Sajith surprises all, wants to play mediatory role in Indo-China conflict

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In a surprising move, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa, in a meeting with a delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has offered to play a mediatory role between two Asian giants implying India and China, the Daily Mirror learns.

A source familiar with the meeting told Daily Mirror that Premadasa made such an offer during the discussion between his party and the CPC delegation that visited Sri Lanka recently.

However, the CPC is reported to have said that Sri Lanka should not attach special status to any country in its foreign relations.

The CPC delegation headed by Deputy Minister of the International Affairs Department Sun Haiyan called on Premadasa and a few other MPs as part of engagements with the Sri Lankan political parties.

At the meeting, Premadasa, apparently in reference to Indo-China conflict, said he, as a political leader, was ready for a mediatory role between the two Asian giants.

Ms. Sun is reported to have replied that Sri Lanka should always be even handed in its dealings with all the countries and should not attach special status to any country.

Among the Sri Lankan leaders, then Prime Minister Sirimawo Bandaranaike is reported to have played such a role during the 1962 Indo-China war. She took the initiative for a conference of the non-aligned countries in December 1962 in Colombo, to mediate between India and China. India and China have competing strategic interests in Sri Lanka and vie for regional influence. It has placed Sri Lanka in a precarious position forcing it to walk the diplomatic tightrope.

The CPC delegation was in two recently and held talks with all the key parties including the National People’s Power (NPP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

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Debate aside, let’s reassure Sinhalese: No self-determination for North, East

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Apart from organizing a debate between Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, let us publicly reassure the Sinhalese people, perhaps in a solemn ceremony, that they will not allow the Northern and Eastern regions to gain the right to self-determination, Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) Chairman Gemunu Wijerathne urged today.

Addressing the media, he said certain political parties attempting to violate the sovereignty of the country, but that the association has an issue with the President for not revealing this to the country.

“The way the government and the Ministers are heading to is not correct. No decision was taken during the past one-and-a-half years by the subject Minister for the development of the public transport sector of the country. The President too does not interfere with the development of the transport sector.

“We know that the President is not working in violation of the sovereignty of the country. But we have a serious problem with some political party leaders. We love our country,” Wijerathne said.

Sri Lanka to pay Rs 5 Bn in pending EPF, ETF to state plantation workers

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The cabinet will present a paper for the state to pay five billion rupees in pending Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) to employees of state-sector plantation companies, an official said.

State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said employees of state-owned plantation companies have not paid EPF and ETF to their employees for 20 years.

“Some did not have the money to buy medicine and died. There are 2,000 court cases filed by these people. Some are still waiting,” he said, speaking at an event on Sunday April 28.

“A cabinet paper will be submitted this Monday to pay this entire amount by the government this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government is also working on a new management authority for the plantation sector.

“We’re also looking to build a management authority to better manage the work of plantations,” said Siyambalapitiya.

The state minister also said that the state-managed EPF will pay a 13 percent return to all its member in 2023.

The government has decided to pay the return from the earnings the fund made in 2023, he said.

It was higher than the 9.0 percent return the EPF had paid in recent years, Siyambalapitiya said.

The EPF was at the centre of a controversy a few months earlier with opposition parties and activists claiming that the fund would be negatively impacted by Sri Lanka’s domestic debt restructuring efforts.

However, the Central Bank, which oversees the fund, said the claims were exaggerated if not logically unsound.

Sri Lanka re-structured the debt of the EPF, extending maturities and initially raising the coupon the 12 percent, after the central bank busted the currency from 200 to 370 destroying its real value and pushing inflation to 70 percent.

However, over the past year, the central bank has appreciated the currency, recouping the fund some of its losses.

According the Central Bank, the inflation generating state enterprise that manages the fund, liability to members went up by 12.9 percent to 3,817.9 billion rupees in 2023, while the total value of the fund went up 11.5 percent to 3,857.4 billion rupees.

There has been hardly any inflation (as measured by the most widely watched Colombo Consumer Prince Index) since September 2022, when monetary stability was restored.

Erik Solheim returns to Jaffna after over 20 years

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Former Norwegian peace negotiator Erik Solheim returned to Jaffna after over 20 years and said that the struggle for Tamil rights will continue.

Solheim, who negotiated peace talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government during the war, said that his return to Jaffna was very emotional for him.

“I came numerous times during the war in Sri Lanka. So many of my good friends and colleagues were killed, both Singhala and Tamil. Huge human suffering! This is first time I am back to Jaffna and Kilinochchi. It was great too visit today with my friend Norwegian MP Himanshu Gulati and Kavin Kumar Kandasamy from ProClime,” he said on X (Twitter).

Solheim said that he was also happy to discuss the latest political developments with the new leader of the Illangai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) S Shritharan.

He said he also touched base with his old friend from the peace process Jay Maheswaran who is running a spiritual center.

“I wish to thank Governor PSM Charles for inviting us! Northern Sri Lanka is at peace and that is wonderful. Security is good. No one want to go back to the war days,” he said.

However, Solheim said that several Tamil aspirations are yet to be fullfilled and thousands of families are still in the dark on what happened to their loved ones who disappeared during the war.

“Land is not fully restored to old owners. Disputes over historic religious sites and temples must find peaceful settlement. Northern Sri Lanka needs jobs and prosperity. The Sri Lankan state will have to devolve power. The struggle for Tamil rights will continue, but with non violent means,” he said.

Solheim earlier had talks with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in Colombo.

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Land bridge with India to bring mutual benefits: Sagala

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Chief of Staff of the President, Sagala Ratnayake said the proposed land bridge with India will benefit both countries.

Making his remarks at the UNP May Day rally, he said it is economical for India to use the Sri Lankan ports to unload India-bound containers and then transport them by road to their destinations.

“It will reduce their costs. More than that, Sri Lanka will benefit in the whole economic process,” he said.

He said the country will benefit even further in terms of power grid and pipeline connectivities.

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SJB govt will amend Sri Lanka’s IMF agreement – Sajith

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Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa has reiterated that Sri Lanka’s debt agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be amended under an SJB government in the future.

“We will definitely work to create a new, amended IMF agreement that is populist, philanthropic, people-friendly and that would guide the country on the correct path,” he said.

The Opposition Leader made this pledge while addressing the SJB’s May Day rally at Chatham Street, Colombo on Wednesday (01).

Premadasa also vowed to bring everyone who is behind the Easter Sunday terror attacks before the law and to ensure maximum punishment is meted out to those involved as well as those who tried to cover it up.

He also said that they will implement a ‘National Youth Project’ that will give prominence to the youth and will also introduce an entrenched clause to establish new independent agencies to help eradicate corruption in the country.

SLFP selects Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe as Presidential candidate

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Former President Maithripala Sirisena said today that Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe will be the Presidential candidate representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

He made this revelation during the commemoration ceremony of the late T.B. Ilangaratne.

The former President said that Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has the support of the majority of party members.

Sirisena said he has previously served as President and pledged not to contest for the Presidency again.

“Wijayadasa Rajapakshe will run for the upcoming Presidential election and we will offer him our full support,” he said.

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Passenger ferry service between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka to resume on May 13

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The passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka, which resumed in October 2023 after almost 40 years only to be stopped days later, is set to recommence on May 13. Online ticket sale for the service, which will be handled by a new operator, will go live on Monday.

On October 14 last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off the service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai. The HSC Cheriyapani operated by the Shipping Corporation of India under KPVS Private Limited, however, stopped service after about a week allegedly due to monsoon. After a gap of six months, the service is set to resume. This time though, a Chennai-based travel operator, IndSri Ferry Services Private Limited, would handle the international service through the ship, ‘Sivagangai’.

“The service will be offered daily. Ticket sale is open from Monday through our website sailindsri.com for voyages between May 13 and November 15,” said S Niranjan Nanthagopan, managing director of IndSri Ferry Services Private Limited. A ticket from Nagapattinam port to Kankesanthurai is currently priced at USD 50 plus taxes (about `4,920). The pricing is the same for the return service.

Passengers are allowed to carry 60 kg of baggage on board without charges. Further, they are allowed to change their date of travel 72 hours before the scheduled trip. Full refund is also available on cancellation only during the period.

Source: The New Indian Express

IMF Urges Sri Lanka to Stay On Course

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The International Monetary Fund says that it is vital for Sri Lanka to continue with it’s program for economic recovery.

Speaking to reporters in Singapore, Krishna Srinivasan, the Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund noted that the IMF program for Sri Lanka is working and is delivering results, however, he warned that the road head is going to get tough.

He was responding to a question raised by News 1st’s Zulfick Farzan following the opening remarks at the press conference on the release of the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific.

Opening Remarks On IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific:

1. The Asia-Pacific region is marked by both resilient growth and rapid disinflation.

2. Growth is better than previously projected but will slow from 5 percent in 2023 to 4.5 percent in 2024. The region remains inherently dynamic and accounts for about 60 percent of global growth.

3. Drivers of growth are as heterogenous as the region, straddling from resilient domestic consumption in most ASEAN countries, to strong public investment in China and, most notably in, India, and to a sharp uptick in tourism in the Pacific Island countries.

4. Disinflation has advanced throughout the region, albeit at different speeds—in some, it remains above target (e.g., Australia and New Zealand), in others, it is at or close to central bank targets (EMs and Japan), while in some there are deflation risks (e.g., China and Thailand).

5. China is a source of both upside and downside risks. Policies aimed at addressing stresses in the property sector and to boost domestic demand will both help China and the region. But sectoral policies contributing to excess capacity will hurt China and the region. Geoeconomic fragmentation remains a significant risk.

6. Asian central banks should continue to focus firmly on domestic price stability and avoid making policy decisions overly dependent on anticipated interest rate moves by the Federal Reserve.

7.Asian countries are well placed than before to cope with exchange rate movements (fewer financial frictions and better macro-fundamentals and institutional frameworks) and should continue to allow the exchange rate to act as a buffer against shocks.

8. Advancing fiscal consolidation is an urgent priority both to lessen the burden of higher debt levels and interest costs and to rebuild the fiscal space needed to address medium-term structural chal-lenges.

9. Supervisors should continue to vigilantly monitor the buildup of risks associated with the pass-through of tighter monetary policies to corporate and household balance sheets.

10. Industrial policies, which have been on the rise in Asia and the Pacific region and globally, can lead to unintended consequences, such as trade distortions which risk reinforcing fragmentation.

Special notice to voters regarding electoral register

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The Election Commission calls on the members of the public to ensure that their names are listed in the electoral register.

Accordingly, the citizens who were born before 31 January 2007 are urged to immediately enquire their respective Grama Niladhari officers if their names are in the electoral register.

The public can also view the electoral register from the official website of the Election Commission (http://ec.lk/vrd).