Features
The cracks in my marriage appear, the parting between Susil and me
Near death experience at Town Hall
by Sumi Moonesinghe narrated to Savithri Rodrigo
After I sold Jones Overseas in 1996, I retired completely from business and the corporate world – at least that’s what I wanted to do. I realised I had missed out a lot of time with my girls and also yearned to travel to places on my bucket list. So knowing I had time on my hands, I inveigled Susil, whose penchant for detail when it came to organising trips was legendary, to help me tick that list.
One month after we sold the company, we were on the first of these. Anarkali was participating in a training programme in New York and Killi’s daughter’s wedding was also in the US around the same time. Anarkali, Susil and I flew into New York, attended the wedding and after dropping Anarkali off at her hotel, we took our flight to Lima in Peru.
In true Susil style, our entire tour was organised to the minutest detail. We checked into our hotel on the first day and we met up with our guide who took us to have lunch. It was a buffet lunch and when the bill arrived, Susil and I were flabbergasted. The lunch was USD 60 per head and even by today’s standards, this was an unconscionable price to pay for a meal and doubly so, because the abject poverty we saw, opening up like an incurable wound was right outside on the street.
I remember telling my guide that we came from a developing country ourselves and poverty was something we experienced in our land. “We are not used to paying such high prices for our meals,” I explained. “Please take us to regular priced restaurants where the food is good and we can enjoy it without feeling bad about it.”
Our next adventure on this trip was on the highest navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca. When I saw the expanse of the lake, I didn’t doubt the fact that it is the largest lake in South America. We were informed by our guide that a thriving city inhabited the Lake Titicaca prior to the arrival of the Incas and in fact, much later in 2000, I read that a small city had been discovered underwater complete with a temple, roads, terraces and an 800 metre wall.
Since Lake Titicaca was on the border of Bolivia, we took a boat to Bolivia. But as soon as I got there I wanted to leave. It was the most depressing place I had ever seen. The poverty was so rife that I just couldn’t bear it.
So, we took a quick turn and landed in Buenos Aires which was like a mini Paris. After having been confronted with scenes I wanted to erase from my mind, this cosmopolitan city was just the balm I needed. We walked and drove to the loveliest of places, from the Plaza de Mayo with its splendid 19th century buildings and the grand 2,500 seat opera house to even visiting Eva Peron’s grave. And then there was the Iguazu Falls, the largest waterfall in the world. The Niagara Falls pales in comparison. I was so captivated by this never-ending panorama of nature that I bought a massive painting of the falls and hung it in my dining room.
From there it was to Rio where we stayed in Ipanema where I saw many ‘Girls from Ipanema’, most very stylishly tropical. Copacabana was where I once again remained riveted and this was not because the architecture was beautiful or the history was captivating. It was simply because there were women of ‘all sizes, and I reiterate all sizes, wearing tiny stringy thongs, plsying beach volleyball or football.
I hider the layer of poverty which was all too evident, what I saw was a truly beautiful country with lots of resources that were not being optimised. I remember telling our guide he was fortunate to live in a country that had an abundance of resources. He turned to me and said, “Madam, haven’t you heard the saying that when God created the earth, he put foolish people in countries like this and gave them all the resources?”
Just prior to leaving on this trip, Susil was in the throng of protestors outside the Indian High Commissioner’s residence on Thurstan Road Colombo 7, protesting against the food drop in Jaffna, that had been initiated by the Indian Government. India had become more actively involved in Sri Lankan politics by this stage and when the Indian Air Force dropped 15 tons of food and medicine into areas held by the LTTE, this act was construed as direct support for the terrorist organisation and relations between the governments of Sri Lanka and India soured.
These trips gave us a brief respite from the dark chapters our country was going through. Sri Lanka was still at war and there was always danger and a swathe of fear that seemed to lurk around us. This fear was exacerbated by Susil being in politics because his life was continuously on a bull’s eye and as a consequence, we were in danger too. The girls and I wore constantly nagging him to give up politics.
There was something else that worried us. Susil’s apolitical ideology had changed. He began to tout Sinhala nationalist ideology on political platforms, continually referring to his ancestor Anagarika Dharmapala’s Buddhist revivalist rhetoric and his vision of the inseparability of Buddhism and Sinhala society. This was not the mindset of our family and we were in total disagreement with this thought process. But Susil was adamant and seemed to have got lost in the sea of the misguided support he was attracting. One of his avid supporters was the Head Priest of Amarapura Nikaya Ven. Madihe Pannaseeha, who asked Susil to put himself forward as a candidate for the forthcoming Presidential Election.
Anarkali, Aushi and I were at our wits’ end and we told him so. This was not in our family agenda. There were incessant arguments which led Susil to believe that we were ganging up against him. But we were resolute that this is something we would not support.
With the gradual change in Susil’s political beliefs, I hardly participated in his political work except for entertaining his close political friends at home – Nanda Mathew, Sarath Amunugama, Wijepala Mendis and Stanley Kalpage, who had been disgruntled with the UNP leadership. This discontent heralded another change. In the late 1990s, Susil crossed over to Chandrika’s camp, which I wasn’t aware of until later.
There were others like Sarath Amunugama, Wijepala Mendis and Nanda Mathew who did too. Finding out about the crossover was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I told him categorically that I would not support his leftist ideologies M they had now begun to have Sinhala Buddhist undertones. With everything that was going on, there were times I wanted to get away. I felt Susil was busy enough, waist deep as he was in politics and wouldn’t really miss me.
So I began traveling alone. The girls were both in England and in between visiting them, I also went to New Zealand, staying in massive ranches with infinite numbers of cattle owned by my friends from
the New Zealand Dairy Board. I travelled to Singapore and Hong Kong and it amazed me how Robert Kuck and the family continued to embrace me as a member of their family, even though I had retired. Their doors were always open and always received an invitation to their annual group get-together at the Shangri-La Hotel.
Even though Susil and I had our disagreements over his politics, we were very much a happy family. Ours was a perfect family, we were loving to each other, close and there was always a large dose of happiness embracing us. This happiness was something I constantly debated about and would discuss with the girls, mentioning my premonition that, like the wheel of fortune, something disastrous would happen and our perfect world would be shattered.
In the meanwhile, our passports were at the British Passport Office – mine for a residency application and Aushi’s for her British passport. Lai Jayawardene was the High Commissioner in London at the time and since both passports were getting delayed, said he would give us emergency travel certificates to return to Sri Lanka. We returned to Sri Lanka on the 18th of December and Susil was at the airport to pick us up.
With Susil firmly in Chandrika’s camp, he was back at election rallies in preparation for the upcoming Presidential elections. On December 19, he made his way to the Colombo Town Hall for one of these rallies, which Chandrika was due to attend. After he left, Aushi and I were chatting at home when we heard fireworks. We figured the fireworks were for the arrival of Chandrika. But seconds later, the sirens began. A bomb had exploded targeting Chandrika.
Our home is a stone’s throw away from the Town Hall and I remember going hot and cold, fear gripping my heart. Susil was at that rally and I feared the worst because he would be on that stage. I didn’t know what to think or whom to call. My mind had gone completely blank. I just walked out to our gate and stood looking at the road, waiting… just waiting. Aushi meanwhile was manning the phones trying to glean whatever news she could of Susil.
About an hour later, I was filled with absolute relief because walking down our lane was Susil, accompanied by one of his security detail. He was alive and had escaped the bomb. I ran up to him, not believing my eyes. “I was saved because of Prof. G L Peiris,” he said. “G L came forward to speak with Chandrika and was standing in front of me when the bomb was detonated. He got hit by shrapnel.” I looked him up and down and realized that Susil was unharmed. This was the third near-death experience Susil had and I silently sent up a prayer of thanks.
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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