The fast initiated by a group of Tamil prisoners against the imprisonment of people on political grounds has been temporarily halted, based on a promise made by Jeewan Thyagarajah, Governor of the Northern Province, days after the recurred allegations of human rights abuses levelled against Sri Lanka at the 51st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland found its way on to spotlight, LNW learned.

Thirteen inmates of the Colombo Magazine Prison commenced this fast on September 06, and on its sixth day, six inmates were admitted to the Prison Hospital due to their critical health condition as a result of contribution.

Endorsing the struggle against political imprisonment, their relatives of the North on September 16 initiated another fast in front of the Office of the Governor of the Northern Province, demanding his immediate intervention on the matter.

Following the pressure exerted by the relatives, Governor Thyagarajah met and held talks with the prisoners, who initiated the original fast at the Magazine Prison, on September 17, and promised that he will make an intervention for their release as soon as possible. Accordingly, the fasts initiated by the prisoners and their relatives have been temporarily halted.

President Wickremesinghe made a promise to politicians in the North that he will release 46 Tamil political prisoners who have been arrested and detained for a very long time under the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), but the political parties and other civil movements of the North are of the view that it is still a deception, whilst the international community led by world powers continues to exert pressure on Sri Lanka demanding justice.

MIAP

Sri Lanka is in search of stronger hyperlinks with the Mekong area, with bilateral commerce already on a progress path, officers have stated, because the nation faces the worst forex disaster within the historical past of its monetary authority, the central bank.

“We are facing an economic crisis in Sri Lanka resulting in a shortage of basic requirements like food, medicine, gas,” S.M.D. Suriyakumara, Sri Lanka head of Greater Mekong Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, said at the council’s 11th Annual General Meeting.

“Many Sri Lankans are getting used to changing their lifestyle and finding new ways of living and earning.

“As a council, if we can bring contributions through investments, and opportunities encouraging tourism, that is what as a Council we can do at this moment since it is what the country needs.”he added.

The Greater Mekong Chambers deals with East Asian countries.Sri Lanka had imported 2.3 million dollars and exported 7.5 million dollars, Suriyakumar said.

From Thailand, Sri Lanka has imported 397 million US dollars and exported 51.6 million US dollars.From Cambodia, Sri Lanka has imported 2.84 million dollars and exported 3.14 million dollars.

From Vietnam, it has imported 62.88 million dollars and exported 397 million dollars. From Laos, we have imported 1.43 million dollars and exported 0.14 million dollars worth of goods, he revealed.

“We must try to narrow down that gap in exports and imports. That’s what the solution we can contribute as a Council,” Suriyakumar had said.

Suriyakumar was addressing the 11 annual general meeting of the chamber attended by the Ambassador of Vietnam Ho Thi Thanh Truc, and Minister Counselor of Royal Thai Embassy in Sri Lanka Arthit Prasartkul

Vietnam Ambassador Truc said Sri Lanka and her country were both at a location which had attracted the attention of world power and was advocating private sector empowerment.

“In terms of trade and investment, Vietnam and Sri Lanka have many similarities that create a favourable environment for business people of both countries,” she said.

“Because of our strategic locations in each region, both countries have attracted the attention of the world’s major powers.

Both governments, on the other hand, advocate for private sector empowerment and a public-private partnership model for mutual development.

Sri Lanka has also signed bilateral investment treaties with 28 countries and double taxation treaties with 38 countries, including Vietnam”.

Sri Lanka will soon begin the process of engaging external creditors and sharing information with them on debt restructuring with weak bargaining power under post default scenarios,informed sources connected to IMF negotiations disclosed.

It will make a virtual presentation to external creditors on September 23 updating them on a deal agreed with the International Monetary Fund and recent economic developments, advisors Clifford Chance said.

Sri Lanka authorities will update creditors on more recent macroeconomic developments, main objectives of the reform package with the IMF and the next steps of the debt restructuring process on a virtual event.

The island nation defaulted on its external debt in April 2022 after two years of money printed to suppress interest rates and target an output gap (stimulus) which triggered foreign reserves losses, downgrades, and bondholders were no longer willing to roll-over debt.

Sri Lanka in April allowed interest rates to go up after a failed float, eventually reducing domestic private credit and outflows. Sri Lanka has since raised some taxes and struck a staff level deal with the International Monetary Fund and is seeking to restructure its debt.

“After the presentation of external creditors , the authorities will also participate in an interactive session where participants will be given the opportunity to ask their questions,” the statement said.

“The presentation as well as a comprehensive Q&A document will be published on the Ministry’s website after the event.”

It will be held on Friday, September 23, 2022 at 5.30pm Sri Lanka time which 8:00am New York (EDT) / 1:00pm London (BST)

Sri Lanka has to get assurances from creditors about their willingness to restructure debt for the International Monetary Fund to unlock credit from the agency and others and make the debt ‘sustainable’ according to an analytical methodology developed by the agency.

The country has to make reasonable progress on sovereign debt restructuring negotiations quickly – with private creditors (holders of International Sovereign Bonds and commercial loans) as well as bilateral creditors like Japan, China, and India

Annual foreign debt servicing has increased to $4.1 billion in 2020 from $1.3 billion in 2009 with Sri Lanka owing approximately $12.3 billion to private creditors, the largest external credit source, who hold International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs), Sri Lanka Development Bonds, and some of the syndicated loans.

Another $9 billion is owed to multilaterals and $5.6 billion to bilateral creditors , with a further $5 billion to China, and $3.5 billion to Japan.

Government authorities are going for debt restructuring negotiations on the back of China rejecting a request (made by the Sri Lankan government in March 2022) to reschedule its loans. China instead offered refinancing – a new $1 billion loan to help repay part of the existing loans.

The United States (US) Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, has informed that the US as a creditor country, will participate in restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt, presidential secretariat announced. .

The critical need for full cooperation of all official creditors in debt negotiations and restructuring through timely participation and equal burden sharing have been outlined.

The US Treasury welcoming President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal for a Coordination Platform for Sri Lanka’s official bilateral creditors has urged engagement in this regard.

Sharing the common goal with Sri Lanka of expediting financing assurances, the US has expressed readiness to join other Paris Club members in this process, in keeping with its principles.

Further, the US Treasury has pledged to continue to engage with their other government agencies, as well as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, to assist the people of Sri Lanka.

A discussion to inform district secretaries and divisional secretaries, on September 16, was held at the President’s Media Division in parallel to the implementation of the Multi-sector Combined Mechanism for empowering of Rural Economic Revitalisation Centres to ensure food security and nutrition introduced under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe on September 13.

During this discussion held on-line headed by Presidential Adviser on National Food Security Dr. Suren Batagoda, implementation of the Multi-sector Combined Mechanism to ensure food security at the rural level, the issues that arise in the implementation of the mechanism and solutions for them were discussed comprehensively.

He instructed the divisional secretaries to gather required data to implement the programme, going from door to door within the next week. He also informed the officials could gather data on-line. He also instructed them to implement the programme with the intention of ensuring that all those deprived have access to food.

During the discussion the issues that arise in establishment of Rural Economic Revitalisation Centres, many issues faced by the farmers such as lack of sufficient fertiliser for cultivation, shortage of seeds, lack of fuel to operate agricultural machinery, lack of pesticides, animal damage to crops and difficulties in marketing the surplus harvest were also discussed.

Dr. Suren Batagoda further pointed out that measures have already been taken to provide immediate solutions to these issues, and measures have already been taken to import fertilisers and insecticides, and necessary arrangements have been made to provide a fuel quota under QR code for fuel.

Dr. Suren Batagoda further assured that locally scarce seeds would be imported, and by way of combining all the national revitalisation centres established under this programme an opportunity will be provided to sell excess products at a reasonable price by making them available at the economic revitalisation centres which experience deficit of such products.

Following statement was also made by Presidential Adviser Dr Suren Batagoda:

A food crisis has arisen in the country due to the failure of the cultivation in the last Yala season. The available data reports that about 60 percent of the population has reduced their food intake due to food shortage in the country. Based on the same fact, the provision of food to low-income people has become one of our leading programmes.

The President’s instruction is not to let anyone starve. Therefore, we have planned to provide food to the needy through a program called Community Kitchen. Accordingly, it is hoped to strengthen household units and gather data to implement cultivating plans in the upcoming season. Food can be provided to the people in the country without any shortage provided that this programme is implemented continuously. By one hand, the government officials should be held responsible for the food crisis. As government officials, we should also intervene in the programme to address the food crisis. We hope to implement food and cultivation programmes through this economic hub.

Presidential Additional Secretaries L. P. Jayampathie and Dr Sulakshana Jayawardena and directors of the Food Security and Nutrition Committee Yasantha Munasinghe and P. M. S. Jayathilake also participated at the event.

PMD

Leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Former President MP Maithripala Sirisena responding to reporters after a Party meeting in Colombo yesterday (18) said he does not wish to hold an immediate disciplinary inquiry into the party members who accepted ministries in the government.

The priority should be given to the problems currently facing the country and to find solutions, and other affairs, therefore, are of no interest to the party at the moment, the SLFP Leader told the reporters.

However, Sirisena did not respond to a query by a reporter on what actions should the party be taking, were the rest of the SLFP members taken in as government ministers as well.

MIAP