Features
Living in Paris, exploring London and an encounter with JRJ over a newspaper article
(Excerpted from volume ii of the Sarath Amunugama autobiography)
I found accommodation close to my office in Rue Miollis. It saved me hours of commuting time to my office and EHESS, my study place for my doctorate. My friend Dilip Padgoankar and his wife Lotika were going back to India and their flat fell vacant. Dilip, a ‘bon vivant’ who later became the Editor of the Times of India and advisor to the Indian Government on Kashmir, had chosen well. As M’Bow’s media spokesman he was on call all the time and had to live close to his boss’s office. Thanks to his recommendation I managed to secure that flat.
It was spacious enough to accommodate me, my wife and two children, and was close to good restaurants, cinemas and theatres. Many children of UNESCO staff lived in the vicinity and they all went to the same schools so that the neighborhood was congenial. For instance, Varuni had a friend who was the daughter of a sister of the Shah of Iran who was in exile, living in a mansion close by. Another friend, Mohammed Musa, was the son of M’Bow’s advisor from Nigeria.
Ramanika’s best friend was the daughter of a senior Indian professional in the science sector of UNESCO. All in all it was a stress free life wherein I could easily handle my official duties as well as academic pursuits with ease. From our Metro station Segur, it took me less than ten minutes to get to EHESS on the Boulevard Raspail.
Exploring London
One of the advantages of living in Paris was that I could travel often to the UK. The Paris-London flight took less than an hour and there were commercial flights on 12-seater planes which offered us cut rate tickets. These low cost flights took us to Stanstead airport and not Heathrow which meant that the entry formalities and waiting time was much less. The British government was promoting Stanstead in order to take the pressure off Heathrow. Since our elder daughter Ramanika was studying in England my wife and I took every opportunity to use these low cost flights to get to London.
Another factor was that our close friends, Namel and Malini Weeramuni were living in North London and their spacious house became a home away from home to us as it was to many visiting Sri Lankan friends. The Weeramunis were a generous and welcoming couple and we spent time together exploring the nooks and corners of London including Karl Marx’s grave in Highgate cemetery. At that time J B Dissanayake and his wife were also in London for his sabbatical and Gananath and Ranjini Obeyesekere were hosted by the Anthropology Department of London University. In addition there were a large number of our friends from Sri Lanka working in the UK in different capacities.
H.H. Bandara was employed as a researcher in the London museum library dealing with Sinhala palm leaf manuscripts with Somadasa who way the librarian of Peradeniya University in our time. Mark,Fernando who played the lions role in Sarachchandras “Sinhabahu” was a solicitor practicing in London. R.D. Perera, my Arunachalam hall mate, was a high school teacher who had authored a popular book on economics for “crammers” for public exams and had thereby become rich and famous.
RD generously lent us his new Mercedes Benz for our excursions. One such excursion of our group was to Cambridge University where we met several Srilankan students, particularly those who were attached w a hospital there. With the Obeyesekeres and Weeramunis I went to a West End theatre to see Pirandellos “Six characters in search of an author”. This may have been the beginning of Namel Weramunis fascination with the plays of Pirandello.
After relocating in Colombo many years later he won fame with his production of a translation of a Pirandello play. Here I must write of a memorable dinner meeting with Lindsay Anderson at the Weeramunis. Malini, ever the sacrificing wife, worked part time in a supermarket in North London. It so happened that Lindsay Anderson, the famous critic and filmmaker lived in Hendon and was a regular visitor to Malini’s supermarket for his provisions. Being an admirer of Lester and Sumitra Peries and a frequent guest at their home in Colombo, and a confirmed addict of rice and curry, he became a friend of the Weeramunis who frequently invited him to their home.
Once Lindsay came over to share a meal with me and talk about Asian cinema. It was a memorable meeting which went on till midnight and Lindsay’s insights on Lester and Satyajit Ray’s films have remained in my memory. He died not long after and our cinema, particular our radical young film makers, lost a kindred soul.
Being a senior official of UNESCO I interacted with the staff of the British delegation attached to our office. Occasionally they invited me for discussions in London in the Commonwealth office as several media projects in Commonwealth countries were funded by IPDC. I found that the British were less ideological than the US and were willing to work with multilateral organizations because they got much credit without investing large sums of money. As one such official described it, the UK got “more bounce for their ounce”.
Many of these meetings ended with a drink and dinner at London’s famous clubs like Travellers, Whites and Carlton with their distinctive atmosphere and superb food. Of these the Carlton was the most ‘political’ of the lot and we could see several well known politicians in their cups carrying on undisturbed. Privacy was the golden rule and often we had our conversations in hushed tones. Much later when I was a minister I was offered membership in the Carlton but I did not follow through as my visits to London had dwindled and I could not afford the high fees.
When not staying with the Weeramunis I patronized a regular hotel in the Strand which was close to the theatre district. Opposite it was the famous Savoy Hotel which had been the favourite of Winston Churchill during the Second World War. I was entertained there occasionally and I marveled at the efficiency of the staff and the crisp linen and table arrangement which could not be bettered in a hotel dining room anywhere. Fine dining is an art in the western world and without experience of it in London, New York, Paris, Zurich or Berlin one cannot really begin to understand the life of the “haute bourgeosie” in the capitalist world.
Class differences are clear in that society and within a few minutes of association it was possible to place an interlocutor within the social map in which he is embedded. The emerging “pop” culture of the time with its crossing of social boundaries was a working class reaction to the snobbish upper echelons which dominated English society till it was torn apart during the Second World War and the post war period.
The English stage which was invaded by “angry young men” featured characters who rebelled against the upper class due to their envy and sense of inadequacy. They “looked back in anger” but often took it out impotently on their upper class girlfriends and their parents. I will return to these personal experiences later on in this chapter.
Let me now return to my official duties as Director of IPDC. This time I face an editorial difficulty since my readers will not in all probability be interested in the minutiae of this assignment. On the other hand however, in my autobiography I am bound at least for authenticity, to describe the important and memorable experiences encountered in my varied career. I will therefore now turn to the highlights of my UNESCO career.
International meetings
One of my responsibilities as Director was to popularize the activities of IPDC and solicit funding for the media projects which were identified by us. For this purpose we called for proposals from developing countries and studied them with assistance of the staff of the communications division.Tis included the headquarters staff as well as our regional representatives who were in direct contact with the media authorities of the membe states. These projects were submitted by me to the annual meeting of the governing council which then allocated resources from the IPDC.
Fund from other donors were on a ‘Funds in Trust’ basis. At this meeting I introduced the projects to the members of the Council and made my recommendations regarding the proposals before us. On occasion this led to heated debates. Far instance African countries tended to band together on the basis of their regional affiliations and demand the biggest share of the pie. I had a difficult time to get approval for some projects submitted by Cuba because of objections by the US delegation.
But with the US boycotting UNESCO and a wave of sympathy from the developing countries I was able to get Cuban projects – mostly promoting education – approved, as well as get their representative elected to the Inter-Governmental Council. I could always depend on the Asian group and the African group which tended to follow the line dictated to them by the Director General M’Bow who was their hero and icon.
Once this provided a nasty shock to the Sri Lanka delegation led by our Ambassador in Paris, Balasubramaniam. Bala was considered to be an able negotiator and he was determined to show his diplomatic skills by getting Esmond Wickremesinghe elected to the Council of the IPDC. He began canvassing early and was confident when election day arrived. In the election Esmond and an African candidate got equal votes and it was decided to have a second vote.
While our Ambassador was nonplussed and rendered ineffective the African caucus was, we learnt later, instructed by M’Bow to support their fellow black candidate. Esmond was defeated in the second round. He took it calmly but I knew that he was very hurt by M’Bows uncalled for intervention which was criticized by whisperers in the corridors of the UNESCO building. After that Esmond lost interest in UNESCO and began to get involved with Ralph Buultjens, with disastrous results to him and the country.
Oslo [Norway]
I travelled to donor countries to firm up their offers of assistance to the IPDC Fund as well as to `sell’ large projects they could finance on a multilateral basis. This funding mechanism was called ‘Funds in Trust’. Going around with the begging bowl was an interesting task for which I had good experience in promoting projects like the introduction of TV to Sri Lanka with Japanese assistance. Norway was the biggest donor to the IPDC Fund pledging a million dollars every year. So Norway was one of our target countries.
At an international conference there was an inter-mixture of Norwegian media and government officials as well as a large number of internationally famous media personalities. Sri Lanka was represented by my friend Mervyn de Silva, and together with Kumar Rupasinghe who was then living in Norway, we spent time exploring Oslo and its restaurants in which venison dishes were a specialty. The forested hills of Norway were full of deer and a saddle of venison was on everybody’s table. But some killjoys created a scare that the deer had migrated from Chernobyl, with its radiation leaks, and the venison may be contaminated. However, these scare stories did not prevent our participants from tucking in.
Hohenheim [Germany]
Another important donor to IPDC was the Federal Republic of Germany. The German Government as well as their powerful NGOs were keen participants in the New Communication Order debate. The FRG delegate to IPDC was Bertolt Witte who was an important figure in the Free Democratic Party [FDP] which was the junior partner in a coalition Government with the Social Democrats. He later became a Minister in the FRG.
The FDP though small in numbers was quite influential and the Foreign Minister came from that party. Witte was a liberal and deeply concerned about questions like the freedom of the press and training for journalists. He arranged a meeting with media scholars at the ancient University of Hohenheim which is near Stuttgart. This University specializes in agrarian sciences with special emphasis on communication for promoting new agricultural practices and marketing.
During this time many German media scholars looked to the US for their theoretical orientations. In the Hohenheim seminar an important role was played by Everett Rogers who had written extensively on use of media in achieving developmental targets. Since he taught in a midwestern University much of his attention was on use of media for agricultural development. Everett was a genial person who was supportive of IPDC. We got on well.
The Hohenheim Conference did the IPDC a world of good because FRG became a contributor to our programme. Witte who was a well-known journalist and a senior in the FDP, continuously lobbied the German government on our behalf. He was a member of the IPDC Council and a great supporter of UNESCO.
After the Seminar I was the chief guest at a dinner offered by the Rector of this old University. Hohenheim was a beautiful agricultural area with its rolling green hills and vast swathes of arable land. Stuttgart was an industrial town which was the heartland of German motor car manufacturing, including the Volkswagen works, but Hohenheim with its old castle and large irrigated fields was a peaceful agricultural university town.
Helsinki [Finland]
Helsinki was a unique experience fir most of us since Finland is not on the conference circuit. But both in the conference room and out in the freezing winter amid. we were treated with extraordinary friendship and courtesy. Sharing a territorial boundary with the USSR, the Finns while cherishing their independence were extraordinarily careful not to offend the hibernating Russian bear. The organizers had made sure that a strong USSR delegation led by Professor Zassousky of Moscow University also participated in one of our conferences. The USSR team comprising their regular delegation to IPDC and Zassousky, weremost cooperative and supportive of my suggestion to have a similar meeting in the USSR. The Soviets, soon to drop that name and call themselves Russians, were strong advocates of the New Information Order as a way of embarrassing the West.
Finland was full of surprises. Just across the square facing our hotel was the beautiful ‘art decor’ railway station designed by Saarinen. He was a Finnish architect who later migrated to the US and made a name for himself with his path breaking designs. Helsinki is full of his buildings which give a modern look to the city. We were guests of a rich magazine publisher of the country. His country home was built on the shore of a small lake. He had installed a wave making machine on one side of the lake so that there were artificial waves for surfing in the summer.
That being a winter, he took us to his sauna by the lake. This was an authentic Finnish sauna and not the artificial one we usually come across in big hotels. We had to alternatively sit inside the sauna sweating profusely and then run naked to the lake for a dip in its ice-cold waters. This had to be done several times so that the skin is subjected to extreme heat followed by extreme cold. In addition we had to hit our bodies with branches of birch so that the skin is drawn tight by the time we dip into the water.
This was a once in a life time experience. Though fearful at first I found this invigorating and the body was made ready for large gulps of Finnish beer which was sucked up by my tormented body. Fortunately none of us came down with pneumonia.
Another interesting feature was that most of the buildings we saw were built by Scotsmen. It was the Scots who had introduced electricity to Finland. We were told us that Scottish businessmen had invested in infrastructure development in Finland prior to World War Two. Now however, Finland was too close to the USSR for the west to intervene in its economic development.
Parts of Helsinki looked very much like St Petersburg before the revolution. In fact Lenin had come to join the revolution in St Petersburg via the Finland railway station. Many films like David Lean’s ‘Dr Zhivago’ were shot in Helsinki where the streets and houses could be used to simulate the life and atmosphere of the Russian capital about the time of the Russian revolution.
The participants at this seminar who were the world’s leading communications scholars of the day were bowled over by the life and customs in Helsinki and the goodwill of our Finnish colleagues. There is a ‘back story’ which involves Finland which I can narrate here. At the height of the shooting war with the LTTE, Gamini Dissanayake, who was being fast overtaken in popularity by Lalith Athulathmudali who had been put in charge of defence, presented to JRJ a memorandum which advocated a `detente’ with India. This was an alternative to the hostile approach of Lalith to India.
One of the references in this memorandum dealt with the ‘inter se’ position between the USSR and Finland. Here the two countries functioned without the smaller country challenging the interests of USSR. JRJ did not comment on this suggestion. However on the day after the signing of the Sri Lanka-India accord, the editor of the ‘Sun’ newspaper, Rex de Silva had an article which highlighted what he called the ‘Finlandisation of Sri Lanka vis-a-vis India.
It may be that Gamini had fed Rex a copy of his memorandum which was the usual practice at that time. JRJ called me in a fury after reading this article which appeared the day after signing the accord. He wanted me to get the Information Ministry to take over the Sun newspaper. This was a challenge to me as a newspaper take over was the worst thing that could be done at that juncture. Rex was my friend and after much thought, I got him to join me in a visit to ‘Braemar’ to meet the President.
That was a time when I could walk into ‘Braemar’ without notice, as Anandatissa, the Minister was in hospital and the President relied on me to handle the Department of Information, in which my lieutenant, Anura Goonesekere was Director. By this time JRJ’s fury had abated and he patiently explained to Rex that his analogy was the last thing he wanted the Indians to adopt. Rex replied in a conciliatory manner and the matter was dropped for the time being.
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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