The drama staged by the Power Minister and the Energy Minister recently was scripted by the government, alleged Convener of the ‘Samagi Ekabaddha Khanijathel Wurthiya Samithi Sammelanaya‘ Ananda Palitha, speaking to a briefing held in Colombo.
Had it not been scripted by the government, Udaya Gammanpila must be removed from his portfolio as the Minister of Energy, he pointed out.
“Now, it is said that crude oil is to be imported to the Refinery on the 30th. As the Refinery is set to be operated, fuel is being purchased from India for the CEB in a hurry, when it is possible to produce them 100 per cent in the refinery. It is not possible to pay India in dollars when the CEB cannot afford even rupees, is it? It will probably further drag the country down. That being said, this is divided into two points. One, the Minister tabled special suggestions to solve this crisis. One of the suggestions was the immediate implementation of the Fuel Price Formula. Will dollars be flown this way if the Fuel Price Formula is implemented? Will ships sails for free? Will the people receive more money in their hands? Will free fuel be given? No… This attempt is to increase the price of fuel. Why? It was not slashed when there was a declining for fifteen months. When there was a slight surge for two months, they increased the price by rupees on the grounds of the dollar crisis and on the claim of curbing the debts. The debts soared. Then it was increased on December 20 on the justification of curbing the consumption and saving dollars, hence the global price was dropping at that time. Now, when the price is increasing in the global market, we have no way of increasing it, because it was already increased when the global price was dropping. The soaring on December 20 had taken place when the price was dropping for three consecutive months. Now, as they cannot afford to increase again, they attempt to purchase fuel for the CEB from India. Now, it is said that the CPC cannot function. This drama was being staged by the Power Minister and the Energy Minister on the blessings of the government. If that is not the case, the Energy Minister must be removed.”
Surge in Threats, Rape, Assault, Wrongful Detention
(New York) – Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Afghans and people who do not conform to rigid gender norms in Afghanistan have faced an increasingly desperate situation and grave threats to their safety and lives under the Taliban, Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International said in a report released today.
The 43-page report, “‘Even If You Go to the Skies, We’ll Find You’: LGBT People in Afghanistan After the Taliban Takeover,” is based on 60 interviews with LGBT Afghans. Many reported that Taliban members attacked or threatened them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Others reported abuse from family members, neighbors, and romantic partners who now support the Taliban or believed they had to act against LGBT people close to them to ensure their own safety. Some fled their homes from attacks by Taliban members or supporters pursuing them. Others watched lives they had carefully built over the years disappear overnight and found themselves at risk of being targeted at any time because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“We spoke with LGBT Afghans who have survived gang rape, mob attacks, or have been hunted by their own family members who joined the Taliban, and they have no hope that state institutions will protect them,” said J. Lester Feder, senior fellow for emergency research at OutRight Action International. “For those LGBT people who want to flee the country, there are few good options; most of Afghanistan’s neighbors also criminalize same-sex relations. It is difficult to overstate how devastating – and terrifying – the return of Taliban rule has been for LGBT Afghans.”
Most interviewees were in Afghanistan, while others had fled to nearby countries. In addition to worrying about these countries’ laws against same-sex relations, interviewees outside Afghanistan lacked proper immigration status, so were at risk of being summarily deported.
Afghanistan was a dangerous place for LGBT people well before the Taliban retook full control of the country on August 15, 2021. In 2018, the government of then-President Ashraf Ghani passed a law that explicitly criminalized same-sex sexual relations, and the previous penal code included vague language widely interpreted as making same-sex relations a criminal offense. LGBT people interviewed had experienced many abuses because of their sexual orientation or gender identity prior to the Taliban’s return to power, including sexual violence, child and forced marriage, physical violence from their families and others, expulsion from schools, blackmail, and being outed. Many were forced to conceal key aspects of their identity from society and from family, friends, and colleagues.
However, when the Taliban, who had been in power from 1996 to late 2001, regained control of the country, the situation dramatically worsened. The Taliban reaffirmed the previous government’s criminalization of same-sex relations, and some of its leaders vowed to take a hard line against the rights of LGBT people. A Taliban spokesperson told Reuters in October, “LGBT… That’s against our Sharia [Islamic] law.”
A Taliban judge told the German tabloid Bild shortly before the fall of Kabul, “For homosexuals, there can only be two punishments: either stoning, or he must stand behind a wall that will fall down on him.” A manual issued by the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue in 2020 states that religious leaders shall prohibit same-sex relations and that “strong allegations” of homosexuality shall be referred to the ministry’s district manager for adjudication and punishment.
Despite making repeated pledges to respect human rights, the Taliban have engaged in widespread rights abuses since retaking control of the country, including revenge killings, systematic discrimination against women and girls, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and the media, and land grabbing. In this context, marked by systematic abuse of power combined with virulent anti-LGBT sentiment, Taliban officials and their supporters have carried out acts of violence against LGBT people with impunity.
A gay man said that Taliban members detained him at a checkpoint, beat him, and gang-raped him, telling him, “From now on anytime we want to be able to find you, we will. And we will do whatever we want with you.” A lesbian said that after the Taliban takeover, her male relatives joined the Taliban and threatened to kill her because of her sexual orientation.
Most people interviewed believed their only path to safety was asylum in a country with greater protections for LGBT people, but very few LGBT Afghans escaping Afghanistan are known to have reached a safe country. Only the United Kingdom has publicly announced that it has resettled a small number of LGBT Afghans. Organizations assisting LGBT Afghans say that hundreds of people have contacted them, seeking international protection and resettlement.
“The Taliban have explicitly pledged not to respect LGBT Afghans rights,” said Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “It’s critically important for concerned governments to urgently put pressure on the Taliban to respect the rights of LGBT people, ensure that assistance they provide Afghanistan reaches LGBT people, and recognize that LGBT Afghans seeking asylum face a special risk of persecution in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.”
Selected Cases All names are pseudonyms, for their protection
Ramiz S.
A few weeks after the Taliban took control of Kabul, Ramiz S. headed to his former office to collect his paycheck. Ramiz, 20, had stayed away from his office because he worked in a profession that the Taliban had targeted for retribution. But he needed the cash.
He had to pass through checkpoints and at one, an armed man shouted, “You are an izak,” a derogatory term for gay people. One man hit Ramiz in the throat, punched him in the stomach, and kicked him in the back. They loaded him into a car and took him to another location where four men whipped and then gang raped him over eight hours.
When they released him, the men said they would come for him again. “From now on anytime we want to be able to find you, we will. And we will do whatever we want with you,” Ramiz recalled the men telling him.
Shortly afterward, Ramiz received word that two men came to his office and demanded his records, including his address and his family’s address in his home province. Ramiz went into hiding, but Taliban members repeatedly visited his parents’ house demanding to know where he was. At one point they occupied his family’s home for three days, interrogating family members and beating his siblings. Ramiz rarely left his hiding places, but when he risked a trip to the doctor, a Taliban member whom he believed knew about the attack spotted him and beat him.
Hamid N.
About two weeks after the Taliban captured Kabul, Hamid N.’s boyfriend’s parents came knocking on Hamid’s door. The two men had met at university and been a couple for about a year, though his boyfriend’s parents just thought the young men were friends.
They said their son had been missing for two or three days. But Hamid hadn’t heard from him either. The next day the family found their son’s body.
The parents returned to Hamid’s house, saying they had heard rumors that Hamid was gay, and feared their son might have been killed because of their relationship. “It was a warning for me, too,” Hamid said, describing urgent steps he took to flee the country.
Brushna Y.
Brushna Y. was living with her uncle’s family in a small village. In July, about six weeks before the fall of Kabul, her cousin discovered Brushna with her female partner and reported them to Brushna’s uncle. Her uncle wanted to kill her, Brushna said, to “get rid of this shame” from the family.
Brushna managed to escape and returned to her parents’ house in the city. Her uncle and male cousins demanded that she be killed. Her parents refused and engaged her to a man who didn’t know she was a lesbian. But her uncle and cousins weren’t satisfied. “Why did you engage this daughter of yours? She needs to be killed,” she overheard one of her relatives say.
As long as the previous government was in power, she wasn’t too worried. “At that time there was no Taliban – there were police,” Brushna said. “No one could kill me easily.” But when the government fell in August, her uncle and male cousins joined the Taliban. Now, they insisted, they had the power to kill Brushna if her father would not take action. “If you’re not going to do this, we will do it,” she recalled a relative saying. “We have the authority.”
Her parents arranged for a speedy wedding, beating Brushna when she tried to refuse to go through with it. Then her parents paid her husband to take her to a nearby country, telling him he’d have more luck finding work there. But one of her cousins got word to her husband that she is a lesbian. Now, Brushna said, her husband beats her nearly every day and will not allow her to leave the house. “I’m afraid he will kill me, or my uncle’s son will kill me,” Brushna said in a brief phone call while her husband was out of the house, the only time she was able to make calls.
Farid Q.
Farid Q., in his early 20s, said that he had confessed to a neighbor in August that he had a crush on him. The neighbor hadn’t rejected the overture, so Farid was hopeful they might strike up a relationship. “After the Taliban took over, I was texting him and I saw that he had [pictures of] Taliban members as his display picture,” Farid said. “I texted and asked him, ‘Why did you join the Taliban? They are not good people.’ He said, ‘Are you a good person? You are gay.’ Then he started threatening me. …He said, ‘Even if you go to the skies, we’ll find you. We will arrest you – because I shared all of your info with Taliban groups.’” Farid said the man and other Taliban members came to look for him at his home several times a day for a week, but family members hid him until he was able to flee.
Riza
When Taliban forces took their city in August, Aimal W. and Aryan D. took shelter with two other trans women in an abandoned hostel. The neighbors would often insult them. Their friend Riza was the most masculine of the group, so she would go out to buy food for the others. “Every moment we receive threats and calls,” Aimal said. “Even children on the street say, ‘You’re still here? Why hasn’t the Taliban taken you yet?’”
Six weeks under Taliban rule, the neighbors decided to take matters into their own hands. One morning in October, someone started pounding on Riza’s door at about 6 a.m. When she opened it, a group of more than 20 neighbors pounced on her, Aryan and Aimal said, beating her viciously and tearing off her clothes.
Aryan tried to intervene, approaching one woman in the mob to ask, “Why are you doing this?” “You’re making our community filthy,” the woman replied. “We are going to call the [Taliban] police and they’re going to clean you from this place.”
Riza’s friends fled, leaving behind all their belongings. Aimal saw a police car drive up as she ran away and saw men tying Riza up with a rope. Aimal later sneaked back to the neighborhood to see if she could find out what happened to Riza. A friendly shopkeeper told her he’d last seen Riza being loaded naked into the police car.
More than 10 days passed before Aryan or Aimal heard from Riza again. Riza found Aryan by chance, after her captors had dumped her on the street in men’s clothes and without a cell phone. Aryan saw that Riza’s body was covered with purple and green bruises, and it looked like Riza’s nose had been broken. Her head was patchily shaved and covered in cuts. Taliban members had also shaved her eyebrows.
“You will be a sign to the public and to your trans community,” Riza recalled her captors saying. “It is a lesson, and you should stop dancing and sex work.” Riza told Aryan she’d been held naked at the police station and beaten every day.
Aryan said Riza recalled a Taliban commander telling her that if he ever saw her in the city again, he would kill her. “You should leave the capital and go back to your family,” he allegedly said. Aryan bought Riza a meal and a bus ticket home, though her family had disowned her and she had nowhere to stay there. She has not heard from Riza since.
Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa condemned the hypocrisy of government ministers stating that those who urge the public to go to their working places by foot bicycles are enjoying the luxury of V8 vehicles.
The Opposition Leader made this observation while speaking to the occasion of donating a three-wheeler to the Meegoda Ayurvevdic Hospital as part of the ‘Jana Suwaya’ project of the ‘Samagi Jana Balawegayen Husmak’ initiative undertaken by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya today (27).
Chairmen government state-run institutes are frequently resigning due to theft, bribery, corruption and fraud, the Opposition Leader noted.
Premadasa pointed out that he had added value to the country as the Opposition by changing the obsolete politics at a time when Sri Lanka was suffering from a massive pandemic and invited all other political forces to join him.
The world’s largest stock market in the US has already lost 10 percent of its value in the first few weeks of this year as Joe Biden’s administration come under mounting pressure. Stocks in the global superpower have tumbled as fears continue over potential interest rate hikes, which have spooked “growth” investors who are now backing businesses that are expanding rapidly but often generate little to no profit. Historically, interest rate hikes have sent forecast profits plunging, meaning companies promising future rewards are less appealing to investors around the world.
On Tuesday, the FTSE 100 dropped 2.6 percent while the FTSE 250 plunged 3.6 percent as increasing fears of conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the prospect of higher interest rates, spooked investors.
In a day of turmoil in the City of London, that had wiped £68billion off the value of Britain’s 350 leading listed companies.
But a totally different story is unfolding in China – home to the world’s second-largest economy behind the US – where shares in the country are quickly gaining ground.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has overtaken the American benchmark S&P 500, reporting gains of six percent since the start of this year.
In a major boost for China, its central bank has cut a key interest rate for the first time in almost two years in a huge attempt to inject significant momentum into the economy.
The move has improved the outlook of shares following a controversial crackdown on regulations in 2021 that saw some of the biggest companies in China take a massive hit.
Paris Jordan, of the wealth manager Waverton, explained: “China is one of the few countries that is cutting rates, with most developed nations tightening their monetary policy.
“As such, this could be a tailwind for the stock market and appears to have created an attractive buying opportunity.”
Global financial crash: US stock markets have struggled this year (Image: GETTY)
Sharukh Malik, manager of the Guinness Best of China fund, said stocks in the country appeared cheap on a historic basis.
The expert said: “At a 12.6 times multiple of 2022 earnings, they are valued at an eight percent discount to the average over five years, since the big technology stocks were added to the index.
“There is little future growth priced in, though market earnings are forecast to grow 16 percent a year in 2022 and 2023.
“This is faster growth than the wider Asian region, faster than Europe and faster than the US and yet is valued much lower.”
Ms Jordan pointed to the £1.7billion Fidelity China Special Situations as a popular pick among DIY investors.
This has also lost 28 percent of its value over the past year following the tighter regulation in China that battered the technology sector and saw top holdings Tencent and Alibaba take a hit.
But both stocks are now bouncing back and are up three percent and four percent respectively since the start of the year.
In contrast in the US, tech giants such as Microsoft and Google have seen their market value sink by more than a tenth.
Global financial crash: US fears continue over potential interest rate hikes (Image: GETTY)
Ms Jordan said: “It is likely Chinese tech companies have passed peak regulation and a recovery in the shares could be expected after a disastrous 2021.
“Fidelity China should benefit from this.”
Some managers have highlighted British and European firms with high exposure to China as those that could interest investors looking to profit more indirectly from economic in the Asian superpower.
Rob Burgeman of the wealth manager Brewin Dolphin picked out luxury retailer Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, which saw a third of its profits come from Asia (excluding Japan) during its 2020 financial year.
A recent strategic restructuring of insurance firm Prudential could also see it benefit, according to Mr Burgeman.
He said: “It now derives the majority of its income from Asia following the spinning off of M&G in the UK and the sale of its North American arm, Jackson.
“Over the long term, it should benefit from the strong growth in China and Asia, more generally.”
The Japanese Government will be assisting Sri Lanka to reduce the use of polythene and plastics and provide technical assistance in recycling them, the Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Hideaki Mizukoshi said.
He made the comments after meeting with the Environment Minister and the Ministry Secretary at the Ministry to discuss environmental issues after assuming his duties in Sri Lanka.
The Ambassador appreciated the programmes that are already in place to protect the environment, like reducing carbon emissions, reducing the use of plastics and polythene, and reducing the accumulation of polythene and plastics in the oceans by preventing the entry of polythene and plastics into the ocean under the Surakimu Ganga programme.
During the discussion, the Ambassador also spoke on the successful programmes currently in place for the recycling of polythene and plastics in Japan, as well as the new technology being used for this purpose.
He said that a team from Sri Lanka could be sent to Japan for this purpose and that they would be allowed to gain new technical knowledge and experience.
It has been revealed that the 100-year-old ‘Marubeni’ Company of Japan is planning to invest in the construction of a wind power plant in Mannar.
“The concept of utilising renewable energy sources is very close to the Japanese economy. Therefore, Japan is assisting Sri Lanka to develop renewable energy sources,” Foreign ministry sources added.
Every effort was made by Japan to uplift the tourism industry in the country. Despite the collapse of the tourism industry with the spread of the coronavirus, the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is seeing resurgence under the new normalisation situation.
In that context, Sri Lanka expects more Japanese tourists to visit Sri Lanka in the future adding that the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan has prepared a special program for this purpose.
a large number of Japanese tourists will visit Sri Lanka in the near future due to these tourism promotion programs which are being carried out with the direct interference of the Embassy,” foreign ministry sources added.
Oil tanker ‘Sunny Bay’ carrying 15,000 metric tons of Marine Gas Oil (MGO), called at the Hambantota International Port (HIP), the first to discharge MGO for storage at the port’s tank farm.
HIP, with its global partner Sinopec, launched bunkering operations for VLSFO last year. Now, with the tank farm along with its oil jetties fully refurbished and FSS certified for safety by the Lloyd’s Register, HIP is ready to utilise the storage facility allocated for MGO and MDO (Marine Diesel Oil).
The port which received their first MGO shipment is now capable of providing a full complement of bunkering fuels to its customers, positioning as a strategic bunker operator in the region.
Benchmarking international standards, HIP has also set up a state of the art Petroleum Testing laboratory in partnership with leading global independent inspection service provider Intertek Lanka, to provide innovative and bespoke assurance, testing, and inspection and certification services for bunker fuels, LPG, LNG and other petrochemical products.
The laboratory located within the port premises, is classified as a truly international facility capable of testing IMO 2020 global Sulphur protocol.
CEO of HIPG Johnson Liu says, “With our Lloyds certified oil storage facility and state of the art testing capabilities, HIP has the overall capacity to add great value to customers.
He said “With our location in the Indian Ocean rim, where 50% of the world’s maritime oil is traded, our oil fuel bunker, LPG and future LNG operations, we are securing the Hambantota Port’s rightful place as a global maritime location.”
The lab testing facility will enable HIP clients to get their products such as fuel oil, marine diesel and marine gas oils tested efficiently and with ease, at the bunker terminal site, ensuring that products meet the required international quality standards.
The port’s dedicated professional team ensures safe operations of the oil tank network, ancillary pipelines, oil berth jetties, and control systems, which are on par with international standards. All supporting facilities for operational safety are in place such as a wholly functional firefighting system and wastewater treatment facility.
HIP’s location in close proximity to one of the busiest sea routes coupled with the port’s partnership with top global player Sinopec to provide IMO 2020 compliant high quality fuel oils, makes Sri Lanka’s energy market more competitive while benefiting Sri Lankan players supplying bunkers for vessels.
Once commenced HIP will cater to the second highest demand in the maritime industry. The MGO supplied by the port is of very high quality, compliant with ISO 8271 standard and can also be provided to overseas locations such as the Maldives.
The Sinopec group, the port’s bunker partner, was ranked 2nd in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2020, and a global leader in the fields of oil exploration, production, refining, marketing, and distribution.
The partnership between SINOPEC International Petroleum Services Corporation and HIPG, will not only benefit the two parties and their international clientele, but will boost the Sri Lankan oil and gas industry, which will see the highest standards in terms of quality, knowledge and expertise.
The Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to decide today (27) whether to allow a power cut or not.
Chairman of the commission Janaka Ratnayake stated that a decision will be taken after the commission meets this afternoon to review the situation.
According to a review conducted by the Public Utilities Commission on the 25th, it was decided not to carry out any power cuts till today.
However, the Kelanitissa Sojitz private power plant has been shut down due to maintenance work and the national grid has lost 162 megawatts of electricity.
It is reported that MCC Ferdinando, who submitted his resignation letter to the President yesterday (26) to resign from the Chairman post of the CEB, is to be appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy.
During Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency, Ferdinando also served as the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy due to a conflict with the then Minister in charge of the subject, Patali Champika Ranawaka.
However, as he had handled the trade unions better during his tenure as the Secretary to the Ministry, the government is considering re-appointing him to the post.
According to sources, Ferdinando has been invited by the government to take over the post of Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, which is currently in a state of disarray.
He had moved to Australia after the fall of the previous Rajapaksa government in 2015 and was repatriated after winning the 2019 presidential election to assist in fulfilling the responsibilities of the new government.
It is reported that a very serious allegation has been leveled against the Minister of Public Defense Sarath Weerasekara before President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
This is in connection with accepting bribes of Rs. 300,000 each for the transfer of OICs.
The best example of this is the transfer of the former Kosgama OIC to Headquarters Inspector of Police – Avissawella and many more such incidents have been reported.
The IGP has also informed the President that it will be difficult for him to maintain police discipline if this situation continues.
Sarath Weerasekara is currently receiving treatment at the IDH for Covid infection and sources say that a large number of police personnel are expecting the President to take a decision in this regard as soon as he recovers.
The Ministry of Health states that 927 cases of Covid have been identified in the country yesterday (26).
It is clear that this is a huge increment over the situation two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, the number of daily Covid infections was between 500 and 600.
Accordingly, the health sector is urging the public to follow the health guidelines as the new Omicron Covid variety is spreading rapidly.
At present the Covid wards of the Colombo National Hospital are overcrowded and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH) is also overcrowded with covid patients. The need for intensive care units and oxygen is also on the rise, hospital directors told the media.
