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Will America be able to achieve its sinister objectives in Sri Lanka? Prof.Tissa Vitarana

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4 years ago

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One recollects that the UNP-led “Yahapalanaya” Government was on the verge of signing the MCC and SOFA agreements with the US Government after having signed the periodic ACSA agreement. The latter was signed at regular intervals to enable military exercises to be conducted in Sri Lanka and to receive military assistance from the USA. This was renewed at regular intervals and therefore it was a routine, but the MCC and SOFA agreements are new developments. These were a result of the only American military base in the Indian Ocean rim located at Diego Garcia being given back to the country that it belong to, the Mauritius, by virtue of a verdict given by the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the MCC agreement the strip of land extending from Colombo and Katunayake to Trincomalee harbour was to be given to the USA to construct a means of rapid transport (rail and road) and the door would also be open for American companies to freely operate within our country. This would naturally lead to domination of our economy as well. The SOFA agreement would enable any American soldier in uniform with gun in hand to enter our country bringing any type of arms as luggage. Sri Lankan Customs would not be able to even examine them, leave alone charging any duty. The US Army personnel would have full use of all Ports and Airports and right to enter any of our Government premises at any time. In other words Sri Lanka would become a virtual colony of the USA and its military base. But these two agreements could not be signed because of the defeat of the “Yahapalanaya’’ Government at the Presidential and General Elections.

It was generally accepted that the present Government would not sign the two agreements and that the danger was passed. But a series of events should make us reconsider whether this danger may be forced upon us in the near future. The Sri Lankan economy has been run down to the lowest level in its history since independence. 60% of families are living below the poverty line and the level of malnutrition has grown to 18.3%(an MRI survey about 7 months ago). Many families have only one meal and that too without adequate nutrition. Children are suffering badly. I regret my proposal to give highest priority to feeding those who are hungry made to the higher authorities has been ignored.

A major cause for the above situation is the high cost of living. It has soared due to Covid 19 virus epidemic on top of the global economic crisis. But what is surprising is that the Government has allowed the traders to fix the price without any control or justification. To make matters worse the Government has not intervened to bring down the cost of living by measures that have succeeded in the past. For example during the Coalition Government of 1970-75 which strengthened the cooperative system thereby linking producer cooperatives with consumer cooperatives, so that essentials were available at a reasonable price without any profit. This was supported by the Food Control Department and the Marketing Department which also directly bought from the producer and delivered through sales outlets to the consumer, only adding on the actual cost. There was no profiteering. Automatically the traders too had to bring their prices down as well.

The people are suffering due to unwise decisions (e.g. the fertilizer problem which has badly affected the farmers). The major blunder has been the dollar crisis which has led to shortages of imported items that have affected all layers of society as well as the many industries that depend on imported inputs. The lack of fuel, gas, imported food and medicines has led to shortages resulting in long queues and to disruption of the whole transport system. Many people have lost their jobs as a result. This dollar crisis has led to our Foreign Reserves falling from US dollars 8 billion to less than 1 billion. The rating agencies such as Fitch and Moody have dropped Sri Lanka to the lowest level, a single C, as being on the verge of bankruptcy. Our importers are badly affected as the Letters of Credit (LC’s) are no longer accepted, so that orders are only acted on when dollars are directly paid to the suppliers. This means a delay of several months even if dollars are sent. But the reality is that the importers are unable to get dollars from local banks. Our foreign debt is said to have reached 52 billion US dollars and the annual payment for interest etc. (debt servicing) is in the region of US dollars 6 billion per year. The Government has not made use up to now of the various methods that are available to escape from this situation. For example re-structuring the economy by negotiating a moratorium on the debt payments. For instance it is possible to negotiate for a postponement of the annual debt servicing for a period of about 5 years. This would save us about 30 billion dollars starting from the next payment due in June this year. This money can be used to provide the people’s needs from abroad and also develop the economy. A very surprising feature is that no serious effort is being made to have such an arrangement with our main creditor, China.

Instead we are now signing an agreement with the IMF and a begging mission has gone to Washington, USA. This will only make matters worse as in addition to getting into deeper debt we are likely to be subject to their conditions which include the neoliberal policy of unlimited imports. The main cause of our dollar crisis is the fact that the Government when it began to be faced with the emerging dollar crisis failed to severely restrict the imports (which cost more than twice our export earnings) to narrow the adverse foreign trade gap. There should have been strict banning of the import of all non-essentials so that the outflow of the dollars would be minimized. There should have been more support to the organizations that I set up to promote the SMEs, like the 243 Vidatha Centers, to provide technology to support SMEs, one in each administrative division around the country. In the 5 years that I was Minister of Science and Technology the outcome had been the development of 231,000 SMEs. To support large scale industry as well as the SMEs, I set up a Nano Technology Centre in Homagama (which happens to be the 18th Nano Technology Centre in the world, which even India had not done). While the Government talks of cutting down imports and promoting local industries, there has been no serious attempt to promote this technology transfer mechanism.

The complaint of many Ministers that various decisions are taken without their knowledge suggest that there is a section of the bureaucracy, possibly supported by some politicians, who are controlling the Economy according to a plan determined by the USA to disrupt our economy to the point where we may be forced to accept any terms and even sign the MCC and SOFA agreements. The fact that both the Executive President and the former Finance Minister are American citizens further complicates the situation. Thus the proposal to set up an Interim Government for a period of 6-8 months to restore the economy and stabilize the social and economic situation in the country, if done effectively, as proposed by the group of 11 decedent political parties may provide a way out. But this will not be easy and certainly it would need a firm hand and the active support of the people.


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National Communication Programme for Child Health Promotion (SBCC) has been launched. – PM

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3 hours ago

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2026/01/11

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Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the Government has commenced necessary measures to maintain preschool education under a framework, align preschool education with a unified curriculum, conduct teacher training in a systematic manner, and ensure quality standards.

The Prime Minister made these remarks on Saturday (10) at the Temple Trees, participating in the launch of the National Communication Programme for Child Health Promotion, aimed at promoting social and behavioural change (SBCC) among early childhood children. The programme is jointly organized by the Health Promotion Bureau, the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, UNICEF, and the Clean Sri Lanka Programme.

Addressing at the event, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated:

“Early Childhood Development (ECD) has a major impact on a country’s human development and future progress. It is a widely accepted fact that a child’s future depends largely on early childhood development. Many aspects essential for a child’s growth occur within the first five years of life. The experiences, care, and love a child receives during this period are decisive.

The social integration, relationships, and environmental influences experienced in early childhood form the foundation for shaping an individual as an adult. Early childhood development influences life to an extent that it becomes difficult to change when it grows into adulthood.

The responses of adults to children’s actions, the way they interact with them, and the care they provide are extremely important. Therefore, early childhood development should never be viewed as the sole responsibility of parents. It is a collective responsibility of all citizens.

No child can be raised into a good citizen by parents alone. In all our lives, beyond our parents, there have been many who influenced us, showed us love, and provided care. It is due to the collective support of all these individuals that we have reached where we are today. The government views child care as a social responsibility. Supporting a child, providing care, ensuring protection, education, and health facilities are social responsibilities. In this regard, the intervention of the Clean Sri Lanka Programme to communicate these values to the public is important.

The role of the preschool teachers plays a special and vital role for children. The love, care, attentive listening, and responses children receive during this stage are decisive for their development. Teachers carry out a crucial intervention in the lives of children. An education policy on early childhood development has been formulated, with UNICEF providing technical assistance. Steps are being taken to operate preschool education under a single framework, align it with a unified curriculum, systematically conduct teacher training, and ensure quality standards.

Recognising early childhood development as a specialised area within education, the Prime Minister affirmed that the relevant interventions will be made accordingly.

Addressing the event, Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Ms. Saroja Paulraj stated that the Ministry has identified the standardisation and development of early childhood development as a primary goal for the year 2026. She noted that children who leave the warmth of their mother’s embrace and father’s shoulder and come to preschool teachers expecting the same love and care from their teachers. Conveying that warmth through words and expressions is a responsibility entrusted to teachers. The love and safe environment children receive shape their ability to love the environment and respect others.

Minister of Health and Mass Media,  Nalinda Jayatissa, also addressed the gathering, stating that the goal of the government is to build a beautiful future generation capable of leading the country, free from the various hardships and challenges faced today.

He emphasised that creating a healthy population is a challenge, particularly in preventing non-communicable diseases. Children aged three to five today will become a generation aged 18 to 20 by 2040. Continuous and comprehensive programmes such as this are essential to protect that generation from non-communicable diseases. In some instances, interventions are required even during the preconception and prenatal stages.

He further highlighted that preschool and early childhood development centre teachers shoulder a tremendous responsibility in driving a major transformation in the country’s future.

The event was attended by the Governor of the Sabaragamuwa Province, Ms. Champa Janaki Rajarathne; the Governor of the Uva Province, Attorney-at-Law  Kapila Jayasekara; the Governor of the North Central Province,  Wasantha Jinadasa; the Governor of the North Western Province,  Thissa Kumarsiri Warnasuriya; the Deputy Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Dr. Namal Sudarshana; the Member of Parliament, Dr. Najith Indika; the Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sri Lanka, Ms. Emma Brigham; the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake; the Senior Additional Secretary to the President (Finance and Economic Affairs), Mr. Russell Aponsu; the Additional Secretary to the President (Clean Sri Lanka), S. P. C. Sugishwara; Secretaries to Ministries; Provincial Chief Secretaries; the Commanders of the Tri-Forces; officials of subject-related ministries; provincial council officials; preschool teachers; preschool children; and parents.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

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Level I landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara-Eliya extended

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4 hours ago

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2026/01/11

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The  Landslide Early Warning Centre of the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) has extended the landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy,  Matale and Nuwara-Eliya till 1600hrs today (11).

Accordingly, the LEVEL I YELLOW early warnings issued to the Divisional Secetaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Lunugala, Meegahakiwula,Welimada, Kandaketiya, Hali_Ela, Badulla, Uva  Paranagama in the Badulla district,  Minipe and Ududumbara in the Kandy district, Wilgamuwa, Ukuwela, Ambanganga Korale, Rattota and Laggala_Pallegam in the Matale district, and Nildandahinna,  Walapane, Mathurata and Hanguranketha in the Nuwara-Eliya district will be in force until 1600hrs today (11)

 

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Experts: NPP education reforms unsuitable for SL

Published

8 hours ago

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2026/01/11

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Proposed education reforms have drawn sharp criticism from education professionals, teacher unions and student organisations, who warned on Thursday that the changes risk undermining child safety, widening inequality and imposing unaffordable costs on parents.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo, Dr Ayomi Irugalbandara of the Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka said the proposed reforms appeared to be largely modelled on foreign education systems without adequate consideration of local realities.

She took particular issue with proposals to integrate social media use into the school curriculum, noting that several developed countries have moved in the opposite direction by preventing children under the age of 15 from accessing social media platforms.

“Most of these modules are not appropriate for this country,” Dr Irugalbandara said. “We warn parents that these reforms place children at risk.”

Concerns were also raised over digital content linked to the revised curriculum. Inter-University Students’ Federation Convener Madushan Chandrajith said the Grade Six Information and Communication Technology (ICT) module included QR codes that directed students to a controversial YouTube channel.

“Who will take responsibility for children accessing such content?” he asked, calling for clear accountability mechanisms for material linked through digital platforms used in schools.

Secretary of the Workers’ Struggle Centre, Duminda Nagamuwa, criticised the government’s approach to the reform process, comparing it to the fertiliser policy introduced under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He alleged that the authorities were pushing ahead with education reforms despite opposition from academics, teachers and other stakeholders.

Nagamuwa also highlighted the economic burden on families, noting that Sri Lanka’s poverty rate had increased from 12.5 percent to 25 percent. He questioned how parents were expected to afford smartphones or tablet computers required for students to access QR code-linked educational content.

“The government is asking parents to bear costs they simply cannot afford,” he said.

Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin said schools had already begun collecting money from parents in anticipation of the reforms, including funds to purchase smart boards.

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