Author: TELO Admin

Buddhism is an imported product in Sri Lanka, but political Buddhism is native to the soil. Buddhism is a blessing to humanity and was born out of the enlightenment of its founder who shunned political power and palace life. On the contrary, political Buddhism was born out of love for that power and its pomposity. Its sole intention was to claim and own the entire island, which is home to a number of ethnic, religious and linguistic communities, all of whom except the Vedda community are foreigners. Which one of these communities came first is yet to be discovered. However, Gautama would be turning in his grave to see how his sublime teachings, philosophy and way of life had been twisted and tarnished by his so-called followers in a country where he is believed to have visited more than once and left an indelible footprint.

Political Buddhism had its genesis in the 19th century and was part of the cultural awakening ushered in among Sinhala Buddhists, Tamil Hindus and Muslims to counter and arrest the spreading influence of Christianity. Within the Buddhist community that awakening also carried the germs of struggle for political independence from centuries of colonial rule. However, in that anti-colonial and anti-British agitation Buddhist leaders like the celebrated national hero Anagarika Dharmapala and his disciples also included an element of ethnic cleansing, which at that time targeted the Muslim minority. The 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots were the product of that inclusion. Although it failed in that objective, colonialism came to an end in 1948, and from then on political Buddhism began to play a deterministic role in almost every branch of the country’s development.

“Political Bhikkhus”, are a hybrid community of preachers who mixed politics with Buddhism and it was introduced by none other than the scholar priest Walpola Rahula in his vision to create forever a Sinhala Buddhist majoritarian rule in this country. That vision saw its first manifestation in 1948 when the Ceylon Citizenship Act was passed, which disenfranchised overnight an entire community of Indian Tamils on whose blood and sweat, Ceylon earned and Sri Lanka still earning most of its foreign exchange. Unlike the father of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew, who having witnessed where ethnonationalism was leading Ceylon, eschewed that evil from day one of his country’s birth in 1965, the father of Independent Ceylon DS Senanayake embraced it and allowed political Buddhism to occupy the driving seat.

Political Buddhism soon fathered counter ethnonationalism among other communities. The birth of the Federal Party in 1949 was a direct response to political Buddhism and its Sinhala ethnonationalism. In the same vein, one could also argue that the formation of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress in 1981 was a direct response to Tamil and Sinhala ethnonationalism. After more than seven decades of unchallenged reign, political Buddhism, is yet to realize the damage it had done not only to the millennial peace and tranquility of this island, but even more disastrously to the economy and wealth creation. Communities remain disconnected and are riven by divisions from inside and out. The collective synergy required to build a strong and vibrant economy in a competitive world is therefore absent. It is a pity that a number of local but respectable economists, political scientists, academists and intellectuals are still ignoring to note the pernicious effect of political Buddhism on the economy of the country.

One intermediary that links political Buddhism with economic decline is the evil of corruption. The subversive influence of corruption on national economies has been widely studied and well documented. The general conclusion is that corruption is a silent killer of resourceful economies. It is like cancer which, if left undetected early, will soon kill the patient. Corruption leads to inefficiency and waste, uneven distribution of wealth, transfer of funds to foreign banks and tax havens, overburdens the cost of running legitimate businesses, fall in profitability and increase in prices. Ultimately, it would be the poor consumers who would have to bear the full brunt of uncontrolled corruption.

The cancer of corruption has a long history in post-independence Sri Lanka. Political Buddhism, in order to achieve its primary objective of Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony, was prepared to turn a blind eye towards corruption and perhaps considered it as a necessary evil. Thus, it became almost an unwritten convention that as long as the political leaders and public servants commit to protect and promote the interests of Buddhism and Sinhala-Buddhists they were free to do whatever they like. Accountability virtually disappeared from the country’s political and administrative dictionaries. Even the constitution is found to be lax on this vital issue. Incidents of corruption in the name of economic development proliferated. Even if someone were to be charged for corruption, the country’s judiciary is so politicized that any culprit with right connections could get away free. While RW is talking about introducing legislation to eradicate corruption it has come to light that a sum of $250 million had been transferred to the foreign account of an individual called Chamara for him to sabotage any effort to file litigation against X-Press Pearl in Singapore courts.

Now, having vowed to rebuild a bankrupt and corrupt economy to which he himself had contributed as Prime Minister in the Yahapalana Government (remember the Central Bank bond scam), President Ranil Wickremesinghe, obviously under pressure from IMF, is trying to cleanse the country of corruption and at least mellow down the corrosive influence of political Buddhism. The tragedy is that the corrupt ones and those championing the cause of political Buddhism are in government already and that was why the aragalaya youth demanded system change and shouted “No 225”. Would RW dare to investigate his corrupt colleagues before aiming at a clean future? Likewise, on political Buddhism, his attempt to find solution to the so-called national question by implementing the 13th Amendment has already provoked the ire of political Buddhists, and few of the demagogues inside the parliament are threatening to provoke the most unprecedented riot in history if RW were to implement that amendment.

As if to reassure its commitment to political Buddhism, Rajapaksa’s SLPP has elected a scholar Bhikkhu as leader of the party, while the JJB of political Bhikkhus has also sent warnings to RW not to compromise on Buddhist supremacy. Even the tri-forces are imbued with the ideology of political Buddhism. Systematic land encroachments in Tamil and Muslim density areas, the so-called archaeological excavation task force to dig for Buddhist ruins in the north and east of the country, stealthily erected Buddha statues in the dead of night and in the precincts of Hindu temples and mosques, and more daringly the outright confiscation of a mosque in Mahara and turning it into a recreation centre for the prison police are the handy work of political Buddhism.

In the meantime, RW-IMF’s economic repair plan has not been released in full, but the parliament has approved it with only 120 of the 225 voting in favour. The opposition parties had accused the President for not releasing the entire plan for them to make an informed choice. As they say, devil is in the detail. At the same time, the CBSL chief has indicated that there would be “near term challenges” to the financial sector as a result of debt restructuring. This is the biggest unknown factor and the cost of debt restructuring would spread beyond just the finance sector. The other unknown is the state of the economies of Sri Lanka’s trading partners. IMF and WB prognosis about future prospects of growth in those economies is far from reassuring, because of rising interest rates to counter increasing inflation. That would mean fall in consumer and investment demand, which is not good news for Sri Lanka’s exports. If so, would the domestic market be able to compensate for this loss and be an efficient substitute to promote growth? IMF reforms do not promise that.

All this boil down to that one single issue, i.e., system change. NPP at least is insisting on this. But it has to explain to the voting public what it means by that and what are some of the salient features of the new system to be introduced. The most sensitive issue would be the place of political Buddhism. Sinhala Buddhist masses need to be educated of the un-Buddhist character of political Buddhism, and why it should be given up as the guiding ideology of politics in this country. The new system requires a new constitution based on secular democratic principles, which should promote a new political culture. It is on that foundation a new economic model needs to be introduced.

* Dr. Ameer Ali, Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University, W. Australia

Sri Lanka has granted sole and exclusive rights to the Chinese state enterprise China Merchants Port Holdings Company for a logistics centre in the Port of Colombo for 50 years.

The public-private venture on build, operate, and transfer (BOT) terms, involves Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), and civil engineers Access Engineering Plc as minority shareholders.

SLPA is not allowed under the BOT agreement, “to grant any third party the right to carry out port-related logistics or warehousing services at the Port of Colombo at a rate lower than the royalty fees payable by the project company”, filings by China Merchants Port show.

China Merchants Port has set up a fully-owned subsidiary, Fortune Centre Group Limited (FCGL) to build and run the ‘South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub’. FCGL, a private limited liability company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, gets the rights to name the chairman, managing director/chief executive officer, and appoint five directors, to the project company, ‘South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub Limited’, while Access Engineering and SLPA can name one director each.

According to the shareholder agreement, FCGL will commit US$ 58.8 million cash to the Sri Lanka incorporated ‘South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub Limited’, which will have an issued share capital of US$ 84m, China Merchants Port filings show.

China Merchants Port also owns 85% of the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) of the Port of Colombo. SLPA has a 15% interest in CICT. According to China Merchants Group’s annual filings for 2022, CICT handled 3.2 million containers. The group also notes a 10.44 million yuan (Rs 465m) dividend payable to SLPA.

The proposed at least five-story logistics centre will cost US$ 392 million (Rs 126.2 billion) and the cost includes the deposit, royalty fees and guarantee payable under the BOT agreement. Royalties are based on the minimum logistics throughput during the 50-year term. ‘South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub Limited’ must pay SLPA a lump sum of US$14m in royalties no later than 90 days from the day when all conditions of the BOT agreement are met.

The cost considers the value of existing assets, the lease area and construction and development as well as expected revenue and other income the China Merchants Group may get from the logistics centre.

Also, US$ 126m must be deposited to a bank account in Sri Lanka within 60 days of the letter of intent, accepted by China Merchants Port on April 21, 2023.

‘South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub Limited’ is required to give a US$ 4.5 million guarantee produced by a bank in Sri Lanka to SLPA once all conditions under the BOT agreement are met. “The guarantee ends on completion of all development-related obligations and shall be replaced with a demand letter of guarantee in the amount of US$ 7.5m which shall remain valid for the remaining term of the BOT agreement.”

At the end of 50 years, ‘South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub Limited,’ “shall hand back” the leased site and transfer all assets of the logistics centre to SLPA”.

China Merchants Port says the logistics complex will allow it to gain a greater market share of South Asian ports and increase its influence in the region. A statement said it is “a giant leap forward’’.

Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala Silva said at the event announcing the venture, it was a “highly important turning point”.

The Minister said SLPA was providing the land and that rental (kuliya) was based on Government valuer’s estimate. He also said SLPA would receive about 15% of the logistic centre’s profit. But, such a term was not mentioned in the filings. The site agreement is to be signed. Not all conditions are disclosed.

FCGL signed the shareholders agreement with Access Engineering and SLPA, on April 21, 2023. FCGL will contribute US$ 58.8m cash (70% of the issued share capital of US$ 84m) to ‘South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub Limited’, Access Engineering will contribute US$ 12.6m cash (15%), and SLPA will commit US$ 12.6m (15%).

Access Engineering, has among its top 20 shareholders, the Employees Provident Fund which holds 2.048%, while Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Limited — Life Fund holds 0.361%.

The company is heavily involved in Government projects such as Kohuwala and Getambe flyovers funded by Hungary, the Kompanna Veediya (Slave Island) flyover, the 452-unit Bloemendhal housing project and the 1,000-unit Stadiumgama. It built the Mannar wind power project and Mirigama-Riloluwa part of the central expressway.

It is also building the East Container Terminal of the Port of Colombo with another Chinese state company, China Harbour Engineering Company. CHEC JV (Private) Limited is 51% owned by Access Engineering. China Harbour Engineering, a part of China Communications Construction Company owns the Port City Colombo real estate venture and Port of Hambantota.

SLPA’s 2021 annual report shows that it booked as net profit, lease rent of Rs. 12.91bn from 2016 to 2021, from South Asia Gateway Terminal, and Colombo International Container Terminal, and royalties of Rs. 19.58bn. In 2021, royalties from CICT were Rs 174.077m.

A delegation of Tamil National Alliance Leaders comprising Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, MP, President of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), Mr. G Karunakaran, MP, Secretary of TELO, Mr. D. Sithardthan, MP, President of People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Mr. Suresh Premachandran, President of Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Mr. G. Surenthiran, Spokesperson of TELO and Mr. Venthan, President of Democratic Crusader’s Party (DCP) called on the High Commissioner to convey the New Year greetings and held discussions on the current situation in Sri Lanka.

The delegation apprised the High Commissioner on the aspirations of Tamil people in Sri Lanka and progress on the related matters.

High Commissioner reciprocated the New Year greetings and reiterated India’s commitment towards the full implementation of the 13th Amendment and early conduct of Provincial Council Elections in Sri Lanka.

After pledging to renegotiate its debt to Sri Lanka, China is back on track. Besides, since Sri Lanka urgently needs China to restructure its USD 7 billion debt to the country, Sri Lanka has vowed to support the dragon at this juncture by conceding to its demands. High-ranking Chinese VIPs arrived recently in preparation for their bilateral agreements. They have brought with them some suggestions, including the stalled discussions on the Sri Lanka-China Free Trade Agreement, among many other deals that were not executed despite China wanted them long before.

Notably, on April 22, 2023, China Merchants Group Chairman Miao Jianmin met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and reviewed numerous large investment proposals. China Merchants Group, the island’s single largest foreign investor, has already invested USD 2 billion, according to the Chinese Embassy in Colombo.

Jianmin told the Sri Lankan government during his visit that they are always “providing free charcoal in the snow” instead of “collecting rented-umbrellas in the rain”. “We will further strengthen cooperation with local and foreign companies and make more contributions to 🇱🇰 economic recovery,” he assured the president of the island nation.

China has returned to action after remaining mute on aiding Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process. They, like other main creditors such as India, Japan and Japan, seized the opportunity when Sri Lanka was able to gather all of them around the table to help Sri Lanka reach its USD 2.9 billion bailout package.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that the creditors of Sri Lanka should meet up with Sri Lankan officials by end of April 2023, to discuss about the debt restructuring process and that the IMF will not engage itself. Sri Lanka is desperate to obtain the IMF bailout of USD 2.9bn that would boost investor confidence as well as to repay some of the defaulted credits.

On April 23, 2023, a grand signing ceremony of 15 projects was held at the Hambantota International Port covering shipping, logistics, warehouse, duty free, fuel oil sales, construction, yachts manufacturing etc., between Sri Lanka, China and the Maldives. This was not executed despite the plans were announced some two years ago.

Also, on April 25, 2023, the Chinese Embassy announced that the their Out-Patient Department (OPD) building of the Sri Lankan National Hospital, which is the largest ever China-Aid project in Sri Lanka with eight-storey, 50000 square meters area and a daily access of 6000 patients, was handed over to Sri Lanka today. The Sri Lankan government is expected to open it to the public soon.

On April 21, China Merchants Group also signed an agreement with Sri Lanka Ports Authority to jointly build the South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub, the first major FDI project after Sri Lanka default last year. China was chosen to be the contractor of the massive project at the Colombo Port. It is said to be an investment of USD 392 million.

The Chinese Embassy also noted that the China Merchants Foundation (CMF) and Hambantota International Port Group have completed and opened a series of development projects including economic center, health center and community center in the highest-populated village of Kandagasmankada, Lunugamwehera, Hambantota.

But the interesting most activity between China and Sri Lanka was the 8th China – Sri Lanka Joint Workshop on Ocean Sustainable Development that was held on 24-25 April in Colombo, co-organized by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Ruhuna in down South of Sri Lanka.

About 100 scientists attended the workshop of the China – Sri Lanka Joint Center for Education and Research (CSL-CER).

The South China Sea Institute of Oceanology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences had signed an MoU with Ruhuna University to set up a joint institute of oceanographic studies. It was part of an MoU between the Sri Lankan Ministry of Higher Education and the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed in Colombo on September 12 2014 when Mahinda Rajapaksa was the president. The official ceremony took place in the Senate Room of the University of Ruhuna, Matara.

The relationship between China and Ruhuna University has come to light again but this time, amidst rumours that the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and University of Ruhuna are planning to build a High-Frequency Short Wave (HFSW) radar station at Dondra, the country’s southernmost point, with a range of 180 km towards the South and a coverage of 120 degrees. This news has attracted attention across the world.

Additionally, similar information appeared on the British publications which reported that a Chinese radar installation at Dondra Bay might monitor US military action in Diego Garcia as well as ship movements by Australian, Japanese, and Indian vessels in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Despite this news was dismissed as a rumor, China is now re-established the lost links with Ruhuna University through the China-Sri Lanka Joint Center for Education and Research (CSL-CER). Even Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China, Dr. Palitha Kohona, commended on the workshop.

Counselor Hu Wei, Deputy Chief of Mission from the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, Vice Chancellor of UoR Prof. Sujeewa Amarasena, and Director-General of SCSIO Prof. Chaolun Li attended the Symposium and delivered warm remarks on the occasion of the 8th China-Sri Lanka Joint Workshop on Ocean Sustainable Development.

Prof. Sujeewa Amarasena stated that the China-Sri Lanka joint Center for Education and Research (CSL-CER) represents a historic turning point in the University of Ruhuna’s international academic engagement. CSL-CER was created at the University of Ruhuna as a result of the long-term, strong symbiotic relationship between Sri Lanka and China with the goal of boosting science education and research in Sri Lanka.

During the workshop, the experts engaged in academic discussions about ocean sustainability. Academician Zixin Deng of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dr. Saman Seneweera of the University of Melbourne in Australia, and others were invited to give academic oral presentations. The workshop featured professionals from Shandong University, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Eastern University of Sri Lanka, and the National Institute of Fundamental Studies of Sri Lanka. UoR and SCSIO have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their relationship, the Chinese Embassy noted.

The combined workshop, according to Prof. Changsheng Zhang, Director of the CSL-CER, and Prof. Disna Ratnasekera, Co-Director of the CSL-CER, would foster collaborative study on the Indian Ocean’s sustainable development. Scientists expressed strong interest in carrying out future collaboration and developing new suggestions using the CSL-CER as a bridge platform.

Prof. Sujeewa Amarasena and Prof. Chaolun Li, chairmen of the workshop organization commission, praised the efforts and support of CSL-CER colleagues in overcoming difficulties caused by the severe COVID-19 pandemic, and expressed confidence in the glorious future of China-Sri Lanka scientific collaboration. Some of these scientists from China were part of the 2014 MoU signed at the Ruhuna Universtiy.

Until date, this collaboration with the University of Ruhuna has been opaque as to the nature of this collaboration with China. Even what the China espionage ship Yuan Wang 5 performed while mapping the Indian Ocean is unknown; only those on board and the Chinese Communist Party know what they were up to. When the ship arrived at the Port in Hambantota, no visitors were allowed to board the ship to see the unique gadgets and the radars on the ship.

When the ship arrived in Sri Lanka, India requested the government not to allow the ship but China succeeded in docking it at the port. According to foreign security specialists cited by Reuters, the Yuan Wang 5 is one of China’s most advanced space-tracking ships, designed to follow satellite, rocket, and intercontinental ballistic missile launches. It was labeled as a “dual-use spy ship” in several Indian media publications.

So the country is still clueless what the ship had as well as what the China-Sri Lanka Joint Center for Education and Research (CSL-CER) would do. The radar in Dondra may be a rumour but ‘there is no smoke without fire’.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has warned the ‘powerful people’ that violent protests will break out in the country if the elections were not held. “Pakistan would face a Sri Lanka-like situation,” he added.

“This is not a warning, it is my analysis; the people till now have remained peaceful at the party rallies and public gatherings with a hope that the elections would be held soon.

However, if they were denied their right to vote then they will come out onto the streets and no one would be able to control the situation,” the former Prime Minister said while addressing an interactive session with party workers through a video link here Saturday.

He said till now the coalition government was running away from the elections, fearing that they would lose and Imran Khan will return to power. “While keeping in mind Pakistan’s precarious economic situation, till now I have taken party decisions that did not hurt our fragile economy, but if the elections were delayed the situation would get out of control,” he added.

On behalf of the nation, he urged all Supreme Court justices to put their differences behind them and unite for the sake of the country. “Pakistan was on the verge of collapse; if the country’s Constitution was breached, for which attempts were being made, there will be a law of jungle in the country. The nation was looking towards the Supreme Court for supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of the law in the country,” he said.

Khan also announced to stage rallies in Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar to mark Labour Day on Monday; “I would lead the rally in Lahore from Liberty Chowk to Nasir Bagh while PTI senior leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Pervez Khattak would lead the rallies in Islamabad and Peshawar, respectively”. He said that on Monday they would show solidarity with the labour class and express their support for the supremacy of the Constitution and Pakistan. Thus, he urged people from all sections of society, especially the lawyers, to participate in the rally to express their demands for their rights.

Talking about the negotiation with the government over holding elections simultaneously in the country, the PTI chief cast doubts over the government’s sincerity. “We agreed to hold talks with the government on the Supreme Court’s request and we have to come to the negotiation table with full sincerity.”

However, he saw mala-fide intentions behind the government’s proposal to hold elections simultaneously after this year’s budget. He disclosed that on Tuesday (May 2), his team would attend the negotiations and if the government commits to dissolve the National and Provincial Assemblies by May 14 then they were ready to move forward and talk about ‘one election’ in the country.

However, he warned that they would not accept the government’s demand of dissolving the assemblies after the budget and then hold the elections.

He castigated the incumbent rulers for destroying state institutions with the sole aim of giving themselves NROs. “National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have been abandoned to destroy the accountability system in the country and subsequently, enabled them to close corruption cases against them. Now, police and other state institutions were being used to fabricate cases against their opponents.

The Elections Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which was responsible for holding free and fair elections in the country, has become a partner with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM); it was acting on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryum Nawaz and ‘Dirty Harry’,” he alleged.

He also castigated the government for undermining the people’s fundamental rights and violating the sanctity of their houses. “What happened at PTI President and former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi’s residence could never be imagined in any civilized society and democracy. Earlier, an attack was made on my life and my house. The PTI leaders, including Azam Swati, Shahbaz Gill, Ali Amin, and others, were arrested and tortured. Any of this could not be possible in a civilized society,” he lamented.

Source – Business Recorder