Category: Breaking News

The SLPP held its second national convention yesterday in Colombo. It spared no expense in putting on a grand show by bussing people from all parts of the country to the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, the way all political parties do. Speakers thundered, spewing out streams of rhetoric, and held out hope for the party’s rank and file, whose morale is extremely low, but it is doubtful whether anyone took them or their claims seriously.

The reappointment of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the SLPP leader came as no surprise. It has become clear once again that the SLPP is Mahinda and Mahinda the SLPP.

Mahinda keeps telling the media that the SLPP should have a young leader, but the party, without any strong second level leadership, seems convinced otherwise. Mahinda is apparently holding the party leadership in the hope that circumstances will be favourable one day for his eldest son, Namal, to take it over. It is highly unlikely that the SLPP’s lot will improve significantly in the foreseeable future. Mahinda seems to be hoping against hope.

Time was when the so-called Mahinda magic worked for the SLPP, which won the local government, presidential and parliamentary elections in a row (in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively) with huge majorities, and the SLPP seems to be labouring under the mistaken belief that it will work in the coming election year as well. The Rajapaksas have squandered their electoral fortunes.

Their accountability for the country’s worst-ever economic crisis and a recent Supreme Court judgement confirming that fact have ruined the SLPP’s chances of winning elections in years to come. They bankrupted the economy and caused untold hardships to the public, and then ran away, amidst a popular uprising, unable to find solutions to the problems of their own making. Their failure was so pathetic that they had to bring in Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister and then the President to clean up the mess they created. Could there be anything more humiliating, if not demeaning, for the leaders of a political party than having to hitch their wagon to a defeated politician to come out of a crisis?

Meanwhile, luck has been running out for lesser SLPP politicians as well; they acted as if they had been above the law in the heyday of their party. On the eve of the SLPP’s second national convention, the Kurunegala High Court sentenced former Kurunegala Mayor Thushara Sanjeewa Vitharana and four others to three years of rigorous imprisonment for having bulldozed a historical building believed to be King Buwanekabahu’s assembly hall.

The incident took place in 2020, when the SLPP politicians thought they were above the law. The former Mayor and others were also ordered to pay Rs. 13.6 million as compensation and fined. When part of the ancient building was torn down, some SLPP politicians, intoxicated with power, defended Vitharana to the hilt, declaring that they would not allow even ‘a body hair of his’ to be harmed! Prominent among them was the then Minister Johnston Fernando, a close ally of Mahinda. Kurunegala is the district from which Mahinda was elected to Parliament in 2015 and 2020.

Was yesterday’s national convention the SLPP’s swan song? The general consensus is that the SLPP is doomed, and will not be able to make a comeback ever again, but we will have to wait until the next national election to see if it has enough popular support as well as luck to prevent its slide into what looks like a bottomless political abyss.

The National Consumer Front today claimed that a glass of hot water had been sold at Rs. 100 before imposing the new VAT.

Its president, Asela Sampath told the Daily Mirror that a similar incident was reported from a vegetarian family restaurant in Jaffna.

He claimed that a glass of hot water was sold to customers at a price of Rs. 100.

He said a bill issued by the restaurant shows a customer who visited the food centre on December 2 had paid Rs. 1,200 for water for 12 persons.

“If a glass of hot water was sold at Rs. 100 before imposing the VAT, it is possible to sell a glass of normal water in restraints at Rs. 50,” Sampath said.

After Chinese Research Survey Vessel Shi Yan 6 completed its survey off the coast of Sri Lanka and reached Singapore on December 2, Beijing has asked permission from Colombo and Male to allow another Research Survey Vessel to dock at their ports and conduct a deep water exploration of South Indian Ocean from January 5 till late May, 2024.

While India has already raised objections with both Sri Lanka and Maldives and asked them not to allow the Chinese vessel to conduct exploration of Indian Ocean for future military operations, the vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03 is currently off the coast of Xiamen in South China Sea and will travel via Malacca to these countries after securing permission.

Made in 20126, Xiang Yang Hong 03 is a 4813 ton vessel equipped with latest survey and surveillance equipment and is registered at the port of Xiamen. The previous survey vessel, Shi Yan 6, which was allowed permission by Ranil Wickremesinghe government despite India’s strong objections exited Malacca Straits on November 20- after conducting exploration of Sri Lankan EEZ and South Indian Ocean. The ship was also seen 500 nautical miles off Chennai before it entered Colombo port on October 25, 2023.

The Indian concerns over Chinese ballistic missile trackers and Research Surveillance Ships being allowed by Sri Lanka and now with a pro-China government in Maldives are over Beijing using these vessels to spy on India in the name of marine exploration. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the issue with visiting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on July 21, 2023 that Sri Lanka should respect strategic concerns of India.

With the PLA Navy rapidly acquiring maritime assets including three aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and guided missile destroyers, China is expanding its footprint all over the Indian Ocean with a string of naval bases from Cambodia to Djibouti on the mouth of the Red Sea. China has already acquired/invested in ports in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran and in UAE with an eye towards future naval operations.

In the name of marine exploration, Beijing is actually mapping the Indian Ocean bed from the ninety degree ridge south of Andamans and Nicobar Islands to the deep South Indian Ocean. Detailed ocean bed maps are prepared for future submarine operations all the way up to the coast of Africa. With the PLA already operating off the coast of Africa and the Gulf of Aden in the name of anti-piracy operations, it is only a matter of time that Chinese carrier strike forces will be patrolling in international waters of the Indian Ocean. Last month, the Chinese Navy conducted an exercise with the Pakistan Navy off the Makran Coast with a PLA Song class diesel hunter-killer submarine participating in specialized “sea bottoming” operations along with client state Pakistan.

Shishir Gupta is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (2011, Hachette) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (2014, Hachette). Awarded K Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and the 2011 Ben Gurion Prize.

Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product has expanded by 1.6 percent in the third quarter, the state statistics office said, as the economy recovered from the worst crisis triggered by aggressive macro-economic policy.

The economy grew amid rising taxes, but exchange rate stability provided by largely deflationary policy and interest rates also eased as confidence returned.

“The input costs were declined parallel to the favorable change in exchange rate and the demand for debts which were at a lower level, showed a positive indication in this quarter along with the reduction in interest rate,” the census department said.

Agriculture expanded 3 percent in the quarter from the previous year, industries expanded 0.3 percent and services expanded 1.3 percent.

In agriculture, rice expanded 23.3 percent, vegetables 3.2 percent, fruits 5.4 percent.

Coconut sector contracted 6.1 percent and tea also contracted 1.4 percent.

In industry, textile and wearing apparel fell 10.1 percent, electricity and gas expanded 4.2 percent.

Construction continued to contract 5.5 percent. When a central bank fires a bubble by cutting rates, construction and capital good sectors are among those that take the biggest hit.

In services, wholesale and retail trade expanded 0.9 percent, transport and warehousing 5.7 percent.

Accommodation food and beverages expanded 34.9 percent amid a tourism recover and banking and insurance also expanded 29.6 percent.

Britain’s Princess Anne, the Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, will visit Sri Lanka next month, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“Her Royal Highness has been invited by the Government of Sri Lanka to participate in events connected with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the UK.”

She will be accompanied by her spouse Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

The visit is planned for January 10-13, 2024.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was reappointed leader of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at its convention today said his party would become the most formidable political force at the next presidential elections.

Addressing the convention convened at a challenging time, the former President referred to the achievements of his government during the 2005/2014 period under two consecutive terms including the end of the war and infrastructure projects such as the Hambantota port. He said the per capita income improved from US $ 1200 to US $ 3,819 during his time and the middle class expanded.

“Still some people resorted to mudslinging. When we built the expressway, some people harped on it saying it was meant for transportation of Ambul Thiyal for my consumption,” he said.

He said there was an era when the country was engulfed by the fear of terrorist attacks and parents used to travel separately from each other to avoid both getting killed in a bomb blast.

“Youths who have no wartime experience have been misled today by some political forces acting according to the interests of foreign elements inimical to the country’s interests,” he said.

SLPP founder Basil Rajapaksa who addressed the gathering said people were struck by fear for life on two occasions – the war and Covid-19 – and the governments led by his party openly ended both.

“We are proud about it,” he said.

In an obvious response to reports about planned attacks on SLPPers who attended the event on their way back from Colombo, he said security measures had been taken, and asked participants to exercise extra caution to avoid any mistake on their part.

“When you cross the road, you have to make sure that you use only Zebra crossings. Social media teams with vested interests are alert on our movements to find any mistake to be blown up political ends,” he said.

While asking his supporters to be patient, he said others should not consider it as cowardice.

“One should not consider our patience as cowardice. When a stone is thrown at a dog, it will bark and run away. But, when a stone is pelted at a lion, it will turn back and explore who did it,” he said.