No International Economic Fix for Democracy in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan peoples’ calls for change cannot be set aside with quick economic fixes.

Ahilan Kadirgamar and Devaka Gunawardena write:

Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the regime of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on the ropes. On 9 May, the supporters of his brother and the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, attacked protestors, especially at the famous Galle Face occupy site in Colombo. The wave of reprisals that night included the torching of several ruling party politicians’ houses and vehicles. As the Prime Minister resigned, the country seemed to be on the brink of open revolt.

These developments were quickly followed by a deft manoeuvre by President Rajapaksa, backed by powerful international actors, particularly the United States. This was the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister. Wickremesinghe had suffered a crushing defeat in the most recent elections. He represents the United National Party (UNP) through its sole seat in parliament gained through proportional representation. How­ever, Wickremesinghe, because of his neo-liberal bent, has for decades been the darling of the international donor community.

The central questions now are: Did President Rajapaksa appoint Wickremesinghe mainly as part of a political deal to ensure the safety of the regime, like the way in which Wickremesinghe quietly protected the Rajapaksas after regime change in 2015, including from prosecution for various abuses during their rule? How can a Prime Minister with little legitimacy and without a social base be held accountable, and can he lead the country out of the economic crisis? And will Wickremesinghe merely serve the interests of the elite and the international powers behind his appointment?

The protests demanding the resignation of the President appear to have confronted a tactical obstacle with the appointment of Wickremesinghe. However, the political causes behind the protests are far from abating. The Rajapaksa regime has long attempted to consolidate authoritarian power through militarisation and by heaping greater powers on to the executive presidency. The latter was created in 1978 by J R Jayewardene, and it was further strengthened through a constitutional amend­ment in 2020. With the recent mounting protests, however, the demand for the resignation of President Rajapaksa has been combined with the general call to abolish the executive presidency.

Meanwhile, for those who see the current economic crisis as the only one caused by the mismanagement and corruption of the Rajapaksa regime and not the neo-liberal economic trajectory of the past several decades, Wickremesinghe and his technocratic approach are considered the solution. In fact, he is seen as the most capable actor to bring in international support. In this context, the 15 May statement of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA), the umbrella union of all academics in Sri Lanka, condemning the appointment of Wickremesinghe is poignant:

FUTA appeals to all international actors to ensure that engagement with Sri Lanka heeds the people’s demands which have been clearly articulated by the tremendous democratic struggle that is being led by the vibrant and dynamic youth movement termed the ‘Aragalaya’ [the struggle]. While international support to address the extreme economic hardships borne by the people is welcome, we urge that the people’s sovereign will not be undermined by legitimizing the present undemocratic political deal and the machinations that will inevitably follow.

In addition, Wickremesinghe’s proposed economic solutions to tackle the immediate crisis only deal with the shortages of imports, which he aims to resolve by obtaining cash from donors and privatising state assets. In the medium term, these and other reforms will dispossess working people and increase inequality in the country. Worryingly, he has not proposed a solution to the ongoing tremendous price hikes that make essential goods unaffordable to the working people. Furthermore, there is no plan to address the disruption of the food system through rural mobilisation and agricultural production. The coming months will likely continue to see the ongoing threat of food shortages, which could threaten to turn into famine, unless these issues are confronted head on.

Considering the above, the international fix appears incredibly short-sighted. It is predicated on the belief that bridging funds and an International Monetary Fund agreement can reincorporate Sri Lanka into a global order based on free trade and global capital flows. In an attempt to overcome these difficulties, Wickremesinghe may offer cash transfers to some people in order to try and contain the coalescing of opposition from the working people. But he lacks the popular support base from which to mobilise people for the necessary, more far-reaching transformation of the economy. That means his political fortunes are tied to the disgraced Rajapaksas. Commentators have already argued that rather than bringing stability to the country, Wickremesinghe may only bring stability to the Rajapaksa regime. But even this gambit is destined to fail, as the Rajapaksa’s social base has crumbled and their hold on parliament is splintering.

Any realistic solution to this economic crisis of unprecedented proportions requires redistribution on a national scale, including a wealth tax with a credible leadership that is capable of inspiring social mobilisation. A short-term international fix that avoids guaranteeing working people’s ability to reproduce their livelihoods, and which focuses instead narrowly on relieving balance of payments problems, will not address the crisis and the attendant struggles shaking the political and economic foundations of the country. The calls for the President to resign and to abolish the executive presidency are intrinsic to that struggle and the process of democratisation underway. These great democratic strivings of the people deserve better and will continue to demand more than the appointment of a Prime Minister without a mandate by a delegitimised President.

Foreign Minister Peiris meets with U.S. Ambassador Chung

Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris met U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, 27 May, 2022 and held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral relations, current domestic developments and assistance from the international community in mitigating the challenges facing the country.

The Foreign Minister stated that the Government is focused on exploring all possible avenues in the provision of short and long-term solutions in alleviating the difficulties encountered by the people and in the implementation of a clear plan of action.  In this context, Foreign Minister Prof. Peiris indicated that Sri Lanka is deeply appreciative of the goodwill and assistance being received from the international community including from multilateral organizations.  The Foreign Minister encouraged continued support from the US and other countries, both bilaterally and through multilateral channels, to mitigate the economic challenges in Sri Lanka.

Foreign Minister Peiris also apprised the US Ambassador of the efforts being taken by the Government to promote and maintain the rule of law and order in the country, while respecting the rights of all to the freedom of expression and assembly. He also briefed the Ambassador on the discussions with different political parties with regard to the draft 21^st Amendment to the Constitution. The Foreign Minister assured Ambassador Chung that despite current economic challenges, the Government remains fully committed to addressing reconciliation related issues.

Ambassador Chung stated that the United States is a friend of Sri Lanka and is well aware of and understands the challenges in the country. She stated that the United States will continue to support Sri Lanka during this difficult time. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

29 May, 2022

“TAMIL GENOCIDE INTENSIFIES IN SRI LANKA WITH CHINESE INFLUENCE”

British Tamils Forum’s Exhibition and Book Release 

The British Tamils Forum (BTF), as a part of its 13^th anniversary Mullivaikkal genocide remembrance convened in Trafalgar Square, London on 18 May 2022, organised an exhibition exhibiting more than fifty displays showing the history of violence, which gradually developed into genocide of Tamil people over the past seven decades. 

After exhibited the same in Geneva during UNHRC Sessions in September 2021 and March 2022, the BTF exhibited it third time, though it has been the first in London itself free for the public. 

There were about twenty devoted young volunteers, sharing the displays among them and were guiding and explaining to the people in details wherever required. 

The Facts and Figures provided on every display was very comprehensive and many people from different walks of life viewed the exhibition with very enthusiasm. Lots of non-Tamil people were reading them, asking questions from volunteering team members and taking photos of the displays on their mobile phones. 

The first display started with the illustration of the introduction of Sinhala Only Act in 1956, with then government’s premediated of suppressing Tamil people by deploying military camps in Tamil areas when Tamil people revolted against the Sinhala Only Act. The cycles of violence continued periodically since then, with increased intensity of violence each time it occurred. 

There were facts and figures obtained from reliable sources, quoting unwarranted high concentration military deployment in Tamil homeland continues even after 13 years of the end of the war, causing Tamil people to live with constant fear of intimidation, arrest, detention, torture and even death under the pretext of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). 

There were displays about the Militarisation in civilian life, Atrocity crimes committed by the state security forces under the guises of the PTA against the journalists and human rights defenders, Enforced disappearances, Demographic change in Tamil homeland, Declining Tamil population, Land grabbing in Tamil homeland and Proliferating Buddhist structures in Tamil homeland, to show how Tamil people have been vigorously targeted in a calculated manner to dismantle their nationhood.  

The exhibits also included with the graphs with statistical data showing Sri Lanka’s causes and effects of current financial crises, for which the Chinese influence has been a crucial factor. Several displays portrayed how Chinese influence ruined Sri Lanka to its current plight. 

While the penultimate display emphasised the application of the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime Act against the war criminals in Sri Lanka, the final display ended with the Way Forward of Accountability and Justice in Sri Lanka, reinforcing the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime Act, Stopping Unethical Trading with Sri Lanka and a Political Solution for Tamil People in Sri Lanka.

The contents of this exhibition have been collated, dissected and produced as a book, “Tamil Genocide Intensifies in Sri Lanka with Chinese Influence” with a three-page Foreword providing some core information for the academics, researchers and the public. 

Considering the strategic importance of the book, this book was released by the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Deputy Chairman of All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils RT Hon Sir Edward Davey MP on the stage of the 13^th Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day itself. Subsequently, the copies of this were provided to all British parliamentarians and other dignitaries. 

The BTF conveys its sincere gratitude to all participants, volunteers, the general public and City of London for making this event a successful one.

Please use the link below to access and download the publication “TAMIL GENOCIDE INTENSIFIES IN SRI LANKA WITH CHINESE INFLUENCE”. Tamil Genocide Intensifies in Sri Lanka with Chinese Influence – British Tamils Forum

Today, the main issues in our country are not limited to the economic sphere.

There are also two major issues in the political sphere. The re-introduction of the 19th Amendment is one of these issues. We, as party leaders, are now preparing the 21st Amendment in this regard.

The second issue is to work towards the abolition of the Executive Presidency. The timing and methodology must be decided by the Party Leaders.

The functioning of the Parliament has been paralyzed due to the weakening of the Parliamentary powers by the 20th Amendment. The Executive has been given more powers. The main allegation today is that the Parliament has not acted to prevent the economic crisis. There is an allegation that even though the ruling party had a majority in Parliament they neglected the work of the Parliament.

Everything was systematically controlled by the Cabinet Ministers.
We do not always have to look at what happened in the past, but there are examples we can follow.

Before the independence of Sri Lanka there was a State Council from 1931 to 1947. That State Council functioned following the committee system. Each subject was divided into seven committees. The Chairmen of the Committees became Ministers. The seven Ministers had formed a clCabinet. In addition, there were three officials appointed by the Governor.

In addition, there was an Accounts Committee to control public money. At that time we had the opportunity to carry out this methodology successfully.

Now we need to change the structure of Parliament and create a new system by combining the existing system of Parliament or the Westminster system and the system of State Councils. In those cases Parliament can participate in governing the country.

First of all, the existing laws need to be strengthened in order to give those powers to Parliament in the exercise of monetary powers.

Following the example of countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India, we are proposing a stronger and more powerful law

At present there are three Committees on Government Finance. The three Committees are the Public Finance Committee, the Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Enterprises. Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena has made several proposals to strengthen the powers of these three Committees.
In addition, we are bringing recommendations forward.

We are working to establish two new Committees on Monetary Affairs. We will appoint a Legal and Methodological Committee to look into the matter.

Secondly, the main problem we face is the financial condition of the banks and financial institutions. There are a number of issues that have been weakened.
Under our Standing Order 111 we can appoint oversight committees. No oversight committees have been appointed before. Therefore, we propose to appoint ten oversight committees. They also report to Parliament on policies. Parliament should act on that.

It should also be noted that the chairpersons of these five Finance Committees and the Ten Supervisory Committees are appointed by backbenchers. They are not appointed by Ministers.

Therefore, we have the opportunity to work out a methodology that is independent of the Cabinet of Ministers and works with both the Minister and the Parliament.
The youth are calling for a change in the existing system. They also want to know the current issues. Therefore, I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of these 15 committees. One of them will be appointed by the Youth Parliament. The other three will be from the protesting groups and other activist groups. The methodology used to chose these individuals can be decided by the youth organizations themselves.

In addition, we hope to involve people with expertise in specific fields in this work. Through this work, young people will be able to learn about problems and provide solutions to them on their own. They will be able to contest elections if they wish to do so.

We also propose a National Council. A committee consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the leaders of the major parties is called the National Council.

It should be said that the National Council is very important. The National Council can talk about the policies of the country. It can also talk about the decisions of the Cabinet. It can also talk about the reorganization of the Parliament of this country. If so, it can be called a political body.

The National Council has the right to summon the Cabinet of Ministers and the Chairmen of Committees.

According to the new system we have proposed, the President will be held accountable to the Parliament. The Cabinet of Ministers is also accountable to Parliament. The National Council is also accountable to Parliament. Fifteen Committees and Oversight Committees are accountable to Parliament.

There is a system in place to control the Government through the Cabinet, to examine the work of the President, to oversee the work of the political affairs through the National Council and to oversee the financial affairs and other matters of the other fifteen committees. There are articles prepared on this matter. I appreciate that a number of other organizations have made similar proposals.

India is ready to provide fuel for fishermen living in the North who are unable to go to fishing due to the absence of fuel.

Accordingly, more than 700 fishermen living in the Northern islands including Kaytes, Nainativu, Delft and Analativu will receive fuel from India. The neighbour country has allocated 15,000 litres of fuel for this purpose and these stocks will be distributed to fishermen in the next few days, reports said.

India already provided 4,600 litres of fuel for a group of fishermen on May 28 at the rate of 20 litres each. The affair was carried out with the intervention of the officials of the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.

MIAP

The Medical Faculty Student Action Committee today (29) organised a march in Colombo demanding the stepping down of the President and the government.

The group walked to Colombo Fort and tried to enter the GotaGoGama agitation site in GalleFace.

The Police had set up roadblocks near the World Trade Centre and as the medical students attempted to remove the roadblocks and move forward, the Police launched tear gas and water cannons to dissolve the march.

MIAP

As the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will continue to back the comprehensive 21st Amendment to the Constitution it adapted, an amendment bidding the will of the Rajapaksas are being formulated by the government, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa alleged, speaking to a programme held by the Party with the Gampaha and Galle District Social Media Media activists at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo today (29).

While the first step of the necessity to abolish the Executive is being taken, some opportunists are working to protect the Rajapaksas, Premadasa went on, adding that conspiracies against the full-fledged 21A tabled by SJB Secretary General Ranjith Madduma Bandara as a private MP motion should be reversed immediately.

It is the country’s objective and demand to send the Rajapaksas home but certain groups are attempting to protect them, he added.

MIAP

In its heydays, Radio Ceylon had managed to capture all of India’s major vernacular markets, by dividing the day’s programming schedule into Hindi, Tamil and Telugu segments.

New Delhi: Long before the age of podcasts and audio streaming, the radio saw its own version of the Cola Wars in India from the 1950s to the 1970s. One was the hometown favourite, All India Radio (AIR), which remains a mainstay on the airwaves till today. But the other was a foreign radio service that managed to gain a foothold in India. It was South Asia’s oldest station and much like AIR, had colonial roots, down to its name — Radio Ceylon.

Established by the British Empire in Colombo on 16 December 1925, Radio Ceylon functioned as a news service for the Allied forces during the Second World War and came under the control of the Ceylon government after the country’s independence in 1949.

By the time the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation took over following its establishment in 1972, Radio Ceylon had already cultivated a large fanbase stretching well beyond Sri Lanka’s borders into the rest of South Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal, but especially in India.

It had an array of iconic announcers, polyglot presenters and diverse music and entertainment programming, but that was not its secret to its success. Instead, it was its vast library and material collections that allowed it to dominate South Asian airwaves.

“Radio Ceylon had the largest library of gramophone records, of Hindi, Punjabi, Pakistan, Nepalese songs, as well as instrumentals and English songs, a collection the likes of which you couldn’t find anywhere else,” says Ripusudan Kumar Ailawadi, a former newsreader for AIR in Bhopal who relocated to Colombo from 1977 to 1980 to work for the rival station.

“Our records rotated at 78RPM, with Extended Plays (EPs) at 45RPM and full-length Long Play albums (LPs) at 33RPM, using magnetic tape storage. It was thanks to this record collection and library that presenters like Ameen Sayani were able to successfully broadcast Binaca Geetmala and other music shows,” Ailawadi added, referencing the crown jewel of Radio Ceylon’s programming, for Hindi audiences.

In its heydays, Radio Ceylon had managed to capture all of India’s major vernacular markets, by dividing the day’s programming schedule into Hindi, Tamil and Telugu segments — to name a few — and even found room for children’s shows on Sunday afternoons, which were initially spearheaded by the likes of legendary presenters Vernon Corea and Greg Roskowski before Ailawadi got involved.

While former diplomat and high-profile long-time listener Nirupama Rao had claimed that she first heard English-language music such as The Beatles thanks to Radio Ceylon, others said that they learnt Hindi thanks to the station’s popular programs, according to Ameen Sayani’s son, Rajil.

The ‘real reason’ behind its meteoric rise

Radio Ceylon’s meteoric rise in popularity among Indian listeners perhaps benefitted most from the restrictive policies of then-Information and Broadcasting minister BV Keskar, an observation documented by Calcutta University’s Department of Museology associate professor Mahua Chakrabarti. The minister had banned film music on AIR in 1952, deeming it too risque and crass.

“The attempt was forcefully executed with a refusal of the public to go along with it,” Sayani said.

“When people found out they could hear Hindi film music on ‘Radio Ceylon’, they started getting fed up of AIR and started shifting to ‘Radio Ceylon,’” Chakrabarti wrote.

She notes that the initial years of Radio Ceylon’s foray into the Indian market were amateurish and unprofessional, but it didn’t take long for the station to overcome its ‘teething problems’ and surpass AIR during the 1950s-70s period. While Hindi listeners enjoyed radio hosts Sayani or Manohar Mahajan, Tamil listeners both in Jaffna and Madras had the privilege of hearing Mayilvaganam.

“Mayilvaganam’s silken voice, with his singsong Jaffna Tamil diction, captivated the ears of Indian listeners. Between them [English-language presenter Jimmy Barucha], Sayani and Mayilvaganam opened up the listeners’ sensitivities to the finer elements that transcended mundane facts,” V.S. Sambandan wrote in The Hindu.

On the whole, Ailawadi believes that within his tenure, he observed and was involved in Radio Ceylon’s pioneering shows that bigger television networks in India have since appropriated.

“Doordarshan’s Newstrack was a copy of our show Radio Patrika, while Rajat Sharma lifted from S. Kumar ka Filmy Muqaddama to create Aap ki Adalat, and many music countdown shows are imitations of Binaca Geetmala,” Ailawadi asserted.

According to long-time fan and retired bank clerk Piyush Mehta, Radio Ceylon also benefitted from AIR banning Kishore Kumar songs during the Emergency as listeners turned to the Sri Lankan station to continue enjoying their favourite artist.

Impact of Sri Lankan Civil war on Radio Ceylon

But Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) underwent political turmoil of its own in the late 60s and early 1970s. Affected by linguistic controversy and bouts of violence that later led to the protracted Sri Lankan Civil War, broadcasting was temporarily ceased in Tamil Nadu as a result of the rise of Dravidian parties and Sri Lankan Tamil separatism.

“On August 14, 1970, a report was published announcing that the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation would progressively reduce and ultimately stop playing South Indian film music…In two weeks, Radio Ceylon banned songs penned by famous Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi. According to Sutantarian, a weekly published by the Federal Party of Tamils, the line in a song that went…’we will build a bridge across the sea (to Ceylon)’ made the Lankan authorities deeply uncomfortable,” Nitya Menon wrote in The Hindu.

Apart from these external issues, AIR by this time had launched its own competitor programme in Vividh Bharati, which Ailawadi considers to be the real kicker to Radio Ceylon’s dwindling revenues in India by the late 1970s.

“The Ceylon administration was now disappointed by the lack of money coming from India. Some advertising clients like Lux came for small radio spots but they also shifted to Vividh Bharati as they got better deals.”

Ailawadi broke his contract with Radio Ceylon and returned to India in 1980 due to spikes in violence related to the civil war — severing one of the last links the station had to its Indian market.

Forty years later, Radio Ceylon lives on through its mobile app, YouTube archives and the popular memory of fans like Mehta who interviewed several former Ceylon announcers and created a Facebook fan community group to document the station’s best works online. Ailawadi, on the other hand, laments the lack of recognition received from the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation for his contributions, having “earned so much money for them”.

(Edited by Monami Gogoi)

ThePrint