The National People’s Power (NPP) today presented to Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith its 7-point statement pledging to mete out justice to the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks.

The NPP representatives met Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith at the Archbishop’s House in Borella this morning and presented the 7-point statement.

The statement included key points such as implementing law against those responsible for the attacks so as to mete out justice to those who lost lives in the attacks and family members of the victims.

It also included pledges to take action against those who were directly or indirectly involved in the attacks.

NPP members Professor Krishantha Abeysinghe, Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala, President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma Rohan Fernando and Aruna Shantha Nonis participated in the occasion.

The CTID has summoned and questioned the head of the Tamil Literary Forum after he organized the launch of a book based on the LTTE’s defeat of the armed forces in Elephant Pass 24 years ago.

Pradeepan Deepachelvan was summoned to its branch at Paranthan in Kilonochchi on 14 April and interrogated for more than 2 ½ hours.

He was especially asked if he intended a revival of the LTTE by introducing the novel in question

’34 Natkalil Neendikkadanda Nerupparu’ (crossing fire river in 34 days) written by N. Yogendran was launched four days earlier.

The organizer of the event replied to the CTID that he had no such intention and that he held it out of respect for its writer.

The speakers at the event too, are to be interrogated, correspondents said.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday rejected international bondholders’ proposal to restructure more than $12 billion in debt, putting at risk critical International Monetary Fund support and delaying its efforts to resolve a two-year-long debt crisis.

Some of the proposal’s “baseline” assessments and a lack of a contingency option in the case of continued economic weakness were the two main reasons the deal was not agreed, the government said in a statement.

Colombo said it hoped to hold further talks “as soon as feasible” but the immediate risk was that without a compromise in the coming weeks, the next tranche of all-important IMF support money could potentially get delayed.

Sri Lanka has already struck a deal with its main government creditors, but an “agreement in principle” with bondholders was also needed to secure IMF Board approval for the next $337 million instalment of its $2.9 billion programme.

The government said one of the main stumbling blocks had been that the “baseline parameters” of the bondholders’ plan had not matched those embedded in its IMF programme.

It added that the bondholders’ “steering committee” that it has been negotiating with in recent weeks had not wanted to extend “restricted discussions” – a key part of debt talks where they are held privately, behind closed doors.

Following an initial extension, it would be unusual for big money managers to remain restricted for too long given it also limits their ability to participate in the market.

A source familiar with the process said discussions could continue as early as later on Tuesday, with some interested parties in Washington for the IMF/World Bank meetings.

The source said that, as has been the case in other recent debt negotiations, an asymmetry of information between the parties, including a lack of visibility among bondholders of the terms agreed with both the Paris Club and China, has complicated the negotiations.

CONTENTIOUS MLBs

Sri Lanka also disagreed with a proposal to link future repayments to bondholders to the country’s macroeconomic growth, through “macro-linked bonds” or MLB for short.

It said it was seeking more protections if Sri Lanka’s economy were to underperform IMF growth projections, and a “test” for triggering both the upward and downward adjustments in the MLB.

Disappointment that a deal had not yet been reached sent Sri Lanka’s bonds down about 2.5 cents , , leaving them at just over half their original face value at between 54 and 55.4 cents on the dollar.

“Completing the IMF review by June becomes difficult now because there will have to be more talks,” said Udeeshan Jonas, chief strategist at equity research firm CAL Group.

IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis since independence from the British in 1948 after its foreign exchange reserves fell in early 2022 leaving it unable to pay for essentials including fuel, cooking gas, and medicine.

The island nation defaulted on its foreign debt in May 2022 and kicked off negotiations with bilateral creditors several months later, eventually securing an agreement in principle with China, India and the Paris Club last November.

Sri Lanka also needs agreements with each of the bilateral creditors, including the Export-Import Bank of China, to complete the IMF review process.

Supported by the IMF program, Sri Lanka has seen its once soaring inflation moderate to 0.9% in March and its currency strengthen 7.6% so far this year. The economy is expected to return to growth after contracting 2.3% in 2023.

It is one of several poorer countries that have been hit by debt crisis in recent years and were struggling to put it behind.

Ghana this week has also seen its $13 billion restructuring talks stumble after the IMF indicated that the deal it was hoping to strike with bondholders would not be enough to make its debt levels sustainable again.

Viktor Szabo, an emerging market debt portfolio manager at Abrdn in London, said Sri Lanka’s setback was likely to be just a delay rather than a deal-breaker.

“It is moving in the right direction,” Szabo said. “But it is just a bit slower than expected.”

Sri Lanka has hiked tourist visa fees by at least 50 percent to 75 dollars, shifting to a global processing company, which appears to be charging an additional 18.5 dollars, according to information on the new online portal.

Sri Lanka allowed double electronic travel authorization for tourists for 50 dollars with more than one entry allowing them to come to the island and also fly to neighboring destinations through a portal operated by the Department of Immigration.

The ETA has drawn plaudits from Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet as a ‘hassle free’ system.

According to information on the new website, SAARC country tourists will now be charged 35 dollars instead of 20 dollars for the standard visa.

A 30-day single entry visa will be available to India and a few countries without a fee.

According to the online notice, an 18.5 dollar additional fee will be charged from all visa categories.

The website says it is operated by companies called IVS-GBS and VFS Global.

If the 18.5 dollar charge goes to the companies, it adds up to 12.75 billion rupees in 2024 if the tourism target is met.

Sri Lanka is targeting 2.3 million tourists in 2024 not counting other visa categories.

The Immigration Department’s previous ETA system has drawn acclaim from tourists globally for its simplicity.

“Sri Lanka may be known as the teardrop isle (due to its distinctive shape), but the country’s refreshingly straightforward visa system shouldn’t be a source of much anguish for travelers,” according to a feature on visa requirements on LonelyPlanet.com.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation has announced plans to revise the land boundaries of Mannar Port due to issues with the previously gazetted limits. Secretary K.D.S. Ruwan Chandra stated that the new boundaries, to be published in the Gazette, will exclude the Mannar Naval Base, unlike the previous limits.

Poverty in Sri Lanka has increased over the past four years, from 11 percent in 2019 to 26 percent in 2024, and the country needs ‘robust and credible structural reforms,’ says the latest report released by the World Bank.

The WB report, titled ‘Sri Lanka Development Update 2024: Bridges to Recovery,’ says that more than a quarter of the Sri Lankan population living in poverty and unprecedented economic crisis that engulfed the country in 2022 had affected the masses. “Households have adopted risky coping strategies to deal with lower incomes and price pressures, including using savings, taking on more debt, and limiting their diets. Food insecurity rose during the second half of 2023, with 24 percent of households being food insecure.”

It has found that food insecurity and malnutrition have increased, while poverty has doubled and the inequalities have widened. “Approximately 60 percent of households experienced a decline in income due to reduced work hours or job losses. The implementation of recent structural reforms, including cost-reflective utility pricing and new revenue measures, helped macroeconomic stability but strained household budgets.”

The report indicates that labour market trends in Sri Lanka have been affected by widespread closures of micro-, small- and medium-enterprises. In the third quarter of 2023, the labour force participation rate in the urban sector dropped to 45.2 percent, down from 52.3 percent in 2019. Youth unemployment, especially young adults (aged from 25–29), rose to 17.7 percent between the second and third quarters of 2023.

World Bank Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos noted: “Sri Lanka’s economy is on the road to recovery, but sustained efforts to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis on the poor and vulnerable are critical, alongside a continuation of the path of robust and credible structural reforms. This involves a two-pronged strategy: first, to maintain reforms that contribute to macroeconomic stability and second, to accelerate reforms to stimulate private investment and capital inflows, which are crucial for economic growth and poverty reduction.”

The Sri Lankan government is also in the process of privatising, commercialising or closing loss-making state-owned enterprises which has left many having to seek better-paying jobs. Sri Lanka’s already dilapidated public health and education systems have been plunged into crisis by government funding cuts.

The World Bank report states: “17.5 percent of households indicated that they limited their education expenses (including on stationery and uniforms) to deal with rising costs, and most households have changed their health treatment procedures since March 2022 due to a lack of funds.”

In March, Sri Lanka’s Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) stated that the minimum monthly expenditure per person in Sri Lanka has increased by 144 percent since 2019. The amount is calculated on the basis of what is required to fulfil the basic monthly needs of an individual, which in 2019 was 6,966 rupees ($23). This near-starvation level amount has now catapulted to 17,014 rupees per month.

“The economy contracted by 2.3 percent in 2023, despite growth in third and fourth quarters (1.6 and 4.5 percent, respectively) following six quarters of contraction. This was driven by shrinking construction and mining, financial and IT services, and textile manufacturing, amid weak demand, tight private credit, and shortages of inputs, and was partly offset by growth in transport, accommodation, food, and beverage services, resulting from a rebound in tourism. Inflation remained benign, after declining to single-digit levels in July 2023, supported by currency appreciation and improved supply. However, with the recent spike in food prices and pass-through of fuel and utility prices, headline inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index increased to 5.9 percent in February 2024. Labour force participation declined (from 49.8 to 48.8 percent between 2022 and third quarter of 2023), especially in urban areas. Households have adopted risky coping strategies to deal with lower incomes and price pressures, including using savings, taking on more debt, and limiting their diets. Food insecurity rose during the second-half of 2023, with 24 percent of households being food insecure,” says the report.