An army soldier has reportedly been injured during a clash at a fuel station in 99 Kanuwa, Embilipitiya yesterday (03).
The station had received fuel after a five day-absence and the people queuing up for fuel have demonstrated objection as the stocks have run out.
Two people have entered into a heated argument with an army personnel deployed at the station and the escalation of the situation has made one attempt to grab his firearm and the other attack him with a sharp weapon.
The injured solider has been admitted to the Embilipitiya General Hospital.
Globalization was seen by much of the western public as the ultimate project of the neoliberals, conceived by people in fancy boardrooms who made money out of trading in money and shamelessly exploiting the privations of the poor. We are living with its consequences today. Sri Lanka is simply the most proximate and visible manifestation of a broader global crisis.
The economic crises being undergone by a number of countries today, most strikingly, in our own neighbourhood, Sri Lanka, emerge from a larger trend epitomised by the setbacks endured by the globalization experiment with the recession of 2008-09. There were two paradoxical precursors to this development: the advent and spread of neoliberalism, and the backlash in developed countries to globalization. The former saw the dominance, in the world’s macro-economic thinking, of what became known as the ‘Washington Consensus’, whose custodians were not just the governments of the US and its allies but also international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization. The latter, the backlash against globalization, reflected the crumbling of that consensus at its very source.
A snapshot of the protest outside Sri Lanka President’s home. Photo:AFP
The doctrine of neoliberalism is commonly attributed to the Austrian-British economist Friedrich August von Hayek, hailed by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as their inspiration, whose impact on economic policy in the era of globalization, thanks to the dissemination of his ideas by acolytes like the American economist Milton Friedman, was immense. Hayek’s was a philosophy that went beyond economics, for he conceived of society itself, in the British writer Stephen Metcalf’s brilliant summary, ‘as a kind of universal market (and not, for example, a polis, a civil sphere or a kind of family) and of human beings as profit-and-loss calculators (and not bearers of grace, or of inalienable rights and duties)…. [Hayek’s neoliberalism] was a way of reordering social reality, and of rethinking our status as individuals.’ Hayek constructed neoliberalism as sufficient unto itself: the deregulated market would function as the overarching ‘mind’ that would govern and direct all human affairs, protecting individuals against the excesses of governments, whose only job was to keep the market free. Individuals would, of course, act in their economic self-interest, but the product of their choices would lead to better results than governments could craft through policy interventions.
Alan Greenspan
Rampant economic growth and what was dubbed (by the American economist and Federal banker Alan Greenspan) as the ‘irrational exuberance’ of the 1990s, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, led the world into a period of widespread financial deregulation and privatization, expanding free trade, the creation of businesses whose supply chains cut across many countries, and a worldwide illusion of perpetually rising prosperity. Neoliberalism came into its own, privileging a heady cocktail of free-market policies, including deregulating capital markets, lowering trade barriers, eliminating price controls, establishing global supply chains, rampant privatization, and the reduction or abandonment of state welfare for the poor, often accompanied by austerity measures to bring fiscal policies in line with what western ratings agencies wanted to see.
But the seeming success of economic globalization also facilitated the illusion of the ‘end of history’ (seen as the ultimate triumph of liberal democracy and capitalism), the heedless and hubristic military adventurism of the ‘global war on terror’, including disastrously unsuccessful wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, which displaced nearly 20 million people (among the largest refugee crises in modern history), all of which in turn led to the market crash, and an unprecedented level of inequality and suffering among the working-class of the developed world. The top 1 percent of the global population came to own half the world’s wealth, while the bottom 70 per cent had less than 3 per cent. With the Great Recession that began in 2008-09 and political convulsions in a number of countries, what Metcalf calls ‘the militant parochialism of Brexit Britain and Trumpist America’ was the result, as was rising ethno-nationalism, populist authoritarianism, and illiberal democracy in a slew of countries. There was an inevitable relationship between the utopian ideal of the free market and the troubles of the present. Our descent into a post-truth world and illiberalism in many countries followed.
People wait in a queue to buy diesel at a Ceylon Petroleum Corporation fuel station in Colombo. Photo: AFP
As the Canadian journalist Tyler Stiem explains, the problem was that neoliberalism’s pretensions of universalism and over-idealisation of the market ignored the deep inequality that existed between and within nations. Because neo-liberalism was seen as a broad, one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges facing impoverished and traumatised nations (whether post-Soviet or post-colonial, or as in Sri Lanka’s case, post-civil war) it proved disastrous for many. In June 2016, three economists in the IMF’s Research Department officially and openly questioned neoliberalism in a prominent paper. While praising aspects of the neoliberal agenda-the poverty alleviation made possible by the expansion of global trade, the transfer of technology to developing economies and the ‘more efficient provision of services’ resulting from the privatization of state-owned enterprises-the authors concluded that the benefits of increased growth ‘seem fairly difficult to establish’, that inequality increased as a result of neoliberal policies, and that this in turn hurt the level and sustainability of growth.
Interesting recent work by the Canadian historian Quinn Slobodian argues that neoliberals used states and global institutions-the United Nations, the European Court of Justice, the World Trade Organization, and international investment law-to insulate financial markets against sovereign states, resist political change, and stave off turbulent democratic demands for greater equality and social justice. Far from discarding the regulatory state, neoliberals wanted to harness it to their grand project of protecting capitalism on a global scale. It was a project, he suggests, that changed the world, but that was also undermined time and again by the inequality, unrelenting change, and social injustice that accompanied it.
A backlash was inevitable. Much of twenty-first century nationalism, it can be argued, is shaped by the current crisis of globalism. Kenichi Ohmae’s classic bestseller The Borderless World argued persuasively in 1990 that national borders are less relevant than ever before in the new globally interlinked world economy. His certitudes did not survive three decades. Globalization was seen by much of the western public as the ultimate project of the neoliberals, conceived by people in fancy boardrooms who made money out of trading in money and shamelessly exploiting the privations of the poor. The predictable reaction followed. We are living with its consequences today. Sri Lanka is simply the most proximate and visible manifestation of a broader global crisis.
The senior management of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been questioned by the President and Finance Ministry as to why a fuel shipment has not been ordered before June 22 and the reasons behind the failure of the 40,000 MT fuel tanker’s arrival at the Colombo Port on June 22 -23 Official sources said.
Finance Ministry expressed dismay on the delay of the CPC to place an order for fuel before June 22 even after being informed that the funds are ready to be released by the treasury
In a meeting held last week between the President, treasury officials and CPC management, the CPC was asked to explain as to why an order had not been placed for fuel at its earliest despite the funds being ready for immediate purchase.
the CPC had replied that the premiums to be paid were high which is why they were awaiting the next fuel shipment to arrive on July 22.
The discussion then led to a heated argument with treasury officials questioning the CPC as to how they could consider high premiums as an excuse when the CPC had run out of fuel leading to the country coming to a virtual halt.
The CPC was also informed that when they attempted to pay lesser premiums and place an order last month, the vessel never arrived which led to the severe shortage across the country.
Finance Ministry officials also questioned the CPC as to why they were now delaying placing the new orders when the treasury was ready to release the funds, including the premium fee to get a fuel shipment from a reputed company as soon as possible.
As of last evening, that the next fuel shipment is due to arrive only on June 22 by which time the country will come to a complete halt. No fresh orders have been placed before that leading to a query as to why the shipment was not being ordered now that the funds were in hand,Official sources said. .
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week instructed the treasury to immediately release the funds to place an order for the fuel shipment without further delay as millions continue to languish in queues outside fuel stations for days.
The very first shipment of 40,000 metric tons of petrol ordered by one of the six suppliers as the initial step of this plan scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on June 23 was delayed by almost two days and it was seen moving away from the Colombo Port, CPC official said.
Thereafter Sri Lanka government restricted fuel supplies and requested residents countrywide to stay home imposing unofficial lock down with public transport coming to a standstill as the oil stocks at Ceypetco dropped to very low level.
The stock position of fuel at storage complexes of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) at present was around 1,100 tonnes of petrol and 7,500 tonnes of diesel only sufficient for a day, senior energy ministry official said and it was confirmed by CPC sources.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has given several assurances to the people confirming the arrival of this shipment on June 22-23 finally admitting that this deal will not materialise without giving any dates for other shipments scheduled to arrive in the island.
The very first shipment of 40,000 metric tons of petrol ordered by one of the six suppliers as the initial step of this plan scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on June 23 was delayed by almost two days and it was seen moving away from the Colombo Port, CPC official said.
Thereafter Sri Lanka government restricted fuel supplies and requested residents countrywide to stay home imposing unofficial lock down with public transport coming to a standstill as the oil stocks at Ceypetco dropped to very low level.
The stock position of fuel at storage complexes of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) at present was around 1,100 tonnes of petrol and 7,500 tonnes of diesel only sufficient for a day, senior energy ministry official said and it was confirmed by CPC sources.
When importing fuel under such unsolicited proposals by new private suppliers, there was the practice of commissions changing hands among various parties connected to the transaction of this deal, a senior CPC official explained.
He noted that one of the reasons for this fuel tanker to desist from arriving at the Colombo port for unloading of fuel may be some issues relating to these commissions.
The one-day passport issuance service will be enabled at offices of the Department of Immigration and Emigration in three more cities outside Colombo from tomorrow (04), in a swift one week move by new Minister of Investment Promotion Dhammika Perera.
Accordingly, those prone to visiting Colombo for the one-day passport service can now obtain their own passports from the offices located in the cities below, said the Minister.
Matara, Monaragala, Hambantota and Galle Districts – Matara Office
The Government of Japan has decided to provide Emergency Grant Aid of USD 3 million through UNICEF and World Food Program (WFP) for the provision of medicine and food in a manner that would directly benefit the Sri Lankan people.
In a statement regarding its position on the economic situation in Sri Lanka, the Japanese Embassy in Colombo said, Japan sincerely hopes that this assistance will be of help to overcome the hardship faced by the people of Sri Lanka.
The Japanese government would like to consider its further contribution to Sri Lanka in consultation with the Sri Lankan government and other developing partners, while giving attention to the situation of Sri Lanka and the negotiation progress between Sri Lanka and IMF, the statement read further.
“Japan, time-tested partner in Sri Lanka’s socio-economic development, has been supporting Sri Lanka and will continue to do its part in combining its efforts with the people and Government of Sri Lanka.”
The embassy also stated that Japan is closely paying attention to the current difficult economic situation in Sri Lanka and severe humanitarian situation accompanied.
Meanwhile, the Japanese Embassy in a statement on their FaceBook page said that Japan is closely paying attention to the current difficult economic situation in Sri Lanka and the severe humanitarian situation accompanying it.
“Considering such a situation, the Government of Japan has decided to provide Emergency Grant Aid of USD three (3) million through UNICEF and WFP in order to provide medicine and food in a manner that would directly benefit the Sri Lankan people.
Japan sincerely hopes that this assistance will be of help to overcome the hardship faced by the people of Sri Lanka, Japan’s long-standing friends,” the Embassy said .
The statement further added that the Japanese government would like to consider its further contribution to Sri Lanka in consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka and other developing partners while giving attention to the situation of Sri Lanka and the negotiation progress between Sri Lanka and IMF.
Earlier also, Japan had come forward and helped Sri Lanka. Even Japan had joined hands with Sri Lanka to address the crisis in Sri Lanka.
Both the countries reached this agreement after the meeting on May 24, on the sidelines of the powerful regional grouping, the ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’ (QSD) meeting, Colombo Gazette reported.
“They also discussed the situation in Sri Lanka and confirmed that they will cooperate with each other in light of the current economic crisis and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier in May, the Japanese government came forward to help Sri Lanka by providing USD 1.5 million for essential medicines through UNICEF to meet the urgent needs of the population.
The contribution of USD 1.5 million will help UNICEF to procure the medicines for over 1.2 million people including 53,000 pregnant mothers and nearly 122,000 children in immediate need, Colombo Page reported.
Deputy Ambassador of Japan in Sri Lanka, Katsuki Kotaro said, “It is our great honour that Japan will be providing USD 1.5 million emergency grant assistance to the people of Sri Lanka to procure the most urgently needed 25 types of medicines within the next two months through UNICEF.
He neoted that they believe that this will help improve access to essential life-saving medical services, especially for pregnant women and children, who are most likely to be affected by the economic crisis.”
Presently, Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices, and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens.
Sri Lanka’s state-owned Jaya Container Terminal at Colombo Port has offered priority berthing facilities to Bangladeshi feeder vessels.
Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Prasantha Jayamanna has recently announced it at a discussion in Colombo, according to a message received on July 1, 2022.
He briefed Bangladesh about the present facilities as well as ongoing and future expansion plan of Colombo Port which would increase their container handling capacity to 15 million TEUs once completed in 2025-26.
Bangladesh High Commission has been pursuing this priority berthing issue with SLPA for long, said the message from the mission.
Bangladesh High Commission to Sri Lanka organised a stakeholders’ consultation forum in Colombo recently on enhancing shipping connectivity between Chattogram and Colombo ports pursuant to observance of the First Economic Diplomacy Week.
The purpose was to facilitate greater understanding of operational issues between Chattogram and Colombo ports and ensure greater connectivity and supply chain security and stronger partnership between the two ports.
Representatives from port authorities of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, terminal operators, main line operators, feeder operators, freight forwarders as well as users of the two ports presented their respective perspectives.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tareq Md Ariful Islam shared the potential Bangladesh’s economic development holds for Colombo Port.
He also mentioned of the changes in the global logistics operations due to the pandemic and now the war, the resultant trends in shipping and necessity of offer of possible incentives from Colombo Port.
The chairman of SLPA, private terminal operators and Sri Lankan shipping community assured of giving continued priority to Bangladesh users, according to Bangladesh High Commission in Colombo.
Referring to the recent negative media reporting on Colombo Port, they clarified that that their Port’s operation remains unaffected by the crisis situation in the country.
Representative of Chattogram Port Authority shared that Bangladesh’s container traffic through Colombo Port increased significantly last year.
Representatives of Bangladesh stakeholders shared the users’ perspective about Colombo Port, emerging trends and challenges in shipping operations.
In the interactive session that followed, the panellists from both sides responded to the queries from the participants which cleared many of the issues involving Chattogram-Colombo connectivity
Sri Lanka and India have agreed to explore further avenues towards greater cooperation in the food processing and dairy sectors.
The matter was taken up for discussion when Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda met with India’s Minister of Food Processing Industries Pashupati Kumar Paras on Friday (July 01) in New Delhi.
The Indian government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is always ready to help Sri Lanka in these difficult times, Minister Paras has said.
While thanking the Minister, High Commissioner Moragoda stressed the importance of establishing close linkages between India and Sri Lanka in various sectors under the Minister’s purview, in particular the dairy industry.
The High Commissioner observed that the import of milk powder from India including through the existing credit line would contribute to increase nutrition levels among children in Sri Lanka.
The Minister and the High Commissioner agreed that cooperation could commence with the dairy sector, and it could later be expanded into other sectors falling under the supervision of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
High Commissioner Moragoda said the ultimate objective of these efforts would be greater economic integration of the two countries.
With a view to looking into the way forward for cooperation in these sectors, it was decided to form a study group that would comprise officials from the India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries and the High Commission of Sri Lanka as well as other relevant stakeholders both in India and Sri Lanka. It was also decided to have the first meeting of the study group soon.
Minister Paras, who hails from the State of Bihar, is the incumbent President of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, which is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has been a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly seven times since 1977 and had served thrice as a Minister in the State.
Secretary to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Anita Praveen, senior officials of the Ministry as well as senior diplomatic officers of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi also attended the meeting.
Elders call for international recognition but supreme leader tells foreign countries not to interfere
A gathering of thousands of Afghan clerics and elders has ended with a call for international recognition, but silence on the country’s ban on secondary education for girls.
Nearly a year since their surprise military triumph across Afghanistan, not a single country has officially recognised the Taliban as the legitimate government.
Diplomats say the ban on girls’ education is one of the main reasons the Taliban are still international outcasts. It is resented by many in the movement’s ranks, who want their own daughters to be educated.
Classes were set to restart in March, until a last-minute reversal, apparently on the orders of hardliners close to the supreme leader of the movement, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
The all-male group of religious and community leaders spent three days discussing the future of the country, largely united under Taliban rule after decades of civil war. There had been hope they might offer political incentives or cover for the Taliban leadership to reverse course on the ban. But only two out of more than 4,500 participants called for the reopening of secondary schools for girls, Afghanistan’s Tolo television channel reported.
And in their final communique, the clerics made only passing reference to the need for “religious and modern education” and to respect “the rights of women”. It did not clarify if those rights include schooling.
The Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada. Photograph: Reuters
“It’s hard to get too excited about vague references to education and women’s rights at the end of the Taliban’s big meeting when the Taliban previously made a very clear promise to reopen all schools only to break that promise,” said Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Donors, diplomats and the UN need to act as though this ban is likely permanent … It’s far past time for the international community to respond to their gender apartheid in ways more tangible than statements of deep concern.”
Akhundzada came to Kabul from his base in the southern city of Kandahar to address the gathering. It was his first known trip to the capital since Taliban fighters seized it last August.
He lashed out at foreign demands on the government, as the UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet called for an end to “systematic oppression” of women in the country. Women are blocked from working in most sectors outside health and education, require a male guardian for long-distance travel and have been ordered to cover their faces in public.
The meeting was closed to media but in an audio recording Akhundzada, a hardliner whose son was a suicide bomber, warned the international community against interfering in Afghanistan.
“Thank God, we are now an independent country. [Foreigners] should not give us their orders, it is our system and we have our own decisions,” he said, according to the official Bakhtar news agency.
Sri Lankans living in Australia are refraining from sending desperately-needed funds to struggling friends and family back home, fearing money will never end up in the hands of those in need because the government will steal it.
Multiple members of the Sri Lankan community contacted by NCA NewsWire have lost trust in the government to the point where they believe their financial aid will be intercepted, leading to a feeling of helplessness amid the country’s economic crisis.
The government blames the crisis on the pandemic, but economic experts say the country’s misfortunes are due to monetary mismanagement.
Shortages have become so dire that only essential services are currently allowed to fill up fuel, while fears of a famine grow amid a concerning undersupply of food.
The secretary of the North Victoria Sri Lankan Welfare and Cultural Association says the Sri Lankan community feels powerless.
“We can’t help. If you look on Facebook in the morning, you’ll have messages from a few friends in Sri Lanka asking for help,” he said.
“The thing is, the country needs dollars, but because of the frustration and disappointment, some Sri Lankan-Australians don’t want to send money.
“If we send dollars, the government will take it – it’s not going to help the community.
“The government says to send money through proper channels. We don’t want to do that, we don’t trust doing that.”
Australians looking to donate to the country should be wary of sending money, he warned, suggesting medical supplies could help make more of a difference.“In terms of money, I don’t think money’s a good idea at all,” he said.
The Australian government in June announced it would provide US$50 million in emergency aid, with Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil recently travelling to Colombo to stem the flow of Sri Lankans trying to reach Australia by boat.
He stresses Sri Lanka needs tourism to inject desperately needed money into its economy, but travelling there is unappealing because of gas and food shortages.
Other members of the Sri Lankan community in Australia also expressed their concern in not feeling safe providing financial aid to loved ones, but they wanted to remain anonymous because they fear government repercussions when they eventually return to the island nation.
They describe President Gotabaya Rajapaska and his government as corrupt, even suggesting the current cricket series against Australia was established to distract the people from their country’s problems.
The government led by the President and the Prime Minister should immediately resign as it has already proven that it cannot run this country, said Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, making a statement at the Opposition Leader’s Office this (03) afternoon.
Pledging that he would start the people’s struggle to oust what he described as the unamenable government, the Opposition Leader invited all people to spare party differences and come forward.
Premadasa also requested the security forces to devote themselves to protecting the people of the country instead of protecting one ‘gang’ or individual against the country.
The problems facing the country cannot be solved immediately in five days or five months, he went on, adding that the people should not be fooled by such lies and that it would be an unfortunate situation, should someone even try to deceive the public by such lies.
The Opposition Leader further noted that it may take at least five years minimum to rebuild the country into its former state and that any talk promising a lesser period would be false.
