Features
One Country, One Law. What is it? Why now?
Not consorting with fools,
consorting with the wise,
paying homage to those worthy of homage:
This is the highest protection.
Maha Mangala Sutta
by Rajan Philips
The gazette announcement that Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera will be heading a new Presidential Task Force to study “the implementation of the concept, One country; One law, and prepare a draft Act for the said purpose,” was more befuddling than it was shocking or infuriating. “It defies comprehension,” said The Island editorial on Thursday. Many also found the announcement somewhat hilarious while mindful of its ominous implications. The hilarity stems from this government’s seemingly unlimited capacity to be ridiculously irrational in political tactics, even as it is utterly incompetent on matters of policy. Comprehending the government’s actions is not the problem. Fathoming how far the consequences of those actions will go and how damaging they will be to the public good is the challenge.
With another three years to go before next pair of elections, it is virtually impossible to change the government. That is why I have been trying to suggest – changing the ways of the government, as a rational alternative. How can anyone suggest anything rational when the President seemingly out of the blues appoints Gnanasara Thera to head a presidential task force? That is why the gazette announcement has been generating more cynical laughter than outright condemnation.
When news about the newest task force broke out, a politically astute former Peradeniya Engineering Professor chimed in that regardless of ‘one country, one law,’ Sri Lanka is being dragged from a state of ‘one country, no law,’ to a new situation of ‘no country, no law.’ Another Engineering alumnus, paraphrased the old Colvin gem to coin a new one: ‘one law, two states’; two laws, one state.’ Then he cited the first stanza from Maha Mangala Sutta, where the Buddha counsels whom to consort with and whom to pay homage for “the highest protection.” There are higher mortals than I in Sri Lanka to say if Gnanasara Thera or his twelve Task Force followers are not the fools, but the wise, and worthy of homage by the President of Sri Lanka to secure for the state of Sri Lanka ” the highest protection.”
Easter Echoes
But it is not the protection of the state that is at issue now. It was the issue that was orchestrated to loom large between the Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019 and the presidential election seven months later, in November 2019. The echoes of Easter Sunday are still reverberating and that may be one of the reasons, if not the only reason, why Gnanasara Thera has been given a presidential platform at this time. To mount a counter pulpit to that of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.
Over the last two weeks Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, his clergy and his laity have become vociferously critical of the government’s failure to meaningfully respond to their calls for accountability for the breakdown of security on Easter Sunday in 2019, on the one hand, and for justice for the victims of the Easter attacks, on the other. A Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed by former President Sirisena has produced a report running into six volumes including a whole chapter on recommendations. One of the recommendations is apparently to consider punitive legal action against the former President himself for negligence of duty and his failure to act on prior intelligence information about Easter bombings.
People have gone over this before. But they will keep going over it again, and again, so long as the government remains inactive and unresponsive. The Government’s inaction has been fuelling speculations about who knew what, who did what, and who failed to do what – before and on the day of the bombings. Rather than being transparent with information, the government has been trying to rain down the speculations. And it hasn’t worked.
To make matters worse, President Rajapaksa is reported to have told Cardinal Malcom Ranjith that he (the President) would become very unpopular if he were to act on the recommendations of the Presidential Commission. Herein might lie some clue to presidential thinking. Indicting people makes the President unpopular. So, he pardoned Duminda Silva to become popular. And the President’s popularity might be getting a real boost from his spineless Attorney General who is redefining his job as one of withdrawing indictments rather than arraigning criminals and trespassers.
With nothing working to stop the Catholics from making too much noise, the government has started letting loose the CID on them. Priests and activists are summoned by the CID to explain their public statements on the Easter tragedy. A Catholic Priest, Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando, and a lay activist, Chirantha Amerasinghe, have become special targets after speaking out. The case of Fr. Fernando is unsurprisingly curious. He has been summoned by the CID on a personal complaint lodged by the Director General of State Intelligence Services. Fr. Fernando has asked for time and has pointed out if the Director General has anything to complain he should go to court instead of seeking police assistance. A smart and very legitimate move.
Ten years ago, Fr. Fernando may have been hauled up in a van and even ‘disappeared.’ Priests in the north have ‘been disappeared.’ Now, it might be just a little too difficult to bring back the old methods. Not with expatriate Sri Lankan Catholics joining the local clamour. And not with the Permanent People’s Tribunal beginning its hearings in The Hague on the case of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the slain Saudi journalist, and the murder of Sri Lanka’s Lasantha Wickrematunge. Stand implicated in the two cases are the Saudi Crown Prince and Sri Lanka’s former Defence Secretary.
Vistas of Despair
It is against this broader backdrop that the setting up a new Presidential Commission headed by Gnanasara Thera ‘defies comprehension.’ But it makes sense when the appointment Gnanasara Thera is seen as a counter challenge to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. Whether or not it is the calculation of either the President or his congenitally ill-advised advisers, the new Task Force will give an official platform to Gnanasara Thera. And it will not be long before the two religious pulpits confront each other at the country’s political centre. Sparks are going to fly. It is not a question of who among the two is going to get burnt more, but how many others will be unnecessarily caught in the fire.
The government may be overlooking another detail. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith is not the old ‘Latin Bishop’ of the 1960s, but a Catholic prelate who is also a consummate exponent of the culture and nationalism of the Sinhalese. He cannot be dismissed as the missionary of an alien faith and he can articulate the essences of Sinhala culture far more eloquently and pleasingly than anyone in the government or anyone in the President’s new task force, including Gnanasara Thera. If that is the game that gets to be played by the new task force, it will be revealing to see how the national audience shapes up in responding to the Catholic Cardinal and the President’s new Task Force Head.
Apart from being a counter pulpit to the Cardinal, what else are Gnanasara Thera and his twelve Task Force apostles going to achieve by undertaking the “study of the implementation of the concept, One country; One law, and prepare a draft Act for the said purpose.” The concept of the dog, as the old saying goes, doesn’t bark, let alone bite. So how is the concept of one country, one law, going to be implemented – to make it bark, and even bite? We can stay tuned for the Task Force’s monthly reports and its magnum opus by February 28, 2022.
In the meantime, the onus is on all the other task carriers and the more enlightened supporters of President Rajapaksa to help us make sense of his latest precipitous action. The onus is specially on the Committee of Experts incubating the new constitution. How are they going to find common ground, or even reconcile, between their labour for constitutional law and Gnanasara Thera’s one law voyage to discover nothing? Will one telescope into another? Or will it be for the President to set up another t-force or committee to integrate the two outcomes?
Just days before being thoroughly blindsided by the President’s task force gazette announcement, Foreign Minister GL Pieris took it upon himself to announce that the Experts Committee work on the constitution has been completed and that it will be presented to parliament in January 2022. That effectively rules out the possibility of the committee’s experts taking a second look at their own role and potentially withdrawing themselves from the committee. They have all the reason to do so after the announcement of the One Country-One Law Task Force. The constitutional experts cannot be unaware of the spate of resignations by other principled experts and professionals from their high-post placements in public service. Nor can they be unaware that history will smile on them very approvingly if they were to join the high-post professionals and resign. The country will be spared of an unnecessary new constitution.
There was a string of resignation announcements last week – by the heads of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation, Consumer Affairs Authority, and the Paddy Marketing Board. Whether they are fleeing a sinking ship or escaping from ethical torture makes no difference to the obviousness of the government’s desperation. The announcement of the One Country-One Law Task Force is a clear symptom of desperation. There are no more vistas of splendour. Only vistas of desperation. And a shipload of (un)organic manure from China.
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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