Sri Lanka
Sri Lankans bide time as leaders seek fix for economic woes
Sri Lankans who have endured months of fuel and food shortages are bracing for more pain as a newly installed government scrambles to find solutions to the Indian Ocean nation's economic emergency.
Like many others, fish monger Gamini Mallawarachchi says he is pinning his hopes on President Ranil Wickremesinghe 's ability to revive the economy and restore stability after months of turmoil and protests.
“Things are really, really bad now and my life is almost ruined,” said Mallawarachchi, who has given up on selling fish because he can't find fuel to get to the village where he used to buy it, and anyway his customers were buying less and less.
Mallawarachchi said he views Wickremesinghe his “last hope.”
Also read: Sri Lanka to host Asia Cup in UAE, ACC confirms
“I think he will do something. With his experience and knowledge, I believe he has the capability,” said Mallawarachchi. “But, he must show some results before the end of this year, otherwise, he will also have to face protests from the people,” he said.
Sri Lanka inched closer to ending its dire economic and humanitarian crisis with the July 20 appointment of Wickremesinghe's new government after months of protests and turmoil. But daunting hurdles lay ahead.
Lawmakers backed him in extending a national emergency that gives the president broad powers to crack down on any violence. That may buy him time to try to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund on a requested $3 billion bailout.
Also read: Schools reopen in Sri Lanka after closure from fuel shortages
By his own admission, that’s easier said than done.
On Saturday, Wickremesinghe said he has pushed back by a month his aim of getting an agreement by early August since talks with the IMF stalled amid recent political turmoil.
So far there are scant signs of progress in negotiations with Sri Lanka’s other creditors on more than $50 billion that it owes to lenders.
“Because public debt is assessed as unsustainable,” the IMF’s approval would “require adequate financing assurances from Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored,” the lending agency said in a statement. That would require lenders, both public and private, to agree to accept smaller payouts on bonds, lower interest rates or extended repayment terms.
IMF conditions also would likely involve tax increases, better safeguards against corruption and other reforms such as privatizing state-owned companies like the national airline.
The World Bank issued a statement last week expressing “deep concern" over Sri Lanka and saying it wouldn't supply more funding, pending plans for “deep structural reforms" to address the causes of the crisis.
“He’s in a bind,” said Tamanna Salikuddin of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent institute based in Washington, D.C.
Austerity measures are a bitter pill to swallow for people who are going hungry and walking or biking to work because they cannot buy fuel. And raising taxes would likely undercut support from stalwarts in the ruling party who benefited from the tax cuts that helped deplete state coffers, she noted.
In June, Wickremesinghe, who was then prime minister for the sixth time, suggested a conference of major donors such as India, China and Japan. Sri Lanka, whose foreign exchange reserves are largely exhausted, is seeking “bridge financing” to be able to buy fuel and other essential supplies to keep the economy running.
“We have to hope that friendly countries will support Sri Lanka in the short term,” said political analyst Jehan Perera.
On a visit last week to New Delhi, Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, contrasted India’s aid to China’s, and urged Beijing to do more. India’s government says it has provided more than $1.5 billion in credit for purchases of fuel, food, medicine and other essentials.
Asked about Sri Lanka's debt impasse — and criticism that China's lending is not transparent — Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused the U.S. and other “western capital" of manipulating Sri Lanka's credit rating, speculating in its markets and preventing it from obtaining new financing.
“We hope the U.S. can genuinely help Sri Lanka overcome the current difficulties, ease the debt burden and realize sustainable development instead of unscrupulously using every opportunity possible to shift the blame, smear other countries and seek geopolitical games," Zhao said.
Official Chinese lending to Sri Lanka accounts for only about 10% of its debt but the amount of additional commercial borrowing from China is unclear.
“Unless and until the rest of their debt is restructured I don’t see the Chinese doing anything,” said Salikuddin. “They never take the first step.”
As talks with Sri Lanka’s lenders drag on, its people carry on, finding ways to get by and often waiting days in lines for gasoline, sometimes still returning home empty handed.
“Even if a deal (with the IMF) is agreed, Sri Lanka still faces a tough road ahead as far as its economic recovery goes. By no means is it that a deal is agreed and things get back to normal very quickly,” Gareth Leather of Capital Economics said in a recent online briefing.
The state-owned gas company has begun distributing cylinders of cooking gas — a mixture of propane and butane — but most people have to wait at least overnight to be able to buy them and the price has more than tripled since October.
The government also has introduced an app to ration gasoline purchases: 4 liters (1 gallon) a week for motorcycles, 20 liters (5.3 gallons) a week for cars and 40 liters (10.6 gallons) a week for buses.
The aim is to reduce the long queues at gas stations and crack down on a black market in fuel. Priority is being given to school buses, farming, fishing, tourism and public transport.
Many people say they’ve cut back or virtually given up on eating fish and meat due to high prices. Milk powder is hard to come by and prices of most essentials including bread and lentils have tripled.
“People will be more patient and will be prepared to wait as long as the acute shortages are dealt with,” said Perera. “Otherwise, it will be like a tinder box — you can see angry people on the roads every day in their cars, motorbikes. Angry people, it’s a tinder box situation, and a spark would lead to more turmoil.”
Mallawarachchi, the fish monger, used to earn about 6,000 rupees ($16) a day. Now he's living off his savings.
Sithum Udara, an office clerk, still goes to work, but what used to be a quick, comfortable commute by motorbike has become a misery of cramming onto buses or a train.
“Going to office is a nightmare now. I am really fed up and I think this is the worst time of my life," Udara said. “I have no choice but to go to work."
But Udara believes Wickremesinghe should be given “considerable time” to revive the economy and solve other problems. “He can't do it overnight; people must understand that reality."
For now, a big part of the president's job is managing expectations.
“The first thing he has to do is deliver on the economics,” Salikuddin said. “It’s the bankruptcy of the economy that brought people into the street,” she said.
Sri Lanka to host Asia Cup in UAE, ACC confirms
After much speculation, the Asian Cricket Council finally confirmed that the ACC Asia Cup will be hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket in the UAE.
It means, the Lankan cricket board remained the official organizer of the event, but they’ll have to host the event in the UAE due to the ongoing political turmoil in the island nation.
This year’s Asia Cup will be played in T20 format between August 27 and September 11.
The decision was earlier announced by Sourav Ganguly, the president of BCCI, but an official announcement from the Asian Cricket Council was due until Wednesday.
Also read: Bangladesh T20I team leaves Dhaka for Zimbabwe
In a press release, the Asian Cricket Council said considering the current political situation in Sri Lanka, the board has decided it would be appropriate to relocate the event venue to the UAE.
“We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup,” as Shammi Silva, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket quoted in the press release. “While I fully stand by the ACC's decision to shift the Asia Cup to the UAE considering the current context and the magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka Cricket will work closely with the ACC and Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup.”
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Jay Shah, the president of the Asian Cricket Council, said it took much deliberation to decide the relocation of the Asia Cup. He also said that the effort was high to host the event in Sri Lanka.
A total of five teams— Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka— are scheduled to take part in this year’s Asia Cup which will be played in the T20 format.
SAFF U-20 Football: Bangladesh makes good start beating Sri Lanka 1-0
Last two times runners-up Bangladesh managed a hard-fought 1-0 goal victory over the Islanders Sri Lanka in one of the two opening day's matches of the five-nation SAFF U-20 Championship'2022 at the Kalinga Stadium in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar Monday (July 25) night.
Mirazul Islam scored the match-winning goal for Bangladesh in the 71st minute.
Earlier in the tournament's opener, two times champions Nepal outplayed the Maldives by 4-0 goals at the same venue Monday afternoon.
Five South Asian nations – India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka-- are taking part in this year's fourth edition of the regional soccer meet.
Read: SAFF U-20 Football: Bangladesh will start their campaign taking on Sri Lanka on Monday
In the remaining matches, Bangladesh will play hosts India on July 27, the Maldives on July 29 and Nepal on August 2.
After the league basis matches, top two teams will play in the final on August 5.
Nepal are the most successful nation in the meet winning the title twice while India lifted its first title in 2019 after beating two times runners-up Bangladesh.
Schools reopen in Sri Lanka after closure from fuel shortages
Sri Lanka on Monday reopened government-owned public and state-approved private schools, which were closed for nearly a month due to fuel shortages.
However, schools will be open only three days a week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and students will be taught online on the other two days of the school week.
The Ministry of Education also extended the first school term until September 7.
Also read: Sri Lanka: The state strikes back
Schools will also not conduct examinations at the end of the first term, and principals have been instructed to conduct alternative forms of evaluation.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed officials to provide fuel to school buses from all state-run fuel depots.
There are close to 40,000 vehicles that are engaged in transporting students to schools in Sri Lanka.
Also read: Group seeks ex-Sri Lankan president's arrest in Singapore
Group seeks ex-Sri Lankan president's arrest in Singapore
A human rights group said Sunday it had filed a criminal complaint with Singapore’s attorney general to seek the arrest of Sri Lanka’s former president for alleged war crimes during his country’s civil war.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted from office over his country's economic collapse and fled to Singapore earlier this month. He was defense secretary during Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended in 2009.
The International Truth and Justice Project — an evidence-gathering organization administered by a South Africa-based nonprofit foundation —said its lawyers filed the complaint requesting Rajapaksa’s immediate arrest. The complaint alleges Rajapaksa committed grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions during the civil war "and that these are crimes subject to domestic prosecution in Singapore under universal jurisdiction.”
Sri Lanka's economic crisis has left the nation’s 22 million people struggling with shortages of essentials, including medicine, fuel and food. Months of protests have focused on the Rajapaksa political dynasty, which has ruled the country for most of the past two decades.
Read: Sri Lankan president urged not to use force on protesters
“The economic meltdown has seen the government collapse, but the crisis in Sri Lanka is really linked to structural impunity for serious international crimes going back three decades or more,” said the ITJP’s executive director, Yasmin Sooka.
“This complaint recognizes that it’s not just about corruption and economic mismanagement but also accountability for mass atrocity crimes,” she added.
Sri Lanka’s civil war killed 100,000 people, according to conservative United Nations estimates. The actual number is believed to be much higher. A report from a U.N. panel of experts said at least 40,000 ethnic minority Tamil civilians were killed in the final months of the fighting alone.
Tamil Tiger rebels fought to create an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils. The country’s ethnic Sinhala majority credited Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa with the war victory, cementing the family's political dominance, though accounts of atrocities, autocratic governance and nepotism persisted.
Efforts to investigate allegations of war crimes were largely suppressed under Rajapaksa leaders.
After Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country earlier this month, lawmakers elected Ranil Wickremesinghe to serve the remainder of his presidential term. He declared a state of emergency with broad powers to act to ensure law and order, and a day after he was sworn in, hundreds of armed troops raided a protest camp outside the president’s office, attacking demonstrators with batons.
Rights groups have urged the president to immediately order troops and police to cease use of force and said Friday's display seemed to follow a pattern of Sri Lankan authorities forcefully responding to dissent.
The political turmoil has threatened Sri Lanka's potential for economic recovery. Wickremesinghe recently said bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund were nearing a conclusion.
SAFF U-20 Football: Bangladesh will start their campaign taking on Sri Lanka on Monday
Last two- time runners-up Bangladesh will start their campaign in the five-nation SAFF U-20 Championship'2022 taking on Islander Sri Lanka in one of the two opening day's fixture on Monday.
The match will kicks-off at 8 pm local time at the Kalinga Stadium in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar while two-time champions Nepal will play the Maldives in the opening match at 4 pm at the same venue.
Five South Asian nations – India, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka-- will take part in this year's fourth edition of the regional soccer meet.
In the remaining matches, Bangladesh will play hosts India on July 27, the Maldives on July 29 and Nepal on August 2.
Also read: SAFF U-20 Football :Bangladesh team makes practices in Bhubaneswar on Saturday
After the league basis matches, top two teams will play in the final on August 5.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Under-20 Football team, now in the Indian city of Bhubaneshwar to participate in the SAFF Under-20 Championship, made their practice session on the 2nd consecutive day today.
Bangladesh team, which reached Bhubaneshwar Friday night made their first practices on Saturday to achieve their target of playing in the final.
Touring Bangladesh team made strength and conditioning, gym and pool session at the team hotel on Sunday morning and made their practices at the Capital Practice ground in the afternoon.
During the day's practice session under the head coach Paul Smalley, Bangladesh worked on ball possession, attacking football and set pieces.
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The tournament was introduced in 2015 as U-19 competition. However, the tournament was later changed to SAFF U-18 Championship in 2017. But, this year it will be played as a U-20 Championship.
Nepal are the most successful nation in the meet winning the title twice while India lifted its first title in 2019 after beating two times runners-up Bangladesh.
All the matches of 2022 edition of SAFF U-20 will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
Fixture of the Tournament :
Nepal vs Maldives, July 25, 4:00 pm
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, July 25, 8:00 pm
Bangladesh vs India, July 27, 4:00 pm
Sri Lanka vs Nepal, July 27, 8:00 pm
India vs Sri Lanka, July 29, 4:00 pm
Maldives vs Bangladesh, July 29, 8:00 pm
Maldives vs Sri Lanka, July 31, 4:00 pm
Nepal vs India, July 31, 8:00 pm
Bangladesh vs Nepal, August 2, 4:00 pm
India vs Maldives, August 2, 8:00 pm
Final (August 5)
Group Champion 1 vs Group Champion 2
Sri Lankan president urged not to use force on protesters
An international human rights group is urging Sri Lanka’s new president to immediately order security forces to cease all unlawful use of force against protesters who have been demonstrating against the government — for months — over the country’s economic meltdown.
A day after President Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in Thursday, hundreds of armed troops raided a protest camp outside the president’s office in the early hours of Friday, attacking demonstrators with batons in a move that Human Rights Watch said “sends a dangerous message to the Sri Lankan people that the new government intends to act through brute force rather than the rule of law.”
Two journalists and two lawyers were also attacked by soldiers in the crackdown. Security forces arrested 11 people, including protesters and lawyers.
“Urgently needed measures to address the economic needs of Sri Lankans demand a government that respects fundamental rights,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement released early Saturday.
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“Sri Lanka’s international partners should send the message loud and clear that they can’t support an administration that tramples on the rights of its people,” she added.
Wickremesinghe, who previously served as prime minister six times, was sworn in as president a week after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the country after protesters stormed his residence. Rajapaksa later resigned while exiled in Singapore.
Sri Lankans have taken to the streets for months to demand their top leaders step down to take responsibility for the economic chaos that has left the nation’s 22 million people struggling with shortages of essentials, including medicine, fuel and food. While the protesters have focused on the Rajapaksa political dynasty, Wickremesinghe also has drawn their ire as a perceived Rajapaksa surrogate.
Armed troops and police arrived in trucks and buses on Friday to clear the main protest camp near the presidential palace in the capital, Colombo, where demonstrators had gathered for more than 100 days. They removed tents and blocked roads leading to the site.
The troops moved in even though protesters had announced they would vacate the site on Friday voluntarily.
Sri Lanka’s opposition, the United Nations, and the U.S. have denounced the government’s heavy-handed tactics.
Despite the heavy security now positioned outside the president’s office, protesters have vowed to continue their efforts until Wickremesinghe resigns.
Wickremesinghe was voted president by lawmakers this week — apparently seen as a safe pair of hands to lead Sri Lanka out of the crisis, even though he, too, was a target of the demonstrations. On Friday, he appointed as prime minister a Rajapaksa ally, Dinesh Gunawardena, who is 73 and from a prominent political family.
Read: Sri Lanka's new cabinet of ministers sworn in
On Monday, when he was acting president, Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency giving him the power to change or suspend laws and giving authorities broad power to search premises and detain people. Overnight, just hours after he was sworn in, he issued a notice under the state of emergency calling on the armed forces to maintain law and order nationwide — clearing the way for the move against the protest camp.
The protesters accuse Rajapaksa and his powerful family of siphoning money from government coffers and of hastening the country’s collapse by mismanaging the economy. The family has denied the corruption allegations, but the former president acknowledged that some of his policies contributed to Sri Lanka’s crisis.
The political turmoil has threatened to make a rescue from the International Monetary Fund more difficult. Still, earlier this week, Wickremesinghe said bailout talks with the fund were nearing a conclusion and talks on help from other countries had also progressed.
The head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, told the Japanese financial magazine Nikkei Asia this week that the fund hopes for a deal “as quickly as possible.”
Sri Lanka's new cabinet of ministers sworn in
Eighteen ministers including Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena were sworn into Sri Lanka's new cabinet before President Ranil Wickremesinghe here on Friday.
The President's Office said that among those who took oaths as cabinet ministers were Ali Sabry as the minister of Foreign Affairs, Harin Fernando as the minister of Tourism and Lands, Nalin Fernando as the minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, Kanchana Wijesekera as the minister of Power and Energy.
Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in as the prime minister earlier in the day, and he also held the position of the minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government.
The new cabinet of ministers was sworn in after Ranil Wickremesinghe won an election in parliament on July 20 to become the new president of Sri Lanka following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Read: Sri Lankan Cabinet reshuffled to counter economic crisis
Asia Cup 2022 moved from Sri Lanka to UAE: Ganguly
The Asia Cup 2022 has been shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE, according to Sourav Ganguly, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The deepening economic and political crisis in the island nation forced the organisers to change the venue, even though Sri Lanka has successfully hosted a full tour of Australia and is now hosting a Test series against Pakistan.
However, hosting bilateral series is very different from hosting a tournament like the Asia Cup, which this time will be played in the T20 format, and will feature Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Read: Asia Cup T20 to be held in August
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had limited options regarding back-up venues considering June through September is monsoon season over most of the Indian subcontinent.
The Asia Cup will be in the UAE, as it is the only place where there will not be rains, Ganguly told the media.
However, ACC is yet to officially announce the UAE as the tournament venue.
Sri Lanka Cricket recently informed the ACC that it will not be able to host the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup T20 because of the economic and political crisis in the country.
Sri Lanka: The state strikes back
Sri Lankan armed forces and law enforcers ordered by new President Ranil Wickremasinghe swooped down on the temporary camps set up by the protesters numbering in thousands and arrested hundreds. It was the first hit back by the state after the elections. Once state forces move in, crowds can’t sustain, unless the state itself is undergoing a transition. In Sri Lanka, it’s probably a continuation of the old regime in a new form that is on.
Although there was much cheering when the Presidents and cronies fled as the Rajapakse regime crumbled, there was genuine concern that Sri Lanka was facing “anarchy” or sorts. If the crowds prevail, talks with fresh donors and lenders including the IMF would not happen. The army looked like the only force that had clout. By taking over the national TV and radio station, the army began protecting the establishment and the state. Now with the arrests, the next step has been taken.
Crowds vs the formal state ?
Most of the military top brass are actually protégés of the Rajapakses. Kamal Guneratne, the spokesperson of the army, was a top field commander in the final battle that defeated the Tamil Tigers movement in 2009. His superior at the time was Gotabaya Rajapaksa, now the ex -President. So it’s obvious that senior commanders have many common grounds. It’s they who ensured a safe flight to the ex-Prez.
Read: Is the pro-Chinese Left behind the Sri Lanka agitation?
On July 10, NDTV of India reported that the Sri Lankan Army chief General Shavendra Silva had sought people's support to maintain peace. On July 13, the Sri Lanka army took over the state Television, radio stations and took up strategic positions. On 20th of July came the elections, Ranil came to power despite crowd protests that he had termed: fascists”. Two days later the crowd clearing began led by the army and supported by the police .
“It’s always the economics, stupid”
Sri Lanka’s struggle is with economics, a fact many ignore in the face of the political drama. On top of that it has become the new battle ground of Indo-China rivalry. New Delhi has so far given about $1.5 billion (€1.47 billion) to Colombo for funding imports of food, fuel, medicines and fertilizers. Plus another $3.8 billion in assistance in the form of currency swaps and credit lines.
Beijing has given some 500 million yuan ($75 million, €73.35 million) in humanitarian aid and has promised to "play a positive role" in Sri Lanka's talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) But they are not seen as enough. China has also yet to respond to Colombo's appeal for debt relief.
China is not interested in writing off its debt and the West certainly has been effective in demonizing China as the “Great debtor”. And India is working hard to be seen as Sri Lanka’s friend number one. It has got several contracts in Trincomalee and Colombo port zone making its return as a player possible.
Read: Sri Lanka : Has the colonial democracy model run its course ?
Sri Lanka has chosen to turn to India, the West and the IMF for relief. “Wickremesinghe is still hoping to form an India-China-West consortium to devise a recovery plan for Sri Lanka. But India and China are unlikely to be part of the same team, given their competing interests in Sri Lanka, “ says journalist P.K. Balachandran, based in Colombo.
Both Sri Lanka and India are banking on the IMF bailout package. However, China is not about to give up easily though it’s playing with its cards close to the chest. Given the global economic scenario, expecting too much from the IMF seems unwise. But expecting China to give in what it sees as a foothold in the region is even less wise.
Meanwhile the state seems more in control after a few months of extreme turmoil.