Features
RISING AND FALLING NATIONALISMS IN NORTH AND SOUTH
by Jehan Perera
The election of Sivagnanam Shritharan as President of the ITAK has the potential to bring Tamil nationalism to the fore again. The ITAK is the largest Tamil political party and the mainstay of the now fragmented TNA which was an alliance of political parties that came into existence during the latter phase of the LTTE period, at their instance, and continued thereafter. However, the ITAK’s new President did not win his election overwhelmingly. His rival, who had played a much bigger role in mainstream national politics, obtained close to 43 percent of the vote. This reflects the realisation, within the Tamil community, that the path of dialogue and accommodation is not to be ruled out. The total military defeat of the LTTE, which followed their path of intransigence and a rigid adherence to the goal of a separate Tamil state, proved to be very costly and not a course that many would wish to follow again.
The newly elected ITAK leader’s initial pronouncements suggest a hardline stand, based on Tamil nationalism. Tamil nationalism, which precedes the LTTE and continues after its demise, does not necessarily entail a separate state, but is compatible with federalism and other variants of power sharing also. Mr Shritharan’s first visit, after winning the leadership contest, was to an LTTE cemetery where he paid his respects to the fallen fighters. In an interview soon thereafter, he recognised that “There may be some of us who have views or misunderstandings against the LTTE. However, most of our General Assembly members, more or less 184 people, have voted for me. This means they support my ideology. In other words, the major strength of the party is Tamil nationalism. They have clearly stated that it must begin from the graves of the late Eelam national liberation fighters.”
During the course of his post-election speeches, Mr Shritharan has framed his vision of the future in terms of federalism and the merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces and taken the position that the 13th Amendment is not adequate to meet the Tamil aspirations. Despite the potential that these sentiments have for provoking confrontation with the Sinhalese majority, the ITAK leader’s vision would have traction within the Tamil polity. There is a strong sense of being oppressed and neglected by the Sri Lankan state and by its political leaders, including the present leadership. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s unexpected ascension to power in the aftermath of the Aragalaya protest movement gave rise to the hope of change. As a political leader who had never espoused racialism in politics, the President’s bold promise to settle the ethnic conflict through a political solution in Sri Lanka’s 75th year of Independence (which comes to a close this week) was viewed positively. At a minimum, the President’s proposal that the 13th Amendment could be implemented in full measure seemed sincere.
GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDERS
The 13th Amendment represents the furthest that the Sri Lankan state has gone in devolving powers to the provinces. It came into being, less because the Sri Lankan government leaders believed in it, than due to severe Indian pressure on the government at that time. The Provincial Council system has never reached its full potential, unlike in India, where this same system, albeit on a much larger scale, has blossomed to make India one of the great economic powers in the world in which there is unity in diversity. There is a common misunderstanding that the 13th Amendment needs to be justified on the basis of economic efficiency. Therefore, it is advocated that power should be decentralised to front line government officials within the central government, or that it should be decentralised to only small local government authorities, such as the pradeshiya sabhas, urban councils and municipalities. However, the bid to get rid of the Provincial Council system on the grounds of economic inefficiency is invalid.
Retired government official and former Secretary to the President and Defense Secretary, Austin Fernando, has written, “In 2023, the total recurrent expenditure requirement for all PCs (Provincial Councils) was Rs. 485.25 billion and Rs. 391.75 billion was provided. The total capital expenditure requirement was Rs. 167 billion and Rs. 37 billion was provided. It is nonsensical to think that a supply of 22.1% of the total capital expenditure requirements of Provincial Councils would make LAs (local authorities) developmentally efficient and effective, even after conversion, as proposed.” This highlights the basic reason why power needs to be devolved in Sri Lanka. Without the devolution of power, the ethnic and religious minorities are at the mercy of the ethnic majority in all parts of the country. If there is devolution of power, which includes financial devolution, the Tamil and Muslim minorities will have power in decision-making in the areas in which they are a majority. They, too, will become stakeholders in the governance of the country.
An unfortunate feature of the present time is that the entire Provincial Council system has been put on hold for the past five or more years. Quite apart from full implementation of the 13th Amendment, which has never been done in violation of the Constitution, the 13th Amendment is not being implemented at all today except in form. The 13th Amendment has not been operational through Provincial Councils as provincial elections have been postponed. This has been for narrow and partisan political interests that have nothing to do with the devolution of power to the ethnic and religious minorities. In 2018, when the then government felt itself to be electorally vulnerable, they simply decided not to hold any election at all that would have exposed their weakness in terms of retaining a democratic mandate from the people. A similar situation continues to exist even at the present time and the government has gone a step further in also cancelling the local government elections indefinitely.
HOPEFUL SIGNS
It is not surprising that under these circumstances that newly elected ITAK leader would not wish to continue with the 13th Amendment but has instead called for a federal solution. However, the rise of Tamil nationalism is not only due to the failure of the present government to hold the Provincial Council elections. It is also due to the failure of the government to address the highly emotive issues of missing persons, persons arrested under the anti-human rights Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and take away as well as non-return of land belonging to the Tamil people. There is also the failure of the state to protect the rights of the Tamil people to the land they have traditionally cultivated in the East. Despite the President having made public and private assurances regarding the cattle farmers at Mylathamadu-Mathavanai and return of land to their rightful owners, nothing has happened. Nothing happens even when the judiciary, including Magistrates Court and Court of Appeal, makes rulings that the Sinhala farmers should return to their original places.
It is in this bleak situation that the challenges to peace and reconciliation emerge that requires experienced and wise political leaderships to deal with them. There are indeed signs of hope. One is the greater awareness among politically active sections of the population in the Sinhalese polity that nationalism is used to win votes and thereby elections regardless of the cost to the country and to its people. It was not a coincidence that Sri Lanka’s international economic bankruptcy occurred during the period of rule of one of the country’s most nationalistic set of government leaders. The university students and youth who participated in the Aragalaya protest movement seemed to understand this, as their slogans made it clear that they would not be fooled once again.
There are encouraging signs that narrow ethnic based nationalism is on the decline in the Sinhalese majority parts of the country over the past two years since the economic decline commenced. People are increasingly able to see the inter connection between ethnic conflict, militarisation, impunity, corruption and economic and social collapse. This growing sentiment has given rise to support for the peace movement within the influential Buddhist clergy. The initiative taken by a group of leading Buddhist monks, with a section of the Tamil Diaspora, has given rise to the Himalaya Declaration that they have co-authored together. Two of the monks involved in this initiative, Ven Prof Pallekanda Ratanasara and Ven Dr Madampagama Assaji were recently felicitated on obtaining leadership positions in the International Buddhist Confederation in New Delhi. In their speeches they affirmed that the Buddhist Mahanayakes were supportive of their initiative. The openings to peace and reconciliation that have emerged would be observed by experienced and wise political leaders who will unite the country to abolish corruption and abuse of power that only benefits a few and take the country in the direction of the wellbeing of all.
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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