Features
US Supreme Court Indian Counterpart British Justice
by Kumar David
In choosing three jurisdictions I have chewed off a lot but my stern Editor will use his pruning blade as needed. My initial target was the Supreme Court of the Uniited States (SCOTUS) since the next period laps Trump’s re-election bid. The reactionary stand SCOTUS has taken by reversing women’s reproductive rights 50-years after Roe vs. Wade and the impending clashes with women, young people and progressives is dynamite.
However India is our big neighbour about whose courts my readers may not be up to date so I begin with a lengthy introduction on the Indian courts. In a Washington Post opinion piece dated 24 March 2020 Rana Ayyub asserted that “The destruction of India’s judicial independence is almost complete”. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/24/destruction-indias-judicial-independence-is-almost-complete/
Ayyub points out that the Indian SC crushed the bail petition of Anand Teltumbade, an advocate for the most disadvantaged communities and instructed him to surrender to the police. He was swept up in a broad crackdown of lawyers and activists accused of supporting Maoist militants (Naxalites) many of whom have been languishing in jail for decades. She says that Teltumbde’s work against the caste system and majoritarian politics made him a target of right-wing leaders, including Narendra Modi. Teltumbade has condemned Modi’s communal politics, compared him to Hitler and accused him of complicity in the anti-Muslim carnage of 2002 which left more than 1,000 people dead in Gujarat when he was chief minister.
I provide below quotes, edited for context, from Rana Ayyub’s Washington Post story.
BEGIN QUOTE:
“Teltumbde’s unfair treatment by our judiciary underscores the loss of independence by India’s institutions. The refusal by the Supreme Court to grant him bail came soon before a former chief justice, Ranjan Gogoi, joined Parliament after being nominated by Modi government. Gogoi delivered some of the most obnoxious rulings in recent times to enable the Modi administration’s majoritarian agenda. His appointment, just four months after his retirement (and after he was accused of sexual harassment), has raised big questions about justice in the era of hyper-nationalism that Modi has come to represent.
In November, Gogoi delivered a big victory to Modi when he ruled on Babri Masjid, an important mosque for Muslims demolished in 1992 by Hindu nationalists. Gogi’s judgment also cleared the Modi government of corruption in a defence deal involving the purchase of Rafale fighter jets. The government was accused of bypassing procedures and compromising national security in an arms deal to benefit an Indian billionaire. Gogoi has been rewarded with a high place in the Indian Parliament putting a spotlight on the unholy nexus between political power and the judiciary.
Recently, Justice Arun Mishra hailed the prime minister as a versatile genius, an internationally acclaimed visionary who thought globally and acted locally. The comment was widely criticized, including by the Supreme Court Bar Association. Mishra refused to grant relief to Teltumbde despite the flimsy evidence. The hall of shame of the Indian judiciary in recent times is sullied with brazen cases of human rights violations.
In February, when Delhi saw horrifying communal carnage that led to the loss of 53 lives, arson and hundreds injured, the Delhi High Court called out the state police for action against BJP ministers who made anti-Muslim hate speeches. The judge who delivered the order was transferred overnight!
The Supreme Court once called Modi a modern-day Nero looking the other way as innocent women and children were burnt in the 2002 in Gujarat. But those days are long gone. The appointment this former chief justice to the Parliament by the ruling government exacerbated the country’s governance and moral crisis. The Gogoi’s appointment strikes a blow at impartiality at the moment when India is heading down an authoritarian path”. END QUOTE
To complicate matters further the Canadian Government said on Sept 18 that it was actively pursuing allegations linking the Indian Government to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader (a Canadian national) in British Columbia. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons that involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen was “an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”. Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistan and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020. Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and have expelled India’s top security officer. Trudeau said he had raised the matter with Modi on the side-lines of the G20 summit.
SCOTUS
(Supreme Court of the United States)
Oh dear the previous section on India was longer than I had planned, but I let it drag on because I reckoned readers may not be aware of this side of the story in our giant neighbour and may find it interesting.
Now to the Supreme Court of the US. Appointment is for life and if you get a bad-egg you are stuck with him, or her, till the bloke retires or the grim-reaper visits. The most ‘rightist’ judges on the bench at this time are Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Thomas, a bad egg, and his wife are accused of accepting gifts from corporate lobbies and joy rides on their planes that if it had occurred in Lanka would have warranted impeachment. The Los Angeles Times quite openly declared on August 10, 2023 “Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ corruption is intolerable”.
They secretly accepted a long list of luxury trips from a cadre of conservative billionaires. The New York Times did say on February 26, 2016 “Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas secretly accepted a long list of luxury trips from a cadre of conservative billionaires”. The other reactionary judge on the court Samuel Alito is alleged to have accepted favours from corporate interests. Judges Alito and Thomas think they can accept lavish gifts without undermining the integrity of the Court. As an example look at:-https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-08-10/supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas-corruption-gifts-propublica-ethics-congress
See also:-https://www.afj.org/article/justice-alito-cant-originalism-himself-out-of-corruption-charges/
The grading of judges from most liberal to most reactionary in the public mind is:
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan #
Ketanji Brown Jackson
John Roberts (Chief Justice)
Brett Kavanaugh #
Amy Coney Barrett #
Neil Gorsuch #
Clarence Thomas
Samuel Alito
# These four judges were nominated by Trump and he often refers to them as “my judges”.
The United Kingdom
Next a few words on the mother of all parliaments. George Jeffreys (1645-1689) known as the Hanging Judge was notorious for his cruelty and corruption. In “The Bloody Assize of 1685 he was sent to Somerset to try captured rebels after the Monmouth Rebellion. Estimates of the number he executed for treason varies between 160 and 1,380. It is arguable whether Jeffreys deserves his reputation as the “hanging judge” or whether King James II failed to use the royal prerogative of pardon.
The famous “Impeachment of Warren Hastings” (or to be precise the failure to impeach) is a complex issue of competing visions of empire. Hastings as Governor-General was tried in England 1788 for ‘high crimes and misdemeanours’ against the people of India. The prosecutor was the erudite political thinker Edmund Burke. The trial “was an act of imperial soul-searching” and though Hastings was acquitted it was a warning to imperial proconsuls that they could be called to account.
It was the first human rights trial of modern times but raised profound cultural issues. Hastings was curious and learned about Indian culture and famously declared: “I love India a little more than my own country”. He launched a cultural renaissance, was fluent in Bengali and Urdu and founded the Calcutta Asiatic Society under the chairmanship of the renowned Orientalist Sir William Jones who helped the flowering of Bengali culture.
A profound clash emerged between two visions of scholarship which resonates to this day; one led by Hastings, respectful of indigenous customs and traditions and labelled “Orientalist” by the other. The other a Westernised brand of liberal interventionism. I don’t know how many people know about this clash.
Hastings “rediscovered” the subcontinent’s classical Hindu and Buddhist past. His patronage promoted the revival of Sanskrit, the ancient classical language, and rescued it from the narrow confines of a corrupt and oppressive Brahmin priesthood. Under the Governor-General’s patronage, the Asiatic Society pioneered an ambitious programme to translate Hindu religious classics like the Bhagavad Gita from Sanskrit into English and the local vernaculars. Hastings’s introduction to the first ever English translation of the Gita said passages of it were “elevated to a sublimity which our habits of judgement find it difficult to pursue.”
Warren Hastings was the most popular of all British Governor-Generals among his Indian subjects. But he alone of all colonial administrators in India was put on trial for crimes against humanity, in a seven-year-long impeachment in the British Parliament, led by the great Whig orator and philosopher, Edmund Burke. Given his respect for Indian sensibilities, it’s ironical that the charges against him focussed on his alleged persecution of Indian subjects.
Edmund Burke, in his historic, four-day-long opening speech – an unrivalled model of parliamentary invective – accused Hastings of having “gorged his ravenous maw…feeding on the indigent, the dying and ruined”, like “the ravenous vulture…devouring the carcasses of the dead.” “I impeach him in the name of the English nation, whose ancient honour he has sullied,” Burke thundered. “I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose rights he has trodden under foot, and whose country he has turned into a desert.” But Burke was wrong.
The great Whig historian and imperial policy-maker, Thomas Macaulay, though critical of Hastings’s alleged abuses of power, conceded that “he made himself beloved by both the subject many and by the dominant few” and “enjoyed among the natives a popularity…such as no other governor has been able to attain.” During his own years in Calcutta half a century later, Macaulay could still hear “nurses sing children to sleep with a jingling ballad about the fleet horses and richly caparisoned elephants of Sahib Warren Hosein”.
Hastings left British administration in India on a sounder footing than ever before. The corrupt excesses of the Company’s servants had been significantly curbed, French and other military threats had been resoundingly beaten off, and the “Company Sahib” was now the dominant power in the subcontinent.
Hastings survived in semi-retirement till the grand old age of 85. In 1813, both Houses of Parliament rose spontaneously to give him a standing ovation when he gave evidence on new legislation about India. In a letter which would be his last political testament he warned his successor, the Marquess of Hastings (no relation), that Indians had been misrepresented “as sunk in the grossest brutality and defiled with every abomination”, thereby justifying British attempts “to reform them, nay to ‘coerce’ them into goodness”. Instead, he exhorted his namesake, “it will be better to leave them as they are…” He concluded with a plea for racial equality, remarkable for its time:
Hastings’s sympathetic, “Orientalist” approach to India lost out to a Whiggish, Westernising sense of imperial mission, summed up by Burke’s dictum that “it was the duty of a British Governor to enforce British laws, to correct the opinions and practices of the people, not to conform his opinion to their practice”. Half a century later, British administrators led by Macaulay put this precept into practice with anglicising reforms designed to create a new class of “Brown Sahibs”. Warren Hastings would not have approved.
Despite its failure, the Hastings impeachment was an act of imperial soul-searching unparalleled in history. For seven long years, British MPs and peers examined and debated every minute detail almost every document that had crossed the desk of their Indian Governor-General. Many were inspired by hostility to the East India Company, whose tentacles were corrupting British politics. But there was also very genuine concern for the human rights of the Company’s Indian subjects and how their treatment reflected on British justice. Hastings was eventually acquitted and his impeachment trial was a warning to all future imperial proconsuls that they could be called to account by Parliament.
Impeachment in the UK today
: Whilst historically judges were removed by impeachment (and constitutionally still may be), the 1701 Act of Settlement provided that a judge of the High Court or the Court of Appeal may be removed by both Houses of Parliament petitioning the Sovereign. This is the procedure today and was described in the first edition of Erskine May. Hence the impeachment procedure is relatively simple and the buck is passed to the Sovereign. (There are in fact quite a few to-and-fro steps between the Commons and the Lords but too boring to detail here). My point is that a US style impeachment trial is largely avoided.
Sri Lanka
It would be sensible to assume that the Executive Presidency will sooner rather than later be abolished in Lanka. An expert who promised a few months ago to write a short proposal for a new constitution to place before the likely governments to be elected in a year or two (the JVP-NPP option or some UNP-Ranil-Sajith option) has backed out and gone silent. However a new constitution is a necessary and it is a great pity that proposals to replace JR’s vile contraption have not been published. To her credit Chandrika did make a genuine attempt in 2000 which was scuttled by RW’s short-sighted greed and the hostility of reactionary sections of the clergy. Lanka however cannot duck the issue forever.
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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