The ruling SLPP yesterday (30) announced that its second national convention would be held on 15 Dec., at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium with the participation of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and party founder Basil Rajapaksa.
A statement issued by the SLPP quoted former Finance Minister and National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa as having said that the future plans of the party and their role in the agenda for the country would be placed before the people at this event.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s International Climate Advisor Eric Solheim said he would provide his fullest cooperation for the development of the Northern Province when he met the Governor of the Province P.S.M. Charles in Jaffna recently.
Solheim served as the Norwegian peace envoy for talks between then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government and the LTTE in 2002.
The Office of the NP Governor said that Charles explained in detail to the international climate consultant Eric Solheim, about many issues including the risk management of the Northern Province, the daily living conditions of the people, effects of climate changes, economy, and the development to be carried out in the province. Solheim, the President’s International Climate Advisor who heard about the issues, said that he was very happy to meet the Governor of the Northern Province during his visit to Sri Lanka.
Also, he said that he is happy to promote green projects for Sri Lanka’s development. Since Sri Lanka has the resources for solar, wind and hydro power generation, it can carry out the green hydrogen project. At the same time, the President’s International Climate Adviser, assured the Governor that he would provide the necessary full cooperation for the development of the Northern Province.
LONDON :A group of creditors holding Sri Lanka’s international bonds said on Friday it welcomed the country’s debt restructuring agreement with official creditors, though it said a lack of transparency on deals struck so far was regrettable.
The complaint underscores rising worries that a lack of visibility for private creditors around debt deals between indebted countries and their official creditors could derail or delay those nations’ efforts to finalise restructuring.
Sri Lanka and a group of its creditor nations, including Japan, France and India, on Wednesday reached an agreement in principle on a debt rework of $5.9 billion of outstanding public debt. That followed a deal between the country and the Export-Import Bank of China in October on about $4.2 billion of loans.
But the bondholder group, which represents creditors holding some of the country’s $12 billion of outstanding bonds, said a lack of transparency between public and private creditors was making it more difficult for them to strike a deal with Sri Lanka that was compliant with IMF rules and that provided “fair and equitable” debt treatment.
“The group finds it regrettable that there remains such a significant lack of transparency on the part of official sector creditors despite the group’s efforts so far to act as a constructive counterparty,” the Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders said in an emailed statement.
Last week, objections from official creditors derailed an agreement in principle between Zambia and its bondholders to restructure the African nation’s international debt. The group of Zambia’s bilateral creditors, including France, China and India, said the terms of that proposed deal were not comparable to the relief official creditors offered.
Zambia, as a low-income nation, is reworking its debt under the G-20-designed Common Framework, which makes its process slightly more rigid than Sri Lanka’s. But investors and experts said the issues around lack of information sharing was making it tough for all private lenders to craft debt reworks that public creditors deem comparable to their own offerings.
“It’s possibly more problematic than it was designed to be in terms of actually being able to achieve these debt renegotiations,” Robert Simpson of Pictet Asset Management said.
“We saw it with Zambia, that, you know, once the details are out, one creditor group actually can put a spanner in the works in terms of the entire process.”
The Sri Lanka Ad Hoc Group of bondholders said it remained committed to reaching an agreement with the Sri Lankan authorities as quickly as possible to find a sustainable solution to the country’s international bond debt challenges.
The Ad Hoc Group is advised by Rothschild & Co on the financial side and by White & Case LLP on legal matters.
Source: Reuters
A woman claiming to be daughter of slain LTTE leader Prabhakaran, addressed Lankan Tamils and she assured that the Tamil Eelam’s fight for freedom will continue.
A video of a woman, claiming to be the daughter of the former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Prabhakaran, surfaced on social media on the occasion of “Maveerar Naal”, a Remembrance Day observed by Sri Lankan Tamils worldwide to honour the sacrifice of LTTE cadres.
Identifying herself as Dwaraka Prabhakaran, the woman expressed her willingness to reveal her identity to the world on an important day. “I am here after overcoming numerous difficulties and betrayals. One day, I hope to visit Eelam too and serve my people,” the saree-clad woman can be heard saying in the video.
The video was shared on social media platforms almost 14 years after Sri Lankan military declared that Prabhakaran and his family were dead in the final days of war at Mullivaikkal.
In her 12-minute-long speech in Sri Lankan Tamil, the woman said that Sri Lankan government sought support from powerful nations when they were unable to confront the LTTE directly. She further emphasised that LTTE’s fight for freedom will continue, emphasising unity in diversity for political needs.
Addressing the Lankans abroad, she urged them to take care of the marginalised Tamils in Sri Lanka. Expressing the belief that a separate Tamil Eelam would provide autonomy and development, the woman stated that it was the national leader’s viewpoint.
Furthermore, the woman clarified that the Tamil struggle is not against the Sinhalese people but against the government and corrupt politicians, who manipulated innocents against them.
She hoped that the Sinhalese would understand their cause, emphasising the alignment of ideologies despite differing paths.
Sources close to the Sri Lankan government said that they had received information suggesting the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate a video claiming to be Dwaraka Prabhakaran. The government is looking into the matter.
Over 50% of Sri Lankans say local political forces were involved in the Easter attacks, according to a survey carried out by Verité Research.
More than half of the Sri Lankan population – 53% – believes local political forces were involved in the Easter Sunday attacks carried out in 2019.
Those surveyed were given the following three views prevalent in the country about who was behind the attacks, and asked to select the one they most agreed with.
1) It was carried out by Sri Lankan extremists who were working with dangerous foreign forces
2) It was carried out by Sri Lanka extremists who were working with local political forces.
3) It was carried out by Sri Lankan extremists who were working with both local political forces and dangerous foreign forces
53% believed local political forces were involved — 30% selected the second answer, and 23% selected the third answer.
Only 8% believed that it was carried out without the involvement of local political forces (the first answer). A high percentage, 39%, said they have no opinion or refused to comment.
Survey methodology:
The poll was conducted in October 2023 and was based on an island-wide, nationally representative sample of responses from 1,029 Sri Lankan adults.
The poll has a maximum error margin below ±3% at a 95% confidence interval.
Syndicated Surveys is a survey instrument by Verité Research and the polling partner was Vanguard Survey (Pvt) Ltd. Syndicated Surveys also provides other organisations with the opportunity to survey the sentiments of the people of Sri Lanka through this poll.
The United States has welcomed the in-principle agreement reached between Sri Lanka and the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) on specific financing terms to restructure the island nation’s debt in line with the parameters set in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the US Ambassador in Colombo, Julie Chung said this agreement supports a viable path to economic stability for Sri Lanka.
Chung emphasized that the agreement on debt restructuring and sound economic policies are crucial for the timely release of the next tranche of the IMF’s bailout package, which she said would provide the much-needed financial support for continued economic stabilization, recovery, and the improvement of public services, benefiting the people of Sri Lanka.
The ambassador reiterated that the United States stands by Sri Lanka for a sustainable recovery.
On Wednesday (Nov.29), both the OCC and the Sri Lankan government confirmed the in-principle agreement the two sides have reached for debt treatment.
In its statement, the OCC has commended the Sri Lankan authorities for their continuous efforts in implementing the reforms necessary for their country’s return to a sustainable path.
Following the launch of a common platform in April 2023 for talks among bilateral creditors to coordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt, the OCC was formally formed on May 09 with 17 countries to respond to the Sri Lankan authorities’ request for a debt treatment. It is co-chaired by India, Japan and France (as the chair of the Paris Club). Since its formation, the OCC has engaged extensively with the Sri Lankan authorities, the IMF, the World Bank as well as China, and Sri Lanka’s private creditors.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry revealed that the agreement covers approximately USD 5.9 billion of outstanding debt and consists of a mix of long-term maturity extension and reduction in interest rates.
The IMF on Thursday (Nov.30) said the agreement will pave the way for its Executive Board to consider clearing the first review of the four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement in December and unlock the next tranche of the loan which amounts to about USD 334 million in funds.
“We look forward to the Executive Board taking up this review by mid-December and the continuation of our productive collaboration with Sri Lanka in the period ahead,” Peter Breuer, IMF’s mission chief for Sri Lanka, said in a statement.
The debt deal between the OCC and Sri Lanka comes about a month after the island nation’s agreement with China’s Export-Import (Exim) Bank covering approximately USD 4.2 billion of outstanding debt,
Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in seven decades last year after its foreign exchange reserves dwindled to record lows.
But since locking down the IMF bailout of $2.9 billion in March, the South Asian island nation has managed to partly stabilize its economy, bring down runaway inflation and rebuild currency reserves.
After receiving the IMF money, Sri Lanka stands to receive further funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank, bringing the total amount to around USD 900 million.
Pleased to see Sri Lanka’s agreement on a debt treatment with the Official Creditors Committee, supporting a viable path to economic stability for Sri Lanka. Agreement on debt restructuring & sound economic policies are crucial for the timely release of the next IMF tranche,…
— Ambassador Julie Chung (@USAmbSL) November 29, 2023
Around 700 families of missing persons from around the world connected to share their experiences at the third International Conference for Families of Missing Persons on November 21-23.
The forum brought together families whose loved ones have gone missing due to armed conflict, migration, or other situations of violence.
“Thirty-seven families of missing persons from all communities in Sri Lanka joined from Colombo, Vavuniya and Batticaloa to share their experience and exchange their views with families from other countries,” a statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka said.
The event was hosted by ICRC delegations and Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies through 44 conference hubs around the world.
“The conference provided a virtual platform for families to see how others around the world are coping with the uncertainty, understand the challenges, learn about the support services available to them and how families can help each other.”
The participating families were also given the opportunity to interact with the Global Alliance for the Missing, a group of 12 member states established in 2021 to advocate on the issue of missing persons at diplomatic level.
The conference highlighted the urgency of providing answers about the fate of missing persons, the importance of the participation of families of missing persons in the search process, and the need for dignified treatment of families of missing persons.
The significance of keeping the issue of missing persons on national and global agendas was also pointed out.
Sri Lanka has seen tens of thousands of its citizens disappear without a trace in several insurgencies over the last five decades, most notably during the civil war.
At least seven investors have made offers to develop the Mattala International Airport into a profit-making venture, Minister of Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament today.
The Minister said there have been offers to start up assembling and repairing aircraft at Matala Airport.
“The losses of Mattala Airport have been reduced to Rs 1.5 billion and is the lowest losses since the airport started operations,” the Minister said.
About 100 rural hospitals are on the verge of closing down due to the lack of doctors, representatives of the Government Medical Officers had said in a meeting with Health Minister Ramesh Pathirana.
A committee under the Director General of Health with members of the GMOA was appointed to look into the matter, according to a statement from the state information office.
Most of the hospitals which were in danger of closing were in the Northern Province, Puttalam and Nuwara Eliya, the statement said.
The problem came from doctors going abroad, retiring, getting transfers or leaving the service.
Instructions were given by Minister Pathirana to immediately appoint doctors to the hospitals.
Steps would be taken to re-open about 40 hospitals that were closed, the statement said.
The Sri Lankan Catholic Church has deplored the appointment of Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon as the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Addressing a media briefing today (Nov.29), Spokesperson of the Colombo Archdiocese Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini said the Catholic Church deems this appointment ‘an insult’ to the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.
“The appointment made by the President [Ranil Wickremesinghe] is condemned by His Eminence the Cardinal [Malcolm Ranjith]. At the same time, we vehemently oppose it. We consider this appointment a disgrace to the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks.”
When asked if the Catholic Church has any recommendations for the post of the police chief, Rev. Fr. Gamini responded, “We have no special name to nominate. It is the President who has to make a nomination to the Constitutional Council.”
Speaking further, he expressed doubts as to whether the police would be able to maintain their own discipline, let alone the discipline of the country, following the appointment of new Acting IGP Tennakoon.
