are you doing, Raju?”, I inquired. “Chandana, I am practicing Judo with Roshan as my sparring partner. I have a couple of fights in an important Judo tournament this weekend”, Raju’s response sparked an interest in me. I was very impressed when Raju did some rolling break falls when he was tackled at a neighbourhood rugby football game that evening. “Raju, I would love to learn Judo. Please introduce me to your Judo club” I requested.
Around that period, my father was in Japan on a scholarship, undergoing some training in publishing books. When he heard of my new interest, he sent me a postcard from Osaka confirming that he would bring me a special present from Japan. It was a ‘Judogi’ or the traditional uniform used for Judo practice and competition. A Judogi comprises of three parts that are usually cut from different fabrics: a very heavy jacket, lighter canvas pants and a cotton belt. My parents included a condition before they let me follow Raju’s footsteps into Judo fighting. I had to complete the grade 10 examinations and pass with at least four credits, which I did. I commenced Judo at the Central YMCA in Colombo on January 2, 1970.
The Origin and the Ranks of Judo
Judo is a martial art that was born in Japan in 1882. It is known around the world as an Olympic sport, since the 1964 Tokyo Olympiad. Judo was created by Jigoro Kano combining jujutsu, a form of close combat with the elements of mental discipline. Judo (
柔道) means “gentle way” in Japanese. Jigoro Kano commenced Judo classes in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo.
Judo practitioners are called a ‘judokas, who are ranked according to their skill and knowledge. Their ranks are indicated by the colours of belts that they wear. There are two broad categories of ranks: those who have attained a level of competency at which they are considered worthy of a black belt or ‘Dan’ degree grades and those who have yet to attain that level, therefore hold ‘Kyu’ grades.
In the current system as used in Japan, there are six student grades ranked in descending numerical order. Beginners are given the rank of sixth kyu white belt, and once they get promoted to the third kyu, they are awarded brown belts. The first kyu is the last kyu rank before promotion to the first-degree black belt (Shodan). There are 10 dan ranks, which are in ascending numerical order (one to ten). Only 15 individuals have been promoted to the rank of 10th dan. The highest-ranking Judoka practicing in Sri Lanka today is a former Judo colleague of mine, A. H. Jinadasa (Jinna), who has the rank of 5th dan.
The objective of competitive judo is to throw an opponent, immobilize them with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke hold. Judo’s international governing body is the International Judo Federation. The Kodokan Judo Institute in Japan is the headquarters of the worldwide Judo community.
Judo in Sri Lanka in the early 1970s
Soon after I started practising Judo in 1970, I had some quick successes. In my third month in Judo, I competed in the national sports festival of Ceylon, and was the runner up of the fifth and sixth kyu heavy wight event. The Japanese ambassador gave away Judo awards at that festival. He also arranged to send a few Judo instructors (sensei) from Japan to teach Judo in Ceylon.
At the Central YMCA in Colombo in 1970, I was inspired by a 20-year-old Judoka – Asoka Jayawardana. Having commenced Judo when he was 14, Asoka had become the youngest national Judo champion in 1969, at the age of 19. Asoka also had a cameo role in the most popular Sinhala movie of 1971, ‘Hathara Denama Sooyayo’ as a Judo fighter at Colombo YMCA, training one of the four heroes of the movie. That movie which ran for over 100 days island-wide during the first release, helped Judo to become more popular in Ceylon.
Asoka was also the Judo team leader of the Colombo YMCA. In 1972, he was awarded a two-year YMCA scholarship to study in Japan. Asoka studied at the Kodokan Judo Institute. Having done a six-month course at the Ceylon Hotel School, he had some interest in a career in the hotel industry. Therefore, during his two-years in Japan, Asoka concurrently studied hotel management. When he returned to Sri Lanka, while continuing Judo, he joined the hotel industry as a manager. In later years, a few more Sri Lankans went to Japan on Kodokan Judo scholarships.
I continued Judo for five years until the end of 1974. I also did wrestling and Karate for short periods. As Judo has a component of ground fighting on the mat, knowledge of wrestling is useful. Some clubs such as Colombo YMBA occasionally recruited top wrestlers of the country to Judo teams, and provided them with basic Judo training prior to major Judo tournaments. That strategy worked well at times.
I won the open category of the Intermediate Judo Championship of Sri Lanka in 1973. Among ten different categories of bouts based on grades and weights of the fighters, the open event was the prime event of any Judo tournament, at that time. My opponent in the open final was stronger, heavier and more experienced in fighting than I. He, S. I. Ratnayake was a tough Inspector of Police. I was still in my late teens and he was ten years older. My opponent was expected to win the final bout of the tournament easily.
However, I had lot of support around the fighting arena from my neighbourhood buddies and Ceylon Hotel School batchmates. My aim was not to disappoint my fans by losing quickly. I held my opponent at bay for the whole duration. Twice, extra fighting time was allocated by the referee. In between, during a short break from fighting, I was kneeling down and adjusting my belt at a corner of the fighting mat. While catching my breath, I told Roshan Arulanandan cheering me by the ringside that my opponent was strong like a big tree. He told me, “Strong trees can also fall down with the right pressure.” To me that summed up a key concept of the art of Judo fighting. Upsetting the balance of the opponent was a good tactic.
During the final three minutes of extra time, my strategy was to be very aggressive. I kept on pushing my opponent while holding his judogi as tightly as possible and pulling his neck down. That angered the police officer and he aggressively pushed me back. At that moment, I used his own strength and weight while pulling him towards me and falling backwards with my right foot pushing his stomach up. This sacrifice throw called ‘Tomoe Nage’ is one of the traditional forty throws of Judo developed by Jigoro Kano. It was not a popular throw, as often it backfired when tried against more senior and heavier opponents. That day it was my last resort. It worked for me like a charm and my opponent went flying over me and fell flat on his back. I won the fight and became a Judo champion.
The next year, I was chosen to be on the five-member team of the Colombo YMCA Judo club. After a hectic, five-bout team event, we won the 1974 national Judo Championship in Sri Lanka. After that, I stopped Judo for six years to focus on building a strong foundation for my career as a resort hotelier on the south coast of Sri Lanka.
Returning to Judo in the early 1980s
Six years later, on re-locating in Colombo in 1981, I re-started Judo at my club, the Central YMCA. I was happy to get an opportunity to practice Judo and hoped to study for Judo grade promotion tests, once again. Unfortunately, my busy work schedule did not allow me to do so. I was still a fourth Kyu level Judoka as I had faced only a couple of grading tests in the early 1970s. However, by 1982, I had improved my fighting and recorded some successes at the tournaments.
One full point in judo is termed in Japanese as ‘Ippon’. The competitor who gets awarded with an Ippon is declared the winner of the match, commonly by throwing the opponent to his back with force, speed and control. This would be considered a ‘perfect throw’ in judo. To the contrary, a half point is termed as ‘Waza-ari’. When two Waza-aris are awarded in a match, then it is equivalent to an Ippon and the match comes to an end.
JUDO There are three other ways to score an Ippon win, which are:
Immobilizing the opponent with a hold-down (grappling) technique for 20 seconds.
Choking the opponent until he ‘taps’ (gives up) or ‘naps’ (passes out). Pressure is applied to the sides of the neck, windpipe or larynx. A properly applied choking technique can cause the opponent to pass out.
Applying an armlock to an opponent’s elbow joint until he gives up or the arm becomes dislocated.
In 1982, I had a scary experience on the Judo mat. At a national tournament, I was fighting an opponent from the Colombo YMBA. This Judoka, Jayantha Seram, was a better and more experienced fighter compared to me. He threw me, but could not win a full point (Ippon) to beat me outright, as I fell sideways on one shoulder. Seram was awarded a Waza-ari. Without wasting anytime, he continued to fight aggressively by trying to hold-me down for 20 seconds, with an aim to score an Ippon win.
Seram was on top of me, but I was able to get a good grip on his Judogi to choke him. I applied pressure to the sides of his neck, as well as windpipe. I felt that it was working as his grip on me was gradually loosening. I took the opportunity to get off the mat and turn Seram down on the mat, while making the choke harder. As he did not tap me to indicate that he is giving up, I continued to choke him, aggressively.
The referee eventually stopped the fight to award me the win by Ippon, as froth came out of Seram’s mouth and he passed out. When I had turned him to the mat Seram had fallen with his hands behind his body, and neither of his hands were therefore free to tap. As the ambulance was taking a long time to arrive, I rushed Seram to the emergency room in my car to save his life. That day, I nearly gave up Judo.
The First Overseas Trip of the National Judo Team
I was surprised when one of the highest-ranking Judokas in Sri Lanka, Kithsiri De Soyza, made an offer to me in 1982. “For the first time in the history of Judo in Sri Lanka, a national team of ten Judokas has been invited to compete in an international Judo tournament. It will be held in Ghaziabad, near New Delhi, next month, with teams from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Japan. I will be the captain of the national team and SP Upali Sahabandu will be the national team manager. We may also take part in smaller tournaments in two other Indian cities.” Kithsiri told me.
He then added, “Chandana, the Sri Lanka Judo Association has decided to include you as a member of the national team to participate in India.” Rank-wise, I was the most junior Judoka who was chosen to represent Sri Lanka, for the first international Judo tournament, Sri Lanka was invited to take part. I was simply fortunate to become a member of the Sri Lanka national Judo team, within a year of returning to the sport.
Ten members of the national team were selected from four Judo clubs – Four from the Colombo YMCA, four from the Colombo YMBA, one from the Ceylon Police Force and one from the Gampola Judo Club. In the middle of the hot summer of 1982, our team took off to five cities in India for two weeks, with hope, anxiety and ambition. To be continued next Sunday…
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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