The Court denied a request made by the Police to issue an order barring the protest to be held by the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) at the Parliament entrance and Poldumba Junction.
The request was made by the Welikada Police before Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala in the justification that protests near the Parliament entrance could be obstructing the entry of ministers and MPs in a violation of their privileges, thereby urging the Court to issue an order barring the holding of such protests.
However, the Additional Magistrate denied the Police’s request and stated that the Police can act in accordance with their powers at any event of a disturbance in the area.
People’s congestion at fuel stations for diesel may end today or tomorrow, but there is no point in wasting time for petrol as there is still no definite situation regarding the distribution of petrol, said Co-Secretary of the Ceylon Petroleum Private Tanker Drivers’ Association Shantha Silva, speaking to media today (19).
The Union Co-Secretary confessed that he is not aware of any possibility of distributing petrol as they are not informed whether the petrol ship unloaded the stocks yesterday.
As of now, petrol are distributed only for essential services, he went on, adding that the distribution of petrol will be possible at any time upon the unloading of the stocks.
For the past 15 years, India and China have vied for favourable diplomatic and trade relations with Sri Lanka thanks to its strategic location in the Indian ocean.
While popular perception indicated China had outpaced India, the recent economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka seems to have given India’s foreign policy a fresh lease of life in the island nation.
Sri Lanka is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. The country has been rocked by protests as people seethe with anger over soaring prices and shortages of food and fuel.
Last week, Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister after his supporters clashed with peaceful protesters, sparking a deadly night of violence on 9 May.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as PM, said the country’s economic problems would get worse before getting better.
He appealed for outside financial help, including from India.
India has never been a major lender to Sri Lanka, unlike China which by the end of 2019 owned a little over 10% of Sri Lanka’s outstanding foreign debt stock.
In early 2021, with the economic crisis looming, the Sri Lankan government had also obtained a 10bn yuan ($148m; £119m) currency swap facility from China to tackle its foreign exchange shortage.
But now, India is slowly emerging as one of the biggest providers of aid to Sri Lanka.
Colombo has racked up $51bn (£39bn) in foreign debt. This year, it will be required to pay $7bn (£5.4bn) to service these debts, with similar amounts for years to come.
The country is also seeking emergency loans of $3bn to pay for essential imports such as fuel.
While the World Bank has agreed to lend it $600m, India has committed $1.9bn and may lend an additional $1.5bn for imports.
Delhi has also sent 65,000 tonnes of fertiliser and 400,000 tonnes of fuel, with more fuel shipments expected later in May. It has committed to sending more medical supplies too.
In return, India has clinched an agreement which allows the Indian Oil Corporation access to the British-built Trincomalee oil tank farm.
India also aims to develop a 100MW power plant near Trincomalee.
Mixed feelings over Indian help
Many in Sri Lanka feel that India’s growing presence in Colombo could mean a “dilution of sovereignty”.
“For the past year and a half, there has been a crisis in Sri Lanka and we believe India has used this to serve its own interests. Yes, they gave some credit, some medicines and food but [they are] not being a friend. There is a hidden political agenda,” said Pabuda Jayagoda of the Frontline Socialist Party.
Image caption, Pabuda Jayagoda of the Frontline Socialist Party sees a hidden political agenda in India’s aid for Sri Lanka
But others are more accepting of Indian help.
“Let’s not blame India for our woes,” says V Ratnasingham, an onion importer in Colombo. “We are still getting onions from India at a decent price and they are giving us credit in times of crisis. It’s the Sri Lankan government’s failure that onion prices have trebled.”
The suspicion over India’s intentions right now comes against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s ties to China.
After Mahinda Rajapaksa took charge as president in 2005, Sri Lanka’s drift towards China was believed to be a preference for a “more reliable partner enabling domestic economic development”.
More and more infrastructure projects – including the multi-billion dollar Hambantota port and the Colombo-Galle expressway – were awarded to China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s maiden visit to Colombo in 2014 was also a clear diplomatic signal to Delhi.
Hambantota is nowadays commonly referred to as a “white elephant” which bled Sri Lanka’s economy. So are several other expensive projects which led Sri Lanka into a huge Chinese debt-cycle.
Many anti-government protesters at Colombo’s Galle Face Green are convinced that this push to modernise fast led Sri Lanka to its current situation.
The country owes China $6.5bn and talks are being held on restructuring the debt.
While China had earlier agreed to bolster Sri Lanka’s foreign currency reserves by swapping the rupee for the yuan, it has since signalled displeasure over Colombo approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.
Noora Noor, 44, has been camping at Galle Face along with her family, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the younger brother of Mahinda, resign.
“All Chinese money that came in was never accounted for, right? Why else would my country have defaulted on payments? Now all supplies are coming from India, so my question is who should we trust – China or India?” she asks.
Still, there are some optimists who feel diplomacy will help.
Image caption, Many anti-government protesters are convinced that the push to modernise fast led Sri Lanka to its current situation
“Is Sri Lanka being placed on a collision course with China? If so, we need to avoid such an eventuality due to other negative situations that may arise. Balancing relationships is a must,” Austin Fernando, Sri Lanka’s former high commissioner to India, wrote in The Island newspaper.
India’s efforts
India has tried hard to match up to the growing Chinese clout in what it sees as its neighbourhood.
After President Xi’s visit in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only visited Colombo the next year but also claimed to be “the best of friends” while addressing the Sri Lankan parliament.
Arjuna Ranatunga, a former Sri Lankan cricketer who went on to become a cabinet minister, recalls India being generous when he was in office.
“I was handling both the petroleum and port ministries in 2015 and we were struggling to construct the Jaffna airport for a lack of funds. I went to Delhi seeking help. PM Modi’s government offered a subsidised loan and later converted it into a grant. What else do you want from a neighbour?”
The return of the Rajapaksas to power in 2019, this time with Gotabaya president and Mahinda prime minister, also made India realign its foreign policy options and new agreements over oil and food commodities were signed hastily.
State visits followed between Colombo and Delhi without eliciting much response from China.
The question of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minorities and their demand for rights has been at the forefront of the diplomatic negotiations with India.
After the civil war ended in 2009, India extended support to the Sri Lankan government.
Sri Lanka is, however, yet to implement the 1987 India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord which promised to devolve powers to all provinces, including where the Tamils were in a majority.
The current economic crisis, however, has certainly leapfrogged over any other political concerns between the two nations.
There has been a shift in public perception in Sri Lanka – which was seen as anti-India and pro-China – thanks to consistent supplies from India of essential commodities.
“India did lose out to China about 15 years ago but is trying hard to make a decent comeback,” says Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo.
“Ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka have always looked up to India to champion their demands for equal rights, whereas the Sinhalese majority still has a mixed perception,” she says. “Some also worry over India’s interference in internal matters. But I feel the last few weeks have changed this completely.”
The Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that all public employees except the ones in essential services will be informed not to come to work tomorrow (20). He stated that this step will be taken to save fuel in the short term according to the current situation in the country.
Ashok Abeysinghe – “The GCE Ordinary Level examination will begin on Monday, Prime Minister. Those children have to be provided with a system to go to the examination centers by at least leaving the SLTB buses. Because those children are helpless because of this fuel problem.”
Prime Minister – I do not think the problem will be exacerbated by the availability of petrol and diesel by the weekend. We have fuel until mid-June. By then the examination will be over. We will ask employees not to come to work tomorrow other than the essential government services. Because we can save some fuel from there to do this weekend. Then the fuel problem will be solved. That’s why I tell those non-essential employees not to come tomorrow.”
The Prime Minister was responding to a question raised in Parliament today (19).
Kanchana Wijesekera, Minister of Energy has stated that fuel has been not been issued at a lower price to the Members of Parliament at the Narahenpita Police Fuel Station.
The Police Media Division also issued a statement stating that steps have been taken to temporarily release fuel for the vehicles of the Members of Parliament at the request of the Speaker, at current prices.
The Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera stated in Parliament today that it is not possible to issue stocks of petrol from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation until this afternoon.
The Minister said that people had been asked not to wait in queues as there was no petrol but people in many parts of the country were still queuing up yesterday to get petrol. He further states that people do not listen to their requests not to wait in queues.
People wait in line for hours, sometimes days, to buy essential items, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, and gas. They are queuing up in the hope that fuel and gas will arrive at any moment.
Instead of taking the necessary steps to resolve the fuel issue, there is no use of a Minister who announces the arrival of fuel at stations or to announce people not to queue for fuel. It is enough for the Petroleum Corporation or the Ministry to have a media spokesperson to carry out that task.
A Minister has been appointed to the Ministry of Power and Energy in a rush as it is an urgent and mandatory task. Therefore, the Minister of Power and Energy should understand that his role is to move away from the role of a media spokesperson who issues announcements and instead provides relief to the people by resolving the fuel crisis.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that it has been decided not to pay the salaries of the cabinet ministers of the new government which will be completed in the future.
Accordingly, they will receive only the average salary of a Member of Parliament.
The Prime Minister also stated that he hopes to reduce the ministerial privileges of the new ministers.
The Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated this addressing the Parliament today (19).
During her official visit to Sri Lanka recently, the Officer-in-Charge for UN Women Asia and the Pacific met with key partners to reaffirm UN Women’s commitment to ensure that women and girls are not left behind amidst recovery from the ongoing economic crisis.
18 May 2022 (Colombo, Sri Lanka): As Sri Lanka experiences an unprecedented economic crisis – including spiraling inflation and a shortage of basic necessities – women are among the most vulnerable to its impacts. This is particularly true of UN Women’s key stakeholder groups including women heads of households, women affected by conflict, and women who lack access to resources, protection, and opportunities for full economic empowerment.
The Officer-in-Charge for UN Women Asia and the Pacific, Sarah Knibbs, met with key partners to advocate for the equitable prioritization of women’s needs and rights in all measures taken to respond to and recover from the current crisis, and for their equal participation in developing and implementing the same.
During her visit, she highlighted that “in line with global analysis, the current economic crisis is very likely to be detrimental to the present status of women and girls, and reverse the limited gains made in relation to their health, wellbeing, rights and opportunities”.
The scarcity of essential food and medicine, along with potential austerity measures resulting from economic recovery processes will have far-reaching consequences for many Sri Lankans, including many women who are already vulnerable to socio-economic shocks, with limited access to resources or social protection. Cuts to social protection schemes will also deprive many women of the meagre allowances available to them, and will have ripple effects on the wellbeing of their children and other household members.
Additionally, while both women and men are affected by job losses during times of crisis, evidence shows that women are often laid off first. For instance, a new UN Women study ‘Gender Disparities and Labour Market Challenges’; shows that between 2019 and 2020, female employment in Sri Lanka declined by nearly 8 percent in the 600 firms that were surveyed, driven mainly by the halving of skilled female employment in the hospitality sector by 47 percent. However, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, male employment in the hospitality sector increased by a considerable 14 percent.
In meetings with key partners, Knibbs highlighted key priorities to ensure a gender-responsive response to and recovery from the crisis.
Firstly, she stressed the need for gender responsive policies, highlighting that “Crises have gender-specific impacts that disproportionately burden women. Investments in gender-responsive research and adopting a transformative approach to designing economic and social policies that promote the realization of women’s rights is a crucial step towards inclusive recovery”.
Secondly, she highlighted the need for women’s equal participation in shaping these efforts.Globally, women’s participation in decision-making and recovery planning has proven effective in ensuring stable long-term recovery from crisis. However, throughout Sri Lanka’s history, women have been largely underrepresented in formal spaces of power.
Recognizing this, Knibbs stated that “in order to ensure that women’s needs are addressed in response and recovery efforts, it is essential that Sri Lankan women are included in all decision-making spheres”.
Thirdly, she highlighted the importance of gender-responsive national planning and budgeting processes, to ensure the needs of the most marginalized and vulnerable are prioritized and contribute to equal opportunities as the country works towards recovery.
Finally, she noted the importance of strengthening data collection and the use of sex-disaggregated data to assess the differential impact of the economic crisis on women and men, and to respond appropriately.
She assured partners that UN Women remains committed to supporting women and girls of Sri Lanka, and that it would strengthen its ongoing work with partners to ensure that Sri Lankan women have increasing income security, access to decent work and economic autonomy. Further, as UN Women works on implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the country, she emphasized the importance of women’s leadership in rebuilding societies during times of crisis.
SriLankan poor people become the poorest of the poor and the middle class people have been pushed into poverty because of the economic impacts of COVID-19. Lockdowns, lay-offs, and an economic recession.
Many formerly middle-class families are now destitute as their fixed income is not sufficient to meet their day to day needs owing to the high cost of living and dependent on aid organisations for their basic needs, an official survey revealed.
The prices of essential food commodities have skyrocketed and most of the middle class and poorest people had to cut down their three meals per day to one or two.
Prof. Steve Hanke, who is the Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University warned that the poor people are crushed by inflation.
“The official inflation rate is 21.5% per year. and the accurate inflation is 132%. So the real inflation rate is 6 times higher than the official inflation rate,” he claimed.
When you have inflation that high it is a complete catastrophe. And not only you have an economic catastrophe associated with the high inflation but you have a real problem because the inflation hits the poor people more than it hits the rich people,” he added
Noting that such a situation ultimately creates a political problem, Professor Steve Hanke warned “Sri Lanka looks like everything is going to come to a stop.
“The poverty rate in Sri Lanka will witness further increase in 2022, as the country’s economic crisis worsens. The World Bank (WB) in its Spring Update on the South Asian region said that the poverty rate in Sri Lanka would increase to 11.7 percent in 2022, compared to 10 percent in 2019.
The World Bank’s April 2022 update of Macro Poverty Outlook for Sri Lanka asserted that the heightened fiscal and external risks as well as the challenging political situation pose significant uncertainty to the economic outlook and the country faces an external financing gap in 2022 and beyond.
“Sri Lanka needs to address the structural sources of its vulnerabilities. This would require reducing fiscal deficits especially through strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation,” the World Bank said.
While fiscal consolidation needs to be accompanied by tighter monetary policy to contain pressures on inflation, the global development lender said the island nation also needs to find feasible options to restore debt sustainability.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has issued a stern warning to the government that if any cuts are made to the salaries of health workers, they will resort to severe trade union action without any prior notice after the 25th.
Despite a number of serious problems in the health sector as well as in the country as a whole, the GMOA has not taken any decisive trade union action in the last two and a half years. The GMOA did not join the one – day token strike on April 28 to demand the resignation of the president and government, at least in protest of issues including the price of goods in the country.
Anuruddha Padeniya, the President of the Association, was instrumental in the election of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as President and was one of the main contributors to the Government’s Organic Fertilizer Program.
This time the issue has arisen in connection with a notification issued by the Secretary to the Treasury in the face of the current financial crisis in the country. It states that the sum of the overtime allowances received by public officers in various ways should be calculated from this month so as not to exceed the salary.
