Sri Lanka Brief (8/16)

(Based on Media Reports)
SRI LANKA

Internal Developments:

JVP Accuses Politicians of Instigating Racism:

1. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has alleged that certain politicians in the North and South were instigating racism in the country to cover up their inefficiencies, as a shield to the rising protest against them and to suppress the burning issues. JVP General Secretary noted that Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran was trying to instigate racism in the north by passing resolutions in the Northern Provincial Council, while former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his group were trying to do it in the south.

Government can not be Toppled-Reiterates President:

2. President Maitripala Sirisena has categorically stated that the Government was stable. There was no crisis in the SLFP but only a clash between a group of ‘rogues’ and those who were committed to taking forward Bandaranaike’s policies and principles forward, he clarified, adding that any attempt at toppling the Government would remain an ‘unfulfilled dream” as there was no way that the present Parliament’s composition can be changed in a conspiratorial manner to form a different government. The UNF has 108 and the UPFA 95 seats in Parliament. In this backdrop, it is impossible for ‘conspirators’ to muster a clear strength of 113 in the Parliament, Sirisena maintained.

Northern Provincial Council Passes Resolution to Adopt Federal Government:

3. Northern Provincial Council adopted a resolution proposing a federal system for the country. According to C.M Wigneswaran, the resolution was not aimed at dividing the country but to unite it. H clarified that a country can not divided by the federal system in which everyone could get together and work together. He further pointed that the resolution had been drafted so that all the provinces could get an ‘independent’ but not ‘separate’ administration. The resolution reiterated the position of Tamil parties for the merger of the North and the East. NPC Chairperson clarified that “the demand for federalism should not be misconstrued as something in favour of separatism. Let the Central government share power with all the Provinces uniformly. We expect other Provinces to fall in line with us so that we all can have greater powers.” The resolution has however, attracted criticism from some of the leading political parties.

Lanka’s Interest in Tamil Nadu Politics wanes:

4. Sri Lankan politicians are not concerned about the Tamil Nadu election. This was stated by Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne who was earlier a Minister in the Mahinda Rajapaksa Cabinet also. According to him and some of the leading political economists and analysts, the principal parties of Sri Lanka were concerned about Tamil Nadu politics in the past as events there could impact Colombo’s relationship with New Delhi. However, this is not that big a factor anymore.

SLFP should be Restructured- President:

5. President Maithripala Sirisena, addressing a party meeting on April 23 said the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) should be restructured as a clean political party but admitted that there would be many obstacles during the said restructuring process. He said a good political party was the foundation of a good government. He also pointed that despite the obstacles he faced as the Chairman of the SLFP, he would take every possible step to strengthen the party, reminding that the responsibility of all SLFPers was not to conspire to form a new government, relying on personal agendas, but to join hands with the party, to solve the problems of the people. President also confessed that he would not have accepted the chairmanship of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) had he had any foreknowledge of the harassment he would be subjected to when running the party's affairs. He had assumed that he would receive the same degree of cooperation enjoyed by the party’s past leaders when he was elected to the post.

Asia’s Tallest Buddha Statue in SL:

6. A replica of the Aukana Buddha, considered the tallest standing Buddha statue in Asia, was declared open in Mathugama by President Sirisena. The 135 feet tall statue was constructed by Mathugama UNP chief organiser and Western Province Parliamentarian Jagath Pinnagodawithana at a cost of Rs. 90 million.

VAC Accuses Sirisena and Wickremesinghe of Corruption:

7. President Maithripala Sirisena’s brother, who is the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), had awarded an insurance deal of Mobitel to a company owned by someone close to him causing loss of Rs. 3 billion to the Government. Voice Against Corruption (VAC) Convener and JVP Provincial Councillor Wasantha Samarasinghe claimed that both the President and the Prime Minister were promoting nepotism instead of putting an end to it as pledged during the election campaign. He pointed out that PM Wickremesinghe appointed his friend Arjuna Mahendran as the Central Bank Governor and today he is in the centre of a heap of allegations.

SL Moves up in 2016 World Press Freedom Index:

8. Sri Lanka has moved up by 24 notches and is now ranked at 141st place in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index compiled by the Reporters Without Borders - Reporters sans frontiers (RSF). The country was ranked at 165th place in the index in 2015.

LG Polls to be Held Next Year:

9. President Sirisena announced that the election for local government bodies would be held early 2017.

TNA Expresses Concerns Over Initiative to Build 65,000 Houses in North & East:

10. The Opposition (and Tamil National Alliance) leader R. Sampanthan has expressed ‘very serious concerns’ about the initiative to construct 65,000 houses for conflict-affected families in the Northern and Eastern provinces. In letters to the President and the Prime Minister, Sampanthan said, “The TNA strongly recommends that the Government undertake a review of the initiative in question, and properly address all of the concerns in implementing this.” The concerns mentioned were: the tender procedure that led to the selection of Arcellor-Mittal Construction France, the durability of the houses, the environmental unsuitability of the proposed houses and the cost of each house.

Lanka will be an Economic Hub in the Indian Ocean Region- PM:

11. P.M Wickremesinghe has said that Sri Lanka will be turned into an economic and a monetary centre in the Indian Ocean where the ordinary citizens in the island will be able to engage in transaction in the monetary markets.

External Developments:

SL Secures Bailout Package from IMF:

12. Sri Lanka reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for $1.5 billion in loans to help lower its borrowing costs and bolster finances. It has pledged to narrow its fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 through “a comprehensive set of reforms to Sri Lanka’s tax system”. The loan program will need approval by the IMF’s executive board, which is due to consider it in early June.

US Assures to be with SL in the aftermath of conflict:

13. Addressing the US-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council Meeting in Washington, US Permanent Representative to the UN Samantha Power, on April 28, acknowledged that Sri Lanka had taken swift strides in the aftermath of the conflict and the US would be there with Sri Lanka and back it up in its efforts since it was not going to be an easy task.

SL to Establish Diplomatic Mission in Ethiopia:

14. The government of Sri Lanka has decided to establish diplomatic mission in Ethiopia in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa where the Headquarters of the African Union is situated. The proposal was made by Foreign Affairs Minister with the view of broadening trade and economic relations with Ethiopia, the country with the largest economy in the region and to build a close relationship with countries of the African Union.

Sweden Pledges Support for SL to Regain GSP+:

15. On April 26, Sweden’s visiting Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom pledged to provide every possible assistance to Sri Lanka to regain the GSP+ facility.

Non-Resident Defence Advisor visits SL:

16. In a statement on the visit of the newly appointed UK non-resident Defense Advisor for Sri Lanka, Captain Stuart Borland and a team of defense delegation from UK Ministry of Defense, British High Commission in Colombo said that the Sri Lankan military has a crucial role to play in the country’s commitment to addressing long-standing issues of reconciliation, accountability and human rights. The appointment of a UK non-resident Defense Advisor for Sri Lanka was announced last year following a meeting between Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and UK Prime Minister David Cameron at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta.

Some Human Rights Concern Still Remains in Lanka- UK:

17. The Annual Human Rights Report-2015 issued by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the Government of Sri Lanka has taken positive steps to improve freedom of expression including the media and freedom of movement, reduce inter-community tensions and restore the independence of institutions such as the Human Rights Commission, but some human rights concerns still remain in the country.

EU Lifts Fish Ban on SL:

18. The European Commission (EC) announced that the fish ban imposed on Sri Lanka in 2015 by the European Union (EU) was lifted after a lengthy dialogue process, as Sri Lanka has successfully reformed its fisheries governance system.

Will Seek Dual- Citizenship, Separate Homeland for SL Tamils- Jayalalitha:

19. Addressing a huge election rally AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on April 23 asserted her party would take “continuous steps” to attain a separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka and demand that the Centre grant dual citizenship for refugees from the island nation living in the state. She pointed out that she has been continuously demanding an independent, international probe over war crimes and alleged genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka. She stressed that her party’s policy was that any repatriation should be voluntary and based on the choice of refugees “after the situation in Sri Lanka, including security aspects changes fully, (for the better)”.

Arrest Gotabaya- US Tamils Groups Writes to Obama:

20. In an urgent appeal to President Barrack Obama, two major Tamil groups in the US-Tamils for Obama and American Tamil Forum- urged the US to arrest former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse who is reported to be visiting US, for his alleged involvement in war crimes during conflict.

India’s Fighter Jet Tejas Catches SL Attention:

21. India's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, has caught the attention of foreign buyers with Sri Lanka and Egypt evincing interest in the indigenously built fighter jet. Sri Lanka had recently rejected Pakistan's JF-17 aircraft built with Chinese help. The two countries are interested in the current version of the Tejas and not the upgraded one which will be rolled out later.

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