Category: News

Sri Lanka is recognised as one of the countries that is the least safe for children with regard to violence under the presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Stop Child Cruelty Trust and the Child Protection Alliance claimed, citing a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) global index of 180 countries, published in February 2021, in which Sri Lanka ranks 68.

Speaking to The Morning, Chairperson of the said Trust and Co-Convener of the said Alliance Dr. Tush Wickramanayaka claimed that the Executive President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had releasing a convicted child murderer on death row upon assuming office, crippling the legal system and interfering into the independence of Government authorities.

“The pearl of the Indian Ocean has set a new world record by being recognised as a country considered least safe for children against violence, a paradise that is officially at peace, without famine or natural disaster. The unprecedented level of anarchy and bureaucratic lethargy has reduced a child’s life to an abysmal level. A total of 25% of Sri Lanka’s population are children below the age of 18 years. A total of 12 children were physically and sexually abused and murdered from 2020 to 2022.”

She said: “No country will prosper, nor will change be possible, if the citizens fail to acknowledge, protect, and promote the rights of the true beneficiaries of the future, our children.”

The UNICEF index and report compared the performance on child flourishing, estimated using measures including child survival and well-being, such as health, education, and nutrition, sustainability, using greenhouse gas emissions as a proxy, and equity indicated by country income gaps.

The report titled A Future for the World’s Children?, also highlights the distinct threat posed to children from harmful marketing. In Sri Lanka, of all food and beverage related advertisements, 78% were child focused, and of these, 74% claimed health benefits, many of which were unsupported. Children’s exposure to commercial marketing of junk food and sugary beverages is associated with the purchase of unhealthy foods, and subsequent issues of being overweight and obesity, thus linking predatory marketing to the alarming rise in childhood obesity.

TUI has cancelled all holidays to Sri Lanka departing up to and including 31 May 2022. This comes as the Foreign Office updated its travel advice for Sri Lanka, urging Brits not to go to the country unless it’s absolutely necessary.

The change in advice comes after protests have been taking place across Sri Lanka as the country faces an economic crisis. It includes shortages of medicines, fuel and food. Locals are also suffering from power cuts every day due to electricity rationing.

Protests have been taking place since March 31, while a state of emergency has been declared in May, alongside an island-wide curfew. Violence against those peacefully protesting in recent days has prompted the Foreign Office to update its travel advice to warn UK travellers not to travel unless they have an essential reason.

TUI has released a statement regarding the decision to stop all flights to Sri Lanka. A spokesperson wrote: “Due to the ongoing political and economic instability in Sri Lanka, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have advised against all but essential travel.

“As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel all holidays to Sri Lanka departing up to and including 31 May 2022. We will be proactively contacting all impacted customers in departure date order to discuss their options.

“Please note this advice does not apply to customers transiting through Sri Lanka’s international airport and customers currently in resort can continue to enjoy their holiday as planned.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and update customers should there be any further updates. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time.”

The Foreign Office warns that “several incidents took place on 9 May involving violence against peaceful protesters” including areas in Colombo and Kandy, and that “further incidents could take place.”

If you have a holiday or trip booked to Sri Lanka, you’ll need to get in touch with your tour operator and airline directly.

When the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel, travel firms such as TUI, will usually cancel any trips they are operating and offer customers options such as rebooking to a later date, or receiving a full refund. They may also offer you an alternative holiday for the same dates you were due to travel on, which you can also choose if you wish.

If you have booked your flights and hotel separately, you’ll need to get in touch with your airline and accommodation directly. As flights to Sri Lanka aren’t banned, it could be that your flight is still scheduled to go ahead – in which case receiving a refund isn’t guaranteed.

In this case, you may need to compromise such as accepting vouchers, rebooking to a later date, or switching flights to a different destination (although you may need to pay a difference in fare if this applies). As for your accommodation, this will depend on the terms and conditions of your booking policy – again, you may need to compromise with a rebooking instead of a refund.

It’s worth noting that if you choose to travel against Foreign Office advice, your travel insurance will be void – so if anything goes wrong such as lost luggage or illness, you could end up facing some hefty bills.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe delivered a special statement to the nation today.

Full statament:

Last Thursday, I accepted office as the Prime Minister. I did not request this position. In face of the challenging situation facing the country, the President invited me to take up this position. I assumed this duty not only as a political leader, but also as national leader who has benefited from free education at the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo.

At present, the Sri Lankan economy is extremely precarious. Although the former government’s budget projected a revenue of SLR 2.3 trillion, SLR 1.6 trillion is the realistic projection of this year’s revenue.

The estimated government expenditure for this year is SLR 3.3 trillion. However, due to the increase in interest rates and additional expenditure of the former government, the total government expenditure is SLR 4 trillion. The budget deficit for the year is SLR 2.4 trillion. This amount equals 13% of the GDP.

The approved debt ceiling is SLR 3200 billion. By the second week of May, we had spent 1950 billion. Therefore, the remainder is SLR 1250 billion. Yesterday, a cabinet decision was made to present a proposal to parliament to increase the approved limit for issuing treasury bills from 3000 billion to 4000 billion.

In November 2019, our foreign exchange reserves were at USD 7.5 billion. However, today, it is a challenge for the treasury to find USD 1 million. The Ministry of finance is finding it difficult to raise USD 5 million required to import gas.

Amidst all these issues we are faced with several grave concerns. To ease the queues, we must obtain approximately USD 75 million within the next couple of days. At the moment, we only have petrol stocks for a single day. Due to the diesel shipment that arrived yesterday, the diesel lack of diesel will be resolved to some extent. Under the Indian credit line, two more diesel shipments are due to arrive on the 18th May and 1st June. In addition, two petrol shipments are expected on 18th and 29th May. For over 40 days 3 ships with crude oil and furnace oil have been anchored within the maritime zone of Sri Lanka. We are working to obtain dollars in the open market to pay for these shipments.

A quarter of electricity is generated through oil. Therefore, there is a possibility that the daily power outages will increase to 15 hours a day. However, we have already obtained money to avert this crisis. We must also immediately obtain USD 20 million to provide gas to consumers. The situation of kerosene and furnace oil is even more urgent. At present, the Central Bank, local state and private banks, and foreign banks functioning in Sri Lanka are all facing a dollar shortage. As you are already aware, we possess a very low amount of US dollars. Nevertheless, we succeeded in bringing in a diesel shipment yesterday despite these adverse circumstances with Indian assistance. Therefore, you can obtain that diesel from today onwards. We will also work towards making a payment for the gas shipment that arrived on Tuesday. Therefore, you will have some respite from the gas shortage.

Another grave concern is the lack of medicine. There is a severe shortage of a number of medicines including medicine required for heart disease as well as surgical equipment. Payments have not been made for four months to suppliers of medicine, medical equipment, and food for patients. The payment owed to them amounts to SLR 34 billion. In addition, payments have not been made for four months for medicine imported by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation. As a result, pharmaceutical companies are taking steps to blacklist the SPC. Unfortunately, our Medical Supplies Division is unable to provide even two critical items of the 14 essential medicines that we currently need. These two are a medicine used in treating heart disease and the anti-rabies vaccine. The latter has no alternative treatment.

We have planned to present a new alternative budget to the development budget proposed for 2022. Intend to present it as a concessionary budget.

I further propose to privatise Sri Lankan Airlines which is incurring extensive losses. The loss for the year 2020-2021 alone amounts to SLR 45 billion. By 31st March 2021, the total loss was at 372 billion. Even if we privatise Sri Lankan Airlines, this is a loss that we must bear. You must be aware that this is a loss that must be borne even by the poor people of this country who have never stepped on an airplane.

In the short term we will have to face an even more difficult time period. There is a possibility that inflation will increase further.

At present, the government incurs a loss of SLR 84.38 per liter of 92 octane petrol, 71.19 per liter of 95 octane petrol, 131.55 per liter of diesel, 136.31 per liter of super diesel, and 294.50 per liter of kerosene oil. The Petroleum Corporation can no longer bear this loss. Similarly, although the Electricity Board charges SLR 17 per unit of electricity the cost of production is at around SLR 48 amounting to a loss of about SLR 30 per unit. This is also a serious problem.

Against my own wishes, I am compelled to permit printing money in order to pay state-sector employees and to pay for essential goods and services. However, we must remember that printing money leads to the depreciation of the rupee. Under the current circumstances, even the Petroleum Corporation and the Electricity Board are unable to obtain rupees.

The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives. We must prepare ourselves to make some sacrifices and face the challenges of this period.

I have no desire to hide the truth and to lie to the public. Although these facts are unpleasant and terrifying, this is the true situation. For a short period, our future will be even more difficult than the tough times that we have passed. We will face considerable challenges and adversity. However, this period will not be long. In the coming months, our foreign allies will assist us. They have already pledged their support. Therefore, we will have to patiently bear the next couple of months. However, we can overcome this situation. Doing so will require taking a new path.

I thank the opposition leader and the leaders of the political parties who replied to the letters that I sent them informing them of the current situation.

We must immediately establish a national assembly or political body with the participation of all political parties to find solutions for the present crisis. This will enable us to discuss with all parties and to arrive at decisions for short-, medium-, and long-term action plans that will enable us to rebuild our nation within a specified time frame.

We will build a nation without queues for kerosene, gas, and fuel; a nation free of power outages, a nation with plentiful resources where agriculture can freely flourish; a nation where the future of the youth is secure; a nation where people’s labour need not be wasted in queues and in struggles; a nation where everyone can lead their lives freely with three square meals a day.

I am undertaking a dangerous challenge. In the Caucasian Chalk Circle, Grusha crossed the broken rope bridge carrying a child that was not her own. This is an even more difficult undertaking. The precipice is deep and its bottom cannot be seen. The bridge is made of thin glass and there is no handrail. I am wearing shoes with sharp nails that cannot be removed. My task is to safely take the child to the other side. I am accepting this challenge for our nation. My goal and dedication is not to save an individual, a family, or a party. My objective is to save all the people of this country and the future of our younger generation. I will undertake this task willingly risking my life if needed and will overcome the challenges facing us. I ask you to extend your support to me in this endeavour.

I will fulfill my duty towards our nation.

That is my promise to you.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has stated that it will NOT join any Government under Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister.

“The National People’s Power will not involve itself with a puppet government that recruited those involved in the Sugar Scam, and the Bond Scam,’ JVP MP told reporters on Monday (16).

Vijitha Herath said though a government was formed, the ruling faction is still searching for Cabinet Ministers.

“Some SLFP members have said they will accept ministries. They are shifting their stance. As a political party, we need to make this clear. This puppet Government does not have the people’s mandate. We won’t be a part of it,” he added.

Sri Lanka is sliding into a default as the grace period on two unpaid foreign bonds ends on Wednesday, the latest blow to a country rattled by economic pain and social unrest.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed last week following violent unrest, will provide a “full explanation” of Sri Lanka’s financial crisis on Monday.

He is expected to hold discussions with the attorney general’s department on curbing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s sweeping executive powers and the proposals will be presented to cabinet for approval.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, once allied with President Rajapaksa’s government but now independent, has now decided to join the new administration by putting forward lawmakers for cabinet positions. The main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party said it won’t join government.

The island nation could be formally declared in default if it fails to make an interest payment to bondholders before Wednesday, when the 30-day grace period for missed coupons on dollar bonds ends. That would mark its first default.

Sri Lanka’s government announced in mid-April it would stop paying back its foreign debt to preserve cash for food and fuel imports as it struggled with a dollar crunch that’s led officials to implement capital controls and import curbs. A few days later, it failed to service a $78 million coupon on its dollar bonds due in 2023 and 2028, leading S&P Global Ratings to declare a selective default.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will discuss constitutional amendments to curb the powers of the executive presidency in a meeting with the attorney general’s department. Any suggestions and proposals will be presented to the cabinet for approval, he said in a series of tweets.

Wickremesinghe will also give a full explanation of the financial crisis. He also said Sri Lanka is in the process of exploring other options of securing funds to pay for the coming week’s fuel requirements given the dollar scarcity in banks.

The Sri Lankan Freedom Party has changed its position and will now back the formation of the unity government, local media reported, citing a letter from the party chairman to Wickremesinghe.

A meeting between the party lawmakers and the prime minister will be held on Monday.

India’s diplomatic mission in Sri Lanka said that 12 shipments of diesel, or more than 400,000 metric tonnes, were delivered to Colombo on Sunday under a credit line between the two nations.

For weeks Sri Lanka has been grappling with major fuel shortages that have seen drivers queue for hours outside gasoline pumps and businesses struggle to secure diesel for power generators amid hours-long power cuts.

Wickremesinghe said he held discussions with officials from the ADB and World Bank in an attempt to mobilize desperately needed funding and stocks of food, fertilizer and medicines — all of which have been rapidly depleted in recent weeks. (Courtesy Bloomberg)

The 10 independent groups that left the Government when Mahinda Rajapaksa was Prime Minister, have decided to support the new Government to address the current crisis.

However, the independent groups will not accept any Cabinet portfolios.

The decision was taken following talks with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today.

Wickremesinghe had yesterday written to former Minister Udaya Gammanpila, who is part of the 10 independent groups, seeking his support.

In a letter to Gammanpila, the Prime Minister said that the call from the public is for a system change.

He said that all political parties must come together to help the country recover from its current crisis.

The Prime Minister urged Gammanpila and his political party to support the Government revive the economy and also ensure political stability.

The 10 independent political parties had decided last week not to join the Government.

However, they said they will support the Government in any positive steps it takes.

Former Minister Wimal Weerawansa said last week that the 10 independent political parties will not join the Government as a result of the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister.

Curfew will be imposed on the entire country from 11.00 pm today (16) to 5.00 am tomorrow(17) in accordance with the provisions of Section 16 of the Public Security Ordinance.

This was made known via a media release by the President’s Media Division today (16).

Accordingly, no person is allowed to be on any public road, railway, public park, public recreation ground or other public ground or the seashore except under the authority of a written permit granted by an authorised officer, the statement read.