Features

SRI LANKA SHOULD CLOSE DOWN MOST OF OUR OVERSEAS MISSIONS AS A STEP TOWARDS REDUCING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE

Published

4 years ago

2021/09/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

By Sanjeewa Jayaweera

A couple of recent news items that got my attention were:

(1)”The Government has decided to strictly restrict state expenses owing to the grave financial crisis the government was facing. Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has informed the Cabinet that state revenue has decreased drastically as the economy faces a severe crisis due to the Covid pandemic. It was not sufficient even for recurrent expenditure. The government has also decided to suspend all recruitment for state service.”

(2)”High Commissioner-designate of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda assumes duties in New Delhi, at a simple ceremony held at the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi on 30 August 2021.”

Given the perilous state of the economy, the need to restrict and reduce state expenditure is mandatory. That it should have been done several decades ago by successive governments is to state the obvious. The salary cost of government employees and pensions is estimated to account for 80 per cent of government revenue. This expenditure at present is a fixed cost unless the government takes a bold step to enforce a pay cut on government servants. Although it might sound outrageous, many establishments struggling to survive have done it in the private sector. No doubt such a measure will be unpopular, particularly when the cost of living is increasing. But, let alone a pay cut, the Principals and Teachers, have stuck work demanding salary increments. For the GOSL, it is undoubtedly “The Hobson’s choice.”

The need to manage costs prudently has always been a priority in the private sector. As a former Chief Financial Officer of a chain of hotels between 1995 and 2005, I experienced this challenge firsthand as tourism bore the brunt of the consequences of the war waged by terrorists. Every time a bomb explosion took place, there was a sharp decline in hotel occupancy and revenue. Mere survival was difficult. We, of course, did not have the luxury of printing money as the GOSL has done to manage the deficit. Even obtaining a bank overdraft was difficult as Banks’ were wary of lending money to the hotel sector. The hotel industry was deemed not creditworthy, just as presently the GOSL is considered by overseas lenders.

In such circumstances, we had to examine every expense item and determine whether it belonged to the category of “Absolutely Necessary.” Any expenditure outside that definition was eliminated. It was not a pleasant task, but it had to be done. It is in that context that I wish to propose that the GOSL carry out a serious and dispassionate review as to how many of our embassies and high commissions in overseas countries are “Absolutely necessary.”

The cost of maintaining our overseas resident missions according to the Sri Lanka Budget Estimates for 2021 is Rs. 11 billion, which at an exchange rate of Rs 190 for 1 US Dollar is US Dollars 58 million. What needs to be understood is that all expenditure of our foreign missions needs to be remitted in US Dollars. Staff salaries, rent, and other establishment costs are incurred in foreign currency. I understand many local companies are presently struggling to obtain even US $ 20,000 from banks to import urgently needed spare parts for their factory machinery.

It is possible that the shortage of foreign exchange may be temporary. However, Sri Lanka has for many decades run a significant budget deficit where recurrent expenditure is well over revenue. In such circumstances, a pertinent question is whether the bulk of the US $ 58 million spent in maintaining overseas resident missions should be eliminated and what would be the ramifications for the country.

In determining how many of our overseas resident missions are superfluous and should be closed down, we need to understand the role and function of an Embassy / High Commission in a foreign country.

The Vienna Convention of 1963 has outlined the role and functions as follows (summarized) :

“The functions of a diplomatic mission consist, inter alia, in representing the sending State in the receiving State; protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and its nationals, within limits permitted by international law; promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations; negotiating with the Government of the receiving State; ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State.”

Although I am no expert on international relations, I feel the section stating “promoting friendly relations and developing economic, cultural and scientific relations” should be the critical criteria in determining the need for a resident mission in an overseas country. I am well aware that consular services extended to Sri Lankans living in overseas countries are also essential. However, I contend that we do not need an ambassador and a plethora of diplomatic officers to carry out this necessary but mundane function.

In terms of promoting friendly relations between Sri Lanka and the nation to where they have been posted, I contend that our ambassadors and diplomats currently have a minimal role to play. At present international relations are based on policy set out by the GOSL. The best of personal efforts by our ambassadors and diplomats will bear no result if the GOSL pursues policies deemed by the other country to be unacceptable to them. For example, I can only assume that our ambassadors and diplomats based in the Middle East and other Muslim countries were pulling their hair and struggled to maintain “friendly relations” when GOSL followed a policy of not allowing Muslims to bury those who passed away to COVID. Similarly, our close relations with China have impacted our relations with many others. To a large extent, the concept of “Non-Aligned” as practiced in the 1960s and 1970s has been replaced with “You are either with us or against us.” In the last three decades, China has been the “bogeyman” for the USA and their allies, whilst before that, it was the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

A couple of two separate but distinct incidents that my father, a career diplomat, encountered when serving abroad more or less explains the fallacy that having an overseas resident mission facilitates friendly relations.

In either 1973 or 1974, when serving in Pakistan, the embassy received an urgent telex from Colombo requesting that a message from Mrs Sirima Banadaranaike be handed to Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan. The request was for Pakistan to send an urgent shipload of rice to Colombo due to an impending shortage. My father, acting for the Ambassador, met Mr Bhutto within 12 hours of requesting the Pakistani foreign ministry to meet with the PM. Mr Bhutto met him around midnight at his official residence dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown and greeted my father. “Mr Jayaweera, what is that I can do for our good friend Madam Bandaranaike?” The PM immediately took action upon the request for help.

In June 1987, when India violated Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by entering our airspace and dropped “parripu”, my father, who was then the Ambassador to West Germany, was instructed to seek an urgent meeting with the West German Foreign Minister and request that a statement be issued expressing concern over the violation of our airspace. However, despite his best efforts, he was not given an appointment for nearly three weeks. He was then politely told that it was a bilateral issue between Sri Lanka and India, and as such, there was no desire on West Germany’s part to get involved!

The immediate response in Pakistan was solely due to the far-sighted foreign policy pursued under Mrs Bandranaike whilst in West Germany, the realities of realpolitik and trade superseded all other concerns. In neither instance was my father able to influence the decision.

In terms of developing economic relations, I believe our foreign missions do not play any meaningful role. For example, in the hotel industry that I worked for over a decade, tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka were solely due to the efforts of the private companies and their partners in overseas countries. The only time our ambassadors got involved was when invited to light the traditional oil lamp at the Sri Lankan pavilion at an international travel fair! Many would argue that even the Tourist Board and the Ministry of Tourism have hardly contributed.

In a similar vein, I am sure those engaged in exporting garments, tea, spices, and various other products and services would say the same. Their efforts and business contacts have enabled such exports, and that our resident missions have hardly played any role.

In the schedule included in this article, I have listed the countries where we have established resident missions. The number is 54 (information taken from the foreign ministry website). I have also indicated in the same schedule which of those countries have reciprocated by establishing resident missions in Colombo.

REC – RECIPROCAL WHERE THE OTHER COUNTRY HAS AN EMBASSY IN COLOMBO

NUMBER OF SRI LANKA RESIDENT MISSIONS OVERSEAS INCLUDING THE UNITED NATIONS = 54

NUMBER OF COUNTRIES HAVING RESIDENT MISSIONS IN SRI LANKA = 41

LIBYA, NEW ZEALAND, ROMANIA, AND SWITZERLAND HAVE RESIDENT MISSIONS IN COLOMBO DESPITE SRI LANKA NOT HAVING A RESIDENT MISSION IN THOSE COUNTRIES. IN ADDITION, THE EEC AND THE HOLY SEE POPE HAVE RESIDENT MISSIONS IN COLOMBO.

Another critical aspect of this debate is that successive governments have appointed people outside the foreign service as ambassadors and high commissioners since independence. These appointments are invariably granted as “santhosams” to their political supporters and since the 1980’s to a few retired service commanders. Thus, they are correctly referred to as “political appointments.” But, unfortunately, many of them are totally unsuitable and poorly trained in the art of diplomacy. Unfortunately, all governments have conveniently overlooked this lacuna. As a result, the poor taxpayers and career diplomats trained in the art of diplomacy have suffered.

In this regard, even Mrs Bandaranaike, who my father and other foreign service officials at the time considered to be the best Foreign Minister, erred. This is despite her government in 1970 appointing the first batch of career diplomats as Ambassadors.

I remember the background of those appointed as ambassadors to Russia and Pakistan, where my father was posted. One gentleman was a person who had appeared for Mrs Bandaranaike in a court case involving, I believe, a land dispute, whilst the other was a very young businessman who no doubt had supported the party financially. Both the gentlemen, as I remember, were “nice” people and sensible enough to let the career diplomats manage the challenges of running the embassy. However, I would contend that they and many other political appointees have had a pleasurable “holiday” at the expense of the taxpayers of Sri Lanka. There have been, of course, exceptions like Shirley Amerasinghe, Neville Kanakaratne and may be of recent vintage Dayan Jayatillake and S. Skandakumar.

The reason why I highlighted the news item of Milinda Moragoda (MM) assuming duties in New Delhi is only because, since January 2020, our High Commission in India has functioned without a High Commissioner. This is despite the parliamentary committee of high posts in August 2020 approving MM’s appointment. The reasons for the lengthy delay in traveling to New Delhi is not in the public domain.

When carrying out the review, it is necessary to determine how the Sri Lanka High Commission in India functioned without a High Commissioner for well over 18 months. It is acknowledged that India is the single most important overseas mission for Sri Lanka. Therefore, the question to be answered is whether relations between Sri Lanka and India were negatively impacted in the absence of a High Commissioner for 18 months?

I was astonished that Singapore does not have an embassy in Colombo despite the two countries’ close relations. A review of the Singapore foreign ministry website indicates that the Ambassador appointed to Sri Lanka is based in the Foreign Ministry in Singapore. The schedule given in the article shows the number of Embassies and High Commissions that Singapore has worldwide against what Sri Lanka has. It is evident that the visionary leaders of Singapore have once again made a dispassionate decision about establishing overseas missions based on commonsense, prudence and need.

*includes consulates in Oman and Bangladesh

There is precedence for countries closing down overseas resident missions due to financial constraints. For example, the Sri Lanka foreign ministry progress report for 2018 states that Nigeria closed down its embassy in Colombo in 2017 due to financial hardship. Need we say more?

Taking all I have highlighted and applying the expenditure criteria of “Absolutely Necessary”, I believe that GOSL can quickly close down many (over 50 per cent) of our overseas missions without any negative impact on our relations with those countries.

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Features

The US-China rivalry and challenges facing the South

Published

18 hours ago

2025/12/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Prof. Neil DeVotta making his presentation at the RCSS.

The US-China rivalry could be said to make-up the ‘stuff and substance’ of world politics today but rarely does the international politics watcher and student of the global South in particular get the opportunity of having a balanced and comprehensive evaluation of this crucial relationship. But such a balanced assessment is vitally instrumental in making sense of current world power relations.

Thanks to the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Colombo the above window of opportunity was opened on December 8th for those sections of the public zealously pursuing an understanding of current issues in global politics. The knowledge came via a forum that was conducted at the RCSS titled, ‘The US-China Rivalry and Implications for the Indo-Pacific’, where Professor Neil DeVotta of the Wake Forest University of North Carolina in the US, featured as the speaker.

A widely representative audience was present at the forum, including senior public servants, the diplomatic corps, academics, heads of civil society organizations, senior armed forces personnel and the media. The event was ably managed by the Executive Director of the RCSS, retired ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha. Following the main presentation a lively Q&A session followed, where many a point of interest was aired and discussed.

While there is no doubt that China is fast catching up with the US with regard to particularly military, economic, scientific and technological capability, Prof. DeVotta helped to balance this standard projection of ‘China’s steady rise’ by pointing to some vital facts about China, the omission of which would amount to the observer having a somewhat uninformed perception of global political realities.

The following are some of the facts about contemporary China that were highlighted by Prof. DeVotta:

* Money is steadily moving out of China and the latter’ s economy is slowing down. In fact the country is in a ‘ Middle Income Trap’. That is, it has reached middle income status but has failed to move to upper income status since then.

* People in marked numbers are moving out of China. It is perhaps little known that some Chinese are seeking to enter the US with a view to living there. The fact is that China’s population too is on the decline.

* Although the private sector is operative in China, there has been an increase in Parastatals; that is, commercial organizations run by the state are also very much in the fore. In fact private enterprises have begun to have ruling Communist Party cells in them.

* China is at its ‘peak power’ but this fact may compel it to act ‘aggressively’ in the international sphere. For instance, it may be compelled to invade Taiwan.

* A Hard Authoritarianism could be said to characterize central power in China today, whereas the expectation in some quarters is that it would shift to a Soft Authoritarian system, as is the case in Singapore.

* China’s influence in the West is greater than it has ever been.

The speaker was equally revelatory about the US today. Just a few of these observations are:

* The US is in a ‘Unipolar Moment’. That is, it is the world’s prime power. Such positions are usually not longstanding but in the case of the US this position has been enjoyed by it for quite a while.

* China is seen by the US as a ‘Revisionist Power’ as opposed to being a ‘Status Quo Power.’ That is China is for changing the world system slowly.

* The US in its latest national security strategy is paying little attention to Soft Power as opposed to Hard Power.

* In terms of this strategy the US would not allow any single country to dominate the Asia-Pacific region.

* The overall tone of this strategy is that the US should step back and allow regional powers to play a greater role in international politics.

* The strategy also holds that the US must improve economic ties with India, but there is very little mention of China in the plan.

Given these observations on the current international situation, a matter of the foremost importance for the economically weakest countries of the South is to figure out how best they could survive materially within it. Today there is no cohesive and vibrant collective organization that could work towards the best interests of the developing world and Dr. DeVotta was more or less correct when he said that the Non-alignment Movement (NAM) has declined.

However, this columnist is of the view that rather being a spent force, NAM was allowed to die out by the South. NAM as an idea could never become extinct as long as economic and material inequalities between North and South exist. Needless to say, this situation is remaining unchanged since the eighties when NAM allowed itself to be a non-entity so to speak in world affairs.

The majority of Southern countries did not do themselves any good by uncritically embracing the ‘market economy’ as a panacea for their ills. As has been proved, this growth paradigm only aggravated the South’s development ills, except for a few states within its fold.

Considering that the US would be preferring regional powers to play a more prominent role in the international economy and given the US’ preference to be a close ally of India, the weakest of the South need to look into the possibility of tying up closely with India and giving the latter a substantive role in advocating the South’s best interests in the councils of the world.

To enable this to happen the South needs to ‘get organized’ once again. The main differences between the past and the present with regard to Southern affairs is that in the past the South had outstanding leaders, such as Jawaharlal Nehru of India, who could doughtily stand up for it. As far as this columnist could ascertain, it is the lack of exceptional leaders that in the main led to the decline of NAM and other South-centred organizations.

Accordingly, an urgent task for the South is to enable the coming into being of exceptional leaders who could work untiringly towards the realization of its just needs, such as economic equity. Meanwhile, Southern countries would do well to, indeed, follow the principles of NAM and relate cordially with all the major powers so as to realizing their best interests.

Features

Sri Lanka and Global Climate Emergency: Lessons of Cyclone Ditwah

Published

18 hours ago

2025/12/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Floods caused by Cyclone Ditwah. (Image courtesy Vanni Hope)

Tropical Cyclone Ditwah, which made landfall in Sri Lanka on 28 November 2025, is considered the country’s worst natural disaster since the deadly 2004 tsunami. It intensified the northeast monsoon, bringing torrential rainfall, massive flooding, and 215 severe landslides across seven districts. The cyclone left a trail of destruction, killing nearly 500 people, displacing over a million, destroying homes, roads, and railway lines, and disabling critical infrastructure including 4,000 transmission towers. Total economic losses are estimated at USD 6–7 billion—exceeding the country’s foreign reserves.

The Sri Lankan Armed Forces have led the relief efforts, aided by international partners including India and Pakistan. A Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter crashed in Wennappuwa, killing the pilot and injuring four others, while five Sri Lanka Navy personnel died in Chundikkulam in the north while widening waterways to mitigate flooding. The bravery and sacrifice of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces during this disaster—as in past disasters—continue to be held in high esteem by grateful Sri Lankans.

The Sri Lankan government, however, is facing intense criticism for its handling of Cyclone Ditwah, including failure to heed early warnings available since November 12, a slow and poorly coordinated response, and inadequate communication with the public. Systemic issues—underinvestment in disaster management, failure to activate protocols, bureaucratic neglect, and a lack of coordination among state institutions—are also blamed for avoidable deaths and destruction.

The causes of climate disasters such as Cyclone Ditwah go far beyond disaster preparedness. Faulty policymaking, mismanagement, and decades of unregulated economic development have eroded the island’s natural defenses. As climate scientist Dr. Thasun Amarasinghe notes:

“Sri Lankan wetlands—the nation’s most effective natural flood-control mechanism—have been bulldosed, filled, encroached upon, and sold. Many of these developments were approved despite warnings from environmental scientists, hydrologists, and even state institutions.”

Sri Lanka’s current vulnerabilities also stem from historical deforestation and plantation agriculture associated with colonial-era export development. Forest cover declined from 82% in 1881 to 70% in 1900, and to 54–50% by 1948, when British rule ended. It fell further to 44% in 1954 and to 16.5% by 2019.

Deforestation contributes an estimated 10–12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond removing a vital carbon sink, it damages water resources, increases runoff and erosion, and heightens flood and landslide risk. Soil-depleting monocrop agriculture further undermines traditional multi-crop systems that regenerate soil fertility, organic matter, and biodiversity.

In Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands, which were battered by Cyclone Ditwah, deforestation and unregulated construction had destabilised mountain slopes. Although high-risk zones prone to floods and landslides had long been identified, residents were not relocated, and construction and urbanisation continued unchecked.

Sri Lanka was the first country in Asia to adopt neoliberal economic policies. With the “Open Economy” reforms of 1977, a capitalist ideology equating human well-being with quantitative growth and material consumption became widespread. Development efforts were rushed, poorly supervised, and frequently approved without proper environmental assessment.

Privatisation and corporate deregulation weakened state oversight. The recent economic crisis and shrinking budgets further eroded environmental and social protections, including the maintenance of drainage networks, reservoirs, and early-warning systems. These forces have converged to make Sri Lanka a victim of a dual climate threat: gradual environmental collapse and sudden-onset disasters.

Sri Lanka: A Climate Victim

Sri Lanka’s carbon emissions remain relatively small but are rising. The impact of climate change on the island, however, is immense. Annual mean air temperature has increased significantly in recent decades (by 0.016 °C annually between 1961 and 1990). Sea-level rise has caused severe coastal erosion—0.30–0.35 meters per year—affecting nearly 55% of the shoreline. The 2004 tsunami demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of low-lying coastal plains to rising seas.

The Cyclone Ditwah catastrophe was neither wholly new nor surprising. In 2015, the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) identified Sri Lanka as the South Asian country with the highest relative risk of disaster-related displacement: “For every million inhabitants, 15,000 are at risk of being displaced every year.”

IDMC also noted that in 2017 the country experienced seven disaster events—mainly floods and landslides—resulting in 135,000 new displacements and that Sri Lanka “is also at risk for slow-onset impacts such as soil degradation, saltwater intrusion, water scarcity, and crop failure”.

Sri Lanka ranked sixth among countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2018 (Germanwatch) and second in 2019 (Global Climate Risk Index). Given these warnings, Cyclone Ditwah should not have been a surprise. Scientists have repeatedly cautioned that warmer oceans fuel stronger cyclones and warmer air holds more moisture, leading to extreme rainfall. As the Ceylon Today editorial of December 1, 2025 also observed:

“…our monsoons are no longer predictable. Cyclones form faster, hit harder, and linger longer. Rainfall becomes erratic, intense, and destructive. This is not a coincidence; it is a pattern.”

Without urgent action, even more extreme weather events will threaten Sri Lanka’s habitability and physical survival.

A Global Crisis

Extreme weather events—droughts, wildfires, cyclones, and floods—are becoming the global norm. Up to 1.2 billion people could become “climate refugees” by 2050. Global warming is disrupting weather patterns, destabilising ecosystems, and posing severe risks to life on Earth. Indonesia and Thailand were struck by the rare and devastating Tropical Cyclone Senyar in late November 2025, occurring simultaneously with Cyclone Ditwah’s landfall in Sri Lanka.

More than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions—and nearly 90% of carbon emissions—come from burning coal, oil, and gas, which supply about 80% of the world’s energy. Countries in the Global South, like Sri Lanka, which contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most vulnerable to climate devastation. Yet wealthy nations and multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, continue to subsidise fossil fuel exploration and production. Global climate policymaking—including COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, in 2025—has been criticised as ineffectual and dominated by fossil fuel interests.

If the climate is not stabilised, long-term planetary forces beyond human control may be unleashed. Technology and markets are not inherently the problem; rather, the issue lies in the intentions guiding them. The techno-market worldview, which promotes the belief that well-being increases through limitless growth and consumption, has contributed to severe economic inequality and more frequent extreme weather events. The climate crisis, in turn, reflects a profound mismatch between the exponential expansion of a profit-driven global economy and the far slower evolution of human consciousness needed to uphold morality, compassion, generosity and wisdom.

Sri Lanka’s 2025–26 budget, adopted on November 14, 2025—just as Cyclone Ditwah loomed—promised subsidised land and electricity for companies establishing AI data centers in the country.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament: “Don’t come questioning us on why we are giving land this cheap; we have to make these sacrifices.”

Yet Sri Lanka is a highly water-stressed nation, and a growing body of international research shows that AI data centers consume massive amounts of water and electricity, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

The failure of the narrow, competitive techno-market approach underscores the need for an ecological and collective framework capable of addressing the deeper roots of this existential crisis—both for Sri Lanka and the world.

A landslide in Sri Lanka (AFP picture)

Ecological and Human Protection

Ecological consciousness demands

recognition that humanity is part of the Earth, not separate from it. Policies to address climate change must be grounded in this understanding, rather than in worldviews that prize infinite growth and technological dominance. Nature has primacy over human-created systems: the natural world does not depend on humanity, while humanity cannot survive without soil, water, air, sunlight, and the Earth’s essential life-support systems.

Although a climate victim today, Sri Lanka is also home to an ancient ecological civilization dating back to the arrival of the Buddhist monk Mahinda Thera in the 3rd century BCE. Upon meeting King Devanampiyatissa, who was out hunting in Mihintale, Mahinda Thera delivered one of the earliest recorded teachings on ecological interdependence and the duty of rulers to protect nature:

“O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts of the forest have as much right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all living beings; thou art only its guardian.”

A stone inscription at Mihintale records that the king forbade the killing of animals and the destruction of trees. The Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary is believed to be the world’s first.

Sri Lanka’s ancient dry-zone irrigation system—maintained over more than a millennium—stands as a marvel of sustainable development. Its network of interconnected reservoirs, canals, and sluices captured monsoon waters, irrigated fields, controlled floods, and even served as a defensive barrier. Floods occurred, but historical records show no disasters comparable in scale, severity, or frequency to those of today. Ancient rulers, including the legendary reservoir-builder King Parākramabāhu, and generations of rice farmers managed their environment with remarkable discipline and ecological wisdom.

The primacy of nature became especially evident when widespread power outages and the collapse of communication networks during Cyclone Ditwah forced people to rely on one another for survival. The disaster ignited spontaneous acts of compassion and solidarity across all communities—men and women, rich and poor, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. Local and international efforts mobilized to rescue, shelter, feed, and emotionally support those affected. These actions demonstrated a profound human instinct for care and cooperation, often filling vacuums left by formal emergency systems.

Yet spontaneous solidarity alone is insufficient. Sri Lanka urgently needs policies on sustainable development, environmental protection, and climate resilience. These include strict, science-based regulation of construction; protection of forests and wetlands; proper maintenance of reservoirs; and climate-resilient infrastructure. Schools should teach environmental literacy that builds unity and solidarity, rather than controversial and divisive curriculum changes like the planned removal of history and introduction of contested modules on gender and sexuality.

If the IMF and international creditors—especially BlackRock, Sri Lanka’s largest sovereign bondholder, valued at USD 13 trillion—are genuinely concerned about the country’s suffering, could they not cancel at least some of Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt and support its rebuilding efforts? Addressing the climate emergency and the broader existential crisis facing Sri Lanka and the world ultimately requires an evolution in human consciousness guided by morality, compassion, generosity and wisdom. (Courtesy: IPS NEWS)

Dr Asoka Bandarage is the author of Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political Economy of the Kandyan Highlands, 1833-1886 (Mouton) Women, Population and Global Crisis: A Politico-Economic Analysis (Zed Books), The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka: Terrorism, Ethnicity, Political Economy, ( Routledge), Sustainability and Well-Being: The Middle Path to Environment, Society and the Economy (Palgrave MacMillan) Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World: Colonial and Neoliberal Origins, Ecological and Collective Alternatives (De Gruyter) and numerous other publications. She serves on the Advisory Boards of the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate and Critical Asian Studies.

Features

Cliff and Hank recreate golden era of ‘The Young Ones’

Published

18 hours ago

2025/12/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Cliff Richard and Hank Marvin’s reunion concert at the Riverside Theatre in Perth, Australia, on 01 November, 2025, was a night to remember.

The duo, who first performed together in the 1950s as part of The Shadows, brought the house down with their classic hits and effortless chemistry.

The concert, part of Cliff’s ‘Can’t Stop Me Now’ tour, featured iconic songs like ‘Summer Holiday’, ‘The Young Ones’, ‘Bachelor Boy’, ‘Living Doll’ and a powerful rendition of ‘Mistletoe and Wine.’

Cliff, 85, and Hank, with his signature red Fender Stratocaster, proved that their music and friendship are timeless.

According to reports, the moment the lights dimmed and the first chords of ‘Move It’ rang out, the crowd knew they were in for something extraordinary.

Backed by a full band, and surrounded by dazzling visuals, Cliff strode onto the stage in immaculate form – energetic and confident – and when Hank Marvin joined him mid-set, guitar in hand, the audience erupted in applause that shook the hall.

Together they launched into ‘The Young Ones’, their timeless 1961 hit which brought the crowd to its feet, with many in attendance moved to tears.

The audience was treated to a journey through time, with vintage film clips and state-of-the-art visuals adding to the nostalgic atmosphere.

Highlights of the evening included Cliff’s powerful vocals, Hank’s distinctive guitar riffs, and their playful banter on stage.

Cliff posing for The Island photographer … February,
2007

Cliff paused between songs to reflect on their shared journey saying:

“It’s been a lifetime of songs, memories, and friendship. Hank and I started this adventure when we were just boys — and look at us now, still up here making noise!”

As the final chords of ‘Congratulations’ filled the theatre, the crowd rose for a thunderous standing ovation that lasted several minutes.

Cliff waved, Hank gave a humble bow, and, together, they left the stage, arm-in-arm, to the refrain of “We’re the young ones — and we always will be.”

Reviews of the show were glowing, with fans and critics alike praising the duo’s energy, camaraderie, and enduring talent.

Overall, the Cliff Richard and Hank Marvin reunion concert was a truly special experience, celebrating the music and friendship that has captivated audiences for decades.

When Cliff Richard visited Sri Lanka, in February, 2007, I was invited to meet him, in his suite, at a hotel, in Colombo, and I presented him with my music page, which carried his story, and he was impressed.

In return, he personally autographed a souvenir for me … that was Cliff Richard, a truly wonderful human being.