Tuesday 19th May, 2026

Seventeen years have elapsed since the defeat of LTTE terrorism, which plagued the country for about a quarter century. If not for the successful military campaign that eliminated the LTTE leadership, thousands of lives would have been lost in terror attacks and on the battlefield since 2009, and it would not have been possible to rekindle democracy in the North and the East. Today, children can go to school without fear of being abducted and turned into cannon fodder by the LTTE; political dissent is no longer violently suppressed; people can exercise their franchise freely in the former war zone, and there are no political assassinations. Ironically, those who did not oppose the LTTE’s terror campaign or supported it are now championing democracy and human rights. Among them are prominent Tamil politicians, civil society activists and religious leaders.

Terrorism is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end. Hence, the need to eliminate it in all its forms and manifestations. There were numerous attempts to persuade the LTTE to agree to a political solution, but Prabhakaran remained intransigent, and his terror had to be wiped out. There is space for the remaining LTTE members and their sympathisers to take to democratic politics. They ought to learn from the former southern terrorists.

What paved the way for the JVP’s re-entry into the democratic process and rise to power was the decimation of its leadership and military wing, which was responsible for many gruesome crimes in the late 1980s. The JVP killed thousands of dissenters and state workers who did not follow its illegal orders, and destroyed state assets worth billions of dollars. Today, a JVP-led government is trying to develop the country.

Attempts are being made in some quarters to revive memories of old battles to reclaim lost ground on the political front. Prominent among those who are doing so are SLPP politicians who were in power when the LTTE was defeated. They are trying to rouse nationalism in a bid to make a comeback. They would not have been in the current predicament if they had not misused the defeat of terrorism for political gain.

What the Rajapaksas and their allies did to the country, after defeating the LTTE, was like saving a damsel in distress and abusing her. They laboured under the misconception that the defeat of terrorism for which they provided political leadership was a special licence for them to do as they pleased. They sought to politicise and monopolise the war victory to accelerate their dynasty-building project and perpetuate their hold on power. The post-war Mahinda Rajapaksa administration became a government of the Rajapaksas by the Rajapaksas for the Rajapaksas, with a member of the ruling family in almost every key position in the state sector. They bulldozed their way through, launching as they did witch-hunts against their rivals. They also resorted to state terror to further their political interests. Blinded by the arrogance of power, they ruined things for themselves and suffered a humiliating electoral defeat in 2015. They succeeded in returning to power four years later, as the public thought they had changed and voted for them, only to be disillusioned again when they mismanaged the economy, indulged in corruption and bankrupted the country.

The Rajapaksas squandered an opportunity that presented itself, after the conclusion of the war, to bring about national reconciliation and defeat the LTTE ideology politically. The entry of war-winning Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka into the presidential fray in 2010 at the behest of the JVP and others, provided the pro-LTTE groups, here and overseas, with a rallying point; they crawled out of the woodwork and backed Fonseka in a bid to see the back of Mahinda Rajapaksa, albeit in vain. They succeeded in 2015, and emerged stronger, after enabling Maithripala Sirisena to secure the presidency. In a dramatic turn of events in 2024, they threw their weight behind the NPP led by the JVP.

An oft-heard lament is that reconciliation continues to elude this country. This sorry state of affairs has come about because reconciliation has become a victim of hypocrisy. Those who claim to champion reconciliation are using it to further their own interests, and those who should have made a serious effort to help achieve it after defeating terrorism did not care to do so and chose to advance their own political agenda.

Monday 18th May, 2026

The government has realised the need for a decisive intervention to curtail the burgeoning import bill, which is a drain on the country’s foreign currency reserves. It has imposed a 50% surcharge on custom duty on vehicle imports for three months. Vehicle prices are bound to increase substantially.

Explaining why the government decided to impose a duty surcharge on imported vehicles, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando has said import expenditure has increased sharply to USD 2 billion over the past two months. Letters of Credit for vehicle imports are also being opened rapidly, and therefore instead of banning vehicle imports, the government decided to impose a duty surcharge to manage the situation, he has stated, requesting that the importation of vehicles for personal use be postponed by three months.

It became clear a few months ago that the sheer volume of vehicle imports would pressure foreign currency reserves. The government moved to boost its tax revenue by lifting restrictions on vehicle imports in keeping with IMF conditions, but it apparently did not maintain a balance between higher taxes on imported vehicles and foreign currency reserves. Perhaps, having claimed that it strengthened the economy and built foreign currency reserves, the government did not want to restrict vehicle imports.

Oil accounts for about 20% of Sri Lanka’s import bill, and therefore a strategy to curtail the foreign exchange outflow consists in reducing fuel consumption. The West Asia crisis has driven the global oil prices up and left the developing economies struggling. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has recently lamented that the national fuel bill increased steeply from USD 98 million in February to USD 368 in April, and the projected bill for May is USD 522 million. He has stressed the need to reduce fuel consumption. This situation has come about due to global oil price hikes caused by the Iran conflict rather than an increase in the fuel consumption by the public. However, there has been a massive increase in fuel imports for power generation.

What the President has left unsaid is that fuel imports have increased because oil-fired power plants have to operate to meet a generation shortfall at Norochcholai, caused by low-quality coal imports. Experts have pointed out that about 800,000 litres of diesel have to be burnt daily to compensate for the Norochcholai generation loss. Strangely, no one has been arrested over the fraudulent procurement of substandard coal, which has not only caused huge losses to the state coffers but also adversely impacted the country’s foreign currency reserves.

If the government hesitates to adopt drastic measures to restrict vehicle imports and shore up foreign currency reserves, it might be left without forex for fuel imports, and queues might return in such an eventuality, with newly imported vehicles waiting near filling stations for days on end, as in 2022. It must stop dilly-dallying and pluck up the courage to grasp the nettle. Most of all, it will have to bring the cost of power generation down.

It is high time the JVP-NPP government adopted austerity measures it promised and curtailed state expenditure while reducing the import bill. India has also experienced a decline in foreign currency reserves due to rising global oil prices, central bank interventions to defend the rupee, foreign investor outflows and global uncertainty arising from the West Asia conflict. Although India’s foreign currency reserves have shown some signs of recovery recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for austerity measures. They include postponing gold imports, curtailing travel, both foreign and domestic, carpooling, reducing the consumption of imported goods and promoting import substitution. PM Modi has requested the centre and the states to reduce ceremonial expenditure, ensure a reduction in fuel use by ministers, shift more meetings online and reduce the size of official motorcades. Sri Lanka should learn from India.

In 2022, Sri Lanka faced a double whammy—a rupee crisis and an unprecedented depletion of foreign currency reserves. It had to opt for a soft sovereign default and seek IMF assistance because the then SLPP government had played politics with the economy and closed the stable door only after the horse had bolted. Those blunders must not be repeated. The restive horse is snorting, stamping the ground and straining against the halter, again. The time for closing the stable door is now. Otherwise, the current leaders, too, will have to bolt with the horse, the way their immediate predecessors did in 2022, with irate protesters in close pursuit.

There is much more to state visits of world leaders than a mere desire to strengthen bilateral relations. US President Donald Trump had several key items on his agenda when he visited China. So did his host, President Xi Jinping. The so-called summit diplomacy for Trump is an opportunity to strike trade deals, and pursue other commercial interests more than anything else. This time around, there was a difference. He sought to promote a peace plan as well.

Trump is keen to secure Beijing’s cooperation to end the Iran conflict, which has taken a turn neither he nor the Pentagon ever expected. Its fallout has dented Trump’s approval rating and adversely impacted the Republicans’ prospect of winning the upcoming midterm elections. Disruptions to global oil and fertiliser supplies due to the closure of the Hormuz Strait and other economic consequences of the war have not spared the US economy; they have caused inflation to rise in the US, and the Republicans fear that they might lose control of the Congress in November’s midterm elections. So, Trump sought China’s help to manoeuvre out of the Iran imbroglio.

The West Asia conflict became a live-fire laboratory for China, and Beijing would have gained from its prolongation if not for the fact the Chinese economy, which has shown signs of slowing down, is reeling from energy shocks. So, an early end to the conflict will serve China’s interests as much as America’s. However, for strategic reasons, China is not likely to go all out to pressure Iran to strike a peace deal with the US at least in the short run.

Few things apparently worry Trump more than the US trade deficit with China. His “tariff war” did not yield the desired results, and a recent court ruling has stood in the way of his power to increase tariffs whimsically. So, he expected to persuade China to buy more goods and services from the US. He announced, in a press interview, that China had agreed to purchase 200 Boeing jets, but the speculation was that the Chinese order would be much bigger. Trump also wanted to defuse trade tensions with Beijing and work towards a tariff deal favourable to the US. It is too early to say whether his efforts will reach fruition. Another item high on his agenda was securing improved market access for US companies, especially tech giants. He was accompanied by more than a dozen top CEOs, including SpaceX and Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon. On Wednesday, Trump proudly introduced them to President Jinping as “distinguished representatives from the American business community who respect and value China”. The inclusion of those top business executives in Trump’s entourage prompted comedian and talk-show host, Stephen Colbert, to call Trump’s China visit “a fabulous billionaire boys’ trip”.

Having ruined his image internationally by carrying out unprovoked attacks on Iran, Trump needed some diplomatic success to boost his image amidst economic and geopolitical pressures. On the diplomatic front, Trump sought to use his Beijing visit to work towards stability in US-China relations without further escalation over Taiwan or trade.

Foremost on President Jinping’s mind is arresting an economic slowdown, and he obviously expected Trump’s visit to help soften the US position on tariffs and export restrictions hurting China. Jinping also sought expanded US cooperation on trade, AI and energy security. He is also keen to avoid a direct confrontation with the US and desirous of a continued dialogue. He was not so naïve to expect an assurance from Trump that the US would not resort to provocative actions regarding Taiwan. Hence, his warning to Trump on Thursday that mishandling the two nations’ disagreements over Taiwan could endanger China-U.S. relations. He has been quoted as saying, “If [they are] mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly perilous situation.” Whether this warning would make the US mend its ways is a moot point.

Trump’s visit was a huge diplomatic success for Beijing, for it has demonstrated to the world that China is a very influential global actor, especially during international crises. Referring to his meeting with Jinping, Trump said on Wednesday, “There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever.”

All in all, the Xi-Trump summit ended well. However, the prospects of positive outcomes from the high-level meeting hinges on how the two rival powers navigate contentious geopolitical and economic issues in a crisis-ridden world.