Editorial
US turning on soft targets

Tuesday 27th October, 2020
The US presidential election is only a few days away. Why does Washington think Sri Lanka is so important as to be visited by no less a person than Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at this particular juncture? Reasons for this high-profile visit seem to be both domestic and international. Internationally, the US has its work cut out to counter the growing Chinese influence. Its military and economic prowess is of little use in overcoming formidable challenges that China poses. The US and its allies are without enough surplus funds to match China’s ability to grant loans or undertake development projects around the world. They are particularly troubled by a gnawing sense of insecurity vis-à-vis China’s ambitious Belt and Road project. Unable to take on China for obvious reasons, the US is turning on soft targets like Sri Lanka dependent on Chinese aid, and has forged alliances with other nations to shore up its diminishing power. Washington is also in a hurry to have the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact inked here. Pompeo is likely to give Colombo a Hobson’s choice, in this regard.
In the US, former President Barrack Obama, and Democratic Party vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris have apparently left nothing for Joe Biden to do in his electoral battle against Trump; they have torn President Donald Trump to shreds. If Trump could survive Obama’s campaign complete with extremely successful drive-in car rallies, and secure a second term, he could consider himself the luckiest man on earth. Having failed on all fronts, and being troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is ripping through the US, the only way Trump apparently can think of mustering enough electoral support is to do a Captain America on a mission to save the US from China. In fact, the GOP has asked its activists not to defend Trump but to attack China. Pompeo’s tour of South Asia could be considered as part of the GOP’s desperate efforts to drum up support for Trump at home by undertaking a mission to counter China’s influence in this part of the world.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Dean R. Thompson’s recent unsolicited advice to Sri Lanka as regards its dependence on China for financial assistance is of crucial import: “We urge Sri Lanka to make a difficult but necessary decision to secure its economic independence for long-term prosperity, and we stand ready to partner with Sri Lanka for its economic development and growth,” he said. How does the US propose to help Sri Lanka? How much is it willing to grant Sri Lanka by way of financial assistance without expecting anything in return other than loan repayment? Can it match what Sri Lanka receives from China as loans and grants?
The US would not have had to throw its weight around in this manner if it had conducted itself as a true world leader and tried to win over other nations instead of resorting to hostile action against them on some pretext or the other. Libya, which used to be a land of prosperity, whose free education, free healthcare and welfare systems made the developed world turn green with envy, is now a hellhole thanks to the regime change engineered by the US-led forces in 2011 purportedly to restore democracy there. Rival factions have been at war for the last nine years or so, and the Libyans are going through hell. It has taken more than four decades for the people of Chile to undo what Augusto Pinochet did to their country after capturing power with the help of the US through a military coup. They voted overwhelmingly at a recent plebiscite for abolishing the existing Charter drafted by Pinochet, in 1980, and writing a new Constitution enshrining their rights and freedoms. Afghanistan and Iraq are still embroiled in internecine conflicts thanks to the US-led wars to further western interests. There is no end in sight to their suffering, and their wars have spawned terrorist outfits such as the ISIS and Al Qaeda threatening global peace.
As for the MCC compact, what the Rajapaksa government should do is to refer it to Parliament. That is the most democratic way to handle the issue. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says his party is opposed to it. Most SLPP MPs including ministers, who wrap themselves in the flag, have condemned it. Thus, the Opposition and the government should be able to reject the compact with a two-thirds majority. The US never misses an opportunity to urge Sri Lanka to respect the authority of Parliament, doesn’t it?
Editorial
Trump’s pound of flesh and bleeding nations

Friday 4th April, 2025
US President Donald Trump has jacked up tariffs on imports in the name of making America wealthy again. Yesterday, he signed an executive order, with his usual melodrama, increasing tariffs on goods imported from many countries including Sri Lanka, which will now have to pay as much as 44% by way of tariff on its exports to the US. Claiming that the unprecedented tariff hike is a reciprocal measure, Trump has said the new 44% tariff is in response to Sri Lanka’s 88% trade barriers on American goods. It is a case of a giant competing with a dwarf!
Powerful nations are resilient enough to absorb the US tariff shocks, but the weaker economies like Sri Lanka are bound to reel and even go into a tailspin, causing further destabilisation of the developing world. The US tariff hike will deal a body blow to Sri Lanka’s export sector, especially its garment industry, which is showing signs of recovery. Sri Lankan goods, especially garments, will now be less competitive in the US market. Other Asian garment exporters, such as India, Bangladesh and Vietnam, also have higher US tariffs to contend with but not to the same extent as Sri Lanka. There’s the rub.
A drastic decline in export earnings due to the new US tariffs will invariably lead to a decrease in Sri Lanka’s foreign currency reserves, causing a further depreciation of the rupee, an increase in inflation, job losses, and even socio-political upheavals unless the US takes the fragile condition of the Sri Lankan economy and softens its stand.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed an expert committee to study the economic fallout of the US tariff hike and recommend remedial measures. This is a step in the right direction, and it is hoped that the government, together with all other stakeholders, will be able to formulate a mitigatory strategy to cushion the impact of the new US tariffs on the local industries and the ailing economy. Most of all, the government will have to manage the country’s foreign currency reserves frugally.
What the US can gain from the unprecedented hike in tariffs on Sri Lankan exports is negligible, and it will not give any significant boost to the US economy or industries. Is Washington trying to leverage Sri Lanka’s overdependence on the US as an export destination to further its geopolitical interests in a bigger way? Is the Trump administration goading Sri Lanka into a situation where the latter will be left with no alternative but to agree to anything including controversial agreements, owing to its sheer desperation to have the US tariffs on its exports reduced?
If what Trump said, while announcing the new tariffs is anything to go by, he wants to make America wealthy again by creating conditions for the domestic industries to be ‘reborn’. But he has apparently ignored factors like stringent environmental laws, higher cost of domestic labour, increases in raw material costs due to new tariffs, technological competition, etc., which will stand in the way of the US in achieving his dream.
Whether Trump will be able to realise his MAGA (Make America Great Again) goal by resorting to ruthless actions that weaken the economies in the developing world may be in doubt, but one possible outcome of his tariff war, as it were, is not difficult to predict. Extremely high tariffs the US has imposed on imports are at variance with the liberal economic principles and policies it has long championed. Such excessively protectionist measures could undermine America’s global dominance, driving smaller nations to gravitate towards its rivals in search of favourable trade terms. Russia lost no time in offering to help Sri Lanka’s export sector. Other powerful nations are likely to follow suit where the developing countries troubled by the US tariffs are concerned.
Editorial
A welcome judgment

Thursday 3rd April, 2025
Justice finally caught up with former North Central Province Chief Minister S. M. Ranjith and his sister-in-law Shanthi Chandrasena yesterday, when the Colombo High Court (HC), which heard a case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) against them in 2021, sentenced them to 16 years RI for having misappropriated Rs. 2.6 million between 2012 and 2014. They were also fined Rs. 200,000 each. The HC judgment must have gladdened the hearts of all those who long for an end to corruption.
The criminal misappropriation of state funds at issue happened during the heyday of the Rajapaksa rule, which became a metaphor for corruption and abuse of power. When politicians are intoxicated with power, they become blind to the consequences of their actions, and enrich themselves as if there were no tomorrow. They usually cover their tracks, but the January 2015 regime change may have prevented CM Ranjith and his sister-in-law, who was his private secretary, from doing so. Their offence, however, pales into insignificance in comparison to what some other members of previous governments have been accused of. Unfortunately, most of those allegations have gone uninvestigated, or escape routes have been opened for the accused in some high-profile corruption cases, which were made to collapse, much to the dismay of anti-corruption campaigners and the public. Thankfully, most of those characters failed to get re-elected last year, and this is something the NPP government can flaunt as an achievement.
Another former Chief Minister––Chamara Sampath Dassanayake––has been remanded for causing a huge loss to the Uva Provincial Council by withdrawing six fixed deposits prematurely in 2016. It is hoped that all allegations of corruption, abuse of power and serious crimes such as murder against the members of previous administrations will be probed thoroughly and the culprits prosecuted expeditiously.
Corruption usually thrives under powerful governments in this country because huge majorities tend to nurture impunity. Integrity of most Sri Lankan politicians is a mere result of the unavailability of opportunities to line their pockets rather than an unwavering commitment to moral principles. Power tends to have a corrosive effect on scruples, and many self-proclaimed champions of good governance, who come to power, vowing to rid the country of corruption, end up being as corrupt as their predecessors. What we witnessed following the 2015 government change is a case in point. The ‘paragons of virtue’ in the UNP-led Yahapalana camp committed the first Treasury bond scam a few weeks after being voted into power. The present-day leaders who are campaigning hard against corruption were on a political honeymoon with the UNP at that time, and their alliance lasted until the end of the Yahapalana government in late 2019 despite very serious allegations of corruption against that administration.
There is nothing stupider than to rely on individual politicians to rid the country of bribery and corruption. They may have allegations of corruption against their political rivals probed, but it is doubtful whether they are serious about eliminating bribery and corruption. One may recall that having come to power by campaigning mainly on an anti-corruption platform, in 1994, the SLFP-led People’s Alliance government, ably assisted by several other political parties, including the UNP and the JVP, effectively deprived the national anti-graft commission of its suo motu powers, making it dependent on formal complaints to take action. Hence the need for anti-corruption laws with stronger teeth and robust institutional mechanisms to battle bribery and corruption. All existing anti-corruption mechanisms should be given a radical shake-up.
Editorial
Another Mafia

Wednesday 2nd April, 2025
Petrol was unavailable at some filling stations yesterday as their stocks had not been replenished in anticipation of a petrol price reduction. The government reduced the prices of petrol by Rs. 10. Long lines of vehicles were seen near the fuel stations where petrol was available. Some people delayed refuelling their vehicles until the announcement of the monthly fuel price revision, expecting substantial fuel price reductions in view of the upcoming local government (LG) elections. That too may have led to a marginal increase in the demand for fuel yesterday morning.
There have been numerous instances where speculation of downward price revisions led to fuel shortages. Fuel retailers have become a law unto themselves and do not care to maintain adequate petroleum stocks. A similar situation is bound to occur early next month as the government is expected to decrease fuel prices in view of the upcoming local government elections. So, precautions will have to be taken to foreclose such an eventuality.
There is a pressing need for stringent regulation of fuel retailing to ensure that all filling stations maintain petroleum stocks at the stipulated levels. Noncompliance should result in penalties. Previous governments gave filling stations owners kid-glove treatment for obvious reasons; it was only the businesspeople with political connections who could establish fuel stations, and some of them were family members of politicians. Those who voted the NPP into power expected their interests to prevail over those of unscrupulous businesses, such as rice millers, and fuel retailers, but sadly the status quo remains. NPP leaders flex their muscles and order pre-dawn raids on peaceful protesters just like the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government, but they have no qualms about kowtowing to the exploiters of the public!
Meanwhile, filling stations, save a few, have earned notoriety for various malpractices such as meter tampering and pumping in bursts. Regulatory authorities do precious little by way of conducting regular inspections and calibrations of fuel dispensers, making one wonder whether they are in league with the unscrupulous fuel retailers. The government must put its foot down and take action to safeguard the interests of the public and ensure that fuel consumers get their money’s worth without hassle.
Propaganda and reality
The NPP government has pulled out all the stops in a bid to win the upcoming local government (LG) elections. While it is leveraging everything at its disposal to achieve that end, its propagandists are claiming that it needs to have control of all local councils to be able to serve the public better. They would have the people believe that the JVP/NPP is not controlling the LG institutions at present. But this claim does not bear scrutiny.
Local councils have remained functional although they are without elected representatives. They have been under Special Commissioners (SCs). The SCs report to the Provincial Governors, who are appointed by the President. Thus, all local councils are currently under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for all intents and purposes.
One can understand why the NPP is campaigning so hard to bag the local councils. It wants to win the mini polls and cement its impressive victories in last year’s national elections. However, the argument that unless the people vote for the NPP overwhelmingly again, enabling it to gain control of all LG institutions, it won’t be able to carry out its pledges, is flawed. That is a propaganda lie.
One may recall that the Colombo Municipal Council remained under UNP control during the UPFA and SLPP governments, but that did not stand in the way of the development of the City of Colombo. The JVP won the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha in 2002 while the UNP was controlling Parliament and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was holding the executive presidency. Governments have to come to terms with such situations.
All signs are that the government and the Opposition will have to cooperate in many LG institutions, after the upcoming mini polls, for those councils are very likely to be hung.
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