Category: Featured Headlines

Sri Lanka cannot continue to obtain loans as a country, says Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris.

Expressing his sentiments during a program carried out by the Ministry of Foreign affairs focusing on the economic revival in the country, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Professor G. L. Peiris said that International assistance will be obtained to build the country through a policy framework that is not limited to only one group in the future.

Speaking further, the Foreign Minister said that in order to build the country, Sri Lanka must focus on other ways to earn capital. Investments, trade, tourism and then the income brought by migrant workers are certain examples of the ways which the country can focus in order increase capital, he said.

Furthermore, the Foreign Minister said that Sri Lanka had opened its borders, and that tourists have already started coming in to the country, and cited the tourism situation in the country as an example of Sri Lanka being able to deal with the outer world.

” Even the UK prime minister has appointed an agent to focus on the trade deals with us. This is a great novel opportunity for us. Then on the tourism sector, we should focus in new tourism methods, for example, environment tourism. We can coordinate with our diplomatic missions and promote it,” the Minister said.

Additionally, he also said that Sri Lanka is also focusing on increasing the country’s scope, especially when it comes to migrant workers. The Minister also spoke of the earlier situation when Korea announced that they will only allow migrant workers who had been working at the country for a long period of time to come back and work in Korea.

Further noting the high profile delegation from the European Union visiting Sri Lanka to discuss on the GSP+ issue, the Minister said that Sri Lanka was able to show the EU the country’s stance and enunciate to them on the mechanism the Government has implemented to rectify any misunderstandings.

” When it comes to our foreign policy, we are on the stance that we must have equal diplomatic relationships with every country in the world. We must have a good diplomatic relationship with India. We must not forget China as well, they helped us a lot in developing our infrastructure. 65% of our exports are being sent to the Western World, which means our ties with USA and Europe are vital as well. All our diplomatic missions are now focused on Economic Diplomacy, that aspect will be their priority,” Prof. G.L. Peiris added.

Being a good leader and maintaining that high quality for half a century is no mean achievement. One must possess effective leadership qualities that helps one achieve higher goals and objectives. This is true of the nonviolent resistance and persistence of Mahatma Gandhi and the magnanimous vision of Nelson Mandela. Our leaders, their policies and their acts are creating history for generations to come.

In his 76 years of life, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has established himself as a national leader and an international statesman of considerable stature. During his 51 year-long political career, he has represented the spirit of an era, the pulse of the nation and the warp and woof of the social, cultural and political fabric of Sri Lanka.

He is known as the ultimate survivor, a political enigma, an ardent nationalist, a champion of the people, protector of the nation, trusted custodian of Buddhism and the guardian of religious freedom of all communities, a human rights activist, and last but not the least, an untiring street-fighter. These are few sobriquets of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who celebrates his 76th birthday on Thursday.

Political career

Mahinda Rajapaksa began his checkered political career on May 27, 1970 as the youngest Parliamentarian. He reached his zenith when he guided the Lankan Armed Forces to end the 30-year-long fight against the brutal terrorist organization, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 as the President and Supreme Commander of Armed Forces of Sri Lanka.

He entered Parliament at the young age of 24 and served in many capacities over many years. He held several ministries ranging from Labour to Fisheries becoming Prime Minister in 2004. He was elected The fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka in the following year.

Although Rajapaksa was born into a land-holding elite family, he was always very close to the common people irrespective of their creed, caste, religion or social status. His uncle, D. M. Rajapaksa, known as the ‘Lion of Ruhuna’ was a popular political leader of the area. After his demise, Mahinda’s father, D. A. Rajapaksa, served as a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament, holding the Beliatta seat from 1947 to 1965. In 1970, Mahinda became Sri Lanka’s youngest-ever Member of Parliament when he was elected to the seat that his father had vacated just five years earlier. Young parliamentarian Mahinda studied law after completion of school studies and received a law degree from Colombo Law College in 1974.

Mahinda’s exceptional characteristic has been the ability to face defeats. After losing his seat in parliament in 1977, he focused on his law career until reentering Parliament in 1989, this time representing the Hambantota district. He was reelected and continued as a Parliamentarian until 2005.

A popular center-left politician, Mahinda was at the forefront as a defender of human rights during the state suppression of a youth rebellion in 1987-90, when Sri Lanka was recognized as one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the supporters of youth rebellions. His fight for the rights of the suppressed people stood him in good stead in his political journey throughout.

In the January 2010 presidential election, he got reelected easily, winning 58 percent of the vote. Rajapaksa’s second term saw sustained economic growth. He continued to enjoy the strong support of the large Sinhalese majority in the country. However, his relations with Western countries were strained over Sri Lanka’s refusal to bow down to their call for international investigations of the military’s treatment of Tamils in the last phase of the conflict.

Addressing the United Nations General assembly he said, “Sri Lanka’s Government, at all times responsive to the priorities reflected in domestic public opinion, is engaged in all measures required for meaningful progress in these fields. A significant event in this regard is the opportunity which the people of the Northern Province enjoyed at the elections, to elect their representatives in the Provincial Council. It is a matter of legitimate satisfaction to me that this was made possible after the lapse of almost a quarter of a century. There can be no doubt regarding the crucial importance of this measure in the context of political empowerment and reconciliation. It is clearly the responsibility of the international community to assist with these efforts and to ensure their success for the benefit of all the people of Sri Lanka.”

Without mincing his words, President Mahinda Rajapaksa pointed out that in spite of the visible progress made, and consistent engagement with UN mechanisms, many countries are surprised at the disproportionate emphasis on Sri Lanka, and the unequal treatment through the multilateral framework. The basis for this relentless pursuit was questioned.

“It is my conviction that the UN system should be astute to ensure the consistency of standards applied so that there is no room for suspicion of manipulation of the UN System by interested parties to fulfill their agendas,” he said.

Mahinda Rajapaksa worships the soil of Sri Lanka after winning the war against the LTTE
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Charismatic leader

The emphasis put by Mahinda Rajapaksa as the President of the country in 2012 is equally relevant today. The UN has consistently ensured cooperation between States, and provided a universal platform for discussions on a range of issues, contentious or otherwise. “It is imperative that we jealously protect and abide by the principle of equal treatment of countries, which has been the very basis of this global organization. Be it economic or political issues, equality must form the bedrock of all international interactions,” he said.

The crusade commenced by Mahinda Rajapaksa and the policies outlined by him will continue to guide the nation for years to come. The people’s mandate given at the Presidential Election in November 2019 to his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was another fitting tribute to Mahinda, a leader who has carved a niche for himself in the history of our nation.

Today, as Prime Minister in the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda will no doubt carry forward his mission of ensuring equality and prosperity for all the peoples of Sri Lanka.

Emphasizing this, Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a recent speech, stressed his commitment to work with determination and patience to ‘safeguard the Motherland we have built, and take it further to the heights of world-winning achievements’.

“Our future responsibility is to safeguard all those achievements and proceed with the tasks of nation building,” said Mahinda Rajapaksa, the charismatic leader with an ever-growing political appeal.

Leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) SJB Parliamentarian Rishad Bathiudeen,who is accused of having an underhand deal with the Government, said he would decide whether his party would support Budget 2022 or not after the party’s Central Committee meets on Sunday (21).

He was speaking at the opening of the children’s playground at the Nirulla Muslim School in Akurana yesterday (18).

Speculation about Bathiudeen having a secret deal with the Rajapaksa Government surfaced with his release from remand prison and his absence in recent protests organised by the SJB. “Our party is not satisfied with this Budget.

But we have not yet decided whether to support the Budget or not. That decision will be taken next Sunday. Our party did not participate in the recent protests by the SJB because we have not yet formed an alliance with Sajith Premadasa. However, we work together as the Opposition. I praised Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament recently, and some people have assumed that we have a deal with the Government. We have no such deal with the Government,” the ACMC Leader said. During the nine years that Mahinda Rajapaksa was President, I worked with that Government. At that time President Rajapaksa and I did a lot of work to develop the North and the East as well as the country.

He has proved to be a good leader who worked for the country. But the present Government has not done anything in the past two years. The only thing that has happened is the economy has collapsed and the country is going backwards,” he added. “It is true that several members of our party supported the Government on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. But this is not the view of our party.

This is the just personal opinion of MPs. Today,some Ministers take to the streets and criticise the Government to the public and the Media but never say a word against the Government in Parliament. We say criticising the Government on the roads should be really done in Parliament. People have now identified the double standards,” he said.

“Anyone one who wants peace, unity and brotherhood in this country would accept giving the leadership of the Presidential Task Force on ‘One Country, One Law’ to Ven. Gnanasara Thera. My view is the same,” Bathiudeen added. “I have something to say to the people of this country. I was imprisoned twice for my innocence.

I was once imprisoned for giving the right to vote to the hundreds of thousands of Muslims who lost their voting rights. The second time I was imprisoned for aiding and abetting terrorism. These are absurd and baseless allegations. I tell the people of this country that the truth will one day prevail,” he said.

The Colombo Commercial High Court today (Nov. 19) extended the interim order issued against the Chinese company that shipped fertilizer containing harmful bacteria to Sri Lanka, its local agent and the People’s Bank.

Accordingly, the relevant court order, which prevents the payment to the Chinese firm on Letter of Credit, was extended until November 30.

During a previous proceeding, Additional Solicitor General Susantha Balapatabendi, who appeared on behalf of the CFC, told the court that China-based Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd. had shipped a fertilizer consignment, which is a partial shipment worth more than a billion rupees that was procured through a tender process initiated by the Agriculture Ministry.

Although the said Chinese firm was required to ship sterile organic fertilizer under the tender contract, it had admitted in its shipping advice that the consignment may contain microorganisms, he had further told the court.

The National Plant Quarantine Services (NPQS), which tested the sample sent to them, had confirmed the presence of organisms, including certain types of harmful bacteria, the Additional Solicitor General had said, adding that, in this context, the Chinese firm in question has failed to complete the accepted terms of the tender.

As per the terms of the contracts, the payment for the controversial organic fertilizer shipment was slated to be made through a Letter of Credit established via the People’s Bank.

However, in September, the NPQS, which tested the fertilizer samples sent by the Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd., revealed the detection of the microorganism called ‘Erwinia’. Several days later, Sri Lanka decided to suspend the importation of organic fertilizer from Seawin Biotech.

The Chinese firm retaliated, saying that the NPQS took only three days to draw a suspicious conclusion although it takes more than 6 days to identify Erwinia as per the ISPM27 rule in IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention).

The “unscientific detection method and conclusion of NPQ in Sri Lanka” are not in compliance with international animal and plant quarantine convention, Seawin Biotech claimed further and urged that Swiss SGS group, a top third-party testing organization, should re-test whether the samples contain Erwinia.

But Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage later insisted that the ship carrying the fertilizer consignment containing harmful bacteria will not be allowed into Sri Lanka. He also noted that the samples from this fertilizer shipment will not be re-tested, nor will any payment be made to the Chinese firm in question.

Later, the CFC secured two enjoining orders from the Colombo Commercial High Court against the Seawin Biotech, its local agent and the state-run People’s Bank, preventing the payment to the Chinese firm on Letter of Credit. The first court order against the Chinese firm in question was secured on October 23, blocking the People’s Bank from making any payment under a Letter of Credit opened in favour of the Chinese company.

On October 29, the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo blacklisted the People’s Bank, citing its failure to make the payment in compliance with the Letter of Credit and the contracts. In a statement, the Chinese Embassy stressed the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka has recently witnessed vicious event of Letter of Credit default, causing huge losses to the Chinese enterprises in international trade with Sri Lanka.

However, the People’s Bank, in response to the Chinese Embassy’s move, said the payment for the organic fertilizer consignment shipped by Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co. Ltd. was halted due to an interim injunction issued by the court.

In the meantime, the Qingdao Seawin Biotech sent a letter of demand on Monday (November 08), seeking USD 8 million in damages from the Additional Director of the National Plant Quarantine Services (NPQS) of Sri Lanka. The Chinese firm sent the letter of demand to Dr. W.A.R.T. Wickramaarachchi, Additional Director of the National Plant Quarantine Service of the Department of Agriculture.

Despite the Government claiming that they have enough funds, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Patali Champika Ranawaka claimed that the Government is actually bankrupt and added that there will not be electricity in the near future.

He made this statement while speaking to the media yesterday (17).

“The government said that they would be constructing a Rs 600 billion oil refinery when they came to power, but today even the existing oil refinery is closed. The contract for LP gas will be expiring by February, they are not talking about that. Tenders for coal plants have also been halted, thanks to the weather we still have electricity. If the rain stops for 6 weeks, we will not have electricity anymore either,” said Ranawaka.

He added that the next 6 months are crucial for the country, and at the current state, Sri Lanka is headed towards bankruptcy and the Government is to be blamed.

“The reason behind this bankruptcy is the loans that were taken in 2015 at very high interest rates. These cannot be repaid back, and the interest is now piling on,” he said.

Further, Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena stated that if the SJB were so confident of their capabilities to save the nation, they should step in and do so without creating chaos.

“If the opposition is capable of taking the country over, they should step up and assist in reviving the country instead of creating chaos. Thanks to the previous government, the Hambantota port was leased for USD 1.4 billion and the future generations are at a loss because of them. Now, because of their decisions, until the year 2029 we are indebted to the Americans. Today, we are paying the price for their wrong decisions” said Gunawardena.

Meanwhile, Minister Namal Rajapaksa stated that even though rumors are being spread of a shortage in fuel, it is not true.

“The opposition is happy to see people standing in long queues. This is what they want. They have spread the rumor that Sri Lanka has a shortage of fuel, but the truth is that we have ample fuel,” said Rajapaksa.

He further mentioned that the rumor about a shortage of fuel has been spread repeatedly over the last couple of months, and people have been lining up in long queues to pump fuel, whereas there has never been a shortage and the supply has always met the demands.