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BASL concerned about impact of economic crisis on rule of law and democracy

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The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has said that it is gravely concerned about the signs of a looming economic crisis in Sri Lanka and its possible impact on the rule of law and democracy and on the living conditions of the people.

Secretary to the BASL, Rajeev Amarasuriya has said that the spiraling inflation, shortages of essential goods including cooking gas, the unavailability of foreign currency, people’s inability to remit monies overseas, the downgrading of Sri Lanka’s ratings by multiple international rating agencies, the temporary closure of the oil refinery at Sapugaskanda, reports of the operations of certain foreign airlines being suspended, warnings of a possible power crisis are all indicators which demonstrate the urgency of the need for the government to address the economic crisis without any further delay.

Text of the BASL statement: “A downturn in the economy can have far reaching adverse consequences to the Rule of Law and Governance of a Country. At its worst, economic decline can result in a complete breakdown of Law and Order, but even prior to that, serious repercussions flow from growing financial hardships that have to be borne by citizens that perpetuates inequality and the ability of citizens to enjoy or vindicate their rights, be they public or private rights. It goes without saying that the worst affected by economic hardship are the most vulnerable in society,” Amarasuriya said

Given below are excerpts of the press release: “It is an undisputed fact that since March 2020 there has been a gradual erosion of foreign reserves from approximately USD 7 billion. Although it was announced by the Central Bank that the reserves have increased to USD 3 billion, it remains to be ascertained how much of that are usable reserves to repay the debt and used to redress the prevailing balance of payments crisis. Even out of the available reserves a large proportion contains moneys obtained in the form of short-term foreign exchange swaps.

“There have been several sovereign credit ratings downgrades in the corresponding period by all the major credit rating agencies. The latest being the downgrades by Fitch Rating Agency to CC and Standard and Poor’s (S & P) to CCC. The International Sovereign Bonds yields across all tenures have remained in double digits for over a period of 2 years. This has made rollover of maturing sovereign bonds not feasible.

“There have also been reports of a flight of foreign capital both from the equities and as well as the money markets. Foreign participation in both markets at present is only negligible. The Economist magazine named Sri Lanka as one of the most vulnerable countries to the expected fallout in emerging markets from the anticipated raising of interest rates by the Federal Reserve of the United States. Debt to GDP from approximately 85% in 2019 is now estimated to have risen to approximately 104% of GDP. However, in the same period the government revenue as a percentage of the GDP has fallen from approximately 12% to 10%. Year on Year headline inflation in the month of November 2021 was recorded at 9.92% and December 2021 recorded a double digit figure of 12%, the highest in the past 7 years. The Net International Reserve Position of the Country has been negative for over three months consecutively. All of this has resulted in the scarcity of foreign exchange to sustain essential imports.

“The ability of the government to meet its total dollar requirements of approximately USD 6.9 billion in 2022 is being questioned, although the Central Bank has pledged that such commitments will be met. Questions as to the stability of the financial sector are also being raised.

“The BASL notes with deep concern the statement made in late December by the Joint Chambers of Commerce calling upon the government that if actions as envisaged by the recently announced Roadmap by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka are not materialized within the anticipated timeframes to reconsider other alternative courses of action available to the country such as engaging with the IMF to explore the funding options they can offer. The Joint Chambers have warned that if conditions do not improve many local companies would look to relocate their business operations overseas and that the ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country will be constrained.

“The BASL acknowledges that the government has been confronted with extraordinary challenges in the form of the pandemic which has caused disruptions to the economic activities. It also recognizes the fact that the government has taken measures to address the challenges arising thereof. Similarly, the Government has sought to undertake remedial measures to address the fallout from the prevalent crisis consequent to the loss of access to financial markets and the resulting paucity of foreign exchange domestically thereof. However, none of those measures have brought about the desired results and have failed to build confidence to reverse the flight of foreign capital from the equities and money markets. Neither have these steps resulted in regaining access to international financial markets to raise debt.

“Enjoyment of a living standard based on desired lifestyle choices and income has become a challenge. Our members who are mostly self-employed are particularly vulnerable and adversely impacted by these events as savings and assets form the bedrock of their economic safety net. Some of the measures taken by the Government have directly impeded the ability of our members to perform their professional duties, particularly the purported regulation that compels the conversion of foreign inflows into rupees within a stipulated time period.

“We believe that the present crisis is the crescendo of the crisis emanating from the systematic undermining of the rule of law and governance based on executive convenience and expediency rather than on institutional independence and autonomy over a long period of time by successive governments.

“In these circumstances, the BASL calls upon the government to seek the assistance of acknowledged independent and non-partisan experts both domestically and internationally and also of multilateral institutions that have a proven record of providing resources financially as well as in the form of technical expertise that will enable sustainable solutions to this crisis. It is our belief that such assistance will result in the prescriptions that manifest to the world Sri Lanka’s belief in institutions as a country where effective governance is not contingent on personalities. It will manifest the fact that Sri Lanka has the desire and institutional capacity to respond to the exigencies brought by the present crisis via prescriptions that subscribe to the Rule of Law. Moreover, it is our belief that only such a response will create the institutional framework that ensures the efficient collection of revenue and the result in the efficient allocation of scarce resources and the formulation of monetary policy that ensures economic stability rather than a permissive one which facilitates executive expediency and convenience. The achievement of these outcomes is in our opinion indispensable to resolve the crisis at hand.”


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Easter Sunday carnage: WR asks AG to question Dappula on ‘grand conspiracy’ claim

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2026/06/16

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Former Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, yesterday urged the Department (CID) to question former Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC, regarding his claim that the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage was a grand conspiracy.

Dr. Rajapakshe, a former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, pointed out that the former Director of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the ex-head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) had been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations levelled by a fugitive from the Sri Lankan law that Gen. Sallay masterminded the Easter Sunday carnage.

The CID arrested Sallay on February 25, 2026, at Peliyagoda.

Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe, (Jnr), PC, could not under any circumstances further delay seeking an opportunity for the CID to question de Livera. The ex-Minister said so yesterday (15) when The Island sought his explanation regarding the claim he made in Kandy on Sunday that de Livera alleged a grand conspiracy after the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declined to grant him a one-year extension.

Ex-parliamentarian Rajapakshe quoted President Rajapaksa as having told him that de Livera was told of his inability to grant the outgoing AG’s request. However, the then government offered him the opportunity to serve as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canada. He declined that offer.

Responding to The Island queries, Rajapakshe said that though de Livera succeeded in thwarting the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) from questioning him over his claim made on the eve of his retirement, in May, 2021. According to him, when a major controversy erupted over De Livera’s claim, the TID had been sent to record his statement.

Having evaded the police and successfully moved the Court of Appeal against the TID, the former AG sent a lawyer to the TID on his behalf. That lawyer declared that a seven-paged legal objection to the matter in question has been submitted to the TID.

“Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and all those who had been demanding justice for Easter Sunday victims should urge AG Parinda Ranasinghe (Junior), PC to record de Livera’s statement. The ex-Minister said that the Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Ratnayake, disclosed that SSP Shanie Abeysekera and Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne had been appointed Director, CID and Secretary to the Public Security Ministry, respectively, on the Cardinal’s advice. Therefore, the Cardinal should stress the urgent need to record the former AG’s statement.

Dappula de Livera received his appointment on 10 May, 2019, just weeks after the Easter Sunday carnage, and retired on 25 May, 2025.

On the eve of his retirement, alleging that there had been a grand conspiracy, de Livera said that the information by the SIS with times, targets, places, method of attacks and other information proved the conspiracy. He said that the identities of those involved in the grand conspiracy must come by the way of evidence.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage couldn’t be brought to a successful conclusion until de Livera revealed what he knew about the grand conspiracy, mastermind or whatever various interested parties chose to call the attacks.

The government sent a CID team to Paris to record a statement of Azad Moulana, a fugitive seeking asylum in Switzerland and who implicated Sallay in the Easter Sunday attacks. “This matter is so serious de Livera must consider volunteering to assist the investigation,” ex-lawmaker Rajapakshe said, challenging all those genuinely concerned about the inordinate delay in bringing the high profile investigation into a conclusion to push for immediate questioning of de Livera.

Having spearheaded the Easter Sunday investigation at the onset of the probe, de Livera could shed light on the alleged conspiracy if he really meant his declaration on the eve of his retirement, Dr. Rajapakshe said.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

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Beijing Capital Airlines to resume flights to Colombo signalling boost to tourism

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3 hours ago

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2026/06/16

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Beijing Capital Airlines to resume direct flights between Beijing and Colombo in September this year, restoring an important air link and strengthening tourism, business, and people-to-people connectivity. This service will complement the existing 23 weekly flights between Mainland China and Colombo.

This was announced at Sri Lanka tourism briefing and networking reception held recently in Beijing. Sri Lanka embassy in Beijing with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) held the event that brought together over 120 representatives from China’s travel trade, media organizations, tourism-related investment sector, airlines, content creation industry, and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector.

Among the participants were representatives of leading Chinese travel companies and media organisations, including China Tourism Group Travel Services Corporation Limited, China International Travel Service (CITS), China Youth Travel Service (CYTS), Spring Tour, Mafengwo, Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, Global Times, Guangming Online, and China Times, together with representatives of SriLankan Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines.

The event, led by Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Poornima Gunasekera marked the resumption of the Embassy’s direct engagement with China’s travel trade and media community after a considerable period and provided a platform to outline new initiatives aimed at strengthening tourism cooperation between Sri Lanka and China ahead of the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2027.

In her keynote address, the DCM highlighted the longstanding historical ties between Sri Lanka and China, dating back more than 2,000 years through the ancient Maritime Silk Route, and stressed tourism as a key channel for deepening people-to-people exchanges. She noted Sri Lanka’s strong tourism recovery, with over two million international arrivals in 2025, and reaffirmed the country’s image as a safe, peaceful, and welcoming destination. She also highlighted the Government’s expanded visa-free entry programme covering 40 countries, including China, designed to make travel easier and more convenient.

She emphasised Sri Lanka’s unique tourism offering, which combines exceptional diversity within a compact geographical area. Within just 65,610 square kilometres—about four times the size of Beijing—visitors can experience beaches, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, wildlife safaris, tea country, wellness tourism, adventure activities, cultural heritage, gemstones, and authentic Sri Lankan hospitality. She also underlined improved connectivity, noting that a direct flight from Beijing to Colombo takes around seven hours, making Sri Lanka a convenient option for Chinese travellers within broader Asian travel itineraries.

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Delegation of UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture here amidst protests against new anti-terrorism law

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3 hours ago

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2026/06/16

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Aisha Shujune

A delegation of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) is in Colombo. The SPT’s second visit, from 15 to 24 June 2026, takes place amidst the ongoing debate over the NPP government’s decision to bring in a new anti-terrorism law in place of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) enacted in 1979.

Some political parties, and civil society groups, have criticised the NPP move as the ruling party, during the presidential and parliamentary polls campaigns, promised to abolish the PTA.

The SPT conducted its first visit to Sri Lanka in April 2019, following Sri Lanka’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in December 2017. Upon accession, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) was designated as the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), under OPCAT, by the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Ministry said that the four-member SPT delegation was scheduled to hold meetings at ministerial level, and engage with senior officials of relevant ministries, departments and institutions. The delegation would also meet representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and members of civil society, the ministry said.

“The Government of Sri Lanka will engage with the Subcommittee in an open, constructive, and transparent manner, consistent with its policy of continued engagement with the United Nations, and in fulfilment of its Treaty Body obligations undertaken voluntarily and enshrined in relevant international instruments, in accordance with the Constitution.

The delegation will comprise Ms. Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Maldives) (Head of delegation); Jakub Julian Czepek (Poland); Ms. Anica Tomsic (Croatia); and Nika Kvaratskhelia (Georgia). They will be accompanied by officials of the SPT Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.”

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