Author: TELO Admin

The Citizens of the Aragalaya Organization submitted a letter to the office of the United Nations in Thummulla today requesting to observe the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The group also engaged in a silent protest demanding the release of the people arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The group submitted the letter to the office of the United Nations after the protest, demanding intervention with regard to the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Sri Lanka’s new government came under international censure over the use of tough anti-terror laws to detain protesters who forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down from the presidency last month.

Three student activists arrested during the first anti-government rally after the end of a state of emergency were being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), including student leader Wasantha Mudalige.

The PTA allows suspects to be detained for 90 days without judicial review.

An unprecedented economic collapse sparked often huge anti-government rallies in Sri Lanka this year, after the country ran out of foreign currency to finance imports, leaving its 22 million people enduring chronic shortages of essential goods, rolling blackouts and spiralling inflation.

The government imposed a state of emergency that gave security forces sweeping detention powers, but the ordinance lapsed last week.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in mid-April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a possible bailout.

Former President and the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Maithripala Sirisena, said that a government will definitely be formed in the future through an alliance formed with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the Left-wing parties.

The former President also mentioned that he is not ready to accept a position even if given a position because the current government is run by the leaders of the Pohottuwa (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) party.

He said this while addressing the party’s Maharagama constituency meeting held today (28) at Sri Jayewardenepura Grand Monarch Hotel.

Mr. Maithripala Sirisena said that no one from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party has been approved to join the government till date, and recalled that Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, who joined the government, has said in the party central committee that “we will go only if an all-party government in the truest sense of the word is formed.”

“He said so and joined the government next day,” Sirisena said.

He also mentioned that there is news that 30 more ministers and 40 state ministers will be appointed to the cabinet in the future.

Although his party members say that there would be more changes if he were given the prime minister post, he will not accept any post in a government controlled by the leaders of the Pohottu party.

The Japanese embassy has requested the Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) to refund the money spent for the import of four reconditioned waste-collection trucks after the project was delayed for more than three years.

The embassy has written to the council to refund Rs 14.3 million (USD 83,432) which was given for the import of the four trucks.

“It is greatly regrettable that the project has already been three years late over the schedule and you were unable to implement the project,” the embassy informed Mayor V. Manivannan on the cancellation of the project.

The embassy requested the JMC to refund the total amount of Rs 14,329,446 which was given to buy the four vehicles and cover expenses related to unloading, import, customs clearance and domestic transport.

In April 2019, the Society for Promotion of Japanese Diplomacy (SPJD), a non-profit arm of the Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, entered into a “Recycled Equipment Acquisition Project’ agreement with the JMC to provide the four trucks donated by local councils in Japan.

In the partner agreement, it was agreed to transport vehicles to Hambantota after necessary reconditioning and inspection in addition to providing training for local staff on effective usage and self-maintenance of the vehicles.

It was agreed that the JMC would obtain necessary permits and approvals in advance to import the used vehicles. A JMC senior official said one of the main reasons for terminating this project was the delay to get necessary approval from the Finance Ministry.

Former Mayor Emmanuel Arnold who signed the agreement in 2019 alleged that the JMC’s current administration had failed to fast-track the project as agreed by both parties and the failure to do so resulted in the eventual termination of the project.

Attempts to reach Mayor Manivannan were not possible since he is on an overseas visit.

The latest JMC project cancellation came in the wake of projects of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) being suspended after the government declared a debt default in April. Parliament was told recently that some twelve projects were halted until the International Monetary Fund established a roadmap on Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability.

The first tranche of food assistance pledged by the Government of Japan earlier this year has been provided through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to Sri Lanka, where more than 6 million people — nearly 30 percent of the population, are facing a worsening food crisis.

H.E. Mizukoshi Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, handed over the donation to Hon. Nalin Fernando, Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, in the presence of Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, WFP Representative and Country Director, during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food Security today.

This first tranche forms part of the donation consisting of rice, lentils, and oil, and valued at US$1.5 million, which will be distributed by WFP to approximately 15,000 people in both urban and rural areas and 380,000 schoolchildren.

Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, H.E. Mizukoshi Hideaki said, “It is our great honour that we are able to handover the first tranche of essential food supplies today with the rapid procurement of WFP, which will be delivered to vulnerable families and children across the island who are facing extreme hardship, amidst prevailing food shortages and soaring food prices during this unprecedented economic crisis. We sincerely hope that this humanitarian assistance will provide relief to all the people in need and help them meet their daily nutritional requirement.”

“I thank the people of Japan for this timely contribution. The Japanese Government was one of the first to pledge support to WFP’s appeal. The donation will go a long way in addressing Sri Lanka’s growing food insecurity while shortages of food and other essentials and skyrocketing prices continue to impact millions of people’s ability to maintain an adequate and nutritious diet,” said WFP’s Siddiqui.

A recent survey by WFP and FAO indicates that many of the households — over 60 percent — are resorting to coping mechanisms, such as reducing portion sizes and eating less nutritious food, which could aggravate the already-high malnutrition rates among women and children.

In response, WFP is mobilizing funds and support to provide emergency assistance to 3.4 million people, including 1.4 million people who are in dire need of emergency food assistance, through food, cash or voucher assistance as well one million schoolchildren and one million pregnant and breastfeeding women by supporting the existing national social safety net programmes.

Photo caption: The first tranche of food assistance pledged by the Government of Japan was handed over by H. E. Mizukoshi Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, to Hon. Nalin Fernando, Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, in the presence of Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, WFP Sri Lanka Representative and Country Director.

Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Dr. Palitha Kohona said Sri Lanka is an ideal spot for solar energy development and also wind energy development and China can be a big help as we transition to clean energy.

“We would be able to address a huge part of our energy crisis by relying on renewable energy,” he said, according to the Chinese media.

The 2022 World Conference on Clean Energy Equipment is underway in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

More than 18 hundred guests from 17 countries and regions are taking part in the event to discuss the development and future of the clean energy equipment industry, according to CGTN.

China, Colombo’s largest bilateral lender dodged the request for debt relief and said that the ball is in Sri Lanka’s court.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy said that the ball is in Sri Lanka’s court, not China’s, reported Sei Lankan publication Daily Mirror.

“We sent proposals to the Finance Ministry. But, there was no response from them. Also, Sri Lanka insisted that it should complete the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) first. The ball is in Sri Lanka’s court,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman told Daily Mirror China communicated to the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry three months ago about its readiness to discuss how to address the debt issue with the Chinese banks.
He said China encouraged its banks to discuss it. The Chinese position was also communicated during the telephone conversation between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Earlier, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe urged China on Thursday to restructure its debt.

“We have informed the Chinese Government of the need to restructure the debt and the need for all the creditors to ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’,” Wickremesinghe told Nikkei Asia in an interview.

The appeal to China has emerged as a formidable challenge to Wickremesinghe, who is leading the country’s financial team as it attempts to rebuild an economy starved of foreign reserves and mired in misery, reported a Sri Lankan publication, The Morning.

Sri Lanka’s total bilateral debt was estimated at USD 6.2 billion at the end of 2020 by the IMF, reported Daily Mirror.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) statement on the eve of its visit highlighted, albeit obliquely, that the China factor is set to shape Sri Lanka’s economic fortunes.

On the prospects of giving Sri Lanka a multibillion-dollar bailout, the fund said, “Because Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the IMF Executive Board of the Extended Fund Facility programme would require adequate assurances by Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored.”

The Washington-based fund’s team will be in Colombo until the end of this month and called on Wickremesinghe on Thursday to discuss the current situation of the economic crisis the nation is grappling with at present, reported The Morning.

During the meeting with President Wickremesinghe, the IMF delegates decided to hold further discussions with Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) officials on technical issues, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

Meanwhile, Japan and China hold the largest shares. India has provided around USD 4 billion to help keep Sri Lanka’s economy afloat, mainly through credit lines and swaps this year. Sri Lanka also has USD 14 billion of international sovereign bond debt.

India emerged as the first responder under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Neighbourhood First policy when Sri Lanka was left alone by its so-called benefactors for funding support.
India has responded with urgency to the government of Sri Lanka’s request for assistance in overcoming hardships and will enhance economic linkages between the two countries be it through infrastructure connectivity and renewable energy. (ANI)