Category: Featured Headlines

Cordelia Cruises is all set for its first international voyage to Sri Lanka in early June, and the new route is likely to boost the Indian cruise traffic by 25-30 per cent, according to a top official.

The cruise liner, currently operating for domestic destinations, has witnessed a revival in the post-COVID era. The occupancy rate has averaged between 78-85 per cent, with consecutive sold-out summer holiday cruises, the official added.

”Sri Lanka is truly the jewel of the Indian Ocean. The nation is moving forward with great determination and courage, and we stand with them in true partnership,” said Cordelia Cruises CEO Jurgen Bailom in an interview with PTI. ”We are certain that this alliance will prove (to be) successful and bring forth great opportunities for both nations and businesses,” he added.

Cordelia will sail on June 5 from Chennai. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is likely to attend a special reception planned on June 7 to celebrate the sailing debut, according to the official.

With the steady recovery of the Sri Lankan economy, Cordelia’s fortunes are likely to improve, prompting the company to consider acquiring new cruise ships in the near future.

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is on the path to recovery after facing its worst economic crisis. The country welcomed over 7,00,000 tourists in 2022, including a high volume of traffic from India.

According to reports, in 2023, the country expects to host 1.55 million visitors and earn USD 2.7 billion in much-needed tourism revenue.

When asked about the possibility of a new cruise route to Sri Lanka, Bailom said, ”Yes, certainly. That’s on the cards. Indians love cruising, and they have welcomed us into their holidays and hearts”.

Earlier, Bailom expressed that although the Indian government was making efforts to promote cruises in India, the credit lines and banking systems of Indian lenders were not conducive for the cruise industry, which runs into millions.

Bailom also highlighted that Sri Lanka Tourism had been conducting aggressive international campaigns and roadshows, including in India, to regain momentum in the tourism industry, which was impacted by the events connected to the economic crisis.

To overcome the crisis, the International Monetary Fund approved a bailout loan of USD 3 billion to the Sri Lankan government in March. This support will be provided under the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC). India has also extended a helping hand to the crisis-hit nation.

Currently, Cordelia Cruise operates a 210-metre-long cruise vessel– ‘The Empress’ with 11 decks. It sails to destinations such as Goa, Kochi and Lakshadweep on the west coast, departing from its home port in Mumbai.

Starting in the June-September period, ‘The Empress’ will sail on the east coast from Chennai, usually marking a seasonal transition in operations, ensuring cruise availability uninterrupted throughout the year. It may also cruise to other destinations on the east coast like Vizag. (PTI)

Amnesty International has raised concerns over the Sri Lankan Government’s continued use of its draconian anti-terror law, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), despite repeated assurances to repeal the legislation, while ignoring calls to issue a serious moratorium against its use.

Amnesty noted that 4 persons, Mohamed Asfer Mohamed Anas, Mohamed Jusair Abdul Hameed Jabir, Mohamed Azeez Abu Bakr Siddique, and Rawutar Naina Asnar Marrikar were arrested by the Sri Lankan Police on 18 May 2023 for charges under the Penal Code and the PTA in connection with the 21 April 2019 bombings.

“As we have raised our concerns before, the PTA facilitates arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention without trial. The law has been used time and time again to target minorities, without any fair or due process safeguards, including against extracting confessions under torture and duress,” Amnesty International said.

According to information provided by the Police to the Fort Magistrate, the authorities intend to record statements from at least 4 more persons who we fear may also be subjected to arrests under the PTA.

“These are worrying developments especially in a context where the Government is hoping to bring in a new Anti-Terrorism Act which, amongst other issues, seeks to further expand the definition of what constitutes an act of terror,” Amnesty International said.

Amnesty said that those arrested must be immediately released or if credible evidence persists, they must promptly be charged with an internationally recognisable crime using fair trial standards.

The human rights group also urged the Sri Lankan Government to ensure investigations into the 21 April 2019 bombings are conducted promptly and impartially in line with international human rights standards.

UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Director, Ben Mellor, had talks with a wide range of stakeholders in Sri Lanka.

Along with the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sarah Hulton, they met a wide range of stakeholders in Colombo, Jaffna and Galle, the British High Commission in Colombo said.

“It was great to accompany our UK Director across three provinces this week, meeting important stakeholders across civil society, businesses and government. We had productive discussions about local concerns and priorities, and economic and development opportunities,” the British High Commissioner said.

During their visits to Galle and Jaffna, they met with the governors of the Northern and Southern Provinces, toured a Red Cross Project site to hear about how UK funding has impacted vulnerable communities, and visited the Jaffna University and the historic Jaffna Library.

In Colombo they met with the Minister for Public Security, State Minister for Finance, and the Foreign Secretary.

A proposal for the removal of Puttalam district MP Ali Sabri Raheem, who was recently arrested for the possession of undeclared gold and smart phones, was reportedly tabled at the party leader’s meeting yesterday (25 May).

The relevant proposal was initially presented by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M. A. Sumanthiran and was affirmed by Opposition MP Lakshman Kiriella, while representatives of the ruling party had also agreed to the proposal.

Accordingly, the party leaders agreed that the controversial MP Raheem should be asked to resign from his post by way of a proposal signed by all Members of Parliament.

Raheem was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake along with a stock of undeclared gold and mobile phones on 23 May.

Customs officials had impounded a total of 3.5kg of undeclared gold and 91 mobile phones from the possession of the Puttalam district MP, who was returning to the island from overseas.

He was later fined Rs. 7.5 million and released on payment of same while the undeclared gold and mobile phones were confiscated.

Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said many Asian nations have already made a choice between China and the United States in a polarizing geopolitical situation and that choice is Asia accommodating the ambitious projects by both Beijing and Washington.

Wickremesinghe made these comments when he addressed at “Nikkei Forum: Future of Asia‟ held in Tokyo, Japan today on Thursday (25) and highlighted the importance of Asian states having a voice in shaping the region’s role amidst the evolving geopolitics on the global stage.

“We in Asia don’t want to choose between the U.S. and China,” Wickremesinghe told the gathering.

“Many of us cannot make that choice because we have already made our choice, and that choice is Asia,” he said.

Future of Asia is an international gathering where political, economic, and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region offer their opinions frankly and freely on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.

The forum has been held by Nikkei every year since 1995 and it is considered to be one of the most important global conferences in Asia.

Wickremesinghe, invited in his capacity as Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister for the forum , said that all the Asian nations have benefited from the cooperation between the US and China in the post-Cold War era, but the subsequent rapid rise of China and the inability of the two countries to agree on China‟s role on the international stage have led to rivalry, which he referred as “needless tensions in our part of the world”.

China has launched an ambitious Belt Road Initiative (BRI) covering mainly Asia and Africa while the US, as an alternative, has pushed for Indo-Pacific Strategy in the region, stretching from our Pacific coastline to the Indian Ocean, home to more than half of the world’s people, nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy, and seven of the world’s largest militaries.

“We want an Asia that can accommodate the Indo-Pacific, the BRI, as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo- Pacific,” Wickremesinghe said.

“The BRI is a strategy to increase China‟s influence in Asia and Africa through economic means. We, the members of the BRI, have no security arrangements with China, nor do we intend to enter into any security agreements with China.”

“The Indo-Pacific is an evolving concept with unanswered questions.”

Center of Geopolitics

Sri Lanka has become the center of geopolitical war between China and the US in South Asia with India, the world’s sixth largest economy is being a strong ally of the US. The island nation has been under pressure by both India and the West for allowing Chinese investments into the country, citing possible security concerns in the Indian Ocean, government sources have said.

Wickremesinghe said the US – China rivalry has given rise to a number of responses by the West especially to economic coercion and weaponizing of economic vulnerabilities.

“Yet some of these responses may result in a setback to trade integration in the region. Unlike the West, Asia is dominated by middle-income and low-income economies.”

“Of the 12 high-income economies in Asia, only 6 are outside West Asia. The rest of us, including China, India, and Indonesia, are middle income economies. We have to overcome the middle-income trap of economic stagnation.”

In addition to economic coercion, Wickremesinghe said, economic decoupling in which different asset classes that typically rise and fall together start to move in opposite directions, and similar measures contrary to the World Trade Organization rules are other impediments to trade integration.

“Needless to say that we in Sri Lanka and many other Asian nations are opposed to economic coercion: whether it be by one country coercing another using its economic power; or by indirect methods such as de-coupling, or friend-shoring – manufacturing and sourcing only from geopolitical allies – contrary to the WTO,” he said.

“Thus, the WTO system put in place three decades ago should not be by-passed for short term geo-strategic gains. The rules of the game cannot be changed arbitrarily. The losers will be the middle-income Asian countries.”