Category: News

Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena has said that Sri Lanka is negotiating a 200 million US dollar credit line from Pakistan and the facility will be utilized to import rice, cement and medicinal drugs.

He said the proposals on the credit line had been discussed during his recent official visit to Pakistan last week.

According to the minister importation of goods under the credit line will be carried out by the State Trading Corporation. The Trade Ministry is to submit the draft agreement soon to the Finance Ministry.

Cement, Basmathi Rice and medicines manufactured in Pakistan would be imported this year under the credit line, the Minister added.

Minister Gunawardena also noted that Sri Lanka had been able to export 500 million US dollars’ worth of goods to Pakistan under the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.

The Minister said he held talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on optimal use of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement to increase bilateral trade aiming at increasing the amount of exports to Pakistan under the FTA to 2 billion US dollars.

Tamils brave more Sri Lankan police intimidation to mark 35th anniversary of Prawn Farm massacre

Despite Sri Lankan police officers attempting to halt commemorations in Batticaloa earlier today, the 35th anniversary of the Kokkadichcholai massacre was marked in the district, paying tribute to the 87 people killed by Sri Lankan security forces.

Batticaloa MP and TELO Secretary General Govindan Karunakaram attempted to pay tribute at the recently rebuilt memorial earlier today, when he was stopped by Sri Lankan police officers.

Even as the officers pulled out their mobile phones and started recording, the Tamils paid tribute to those killed. In recent years, the Sri Lankan security forces have intensified efforts to crack down on Tamil commemorative events.

The memorial in Batticaloa was rebuilt and opened May 2018, after the original monument was destroyed by Sri Lankan troops.

‘They killed everybody’

The massacre, which took place January 27 1987, saw Special Task Force (STF) and army officers raid a prawn factory in the village, shooting dead the workers, which including seven boys aged between 12 to 14. The killings have since been dubbed the ‘Prawn Farm Massacre’.

According to relatives of the victims, the night before the massacre, government helicopters were seen circling the area. On the morning of the killings, helicopters were seen dropping troops off, as they went on to slaughter dozens of Tamils.

Some of the workers were then taken to nearby road and shot dead. Forty people, who had been hiding in a nearby farm, were also killed.

The bodies of those killed were burnt on old tyres, the relatives of the victims said.

British involvement

A book released in 2020 examined how a British company – Keenie Meenie Services (KMS) – had been involved with training STF troops at the time, and had been reported to fly Sri Lankan military helicopters during security operations.

Phil Miller, the author of ‘Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away with War Crimes’, wrote on the massacre, stating that “It is not known whether Tim Smith (KMS mercenary) was personally involved in the operation, although the company’s aviators were flying over the Eastern Province that month”.

After STF troops disembarked from the helicopters, they went on to massacre dozens.

The massacre took place during the then UNP government. No one, including KMS mercenaries, has been brought to justice for the crime.

Also see a trailer for Miler’s new documentary, “Keenie Meenie: Britain’s Private Army” below.

Global Tamil diaspora organizations, representing over one million Tamil people who fled the island due to the atrocious crimes committed by Sri Lanka against the Tamil people, request their respective governments to publicly place a ban on the Sri Lankan war criminals against whom credible evidence has been recorded by UNHRC.

See the full statement which was released on the 26th of January below:

Request to Publicly Ban Sri Lankan War Criminals

United States Tamil Action Group (USTAG): +12025953123, info@theustag.or

A demonstration was staged in Fort today to draw attention to the killing of journalists in Sri Lanka.

Leaflets were distributed to the public calling for support to ensure justice for the journalists killed and attacked in Sri Lanka in the past.

Journalists have been calling on the Government to take meaningful action to investigate journalist killings and disappearances on the annual ‘Black January’ commemoration on January 28.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Sri Lankan affiliate, the Free Media Movement have urged the Government in Sri Lanka to end a dark history of impunity for crimes against journalists in the country.

Between 2005 and 2015 dozens of journalists were reported killed, abducted and tortured and at least 60 fled the country out of fear with most still currently living in exile.

As Northern farmers began their harvest in the wake of Thai Pongal festival last week, they complained they were forced to sell their reduced harvest at lower prices to private millers to settle their debts.

The ban on chemical fertiliser imports forced many farmers to buy adulterated fertiliser at exorbitant prices by taking loans or pawning their jewellery while others stayed away from farming due to their inability to afford the costs.

Farmers say low yield this time was due to the ban on chemical fertiliser

Facing a bleak future, a significant number of farmer returned their leased land plots fearing they would not be able to make adequate profits to pay the lease.

Though the Government has announced a guaranteed price for dried paddy at Rs 95 a kilo, no steps have been taken by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) so far to start buying from farmers directly.

At present, the harvested fresh paddy is being bought by private millers at prices between Rs 50 and 65 a kilo in the Vavuniya, Mullaithivu and Kilinochchi districts even though the Agriculture Ministry earlier announced a guaranteed price of Rs 75 a kilo, farmers say.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the opening of the Mirigama-Kurunegala section of the Central Expressway last Saturday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed the Agriculture Minister to buy paddy at Rs 95 to support the farmers.

Iranaimadhu Farmers Federation Secretary Muththu Sivamohan said farmers were desperate to sell their yield even at lower prices to meet the cost of living and settle debts they obtained to cover farming costs.

“Despite the President’s verbal instructions, the PMB is yet to start buying paddy from farmers directly. As the process is getting delayed, the farmers are forced to sell their harvest to private millers at give away prices,” the farmer leader said..

Meanwhile, a senior PMB official confirmed that the paddy buying programme was yet to begin because the Treasury had not yet given the money.

Nadanapaatham Jegatheesan, a Batticaloa miller, said he had temporarily stopped buying paddy from farmers since he believed that buying paddy would be not profitable for him.

“We don’t know what the Government’s agenda is when it comes to ensuring food security. We hear reports that rice is going to be imported from Pakistan, Myamnar and India in addition to the massive grant from China,” he said. His mill operations had also been halted due to delays in machinery repairs as parts were not coming to the country in view of the dollar crisis. “It is frustrating to think about what will happen in the coming months,” he said.

On Friday, President Rajapaksa made a sudden inspection visit to the Agrarian Development Department that comes under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture to ascertain how the government’s organic agriculture programme was being implemented.

During talks with senior officials, the President said the distribution, use and yield of organic fertiliser during the ongoing Maha Season should be studied carefully and preparations for the Yala Season should be made on those findings to avoid shortcomings, according to a statement issued by the Presidential Media Division.

The President was informed that some 34 public and private companies were given permits to produce organic fertiliser last year and steps were underway to support them with technical knowledge and agrarian research studies to increase their production level to meet the local demand.

In Sri Lanka’s rice bowl of Ampara, farmers said they feared the district would not be able to meet higher paddy yield targets of previous years as the chemical fertiliser ban crippled them and pushed many farmers into poverty.

“We were expecting a yield of about 2.9 million metric tonnes of paddy. However, it could be lower than expected due to various reasons,” Ampara District Secretary J.M.A.Douglas said.

Of the total yield, only ten percent would be bought by the PMB, he said.

The Agriculture Department Director General Ajantha de Silva said that under the directives of the President, the Government was determined to carry forward its organic farming initiatives in next season as well.

“The Government will issue organic fertiliser under subsidised schemes in the future. Then the farmers will have the liberty to use organic fertiliser or imported chemical fertiliser which will be available in the market soon,” Dr de Silva said.

When asked whether, farmers using chemical fertiliser would be eligible to for government relief programmes such as insurance schemes, the DG said, “it is too early to comment on that since we have received no instructions so far.”

China’s rice aid ruffles paddy trade

The Government’s claim that it will receive a Chinese grant of one million metric tonnes of rice–nearly half of the country’s annual rice consumption–has triggered alarms among farmers, local rice millers and importers.Large scale paddy millers have already slowed down purchases of paddy, resulting in low prices for farmers while importers have shown reluctance to go ahead with imports.Last week, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa met a Chinese embassy delegation led by Ambassador Qi Zhenhong to finalise the grant, a senior Trade Ministry official said.The Trade Ministry has been asked to submit the required rice varieties suitable for local consumption, the official said.However, so far there has been no announcement from China about the grant.Sri Lanka’s annual national rice demand is 2.1 million MT–equivalent to 3.2 million MT of paddy, based on 2016 per capita consumption of 104.5 kg a year.China’s one million metric tonne rice grant is to mark the 70th anniversary of the Sri Lanka-China Rubber – Rice Pact, according to the Trade Minister.This is the first time Sri Lanka is importing rice from China in 45 years. China’s long grain rice was imported in the 1970s by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s government.
Apart from the prospective Chinese rice grant, the Trade Ministry has finalised agreements to import rice from Myanmar and India.

The Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to import 100,000 MT of rice from Myanmar to maintain a buffer stock.

The agreement to import 300,000 MT of rice from India — 200,000 MT of Nadu type rice (parboiled) and 100,000 MT of GR11 (Samba) is also being finalised.

Local rice importers said opening Letters of Credit to begin the import process was further delayed due to the forex crisis as the Ministry had introduced a six-month window for payments.

They alleged that thousands of containers carrying rice were yet to be cleared from the Customs even after the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) had released some funds last week.

Meanwhile, rice prices in the markets have been rising. A kilo of Red Kekulu which was selling at Rs 115 a kilogram shot up to Rs 150 on Friday.

In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic provided additional cover for a regressive turn in Sri Lankan politics. The consequences of economic and political crisis became starkly evident shortly before the year ended as the hold of the Rajapaksa family on the Sri Lankan state tightened.

Sri Lanka’s former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, and Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa gesture during the swearing in ceremony at Kelaniya Buddhist temple, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 9 August 2020. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte)
From early 2021, the dead came to haunt the Rajapaksa regime, as the government — against all medical and scientific advice — continued to enforce the cremation of deceased Muslims. This drew major backlash from local civil society groups, the medical community and some in the international community. When the policy was eventually changed, it was not due to any government change of heart, but more likely intended to avert harsh words at the UN Human Rights Council’s March deliberations in Geneva, when a country-specific resolution on Sri Lanka was delivered.

While alleged war criminals continue to enjoy impunity, the regime clamped down on freedom of expression, harassing and intimidating journalists and expanding the use of draconian laws, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Though such moves were noticed in international fora, the government used the pandemic as an excuse to silence dissenting voices and clamp down on protests. These included mothers in the North seeking justice for lost children, youth protesting the privatisation and militarisation of higher education (the KNDU Bill) and farmers protesting overnight import bans on chemical fertilisers.

Strong words at the UN Human Rights Council in March and in the High Commissioner’s September oral report on Sri Lanka added pressure on the government to address lingering injustices with seriousness and urgency. Strong objections were raised to Sri Lanka’s poor human rights record during debates related to extending the EU GSP+ tariff scheme at the European Parliament in June. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister in Geneva and permanent representative to the United Nations in New York both claimed an international conspiracy in response.

There were a few glimmers of hope for the victims of war crimes in practice. The administration of US President Joe Biden imposed travel bans on some of the Sri Lankan military’s top brass. The Hague-based people’s tribunal indicted the Sri Lankan government after probing the 2009 killing of Lasantha Wickramatunge — a vocal journalist who reported on the infamous 2006 MIG-deal implicating Sri Lankan President Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was then defence secretary.

The government played the victim in the domestic arena. The newly-formed Commission on Political Victimisation was mandated to investigate the ‘victimisation’ of public servants and state officials working in corporations, the armed forces and police. The Commission’s lofty aims were not met, and instead it became a means to ensure the ruling Rajapaksa family and their friends continue to avoid facing justice. Those who lodged legal complaints against the regime’s supporters were ‘persuaded’ to withdraw them.

Further militarisation of the state was evident with the appointment of more military personnel to civil posts. Partisans, military elites and Buddhist monks were richly rewarded for supporting the regime, while Rajapaksa ensured an intensified ‘Buddhisation’ of state institutions. Prominent Buddhist monks were given high-ranking positions on the Human Rights Commission and one was appointed as Vice Chancellor of Colombo University. The Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Task Force) leader Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara — a convicted criminal who has incited violence against the minority Muslim community — was ironically appointed to the President’s new pet political project, ‘One country, One law’.

The Rajapaksa regime’s economic mismanagement of state resources through continued rewards to capitalist cronies and family members further reinforced Colombo’s economic decline. Credit agency Fitch Ratings predicted impending economic crisis after downgrading Sri Lanka’s economy to CC status in December 2021. In the last quarter of 2021, Sri Lanka’s economy contracted by 1.5 per cent and foreign currency reserves shrank from US$7 billion in 2019 to US$1.5 billion in December. Subsequently, government import restrictions led to widespread food and fertiliser shortages.

Further misery was added to households battling soaring inflation by a series of gas cylinder explosions due to poor quality gas imports. Colombo also fell out of grace with the IMF, which offered COVID-19 relief packages to most countries other than Sri Lanka, citing the government’s unwillingness to restructure its ailing economy. Rapid passage of the Port City Bill concerned some citizens and the media, who noted that the bill mainly benefits close friends and relatives of the Rajapaksas — while reinforcing close ties with Chinese state companies.

While Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka’s economy to CC, disheartened citizens downgraded the President’s status from the ‘Terminator’ to ‘Nandasena’, his first name. This symbolic political move was an attempt to distinguish between the decorated war-winning defence secretary — often identified by his second name, Gotabaya, or pet name ‘Terminator’ — from the President entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the welfare of all.

It is hard to imagine what positive political and economic developments can reasonably be expected in Sri Lanka in 2022. The pandemic means that global economic growth is likely to be sluggish or even negative, and Sri Lanka’s political elite seem intent on worsening the domestic economic crisis. Perhaps Prime Minister Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa’s spiritual visit to India at the end of the year — as well as the offerings he made to Indian deities — will miraculously cure Sri Lanka’s ills. The US$500 million in emergency loans requested by Colombo from India that may materialise in 2022 more likely will.

What evidence does UK government need to sanction Sri Lankan Chief of Defence staff Shavendra Silva, who is credibility accused of involvement in mass atrocity crimes including extrajudicial executions and disappearances? Siobhain McDonagh MP raised this question in the UK parliament.

What more evidence foreign secretary needs to sanction against Silva, to follow the United States government in those sanctions for war crimes, she further asked.

We regularly engage with the US and other partners on issues relating to Sri Lanka, Amanda Milling, Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), said in her reply to McDonagh.

The UK government keeps all evidence and potential designations under the UK Global Human Rights sanctions regime under close review, guided by the objectives of the sanctions regime. We would not normally speculate about future sanctions targets, as to do so could reduce their impact, she further added.

#timetosanction #lka generals says .⁦@Siobhain_Mc⁩ in uk parliament – design by ⁦@T_E_M_P_L_O⁩ pic.twitter.com/GyboJ9koNr

— ITJP (@itjpsl) January 25, 2022