Features
Politics after Rajapaksa-quake: A maiden speech, new alliances & more arrests
by Rajan Philips
“A melancholic spectacle of unsullied virginity.” That was Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1956, jestingly pouring scorn over the maiden speech of a young MP from Pottuvil, MM Mustapha. Last Wednesday, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, young at 73 (not 74 as I mistakenly wrote earlier and has since been corrected), delivered his maiden presidential speech in parliament in the aftermath of what really has been a Rajapaksa-quake in Sri Lankan politics. After 66 years, and the children of 1956 still not maturing with age, there is no Bandaranaike in parliament to wag his silver tongue and scythe through the maiden speeches of others. Mr. Bandaranaike would have particularly relished the opportunity to eviscerate a presidential speech in the country’s parliament, especially when it is the maiden speech of a 73-year old Executive President.
Happily, for President Wickremesinghe, he would be spared of being scorned by anyone in the current parliament. Except of course the three JVPers, but even they would be polite. Everyone else, including those who voted against him on July 20, are now warming up to him. There might even be oratorical support for him if Wimal Weerawansa were to continue the political tone he started while supporting the new President’s Emergency declaration. A person whom I deeply respect sent me, a YouTube rendition of Mr. Weerawansa’s speech during the Emergency debate. Even though my Sinhalese is worse than poor, as I happen to come from the other side of the 1956 fence, I was able to appreciate the brilliance of his oratory. Oratory, like music, needs no language for its appreciation. By that token, Wimal Weerawansa should never have objected to Sri Lanka’s national anthem being sung in Tamil, in addition to Sinhalese.
Which Ranil are we seeing?
More than his oratory, it is the substantive part of Weerawansa’s argument supporting Emergency Rule and by extension the new President, which is indicative of the political shifting and shuffling that is going on ever since the State of Sri Lanka was liberated from the clutches of the Rajapaksas. He was supporting Emergency Rule, Weerawansa said, in order to prevent the state from collapsing under the seemingly relentless Aragalaya demand for every principal political leader to “go home.” Almost immediately, Mr. Weerawansa was joined from outside parliament by that venerable exponent of civilizational politics, Gunadasa Amarasekera.
Writing in The Island (Monday August 1: “The President deserves praise”), Dr. Amarasekera found it “heartening to note that the President has the courage (unlike Gotabaya Rajapaksa who succumbed to Julie Chung’s dictates) to have summoned this gang of four and submitted them to a thorough dressing down.” The ‘gang of four’ are the American Ambassador Julie Chung, the EU Representative, the Human Rights Representative, the Canadian Ambassador, and the presidential dressing down was in response to their condemning his action to remove protesters from public buildings.
Before getting to the merits of the President’s action, what is significant here is the coming together of Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera and Wimal Weerawansa in support of Ranil Wickremesinghe and his recourse to Emergency measures. Fifteen years ago (in 2007) the two of them wrote a critique of the 2002 Peace Process spearheaded by then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The monograph in Sinhala, entitled: Batahira Balaya saha Lankawe Iranama (The power of the West and the fate of Lanka), was said to have advanced the thesis that Ranil Wickremesinghe gave in to pressure and the lure of development assistance from the West and agreed to a peace process and an MOU with conditions more favourable to the LTTE.
There is nothing illogical in Amarasekera and Weerawansa now praising and supporting Ranil Wickremesinghe if, in fact, they see him as standing up to the West in putting down Aragalaya. In fact, in their eyes, Ranil Wickremesinghe has unexpectedly landed on the side of the children of 1956 against the Aragalaya children of 1977. What is puzzling, however, is what-on-earth Ranil Wickremesinghe is actually standing for today – in the political sense, even if there is broad agreement in what needs to be done on the political front. His erstwhile admirers are patiently waiting for the ‘Ranil they knew’ to re-emerge (like Lazarus?) soon.
Regardless of where he is standing or how he is positioning himself, President Wickremesinghe is objectively in a position to draw support from all sides in parliament, with the exception of the JVP, those close to Sajith Premadasa in the SJB, and the SLPP rump that includes the frustrated viyathmaga folks and the lonely GL Pieris. It is a different story outside parliament. But both within and outside parliament, the economic factor is favourable for the President to garner support.
Quite obviously, it is the economic urgency that is motivating sections of the SJB, the Tamil, Muslim and Indian Tamil Parties, and even the Wimal-Gaman-Vasu independents, to support the President within parliament. Even outside, the economic urgency has been a factor in dampening the protest enthusiasm among sections of the Aragalaya participants. On the other hand, the President seems to be using the Rajapaksa factor to consolidate his support within parliament while risking loss of support and even opposition outside parliament on account of the same Rajapaksa factor.
Rajapaksa Factor
The significance of the Rajapaksa factor outside parliament would appear to be playing out at different levels and in different ways. A majority of Aragalaya activists believe that Ranil Wickremesinghe stepped in to rescue the Rajapaksas and helped himself to becoming a substitute President. The traditional supporters of Ranil Wickremesinghe are mad as hell that their leader has been conducting himself to be considered a Rajapaksa clone. On the other hand, habitual Ranil haters, many of them former Rajapaksa cheerleaders, are using the anti-Rajapaksa wave to see off Ranil Wickremesinghe once and for all. A different layer in this political formation includes those who are still loyal to the Rajapaksas, and who are suspicious of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s politics, but want him nonetheless to be the instrument that protects the Rajapaksas, especially Gotabaya Rajapaksa, from universal indictments and trials.
Fundamentally, the emergence of Janata Aragalaya and the collapse of the Rajapaksa family – the quake, has ruptured the nexus between Sinhala nationalism and Rajapaksa politics. The nexus was more synthetic than organic and it was the Rajapaksas who needed the vehicle of nationalism to con their way to power. Sinhala nationalism was never in any need of reinforcement from the Rajapaksa family, or any political family for that matter. The nexus was the agenda of a section of Sinhala nationalists who were inclined to interpret and apply nationalism narrowly and exclusively rather than broadly and inclusively. The challenge for Ranil Wickremesinghe is in navigating his presidency through the multiple currents that are surfacing after the Rajapaksa-quake.
He has told the Wall Street Journal (not to any local paper) that he is in contact with Gotabaya Rajapaksa and that it would be unwise for him to return to Sri Lanka any time soon. That might also be the opinion that the President is hearing from the family seniors left in Sri Lanka under court-ordered travel bans. While there might be sympathy and support for protecting the Rajapaksas from universal jurisdiction, it might be a different story altogether if the President were to be seen as protecting them from local indictments for local crimes and misdemeanours.
Already, Sajith Premadasa who is threatening to quit politics for a strange reason of moral pique, has nonetheless raised the very valid question as to why the police are arresting Joseph Stalin, the well known trade union leader, while doing nothing about Rajapaksas who were responsible for the May 9 mayhem. Police are also asking Galle Face protesters to vacate the place before 5 pm on Friday, July 5. Not to be outdone, the protesters are challenging the police in the Court of Appeal with three writ petitions against any police action to evict them from their protest sites.
The President never stops parroting, and he went on again in his speech before parliament on Wednesday, that he fervently supports democracy and peaceful protests but he will not countenance violence and terrorism. If the President is acknowledging that the Aragalaya protesters are overwhelmingly peaceful and non- violent, why doesn’t he or his emissaries meet with them to find a peaceful resolution? He promised a ‘youth parliament,’ but his police are imprisoning those who would be the protesters’ first choice to represent them in such a novel parliament.
The Speech
Remarkably, the President did not mention the word (or name) ‘Rajapaksa’ in his speech. In fact, he did not mention the name of any political persona, past or present, not even JR Jayewardene or R. Premadasa. He spoke about the political failure to capitalize on the “new economic regime” that was introduced in 1977. The President wants to remedy it now and said that “we are preparing a National Economic Policy for the next 25 years. It lays the foundation for a social market economic system, securing development for the poor and underprivileged groups and encouraging small and medium entrepreneurs.”
Who is ‘we’? Is it the SLPP cabinet, government officials, or outside advisers? The people are anxious about the next two days, two weeks, and at most two months. Not 25 years! The speech did not give any indication how the government is planning to deliver fuel, food and medical supplies in the short term. What luxury do the President and the government have to embark on a 25-year national economic plan or policy? A more modest but crucially urgent task would be to focus on conserving and augmenting the country’s export industries to maintain and increase export-led foreign exchange earnings. Amidst all the talk about debt restructuring, there is hardly any mention of expanding our foreign exchange revenue.
On the political and constitutional side, the President did not mention the 1978 Constitution, but drew attention to its major consequence when he asserted that “the President of a country does not have to be a King or a God who is exalted above the people.” Like the 25-year economic plan, the President wants to introduce “a comprehensive series of political reforms,” with the promise that “I will carry out those reforms during my tenure. However, not based on my own opinion, but with the consent of the Parliament based on the views of the youth, women and other people.”
What tenure? Gota’s tenure that ends in 2024, or a new term following a new presidential election? There is more with the President “taking measures to establish a People’s Assembly in order to decide which social and political reforms should be implemented. A mechanism to obtain views of all interested parties is being prepared through the People’s Assembly through the consultation of political parties, various organizations etc. I specially invite the youth engaged in activism and youth who are not to provide their views.”
A people’s assembly? When they are standing in queues to get their basic needs? It would seem that the President is spreading his canvas for too wide when he or the country do not have the resources to do all at once. And he seems to be setting himself up for the long haul at the age of 73. Is the country ready for it? That is the question. Rajapaksas failed because they were either clueless about what needs to be done or reckless in doing what should never have been done. In President Wickremesinghe, the country might be having the opposite problem. Wanting to do too much, with too few resources and with too little immediate planning.
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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