Sri Lanka: Is Reconciliation Possible Now?

It was the Independence Day of Sri Lanka today and it was celebrated by the people in a happy state of mind without fear of violence. For many years, such anniversaries were celebrated with a lot of tension because of fear of possible attacks by Tamil Tiger Rebels. The rebellion was crushed completely a few months ago. President, Mahinda Rajapaksa has called for national unity and reconciliation.

President Mahinda Rajapakse said, "The freedom from colonial rule that we gained 62 years ago is now more meaningful because we have been liberated from the forces of separatist terror that marred our freedom for nearly half that period.

It is necessary that we give priority to the tasks of national reconciliation and the building of trust among all sections of our people.

We are entering into a new era of co-existence after finishing the period of some controversy. I would like to say that we are now entering the golden era of international relations."

I am not that much hopeful for two reasons. First of all, after the civil war ended, there has not been any major initiative from Sri Lankan government to improve the condition of the Tamil community. So, the grievance among the people belonging to Tamil community is not going to disappear.

Secondly, Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected in a way in the election that caused a lot of bitter feeling among the opposition parties. So, the president not only has to win the heart of the Tamil people but also he will have to find a way to make good relationship with the opposition supporters.

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Sri Lanka President Election 2010: Will Peace Come at Last?

The result of Presidential election 2010 of Sri Lanka has been announced less than one hour ago. According to the official result, the current president Mahinda Rajapaksa has become the winner by securing nearly 60% of the votes. His main opponent was General Sarath Fonseka who got nearly 40% of the votes. After the result of the election was announced, there is some kind of uncertainty in Sri Lankan capital and other parts of the country. The opposition parties are unhappy and opposition leaders have already rejected the result by alleging fraud in the election. Independent Observers have said the election was fair but with some serious problems or questions unanswered. The hotel that General Sarath Fonseka is now staying has been surrounded by some troops belonging to Army, Navy and Air force. International media is reporting about this matter with a lot of importance.

The supporters of the president Mahinda Rajapaksa are now celebrating in different parts of the country. Many of them have come to the street and are expressing their joy and they are very happy with this result and they feel that the people have voted for him because this president could ensure peace for the country. Only a few months ago, Sri Lankan army could crash Tamil rebellion in the North of the country.

On the other hand, the opposition leaders are very unhappy and they have already rejected the election result. They are stating that the will of the people have not been reflected in the election result. In fact, General Sarath Fonseka has announced that he would challenge the result in the court and he will fight a legal battle for this election.

The run up to the election was not peaceful as some people died in violent clashes. I have to say that the number of deaths is not that much compared to many third world countries but it was still an uneasy environment for the people. Some reports suggested that in some areas, intimidation was used and some people belonging to the minority voters could not go to vote. So, whether it was a violent or peaceful campaign there is no doubt that the run up to the election was full of problems and bitterness. The two candidates accused each other of serious matters. For example, the opposition leader constantly accused of corruption against the current president and his allies.

Although General Sarath Fonseka has stated that he will go to court and fight a legal battle but I am sure that this problem will not remain limited only in the court room. I am expecting to see street battles or political movements by the combined opposition parties against ruling government in the next few months. In fact, the election became so bitter that I am worried about the future of Sri Lankan economy. I feel that the time for political instability is going to start in the country.

When the problem of Tamil rebellion finished a few months ago, there was a lot of optimism that the country see a new beginning and things will totally become peaceful. However, the election just showed how divided public opinions in Sri Lanka is. Even if you are ready to accept all the accusations of General Sarath Fonseka, there is still a lot of popular support for the current president Mahinda Rajapaksa. So, the entire populations are divided and this can not be good for the economy. Instability is always bad for economy and we have seen these problems in another neighboring country Nepal. Nepal is also a beautiful country in South Asia and it has a lot of potential in the tourism sector just like Sri Lanka. However, political fighting has totally destroyed the Nepalese economy and Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world.

I am afraid for Sri Lankan economy for the same problem. Recently, an influential media of USA announced Sri Lanka to be the most attractive place to visit 2010. So, the tourism sector of this country should get a lot of boost in this year but if political problem starts then the tourism sector will surely suffer. If instability comes again then the Sri Lankan government will become weak and I will not be surprised to see the Tamil problem again becoming a major problem for the country. Of course, in 2010, I am not expecting any resurgence of the Tamil problem but if bitterness and political division continues among the majority Sinhalese population, then Tamil problem will come again sooner or later. The reaction of international community is not still clear. As I said, only less than one hour ago the result has been announced and it is perhaps too early to expect official reaction from international community. There is no official reaction from USA or UK yet. There were some independent observers and most probably tomorrow, we will get a better picture of their assessment of the president election 2010.

I hope that Sri Lankan political leaders can sort out their problems and find a common ground. However, I am not hopeful because in many third world countries, political fighting is a very natural matter and in the end, I think that it is ultimately the ordinary people who are to blame for this. They must try to give value to democratic culture and they must become conscious and active in politics. Only then they can exert real pressure on political leaders and political leaders will be forced to work in a peaceful way and thus any real change will come to a country like Sri Lanka.

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Sri Lanka: The Best Place to Travel in 2010 According to New York Times

Tourism is one of the main foreign exchange earners for Sri Lankan economy. Because of the civil war, this sector was badly hit. The civil war ended a few months ago and as a result, it is expected that many people would come to the country again. The tourism sector of Sri Lanka would surely get a good boost thanks to New York Times. The US newspaper mentioned it as the top place to travel in 2010.

NY Times wrote:

The island, with a population of just 20 million, feels like one big tropical zoo: elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees. And then there’s the pristine coastline. The miles of sugary white sand flanked by bamboo groves that were off-limits to most visitors until recently are a happy, if unintended byproduct of the war.

Sri Lankan government should focus on developing infrastructure for this sector. If tourism flourishes then many foreign companies would happily come and invest.

Sri Lankan Squad in Tri Nation Series 2010

Sri Lankan selectors have announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Tri-Nation ODI Tournament in Bangladesh next month. They have included more new players in this squad. Some senior players have been axed from the squad. We can see that selectors are depending on fresh look face for the tour series in New Year. It is clear that selectors are not satisfied with the performance of some senior players. I don’t know either it was a wise decision to bring more new players. However, it is a chance given to the fresh and energetic players to prove their quality and ability to seal the victory.

Lahiru Thirimanne is the only uncapped player in Sri Lanka team. He is left-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler. He has good performance both first class cricket and list A. It is expected that this 20-year-old batsman can play an important role as an all rounder.

However, Sri Lankan cricket team will be deprived of the service of some senior players who have been left out due to injury. They are Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando. Their absence in the national squad can affect the team performance.

Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis failed to take a place in the squad because of their poor performance in the recently concluded tour series against India.

Kumar Sangakkara is the captain of Sri Lankan cricket team. He is now in good form. Sangakkara is the leading batsman with an average of 55.10. Recently, he will join Lancashire. This ODI tournament is a big challenge for them because he will have to lead some young players who have not any experience to play international match.

This triangular ODI series will kick off from 4^th January 2010 against home team Bangladesh. Let us see if the home team can make any upset or not.

Sri Lanka squad: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Thilina Kandamby, Lahiru Thirimanne, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Thissara Perera, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Suraj Randiv, Suranga Lakmal, Chanaka Welegedara.

Sri Lanka: After Civil War Looking for Foreign Investors

At last, there is some peace in Sri Lanka. In the last few months, we did not hear of any violence escalating in big level. Well, the civil war may have ended but national reconciliation is yet to take place in the country. Anyway, Sri Lankan government officials know that they have to try for economic growth now. So, the country is trying to attract foreign investment.

Business Standard reported:

Sri Lanka is entering a new phase of economic growth after the recent resolution of the conflict with the Tamil Tigers separatist group. It is aggressively seeking to make the region investor- friendly for global businesses.

It is also seeking to invest in India’s banking, financial services and tourism sectors. Two of the country’s leading hotel chains – John Keells and Aitken Spence – are planning a major foray each into India. Other details of the investment could not be ascertained.

 

Hopefully, now Sri Lanka will have more business friendly environment. The country has perhaps the highest rate in literacy in South Asia and before the civil war started, many people dreamt that it would become another Singapore. 

Sri Lanka is also Going for Gold Instead of Dollar

A few days ago, I wrote that India was buying a lot of gold instead of US dollar. Now, it seems that Sri Lanka is doing the same thing. There is some media speculation that Sri Lanka has purchased five tonnes of gold. This way, it is diversifying forex reserve. Economic recession in USA has made dollar weak and instable. So, central banks in India and Sri Lanka are perhaps thinking that Gold is more solid and stable. Sri Lanka will soon have a foreign exchange reserve of nearly $5 billion. It is a healthy amount compared to the size of the population. 

Sri Lanka: No Mobile Phone in School

In most countries in the world, mobile phone operators feel that it is the young generation who is their main customer. They have this feeling because young people try to adapt to new technology more than their elders. Sri Lanka is not an exception either. It has mobile phone penetration rate of over 50% and this is a good market for any company. So, the operators have brought this technology to the hand of teenagers and this has caused some problems in some schools. Many teenagers are getting addicted to their phone sets and what happened was that a teacher scolded a girl severely for talking to a boy with her cell during school time. This matter made the girl very sad and she committed suicide. Another student tried to kill himself. So, the government officials have become worried and have banned carrying cell phones in school.

Well, I do not support this decision because for working parents whose children go to school every day, mobile phone is a very important device to stay connected. So, what Sri Lankan government is doing in fact is like cutting off the head because headache pain.

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$24 Million Loan from World Bank Loan for Sri Lanka

After the end of civil war, now, one of the top priorities for the government of the country is to look after the economy. Many people have suffered and the economy of the country also suffered in the last 3 decades. Of course, it needs massive support from international community. World Bank yesterday ‘approved a $ 24 million IDA credit’. The areas in north and east have been ravaged by the civil war and many people are in extreme need of aid.

RTT News reported:

The project will continue to support the decentralization of health service delivery, including the strengthening of district and provincial capacity for planning and implementation of health programs, the Bank said in a statement. It would also support efforts to improve service delivery and renovate health facilities, provide training for health workers, and provision of medical supplies and equipment, it added.

It is a welcome relief for many people in Sri Lanka. However, World Bank should monitor strictly that the money reaches to the people who really need it.

Sri Lanka Tourism: Good Time Ahead?

Sri Lanka is a very beautiful country for tourism. It has natural beauty and it has some very important historical places. If you are a fan of Buddhism then you should make a visit to this country at least once in a life time. There is no doubt that Sri Lanka has a huge potential in the tourism sector. In fact, tourism brings significant portion of money for the neighboring country Maldives. So, there is no reason that Sri Lanka should not be able to do that.

I found an interesting report about it: Sri Lanka Tourism Looks to Boom After War's End

I am optimistic that tourism can soon become a billion dollar industry for the country. The good part is that it not only brings foreign exchange but also generates a lot of jobs in different corners of the country.

In search of a New Sri Lanka

(This entry was originally uploaded on May 2009.)

Dhanapala Weerasekera has written a commentary on the current condition of Sri Lanka in Daily News. If you read it then you will understand that Mr. Weerasekera has praised the role of current president of the country, Mahinda Rajapaksa. There is no doubt that Mahinda Rajapaksa has shown leadership skill in bringing the civil war to an end. He has received generous praise from home and abroad for his efforts and leadership. However, with the end of the civil war, there are now new challenges. I am quoting from that article:

Equal rights for all as Sri Lankans

The President’s firm assurance that hereafter there will be no minority communities or majority communities, but all Sri Lankans, is a statement that none of our past leaders had the political sincerity and self-confidence to declare.

The divisions and differences among people were used by past leaders to gain power or remain in power from the time of independence. This folly of dividing subjects of colonial Ceylon when independence was won was supported by Sinhalese Tamil and other leaders as proposed by the then UNP leadership.

I think that this will be the biggest challenge for the government: to ensure national solidarity and reconciliation. All the political parties of the country must try for it from their heart. They should learn from the past and remember that if the country again falls into civil war and unrest then their safety will at stake too.

Ceylon Tea to attract Chinese People

Sri Lanka is the leading exporter of tea and it is one of the main foreign exchange earners for the country. Sri Lanka has been badly hit by the ongoing civil war and it is obvious that it hurts the economy badly. So, the government has to maneuver with limited number of products for the economic development and tea is always high on its agenda. Sri Lanka Tea Board is always exploring for new markets and one of the potential markets is China. Due to continuous high economic growth for the last two decades, China is an attractive market for any product.

China is the largest producer of tea in the world but it also has a population of over 1 billion people. So, there is always room for high quality tea in the country. Ceylon tea is considered to be one the best quality of tea varieties. That is why, Sri Lanka Tea Board is now encouraging tea producers of Sri Lanka to actively pursue the Chinese market. International Tea Fair will take place in Hong Kong in August 2009 and Sri Lanka Tea Board has urged the tea companies of the country to try to take part on it. Let us see if it can bring any good news for Sri Lanka tea industry.

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(This entry was originally published in March 2009.)

Sri Lanka Stock Exchange with New Opportunities for Foreign Investors

With the new peace that has come in the country, Sri Lankan government is now focusing not only on economic development. It is perhaps a bigger challenge to win than the Civil War. One of the key areas that the government is focusing is the stock exchange and they’re hoping that they would be able to attract foreign investors like George Soros, Mark Mobius and other top fund managers.

(This entry was first posted in this blog a few days ago. However, for technical problems, it got deleted and I am reposting it today).

It seems that the country has one of the most open forms of stock exchange investment in Asia. A foreign investor does not need any permission from the government to invest and even there is hardly any tax compared to other south Asian countries. But in this time of economic recession, many investors are looking for new market opportunities because they have suffered a lot of loss in Europe and America and in rich Asian countries. So, if they find that Sri Lankan stock exchange is a good place to invest, then there is no doubt that they will come in large number.

Sri Lanka: More Conflict Less Inflation?

In this blog, I try to cover South Asian business and economy news. That is why, every day, I try to take a look at the media headlines of Sri Lanka. It seems that these days, it is all about conflicts and war in the country. That is why, this news item caught my eyes today that rate of inflation is going to decrease in February 2009 compared to a year ago at the same month. This news may come as a shock to some of you as it is normally expected that when there is civil war in a country, the inflation must increase as agriculture and industrial productions get disrupted.

The reason behind the decrease in inflation is that because of global economic recession, the price of many commodities has fallen in the international market. Another thing that had decreased a lot is oil price. As a result, there should be less pressure on importers in the country and the ordinary people are enjoying the benefit.

Well, it seems that the on going civil war is affecting the country in another area: balance of payments crisis. It is perhaps time that Sri Lankan decision makers start to give the same amount of focus on country’s economy like the civil war.

(This entry was first published in February 2009. Because of a technical problem, the entry had to be deleted and I am reposting again now.)