Features
Two VVIP towheads on the block and Sri Lankans lotus eating
This last week has seen two very white, very important politicians having to slide down the pallang, certainly not to obscurity but to real shame and huge setbacks. 
Yes, they are the yellow haired charlatan reprobates who think they know it all from the US of America and the UK.
Ex-President Donald Trump has been forced to face 37 charges relating to retention of classified documents including highly sensitive reports on nuclear warfare, etc. They were secreted away when he left the White House and kept in his Mar-a-Largo palatial residence in Palm Beach, Florida. He has termed his indictment baseless and a political hit job. He continues his rant on it all being a witch hunt and of course engineered by Biden and the Democrats. However, he continues campaigning for the presidency in 2024, sending shivers of horror along millions of adult American spines.
A past Prime Minister of Britain – Boris Johnson – resigned his seat in Parliament just before Partygate investigations closed in on him finding him guilty of lying about breaking Covid rules at No 10 Downing Street during the lockdown in Britain. He claims he is the victim of Partygate and Brexit witch hunts. (Britain left the EU in 2016 with Boris J a strong voice for exiting from the European Union). He too is not going to quit politics just like his twin Yellow Top across the Atlantic. He has made it clear he is ‘out of Parliament for now’ and will definitely make a comeback. Judging the ways of the two nations, it could safely be said that the British voter is much more sensible and choosier and uses his head when voting. So Boris’ future as a successful politician is definitely in jeopardy. We hope the same fate descends on Trump.
Polls are very much in the language of our country. Most clamour for elections to be held. Ranil W and his men are stubbornly averse to facing the polls. One obvious-to-all happening is the emergence of Namal Rajapaska, at least on TV news. He makes speeches here, there and everywhere, endorsed heavily, we believe, by his doting father. We wonder what the opinion of Uncle Basil is. No one, least of the family, we suppose, now takes into consideration what Ex Prez Gotabaya thinks or opines. He wangled a change of residence offered on a silver platter, courtesy of obligations to ex Prez-s and spouses, from one palatial house to another because he was bothered by noise in the former. Bothersome noise as against ruination of the entire agriculture of the land.
Cruelty to Elephants
In his lead article on Monday June 12, The Editor of The Island directed the reading public’s mind to suffering elephants who are gifted to temples in this country and to governments or zoos overseas. He mentioned the very sick elephant in a temple down south and the one gifted from Thailand which is direly ill. Thai mahouts came to Sri Lanka to care for him, but his condition is not improving so he is to be airlifted back home. Why on earth are elephants and even other animals used as tokens of goodwill exchanged between countries and leaders, or to pay back for favours received?
Cass immediately recollected on reading the editorial the case of four suffering elephants in 2009. Two babes were pinched from their mothers by order of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and gifted to temples in Kandy on August 5 that year. It was whispered along the grapevine that he was fulfilling a vow made on his behalf – for his political success or physical wellbeing or to overcome a sickness. It was in the broader sense another act of gloating and hogging the honours for defeating the Tamil Tigers and seeing the end of Prabhakaran.
The two elephant mothers grieved severely over the loss of their calves as they were still lactating and of course the little ones turned obstreperous and damaged a car and even themselves by rampaging in baby rage. They were restrained mercilessly, it was said. You who read this will certainly ask “Why did the authorities permit this?” The Pinnawela authorities and Wildlife authorities just kowtowed to the all powerful Prez and did as bid. No mercy in their hearts; no steel in their backbones; no strength to stand for the right; no brains in their heads.
Temples, including the Dalada Maligawa that holds annual peraheras seem to believe they need more and more caparisoned elephants parading the streets. This is in reality torture to the animals. Just a few elephants, if they must be paraded, is enough. During Maitripala Sirisena’s tenure as Prez we had an excellent Director General of Wildlife Conservation. He resigned his post refusing to allow elephants from the Uda Walawe orphanage to be conscripted for perahera parading as they were being rehabilitated to go back to their lives in the jungle. The President sided with the temple chieftains and wanted elephants released from the two orphanages. Future votes against maitri to animals.
We do hope the two elephants mentioned by the Editor – the gift to Sri Lanka from Thailand and the one in a temple down south – will soon return to good health.
Caste legislated on in California
It was with surprise that Cass read a BBC June 9 article titled The Divisive Debate over California’s Anti-Caste Bill that reported a political bill had been introduced in the Californian State Assembly to make caste discrimination illegal, to be discussed and determined later in the week.
In March this year, Senator Aisha Wahab, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, authored and introduced the SB-403 Bill that seeks to add caste as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws alongside gender, race, religion and disability, The bill was passed by the state’s senate in May. If it goes through the state assembly, California will become the first US state to ban caste discrimination. In February, Seattle became the first city in the US to outlaw caste discrimination.
Why was this necessary? Because Dalits working in California have been discriminated against and faced casteist insults from South Asian colleagues. Dalit rights activists say scores of caste–oppressed Californians face housing, educational, professional and social discrimination. The article mentioned that “nurses from upper castes pass slurs about chamars (a pejorative term for Dalits) being dirty and polluting.”
We cannot but cast the snide remark that Indians will be Indians wherever they are! Thankfully in Sri Lanka caste is not an issue, except perhaps when a marriage is being arranged. We have given up that bad habit of enquiring what a person’s caste is. Most of the present day sophisticated urban youth may very well ask the question ‘what is caste?’ A positive improvement in our collective psyche.
Laid back-ness
However, in contrast to the former social improvement of not being caste conscious, we suffer the great negative of malaise, lethargy, care less attitude. It looks like it is a national trait to be laid back. Go to any government office and you will get a taste of it.
A Sri Lankan now settled in Sydney came on holiday recently and had personal business to attend to. She complained heavily on how much time she had to spend on a minor matter because officials were so slow and lethargic in the attention they gave the matter in hand.
A young professional travels to Bangladesh and India on official matters. She wailed recently on how laid back our officials are compared to their counterparts in the two countries mentioned. The progress of India and Bangladesh, particularly in the economic arena, as against the suicidal decline of our land is a direct result of this work ethic and manner of carrying on work and business.
We were not this way all through our recent history. Remember that when we gained independence from British rule we were a prosperous nation, sharply in contrast to poverty ridden, over-populated India and newly created Bangladesh battling against exponential population increase and devastating nature raining storms and flooding. Look where we are now. Saved by India which is now sought after by nations that lorded it over the subcontinent. Consider the balance between Bangladesh we pitied and now turn to with our begging bowl. Evil politics ridden with corruption is one reason for our national downfall. The other two nations too suffered rife corruption but punishments were meted out. Ours is a nation that tolerates huge corruption and only punishes the puny thief.
Another reason to Cassandra is that they love and are truly loyal to their Mother Country while we lack such devotion and genuine nationalism. A third factor is our lethargy and being nationally laid back. Will we ever improve? Let us have hope that with system change that the original Aragalaya Braves called for, and dedicated young people holding more of the reins of government in the future, Sri Lanka will once again be an island of success and glorious serendipity.
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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