Category: News

Following President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, issuing regulations temporarily suspending the importation of over 300 items with effect from Tuesday (23) under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, many sectors in the country are facing issues and are in dire straits.

The import of over 300 items has been temporarily suspended with effect from Tuesday under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act through a Government notification by the Finance Ministry. The host of items included in the list range from chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa, condensed milk, yoghurt, coconuts, coconut based arrack, roses, perfumes, beauty or make-up preparations, deodorants and dental floss, to trunks, suitcases, briefcases, and various clothing items.

Speaking to The Morning, salon owner and beautician Udeshika Perera said that the industry is at great risk due to the ban, and the shortages.

“We can’t afford to retain several staff members due to this crisis, as we can’t pay them. Now, most of the products we use are also banned, and the products in the market are highly priced. We cannot provide certain services due to the shortage.”

She also said that even though they are willing to provide services using locally manufactured brands, those are also lacking due to the shortage of ingredients imported from other countries.

At Pettah, the small- and medium-scale shop owners also raised concerns over the latest ban, saying that the price of bags and shoes would increase to the point where people cannot afford to buy them.

“I sell imported luggage bags, and the current price is at Rs. 6,000. I think that it would increase up to Rs. 10,000. We might have to close our shops,” he said.

According to shoe-sellers in Pettah, they are having a difficult time selling shoes at the moment due to the high price. “Customers will run when we tell them the price. It’s that expensive now.”

Speaking to The Morning, Channy Ceylon Clothing Owner Dilini Warnasooriya, representing the apparel industry, said that the production sector is facing a lot of difficulties due to the material shortage.

“Normally, we import swimwear from Bangkok, Thailand, and sell it at a price of Rs. 2,000, but now the price of the material could also increase. Even if we try to produce them locally, we will not be able to achieve a profit, since the customers will not be able to afford the prices. A yard of fabric has increased from Rs. 375 to Rs. 575, while the prices of clothes have increased from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000. Now, clothes have become a special commodity.”

Meanwhile, the owner of a cosmetic shop in Maharagama said that they could provide shampoo and other cosmetics at a normal price since they have already been imported, but that the next shipment would cost double the price.

Meanwhile, the traders of Pamunuwa, Maharagama, also protested against the increase of electricity tariffs by 75%.

“I think that this decision was made to destroy small-scale industries. If the Government is trying to stop bringing in material, then they should have a plan to produce locally.”

Another said that the prices of all materials have increased at the moment.

“This protest is not to change the Government, but to show our struggle. We want to live. More than one million people depend on this business. Is the Government asking us to engage in farming instead?”

At Pamunuwa, 70% of those in stalls are women. They start their business early in the morning at around 4 a.m.

One of them told The Morning: “No one buys clothes from us. The price of skirts has increased from Rs. 550 to Rs. 1,000. We urge the Government to provide us with solutions.”

The regulation was issued by President Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies, in terms of the powers vested in him by Section 20 of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969. Cited as the Imports and Exports (Control) Regulations, No. 13 of 2022, it temporarily suspended the importation of items listed under 305 Harmonised System Codes, effective from Tuesday, and effective until further notice.

However, it states that any goods specified in these regulations, which have been shipped onboard with the date of bill of lading and airway bill on or before Tuesday, and which arrive at any seaports or airports in Sri Lanka on or before 14 September 2022, shall be cleared for Customs clearance. It also says that the regulations shall not be applied for the importation of any goods specified in these regulations by any enterprises or operators approved under the Temporary Importation for Export Purposes Scheme of the Customs, or any enterprises approved under Section 17 of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Law.

It further states that the importation of any goods, specified in these regulations, by any approved enterprises for processing and re-export purposes may be allowed by the Controller General of Imports and Exports on the recommendation of the Secretary to the Ministry of Industries, or the Export Development Board Director General, on a case-by-case basis.

Source: The Sunday Morning

Sri Lanka is urging China to dramatically change its stance on debt relief, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Nikkei Asia in an exclusive interview, conceding that reaching a deal will be no simple task.

The appeal to China, the bankrupt Indian Ocean nation’s largest bilateral lender, 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. The effort is likely to feature prominently in a fresh round of discussions between Colombo and International Monetary Fund representatives arriving Wednesday.

“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.

But the six-time prime minister, who won a parliamentary vote for the presidency and began his term on July 21, sees a complex path to spurring a change of heart in Beijing, hinging partly on Sri Lanka’s other lenders.

“China, of course, has adopted a different approach, so it is a question of what is the agreement that the [other creditor] parties can reach with China,” he said during a 40-minute conversation in his wooden-paneled office at the Presidential Secretariat, a colonial-era building that faces Colombo’s seafront.

Wickremesinghe was responding to a question about China’s preferred route of refinancing its loans or deferring the repayment dates for countries in debt to Chinese banks — rather than restructuring the loans and settling for a loss-making “haircut.”

An 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 for 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] program would require adequate assurances by Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored.”

The Washington-based fund’s team is scheduled to be in Colombo until the end of this month. Seasoned observers see it pushing the Wickremesinghe administration to persuade the Chinese ahead of any staff-level agreement with the IMF.

“Sri Lanka will have to convince the Chinese to come on board with a haircut,” said Murtaza Jafeerjee, managing director of JB Securities, a financial consultancy in Colombo. “Chinese debt [to Sri Lanka] is in dollars … and it would not be in China’s interest to be a spoiler.”

The list of creditors in the $81 billion economy ranges from Western sovereign bondholders, who together account for the largest $14 billion slice of debt, to bilateral players such as China, Japan and India. Then there are the multilateral lenders — the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

The country’s outstanding foreign debt is a staggering $51 billion, with some independent economists estimating that China’s lending to Sri Lanka from 2001 to 2021 amounted to nearly $9.95 billion.

Sri Lanka had a foreign debt bill of $6.9 billion that it had to service in 2022 but defaulted in April after it ran out of foreign reserves, a first in the South Asian nation’s history.

The country of 22 million currently has $300 million worth of usable foreign reserves, not enough to ensure a steady flow of food, fuel and pharmaceutical imports. The latest figures from the Department of Census and Statistics show that food inflation in July soared to 82.5% on the year.

The crisis has swept away previously comfortable lives for tens of thousands and, in April, sparked months of anti-government protests that forced out Wickremesinghe’s predecessor, the hawkish President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“People have a right to be concerned about the economy which affects their lives,” Wickremesinghe said. “There has been a drop in living standards … a drop in their purchasing power. What we are witnessing now is the fast contraction of the economy.”

But Wickremesinghe has inherited more than a tattered economy from Rajapaksa. The previous administration, once viewed as pro-China, strained diplomatic ties with Beijing over multiple spats. They involved Colombo rejecting a shipload of Chinese fertilizer and giving a cold shoulder to a Chinese company’s role in building a highway.

The Rajapaksa government also did an about-face on the fate of a cluster of islands in Sri Lanka’s northern waters, which were given to India after being initially offered to China. The islands are close to India, which is locked in a geopolitical tussle with China for influence in the Indian Ocean.

Pleasing China will test Wickremesinghe, a foreign affairs veteran, as he courts Beijing over the debt. This was all too apparent earlier this month when Sri Lanka asked China to defer a port call by a military survey vessel due to protests by India. The move prompted a furious response from Beijing and raised concerns that it could affect the debt restructuring talks.

In the end, Sri Lanka agreed to let the ship dock.

“The geopolitical situation [in the Indian Ocean] is heating up, but so far we have been able to keep it out and look at our [debt problem] in a purely economic manner,” Wickremesinghe said. “But there will be issues [with] how the debt is being treated and how the debt relief is to be treated. They will have some geopolitical implications.”

Source: Nikkei Asia

Beijing [China], August 24 (ANI): China’s unswerving manoeuvre to dock the Yuan Wang 5, missile and satellite tracking ship at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka despite the country’s request to defer the visit of the ship amid security concerns raised by India and the United States might seem like a victory for Beijing in this strategically important island nation but in fact, it reinforces the image of China as a predatory imperial power that is trying to exploit Sri Lanka for its own purposes, a media report said.

The Yuan Wang 5, China’s missile and satellite tracking ship which had berthed at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka departed on Monday.

There were grave concerns that the ship could conduct satellite research in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean region, prompting security concerns from India.

India had expressed its security concerns over the docking of the vessel at the Sri Lankan port as it was touted as a research vessel with the capability of mapping the ocean bed, which is critical to the anti-submarine operations of the Chinese Navy.

However, China claimed that the docking of its Yuan Wang 5 ship at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka does not affect any country and termed it a normal exchange between the two countries.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister confirmed that the Chinese vessel ‘Yuan Wang-5’, widely believed to be a spy ship, has been given clearance to arrive at Hambantota Port on August 16.

“Having considered all material in place, on 13 August 2022, the clearance to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China was conveyed for the deferred arrival of the vessel from 16-22 August 2022,” Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

Giving details about the process, the foreign affairs ministry said that they were informed by China via a diplomatic note on June 28 regarding Yuan Wang 5 arrival.

The Sri Lankan government was requested to provide necessary assistance and positive consideration to the request by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.

China’s strategy to lure countries into its debt trap beguiled Sri Lanka to be dependent heavily on China for economic support, and military equipment. Sri Lanka also took loans in bulk for various development projects.

But during the recent crisis in the country, when for months, Sri Lanka has been pleading with China for more support, but to no avail, Channel News Asia reported.

Beijing has done little to help the country through its devastating economic meltdown, providing far less aid than India.

India moved in to alleviate Sri Lanka’s desperate food and fuel shortages with over USD 3.8 billion of assistance. Beijing, by contrast, provided a relatively paltry USD 74 million.

The main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), yesterday (24) condemned the use of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA) to detain peaceful protestors, including Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) Convenor Wasantha Mudalige.

“Is it necessary to arrest peaceful protestors? We are completely against using the PTA for this. The PTA should not be used against peaceful protestors, including against Mudalige,” SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne questioned at a media briefing held yesterday (24).

Commenting on the violence unleashed by pro-Government supporters on 9 May, Wickramaratne questioned as to why those who addressed the pro-Government supporters at the Temple Trees, moments before they attacked the “GotaGoGama” protest site at the Galle Face Green, are not being arrested.

“Shouldn’t they be arrested too?”, he questioned.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), in a statement issued in this regard yesterday, raised concerns about President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s decision to issue detention orders for Mudalige, Kelaniya University student activist Hashan Jeewantha, and the Inter-University Bhikkhu Federation (IUBF) Convenor Galwewa Siridhamma Thera for a period of 90 days.

“This move to detain the three suspects for their alleged involvement in the recent protests is yet another example of the abuse of the PTA by the Executive, regarding which there have been persistent calls for the repeal of, for several decades. Moreover, this detention for the apparent involvement in the ‘aragalaya’ (struggle) appears to be yet another effort by the United National Party-Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Government to target protestors, and create a chilling effect in order to silence dissent,” said the CPA.

Further, the CPA noted that in 2017, when President Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister, the Government announced a moratorium on arrests under the PTA.

“The then-Prime Minister also acknowledged that ‘the State is mindful of the need to ensure that counter terrorism legislation is not abused in a manner that would impair the lawful exercise of Fundamental Rights, which would be contrary to the principles of democracy and good governance, and would defeat the purposes of justice’ as a policy statement when presenting the proposed Counter Terrorism Bill which was never passed. Such a statement is contrary to how the PTA is now being used, including the most recent moves to target protesters and prevent dissent,” the statement continued.

Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Bandula Gunawardana said this week that the Government hopes to bring in the “National Security Act” to replace the PTA.

Responding to this, SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris questioned whether the present Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC is aware that a great deal of work has already been done in this regard.

“The Cabinet of Ministers previously appointed two committees, including the senior officials’ committee, which consisted of officials from the highest levels from the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Justice, the Attorney General’s Department, and the Police. A great deal of dedication went into that work for about four months, after which they produced an insightful report.

“Why is it necessary to reinvent the wheel, if this is a sincere exercise, when you can draw upon the material that is in that report? The urgent Amendments were enacted in the Parliament earlier this year. In stage two, it was decided to undertake a comprehensive review using the said report. That exercise was underway when the Government fell,” said Prof. Peiris.

Earlier this year, the PTA (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Parliament. However, the Opposition and many civil and human rights activists said that the said Amendments were just an attempt to “pull wool over the eyes of the people”, as they provided no proper change to the draconian anti-terror law in the country.

“The Government gave a categorical assurance to the international review, that pending the entire review of the PTA and the introduction of a fresh piece of legislation, the PTA, in its existing form, will not be applied, with the full blessings of the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. We are now using these draconian provisions against those who participated in public protests.

“At the same time, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has said that they are confident of getting funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of the year. Meanwhile, other things have happened which are not helpful in the discussions with the IMF,” said Prof. Peiris.

He explained that Special Rapporteurs from the United Nations and international organisations have raised concerns about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and questioned whether that is helpful or detrimental to the country’s access to financial support expected from the IMF and other institutions.

The Police raided a press conference called by the Inter University Student Federation at the CSR in Maradana yesterday (23).

The press conference was called to mark the united opposition of political parties, trade unions, public organisations and social activists against the detention of the three student leaders, Wasantha Mudalige, Galwewa Siridhamma Thera and Hashan Jeevantha, using the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

When Ceylon Today inquired about the situation from the Educational Secretary of Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), Pubudu Jagoda, he said the Police forcefully stormed the place saying that they wanted to arrest Eranga Gunasekara, National Organiser of the Socialist Youth Union. However, the Police officers did not have any valid documents related to the arrest, he said.

He said the Police had to retreat due to strong opposition from the representatives who came to the press conference.

“By breaking into press conferences like this, it is sure they are trying to create fear and terror in society. From that point of view, we can see that the terrorists are Ranil Rajapaksa and the gang that hides behind him. Not the people fighting for their lives, for their fair rights,” he said.