Author: TELO Admin

A US report on terrorism says the LTTE’s international network is still active, despite its military defeat in 2009.

The US report said that the LTTE has employed charities as fronts to collect and divert funds for its activities.

The 2021 Country Reports on Terrorism (CRT) released by the US State Department yesterday (Monday), said that despite its military defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankan government in 2009, the LTTE’s international network of sympathizers and financial support has persisted.

“Although largely inactive since 2009, the LTTE was responsible for an integrated insurgent strategy that targeted key installations and senior Sri Lankan leaders.  In early 2009, Sri Lankan forces recaptured the LTTE’s key strongholds, including its capital of Kilinochchi.  In 2009, government forces defeated the last LTTE fighting forces, killed members of its leadership including leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, and declared military victory,” the report said.

The report said that there have been no known attacks in Sri Lanka attributed to the LTTE since 2009, but 13 LTTE supporters, several of whom had allegedly planned attacks against U.S. and Israeli diplomatic facilities in India, were arrested in Malaysia in 2014. Additional members were arrested in Malaysia and India in 2015, one of whom was accused of exhorting other Sri Lankans to fund and revive the LTTE.

Although the Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana yesterday (27) pointed out that there are no legal provisions for him to intervene in releasing funds for the Local Government (LG) poll as requested by the Election Commission (EC) in writing last week, he however, stated that the matter should be decided by the party leaders.

When queried by The Daily Morning as to what steps he would take to release the funds to hold the LG poll as requested by the EC, Abeywardana said: “That has to be decided by the party leaders. There are no legal provisions for me to get involved, and give legal instructions on how they should disperse their money. The duty of Parliament has been done, and after that, the dispersing of the money is part of the Treasury’s job. They must do it, depending on the income that has been collected by them at that time. That is the position, and beyond that if anything has to happen, it has to be in accordance with the Parliamentarians. The authority is with the Parliament, not one or two MPs. Not even the Speaker has anything to do with that. The MPs have to decide.”

When queried as to when he would hold a party leaders meeting, he noted: “That depends on how the party leaders are available, so we will talk to them and see.”

Meanwhile, when queried by The Daily Morning from the Finance Ministry and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana yesterday as to whether he had received any request from Parliament or the Speaker to release funds for the LG poll, he said: “No. I have not got any such request from anyone.” When questioned as to whether there would be any funds released for the LG poll expenses, he said: “You have to ask that from the Minister of Finance (President Ranil Wickremesinghe is also the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies).”

Last week, the Chairman of the EC, Attorney Nimal G. Punchihewa wrote to the Speaker, requesting him to intervene to urge the Treasury to release the funds required to hold the LG election. The EC decided at a meeting held last week not to hold the LG poll on 9 March as scheduled due to the reasons that have arisen and which are beyond the control of the Commission. The EC further stated that a new date for the LG poll would be declared on 3 March.

Meanwhile, Abeywardana stated that around 1,500 applications have been received by the Constitutional Council to appoint members to the independent commissions.

Sri Lanka is at a critical moment in its history. Years of economic mismanagement, weak governance, poor policy choices, and the impacts of external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, plunged the country into its worst-ever crisis in 2022.

Economic collapse and political instability have devastated lives and livelihoods across the board, dealing the heaviest blow to the poorest and most vulnerable. Regular climate-induced disasters add to Sri Lanka’s fragility. The depth of the crisis has made it clear that Sri Lanka needs a new development model. But the road to recovery is challenging and the necessary fiscal adjustment measures can be painful. Debt relief from Sri Lanka’s creditors and fresh financing from international financial institutions are thus urgent to ensure people don’t lose patience with reforms and the opportunity for a change isn’t lost.

The economic crisis has left deep scars. Poverty nearly doubled in Sri Lanka between 2021 and 2022, climbing from 13 to a staggering 25% (using a poverty line of $ 3.65 per person per day), and is projected to increase by more than 2 percentage points in 2023. In the same timeframe, urban poverty tripled from 5 to 15%. Sri Lanka’s people have been forced to quickly adapt to a new reality where prospects for a good job are limited, incomes are lowered and eroded by inflation, and opportunities for a better future are becoming increasingly rare.

Debt relief from Sri Lanka’s creditors and fresh financing from international financial institutions are urgent to ensure people don’t lose patience with reforms and the opportunity for a change isn’t lost.
In 2022, at least half a million people lost their jobs, most of which were in the industry and services sectors and employed women. Those already classified as poor saw a 65% increase in their cost of living, while the increase was 57% for the non-poor, highlighting the significant loss of welfare for all Sri Lankans.

In times of crisis, people often cope by adopting detrimental survival strategies. For instance, they limit their intake of nutritious foods, forego education and preventive health investments, or take up informal and subsistence work. These negative coping mechanisms can erode decades of progress in human capital with impacts that could last generations. Worsening food insecurity is already translating into an increase in child malnutrition and stunting, which increased from 7.4 to 9.2% between 2021 and 2022.

The international community must help Sri Lanka strike the right balance between pursuing critical reforms to get the economy back on track and ensuring that people have access to safety nets, better jobs, and economic opportunities.

Complementing the Government’s initiatives to stabilise the economy, the World Bank is helping transform economic governance and increase public sector transparency. This will prevent repeating past mistakes through strengthened fiscal oversight and debt management, and by tackling the sources of the heightened financial sector vulnerabilities. And we are helping Sri Lanka transition towards a more private sector-driven and outward-looking economy by supporting SOE reforms, reducing the cost of trade, and making it easier for the private sector to invest.

Although they are necessary, these reforms can negatively impact people if their immediate effects are not mitigated. To prevent further welfare losses, a more effective social protection system is a priority. Our support focuses on redesigning existing cash transfer programs and improving the social registry to provide targeted cash assistance to those most in need. In addition to cash transfers, the World Bank has been supporting the lives and livelihoods of the people by supplying essential goods such as medicines and school meals.

As Sri Lanka recovers, it is essential not only to help people escape poverty and vulnerability, but also to strengthen their resilience to future shocks in an increasingly volatile world.
Strengthening human capital requires building a more inclusive society. The Government is drafting legislation that will strengthen the institutional framework for gender equality and women’s empowerment. These positive developments should help level the playing field for women to participate in the workforce and protect women and girls from gender-based discrimination.

As Sri Lanka recovers, it is essential not only to help people escape poverty and vulnerability, but also to strengthen their resilience to future shocks in an increasingly volatile world. Linking cash transfer beneficiaries to economic opportunities and complementary measures—such as skills training, job coaching, and access to finance—can make Sri Lankans more employable, enabling them to rebuild their assets and improve their economic well-being. These interventions can be catalysed by measures that promote job creation through an improved business environment and access to finance, especially to support small and medium firms that are prevalent across Sri Lanka.

With every crisis comes an opportunity. For Sri Lanka, this pivotal moment is a chance to reset its development model towards green, resilient, and inclusive growth. Sri Lanka has begun its journey towards this goal. What is important now is sustaining the reform momentum, rebuilding trust in public institutions through greater transparency and accountability, and protecting the livelihoods of those most affected by the crisis. Such efforts deserve support from Sri Lanka’s international partners.

This piece was originally published in Daily FT on February 27, 2023

The European Investment Bank (EIB) says it is monitoring the offer made to Sri Lanka by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sri Lanka Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and Head of Mission to the European Union Grace Asirwatham met with Vice President of the European Investment Bank Kris Peeters in Luxembourg.

Senior Loan Officer, Public Sector Operations, Asia and Pacific, in the Global Partners Department of the EIB Francesco Consiglio, and Head of the Office of the Vice President Anouk Hamers were also associated with the meeting.

Ambassador Asirwatham briefed the Vice President of the EIB on the current economic situation in Sri Lanka and the actions being taken by the Government of Sri Lanka, including the engagement with the International Monetary Fund to ride out the crisis.

Ambassador Asirwatham further briefed the Vice President on the vision of the President of Sri Lanka to develop an export-oriented competitive economy, an environmentally friendly green and blue economy, and a digital economy.

Vice President Peeters responded by saying that the EIB was closely monitoring the progress of Sri Lanka’s economic revival, particularly the IMF’s offer of an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka.

Given that the EIB supports a large number of green projects around the world, the Ambassador presented details of Sri Lanka’s ambitious plans to become a green economy by 2050 and the various measures proposed in that direction in the preliminary report on the Sri Lanka Climate Prosperity Plan, including Sri Lanka’s commitment to supporting the Paris goals of limiting global warming, decreasing carbon emissions by 2030, and making Sri Lanka a low-carbon hub, as well as planning to achieve 70% of renewable energy in electricity production by 2030, among other plans.

The Vice President said that the EIB will continue its commitment of Euro 50 million to fund the ongoing Greater Colombo wastewater management project in Sri Lanka. He added that once the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka comes into force, the EIB may be able to consider new financial commitments to support green projects in consultation and collaboration with the European Commission.

Kris Peeters, who previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, later joined EU politics before being appointed as the Vice President of the EIB.