by Dayan Jayatilleke
The denunciatory critics of the Rajapaksa Presidency are at total variance with the overwhelming majority of Sri Lankan people, not only on domestic matters but also on Sri Lanka’s external relations.
The recent Gallup poll reveals that 9 out of 10 Sri Lankans approve of President Rajapaksa’s leadership; a colossal 91 percent which significantly exceeds the share of Sinhalese (74 percent) in the island’s population. The same Gallup poll shows that China is easily the most popular country among the Sri Lankan people.
That has been the case for quite some time, if my memory of public opinion polls of an earlier decade serves me ac curately. This is quite unsurprising given the excellent bi-partisan relations that Sri Lanka has enjoyed with China, the warmth generated by Zhou Enlai’s visit, the socially beneficial nature of China’s economic contributions to Sri Lanka such as the Free School Uniforms programme (initiated by President Premadasa) and China’s consistent support for Sri Lanka’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Sri Lankan people remember all this and more so, the support given by China throughout the war, including the diplomatic and military support during the crucial last war in the face of western vacillation and occasional pressure in its terminal stages. The Sri Lankan people, as the most recent Gallup and other, earlier, opinion polls show, are a grateful people. It is a pity the same cannot be said of sections of its Opposition and the political ‘commentariat’ which have commenced a raucously anti-China chorus.
Vibrant Latin America led by a newly resurgent social democratic or populist Left, has witnessed a conscious and exponential growth in economic ties with China, which that continent is using to counterbalance centuries of iniquitous relationships with their Northern neighbour.
Compare and contrast the rhetoric from UNP and pro-Opposition economists, about the damaging effects of China’s economic interaction with Sri Lanka, and the moralistic condemnation of its lack of conditionality on domestic governance structures (democracy), with the views of one of the of the most celebrated young economists of the day, Dambisa Moyo, author of ‘Dead Aid’.
In an interview in the online edition of ‘Guernica’ a magazine of art and politics, Ms. Moyo says “… From my perspective, China’s goal is to develop China and to raise the living standards of Chinese people. Fortunately, there are benefits for Africa, as well. In the very narrow prism of economic development, I think it is better for the Chinese to be in Africa because they view Africans as business partners.
And even when they don’t—because I don’t want to make it seem like the Chinese are perfect—I believe that there is scope for having that conversation… I don’t think Africa needs westerners to step in and wag fingers at the Chinese and say, “Oh, don’t go into Africa because you’re being exploitative.”
Some of the worst despots across Africa have been under the ostensible reign of Western interests. The Chinese have created jobs; they’ve built roads. The West has failed to do that in sixty years in Africa. Are Africans getting jobs and improving their lives because of the Chinese presence? Overall, the answer is yes…”
One can surely do no better in taking one’s stand and charting one’s policy, than be guided by the perspective on China clearly articulated by Hon Lakshman Kadirgamar. In the last year of his life, speaking on the occasion of the unveiling of the bust of Premier Zhou Enlai at the BMICH in the presence of Prime Minister Wen Jia bao, (an occasion on which I was privileged to be present) he said:
“…When a relationship is based on mutual respect and affection, the size, importance and power of one of the two countries in that relationship does not have a disproportionate influence on the other. China has never sought to influence the domestic politics of Sri Lanka. Over the years China has proved to be benign and sincere with no ulterior motives for befriending Sri Lanka.
She has never tried to dominate, undermine or destabilize Sri Lanka. She has come to our rescue with timely assistance on several occasions when there were threats to Sri Lanka’s national security and territorial integrity.
It is in the light of these considerations that Sri Lanka observes with admiration China’s steady, peaceful ascent to the summit of economic power. Long may the People’s Republic of China flourish and prosper. Long may the friendship between China and Sri Lanka grow in strength and vigour.” (April 9th, 2005)
Sadly, Sri Lankan opinion makers have been unhealthily divided – as has been the policy debate in the media–between those who tilt to the West, to India or to China. There are those who tilt to the west and mistrust India, those who tilt to the West and India and mistrust China, and those who tilt to China while being hostile to India.
All these positions are inimical to Sri Lanka’s national interest which should commence with an appreciation of Sri Lanka’s Asian identity and destiny, which entails a close and warm relationship, not always equidistant, with both India and China.
China is funding so-call mega “development” which are white Elephant projects that cater to Rajapakse’s mega ego such as the rock-able and laughable Hambantota port and airport which are impoverishing and denuding the country and generating greater inequality than ever before! Sl is headed for debt and default with China’s great help! Hambantota does not have the demoographic/ population profile to support an international airport. It is poor and people will not be flying out of there to anywhere! Lanka’s second international airport should be in Jaffna which has a diaspora, postal economy and population density to warrant an international airport. As for the quote from Dambisa Moyo she actually calls for and end to ALL AID! China’s aid is as bad as or worst than western “AID”.
The Rajapakse “economic development policy” which has no notion of strategic leveraging of existing asserts is indebting Lanka and morally and intellectually bankrupt. It promotes an “economic development model” of land-grabbing, making the rich richer and poor poorer. Read Stigltz and Amatya Sen on the Mismeasure of out lives’ But Oops.. This self-serving joker, Dayan J, only wants to be SL ambassador in China now!
Lets look at Dayan’s argument in a different light.
The rulers of Lanka wants to remain in power.
They are telling us that now, that the Dutch are offering help without strings attached and that we should dump the Portuguese as they want us to listen to the bible.
They are telling us that now, that the British are offering help without strings attached and that we should dump the Dutch, because the British are helping us to build roads and railroads.
These people are not serving SL.
They are serving the rulers of Lanka, who want to remain in power, holding on to anything, including Gadaffy or even the grease boothayas.
Don Juan Dharmapala is in power, but he is no Dharmapala, as we all know Dharmapala turned out to be Catholic-pala.
Supporters of the present day Dharmapala says that the People are behind him, in fact 91% are happy.
Robert Mugabe and Slobodan Milosovic also says that the people are behind him…..but the army still remains in the streets and the deployment continues because of grease boothayas at home and abroad—diaspora.
In fact listen to the “Sinhalese” majarity argument, and its identical to that of the majority in Zimbabwe and Serbia.
They all have historical grievences.
All what is happening is those who want to remain in power, want to throw Kavum to fool the maaaaases. And our lot loves Kavum as they are starving.
Today, Kavum from china is cheap and they don’t object if you shoot people waving white flags, so that the Kavum eaters can be happy and listen to pirith.
But the biggest problem is, China and the Kavum eaters of Lanka are dependent on the West to sell their goods and the money for Kavum in the end comes from the Western consumer who buys Sri Lankan and Chinese produce.
So who has more power in this game?
the producers or the consumers?
The tea/garment makers or the tea/garment buyers?
What will happen to the tea/garment producers if their tea/garment is not bought by the West.
What would happen to the Western consumers if they don’t buy tea/garments.
the same goes for chinese produce.
Now, what is more likely, when it comes to the crunch?
China selling out the Kavum eaters or the West selling out the Kavum eaters?
=========================
Now a different topic. Our chokka’s of Lanka are saying that China is coming up and the West is declining.
90% of china are destitute and this is being exploited as cheap labour.
They are simply producing in China, what is too expensive to produce in the West, often by plants set up by large western companies…..all they are doing is emulating what Japan did several decades ago.
To do this “magic” they and the Kavum eaters are desperate for a “British” education and they are all setting up “British” centres of learning in Dubai, China and “motherland”……..
China like the kavum eaters are still playing catch up.
The Chinese are still trying the build the stealth bomber properly…….
The West built it in 1989….in the last century……mmmmmmmm
“Peaceful ascent”? Dayan must be dreaming. The Great Famine, the “Let a thousand flowers bloom” movement, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, the Tianamin Square Massacre, support for every autocrat, from the Burmese Generals to Mugabe, protecting them by blocking every motion at the UN Security Council. Dayan is attempting to rewrite history, but we remember the facts.
for the youth who still believe in political radicalism, I would like to point out here that DJ and his friends who supported the current comprador capitalist regime of Rajapaksas are being conceptually imprisoned within the horizon of nation-state. They have been celebrating only national sovereignty, territorial integrity, unitary state, achievements in foreign relations and all the other Westphalian nonsense, which are interestingly decorated by Leftist political language!
So, to explode their simplistic political mythologies, as Slavoj Zizek suggests, we should be dare enough to revisit the fundamentals of Marxism. Stop celebrating the nation state mythologies! Fight for the universals (not necessarily Western universalities my dear subaltern friends!) like equality, freedom, better life and humanity!! Fight the Sinhalese and other chauvinism(s) propagated in different and sophisticated ways
If we are so China centric why are we scrambling- at great cost, to bring the Commonwealth Games, those of the imperialist conquerors to Hambantota?
If we lucky the country will lose the bid. The Athens Olympics of 2004, funded, as everything else in Greece by debt, was the final straw. Winning the Hambantota games bid may well be ours.
Ooops I forgot, I don’t think Lanka needs a warm embrace from India and/or China, and keeping a healthy distance from BOTH is the best way to avoid getting into trouble which could lead to disaster if Lanka gets caught up in the Cold War between them. The China-India Cold war is resulting in the militarization, destabilization and impoverishment of ALL of the rest of South Asia – from Nepal to Pakistan. Do some serious reading of history in the region DJ, and stop mouthing platitudes about “Asian Identities” and “Asian” (sub) Human Rights (as visible in Tibet and Kashmir)– to get your posting to Beijing.
SL is also becoming aid dependent on India and has been forced to take on the Sampur Coal Power project because Rajapakse is scared to say NO as he is worried that India may vote with the west at the UNHRC. IN short SL’s great soverignty is now gone with the wind as Rajapkse worries about war crimes. Russia is only friendly with him because he’s buying arms from Moscow– even though the war in Lanka was over 2 years ago. As for the west, At least there are war crimes trials on on in the Hague for war criminals in the former Yugoslavia, even though of course, one does not need to be a supporter of Euro-America to know that Human Rights in China and India is a bunch of tosh!
With people of the Dayan J type, no wonder Sri Lanka is going to Hell. He thinks
and writes that only China can help Sri Lanka, but its track-record of current
activities show that this is Regime-based and nothing to do with Economics:
Please leave poor Dayan alone. After all he has to “earn” his living as if not he will receive a one way ticket back to Colombo from king MR.
Yes China should go to Northeast of Lanka and establish friendship with the people there. Chinese communist were popular there at on stage. Recognise them as a nation and trade with them. They can build an international airport at Mankulam and a port at Point Pedro. Fish and prawn culture could be a beneficial industry
India is anihilating Eelam Tamils systematically so no harm in approching china.
Eelam Tamils has nothing to loose by becomming friendly with china. China should be invited to restore the flora and fauna of the Eelam sea waters especially in the lankan side of the Park’s straight. And also the Ward and Pedro banks.
Dear Dinuk,
I fully agree.
Mahinda Rajapakse’s ‘hambantota mania’ is ruining sri lanka’s economy.
Dear Sir, The china has been vociferously supporting the regimes like the Libya. Was it able to stem the tide. Don’t put all the eggs in one basket. Of course you will say there is Russia. Russia could be weaned away any time by the India.
You have not acknowledged the Indian contribution. India also respects your sovereinty and territorial integrity. If your sovereignity is violated or your territorial integrity is violated the main culprit will be you people only for not giving a just political soln. You can have a goon as a Defense Secretary. But you cannot afford to let him talk and weaken your case.
You are leading the Sinhalese through the garden path to their destruction.
China has been a good friend. So has India and the West. So has Pakistan and other NAM countries. Except that now the West is asking us to settle our problems and give a place to the Tamil people. So now we say China is coming up and so forth. Koheda Yanne Malle Pol – Where are you going? I have coconuts in my bag.
Dear Dayan,We all know who you are , whom you represent ,what you are trying to project even before you start, who pays your up keeping, STOP recycling same thing useing and quoting creating different scenarios and try to impres your pay master. You can’t impres us.
Dayan, Your are an appointer ambassador of Srilanka you should only represent the people’s view. had you or any one else have see any propaganda like you from any other distingust ambassadors doing the dirty work in the past??
China is the new colonial power raping and pillaging poor third world countries in the guise of providing economic aid. We can see what China is doing in many of the poor african countries. It is plundering these countries’ natural resources in return for developmental aid employing Chinese convicts to do the mega construction projects that fall apart as soon as they are completed. The natural resources are acquired by the Chinese at a fraction of their real value in the international markets. These countries are left owing billions of dollars in debt to the Chinese
Dayan Jayatilleke knows very well that the Chinese are doing exactly the same thing in Sri Lanka also but, Dayan being an apologist for the Rajapakse regime, simply has to endorse each and every action of his master giving scant regard to the welfare of his motherland and his fellow citizens. The so called sinhala interllectulas like Dayan, Wijesinha and G L Pieris have become spineless hero worshippers of Rajapakse and sadly have lost whatever respect they had before attaching themselves to Rajapakse’s shawl. They are now in a pathetic state of having to sing for their positions and perks.
Dayan is trying his best to teach the idiotic readers about china and it’s aid to Sri Lanka china did build the BMICH but how many Sri lankan worked in the project and what is the cost of maintaining it ? The Hambantota port did not the Canadian company SN Lavlin state the Rock has to be removed prior to building the port?How many chinese worked in the project?
China in the 50′s did give Aid to African countries to develop those country like building railway now they build hospital in Angola which is crumbling using chinese experts
China outbids other companies by flouting social and evoirmental standards
lately china has given arms to Ghadafi at the final stages of war in Libiya according to James Dorsey of Nanyang Univercity and then droped him ( Ghadafi) like a hot potato
China droped Iran when it came to UN sanctions
just tell the Gamaralayas that you want a posting in china we will understand
Nathen
Did China do any preliminary feasibility studies before developing Hambantota Harbor on their own line of credit and labor? Why then there is talk about a rock, prohibiting ships from arriving? Isn’t Sri Lanka paying a large sum of money as interests to China? What are the interest rates we pay for loans from China? We are buying their products? How much exports earning Sri Lanka can generate from China?
Perfect! Number one friend is China, two Burma, three North Korea and four down under the gutter Gadaffi’s Libya.
“Long may the friendship between all her friends and Sri Lanka grow in strength and vigour”.
I am glad, DJ mentions Africa because the Chinese have been involved in major development projects in Africa for longer than they have been in Sri Lanka. So what do the African people have to show for Chinese involvement? Where is the evidence that the average African’s standard of living has improved thanks to Chinese development? So the Chinese exploitation of Africa is more peaceful than the west’s, and that is ok?
Chinese investment in Africa has shown results similar to their investments in the rest of the developing world, a narrow group of ruling elite benefit enormously while the average citizen is stuck with the bill. At least in Africa, they can attempt to pay back the bill thanks to the abundance of natural resources. How is Sri Lanka going to pay back the Chinese? Maids and other domestic workers? Majority of Sri Lanka’s exports go to the west, how much goes to China? Negligible.
Jumping on the Chinese bandwagon while antagonizing the west is poor strategy. Sri Lanka is lucky that the current government in New Delhi prefers to economic partnership with Sri Lanka far ahead of issues like human rights and rights of minorities. Can we say that about future Indian governments?
Some people maybe opposed to China’s role in Sri Lanka for ideological reasons. But continuing to bite the hand that feeds you while buying stuff than you cannot afford is highly dangerous. The bills will have to be paid one day.
Typical Mahdannamutha style. Build a port and then blast the rock so that all the new structures in the area are weakened in the process. Dr Priath Wickrema should give up engineering and join politics with Rajapakse.
Guys, guys, don’t you read punctuation marks? The caption that TC has given the article, which some of you are throwing back at me , i.e., ‘peaceful ascent’, is from a direct quote of the late Lakshman Kadirgamar.
Anyway, I hope all of you are pleased at being the Lankan lunatic fringe, and I guess you are almost all, located overseas, because the Lankan people obviously think very differently. Unless you assume that MR now own the Gallup polling organisation, I hope you poneder deeply on the 91% approval rating that he enjoys, meaning 9 out of 10 Sri Lankans hold views completely opposite to yours! This cannot be attributed to ‘Sinhala buddhist chauvinism’, because only 67 % are Sinhala Buddhists! Where did the other 25% come from eh? I hope you also deeply ponder the ‘most popular’ status enjoyed, according to Gallup, by China, in the eyes of the Lankan citizenry.
Brilliant response by Mr Ranetunge.
One of you — maybe Mahesh?– as accused me of not mentioning India. Don’t you ever read the pro-JUH/NFF Sinhala hardline columnist Malinda Seneviratne who never fails to accuse me of being ‘pro-Indian’ or serving my ‘Indian masters’ , not least by continued advocacy of devolution and the 13th amendment?
On the economic argument regarding China, Africa etc, I suppose its a choice between your views and those of Dr Dambisa Moyo, or should I say, ‘ between Dumb and Dambisa’?
)
I can see some couple of dick heads trying to undermine China. We Sri Lankans should thank China, Russia, Parkistan and few other countries during the difficult time. These dick heads should read the Sri Lankan and world history first. China is holding majority of US bonds, they support Euro to be strong, I can write a book about what china has achieved for the past 60 years.
Who are the 9% that dose not agree with the majority 91% according to GUILLBLE poll most definitely traitors I bet they are Western sympathisers.
Don’t be concern Hambantota Port is solid as a Rock.
That’s not nice Africans got lots to show because of Chinese goodwill and investment just three things of the top are Corruption, Poverty, Violence and one more famine.
Dear Dayan, nothing is free and never be. China takes a long term view in establishing relationships. Not just a short cut. China has been with us for decades and will be with us. The economic theory behind China and the West are two different ones and do not compare it. Oil and location including natural resources play a major role in relationships. One cannot isolate the West and live nor one can isolate India and China. I do understand, you need to continue with your theories…nothing is free, never be!
The (EDITED) has been getting a bit of flak for being too pro-Indian. This is his way of trying to redress it.
I don’t see any point in responding. Best ignore him.
Dear me Dushey!!
It’s one of two things
You are being deliberately obtuse for the sake of writing a “response” that will charm the Rajapakse-bashers or your ignorance of global strategic and economic realities is truly breathtaking !
I leave it to you to sort out what that makes of you as an “analyst” (I am being excessively kind here) and a contributor to these pages
Sumiyuru Nishan
Discarding the Nation State mythologies, we can all do that when everyone can travel freely cross-border between any state in the world., When a Somali or Yemeni or Indian can board a plane and fly to the UK/US and other Westphalian nonsense-states and disembark without having to queue up before a barred visa-window in their own country first.,
To many on these pages, Western Universals are the only ones worth anything because they have been conditioned so by years of Colonial browbeating and they are true-believers that England’s Green and Pleasant Land is the only one worth emulating – not realising that even England stopped emulating England’s Green and Pleasant Land a long time ago
Thanks for your post
ha ha nicely put.
Indonicus, that’s pretty pathetic coming from a person who doesn’t dare use his or her name even in cyberspace!
Oi answer Dushy renetunge…hiding????
China has the worst record of human rights violations – just click ‘china human rights’ on Google and there is a long list of horrible atrocities.
China is cozy with its lookalike – our own Dharmadweepa.
Both have to support each other.
The sidekicks of both have to provide the music – flawed ‘polls’ help.
Earlier there was talk of one man who had singlehandedly ‘decostructed’ the UN Panel report! He should be taken to the UN.
Where is the much glorified Kunanayakam?
An Ambassodor to a country! You should be now providing help/advise to the lady in Geneva to defend the Rajapaksa .
Funny, where do you get this 91% approval rate? How well the gallop poll was conducted?. I guess you are making these assumptions based from your office in France. Please find some time to go out and inquire people’s opinion yourself. I had a chance to go out and talk to people at all levels, etc. 9 out of 10 is fed up with the way the corrupt government practices. Pumping all the resources to Hambantota is not appreciated. Sri Lanka cricket board is bankrupt. Majority hates the actions of our crown prince Namal (it seems that this is true for some senior SLFPers too). However, Gottabaya Rajapksa still has a favorable response from many people here for his management skills.
Culuture here is such that anyone who admires Rajapaksa’s will be greatly rewarded.
Take a look at this too to understand that these polls can be flawed from systematic sampling errors
http://www.ft.lk/2011/04/26/gallup-poll-says-95-of-sri-lankans-struggling-and-suffering/
Gallup poll says 95% of Sri Lankans struggling and suffering!
Published : 1:22 am April 26, 2011 | 19 comments | | E-mail to friend
Influential polling firm’s global wellbeing surveys in 2010 claims only 5% in Sri Lanka are thriving
Says high wellbeing eludes the masses in most countries as majorities in 19 out of 124 countries “thriving,” mostly in Europe and the Americas
Despite the end of the war, doubling of per capita income and high 8% growth believe it or not as per world renowned Gallup, 95% of Sri Lankans are both struggling and suffering.
As per Gallup’s global wellbeing surveys in 2010 released last week, only 5% are thriving in Sri Lanka with 75% are struggling and 20% suffering
Iraqis, Bangladeshis Nepalese, Sudanese, Ugandans, Zimbabweans are better off than Sri Lanka.
Port at Point Pedro will not work. The fault line which caused the recent Sunami is not the Last. Tamil Civilization during Sangam period went out without trace because of that. My great grand parent’s time it was a severe than the recent one and sea water entered inlands of the Northern islands(Nainative, Analaitheive etc.). You can not build breakwater in deep sea. Trinco serves as a port because the coast itself functions as the natural breakwater. No port along the eastern seaboard will ever survive the wrath of nature, inluding the one at Hambanththotta.
Easwaran
Does China has any option other than to defend Euro and Dollar? If Euro and dollar to go down, then China goes with them? Strange bedmates!
Easwaran
Published : 1:22 am April 26, 2011 | 19 comments | | E-mail to friend ■Influential polling firm’s global wellbeing surveys in 2010 claims only 5% in Sri Lanka are thriving
■Says high wellbeing eludes the masses in most countries as majorities in 19 out of 124 countries “thriving,” mostly in Europe and the Americas
Despite the end of the war, doubling of per capita income and high 8% growth believe it or not as per world renowned Gallup, 95% of Sri Lankans are both struggling and suffering.
Dayan why did not give this report
As per Gallup’s global wellbeing surveys in 2010 released last week, only 5% are thriving in Sri Lanka with 75% are struggling and 20% suffering
Iraqis, Bangladeshis Nepalese, Sudanese, Ugandans, Zimbabweans are better off than Sri Lanka. Even countries such as Vietnam, India, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia have been ranked above. Sri Lanka and her people are only better off than Chad, Haiti, Cambodia, Niger, Tajikistan and Tanzania.
Worldwide Gallup says a median of 21% across 124 countries were “thriving” last year, based on how people rated their lives at the current time and their expectations for the next five years. This is unchanged from a median of 21% in 2009. The percentage rating their lives well enough to be considered thriving ranged from a high of 72
Nathen
The Chinese are also trying to build TOYS properly……
Hey Dushy,
Loved your comment.
Most of our countrymen are ignorant people!
Mmmmmmmm……..the extent of the blindness of Dushy’s Western servile mind set is yet again in full view for all to see.
Why stop at 1989 to talk about the stealth bomber. I would invite Dushy to open the eyes a little beyond. When the Westerners were just like any other hunting animal, China had one of the greatest civilisations of human history. I invite Dushy to study it a bit which just might stir that dead intellectual senses.
Dushy talk about Western consumers and their so called power. What Dushy doesn’t seem to know about is the already Chinese successfull strategy of lending money to the West to by Chinese products! While Dushy sitting in London might think he is with friends who are more powerful than the yellow Chinese, those yellow guys would continue to transfer the Western wealth to China with a smily face, while lending their money to Westerners to dress nicely, eat & party from their debt. All the while Obama and future US presidents will continue to increase the national debt ceiling. What a wonderfull state of affairs!!
The other important point Dushy touched on was the vast human resource yet to be tapped in China. Though hundreds of millions of Chinese have come out of poverty during China’s liberalisation programme, the population will take many more decades to come up to the per capita wealth levels of the West. This means, China can maintain it’s cost leadership and related competitive advantage over the West for the foreseable future. Dushy, I believe you possess that elementary logical capacity to understand the consequences.
From a long term strategic perspective, I think a rational person would know where to place the bets based on above scenario.
Wish you all the best Dushy & sweet dreams!!! Don’t forget Chinese now own some Western iconic brands like Volvo & Hummer too. He…..he…..he….
I still cannot get over DJ’ comment
“Over the years China has proved to be benign and sincere with no ulterior motives for befriending Sri Lanka.”
Similar words were uttered before a wooden horse was wheeled into TROY.
I was brought up on the premise that NOTHING IS FREE IN LIFE.
I was brought up being told that THERE IS NO SUCH THING CALLED A FREE MEAL.
But it seems that I was wrong all these years.
Was I ?
To Build Hambanthota port, the Billions borrowed by us from CHINA are being re-paid at a dollar interest rate of 6.3%
The Dollar base rate is 0.25%
The Sterling base tate is 0.5%
The 12 month Dollar inter-bank rate is less than 1%.
So, the 6.3% that the Sri Lankan tax payer no…. no…. no… no…. as Dayan says, the 91% who don’t pay tax in Sri Lanka are NOT paying is
THE GENEROSITY OF CHINA………OUR …..
benign and sincere FRIEND, with no ulterior motives for befriending Sri Lanka”?????????????
Here is a MATHS LESSON………………..
The diference in interest RATE between 1% that is the approximate interbank dollar borrowing rate and 6% that china is charging is 500%.
I will make it simpler for the intellectuals here…..
Cargills is selling seeni bola at a price of 1 rupee to our chokka’s of Lanka. But Cargills is saying, you can only have our seeni bola, if you are a good boy, with good governance and no shooting people waving white flags and no using emergency laws to beat up the servants.
China man’s store down the road is selling the same seeni bola at 6 rupees and he is saying, you can be a naughty boy, have bad governance, execute anyone you want, beat up your servants, but hey,……you need to pay not Rs 1 but Rs 6 for the same seeni bola.
Our rulers need to WIN every election in sight. If they lose, they will not be hauled to the Hague for war crimes, but will exchange places with Sarath Fonseka at Welikada. So dishing out Seeni Bola to the maaaaaases is a MUST to win all elections.
Now our Ambassador to France is telling the Chokka’s of Lanka, that buying Seeni bola from the China man’s shop paying an exhorbitant 500% more is ACE…….
why these Chinese are such delightful, sweet people, real cuties in fact ……….
“Over the years China has proved to be benign and sincere with no ulterior motives for befriending Sri Lanka.”
Lets go, have some seeni bola, and vote for Mahinda Mama……
Did you say paying the loan back? No worries….some other lanka chokka in 10 years will have to deal with that……..
DJ… do not cow down to some of the pathetic comments…surely ppl living in the other parts of the world would have by now seen what China is all about…..China is rising fast and my prayers are with her always….world need China now than never before….Well if I remember right all the provincial premiers in Canada RAN to China the moment the economic recession stuck…couldnt help laughing….
you are right I read that rating too.. surprised that no one came up so far and told that Gallup is owned by MR or Mr brothers…ha ha…
well according to some of our sri lankans…worst crime that MR committed is finishing the war….Well tall trees always get the most wind and that goes to you as well….so do not give a shit…..keep up u good work…
Measure of Human Rights is very subjective.
All countries have HR violations. Even USA still conducts capital punishment.
Guess how many Iragi civilians were killed during the gulf War 2 by USA and UK smart bombs in the name of finding Weapons of Mass Destructions? Have President George Bush and Tony Blair taken to International Court of Justice? What are Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch doing to these perpetrators?
AI and HRW are chicken. They like to punch small countries. They don’t want to touch the big ones (USA, UK). This is how AI and HRW collect grants for their survival.
So, It is all subjective.
At least, Sri Lanka eliminated LTTE terrorism. Sri Lanka has been peaceful since May 17, 2009. No car bombs, No suicide bombs, No so-called “Tamil Genocide”!
In my point of view, Sri Lanka protected the Human Rights (right to live, right to expect your own child would return home from school) of majority of Sri Lankans.
Of course, some civilians died during the war, which is unfortunately difficult to avoid. That is the ugly cost we have to pay to eliminate terrorists and megalomaniacs.
Daniel
On what basis do you make the statement that “China has the worst record of human rights violations”
Who/What do you compare it with ? The US and UK have carried out far more atrocities in their careers than China could EVER lay claim to – Think of it., 70,000 Japanese vaporised in an instant., Think that’s no violation of HR ?
LOL!!
It seems Dushey can only wax eloquent on “Kavun” and “Kokis”..
1.5T Dollars worth of “Kavun” and “Kokis” have been produced in China for the US – In the meantime, the US has lost all ability to make it’s own “Kavun” and “Kokis” (and pretty much anything else except weapons to blow people up with)
Joe Biden rushes off to Beijing to plead with the Chinese to continue making “Kavun” and “Kokis” (and “jungi” too!) – and assures them that they will be paid back “someday” – the 1.5T DOllars continues to add up in the meantime
Meantime back in the good old US of A, it’s business as usual.. More and more “kavun” and kokis” is being imported, unemployment is rising and Dushey thinks this All Very Magnificent because China has not yet built a stealth bomber !!!
Europeans manufacturers are rushing to China because they realise that their own markets have run out of economic steam and pretty soon, no Suddha is going to be able to afford to buy even a car, let alone the fuel to power it..
But Dushey says this is All Very Magnificent and shows the brilliance of the West !!
Check this out, an advert to buy more seeni bola from the China store
http://www.dailymirror.lk/caption-story/13486-cartoon-of-the-day.html
Hey Dushy get a pair of new specs on HNS: that line you say is of DJ, take another looks, it is well within an invert, and is direct quote from Lakshman Kadirgamar’s speech! Shame on you, either for spin or sheer carelessness!
For those who have written that i am pro-China because I am distancing myself from India or trying to live my frejdnship with it, down, here’s the JHU/NFF’s malinda seneviratne:
I read two comments which referred to Libya in the Midweek Review of The Island (August 31, 2011): Dayan Jayatilleka’s ‘Libyan lessons for Lanka’, and Fr. J.C. Pieris’ ‘Government lapses and the patriotic trap’. Fr. Pieris’ chides Dr Gunadasa Amarasekera for going easy on the lapses of the Government. He faults Dr Amarasekera for not going far enough with his regime criticism, pointing out that they ‘cannot be disregarded as inevitable irritants we must put up with for the sake of the country,’ i.e. to stop it from being the next Iraq or Libya.
To be fair, all those who spoke at the symposium where Dr Amarasekera called for the defence of the President, Dr Amarasekera included, have on numerous occasions levelled scathing criticism on the man and his government; i.e. all those associated with the particular organisation, the Strategic Initiatives for the Protection of Sri Lanka. In my short presentation at the said symposium, I did refer to issues of corruption, flaws in governance and so on (elaborated in an article titled ‘Offensives and counter offensives’, Sunday Island of August 28, 2011), for example, and that was certainly not a one-off footnote-like comment.
Patriots
Fr. Peiris is right, however. This regime knows that to the extent that it is seen as a bulwark against separatism and bullying in a country where the stronger sections of the ‘alternative’ are as compromised morally and worse, have shown themselves to be ideologically and politically as thick-as-thieves with separatism, it has the patriots in the kind of bind that Fr. Peiris describes. If, for example, there’s any Libyanization attempt or some external attempt at illegal regime change, then for reasons or morality and the need to mitigate threats on sovereignty and territorial integrity, Mahinda Rajapaksa will not find support lacking from the nationalists.
On the other hand, as Fr. Peiris rightly says, ‘A patriot does not steal from his own disadvantaged brothers and sisters; a patriot does not waste national wealth; a patriot does not sell our land, our assets and our resources to foreigners; a patriot loves all the people of the country and is just and fair to all not nepotistic; a patriot establishes law and order in the country and lives according to it’. It is incumbent on patriots to call for patriotism on all counts, and tell those who would conjure the threat of a Sri Lankan ‘Libya’ that warding off the devil calls for putting the house in order as a necessary prerequisite on all the counts Fr. Peiris has enumerated and others besides.
Dayan is different. He’s a beneficiary of regime largesse. True, he was extremely effective as Permanent Representative at the UN in Geneva in warding off anti-Sri Lankan initiatives, but has nevertheless abused the office and the prestige of title to tout his own brand of separatism. He does rant and rave about Tamil grievances and does champion the Chelvanayakam plan of ‘little now, more later’ by arguing for ‘resolutions’ that will in effect fix the boundaries conjured by Eelamist myth-making. He does not rant and rave about regime flaw. His sycophancy was quite evident in his multi-newspaper defence of his boss, G.L. Peiries at the time the latter was facing a vote of no-confidence in Parliament.
What is most striking, however, about Dayan’s piece is that he deftly (yes, he’s good at this) throws in selective realism to inflate the threat, making the devil blacker than he/she is. He argues ‘Libya’ was made possible by the approval obtained from the Arab League, Organisation of the Islamic Conference, and Gulf Cooperation Council. Now, are we to believe that had such approval been absent,
Please India
‘Libya’ would not have happened? By-your-leave is not part of the culture of global thuggery, Dayan knows this. Indeed, he knows enough world history to give his readers a lengthy list of these R2P-like operations without any such approval from regional groupings.
So why does he bring all that into the story? Simple: India. Sri Lanka must please India, is and has always been this political quack’s line, frilled of course with lots of Marxist mumbo-jumbo. He contends that ‘de-stabilisation, hegemonic intervention and regime change are possible only if there is a breach in the wall of neighbourhood solidarity’ and warns, ‘already in the sub-region, comprising Sri Lanka’s ‘greater Northern’ neighbourhood, voices of redolent of ancient animosity are being raised’. He doesn’t have to say ‘India’ any more. The thesis is clear: surrender to India’s will and the President and the regime will be safe.
It’s not about regime or president, though. It is about sovereignty and territorial integrity with or without regime or president. The man goes on to re-define patriotism as all those things that win support from the neighbourhood (only one neighbour counts here, India). Fr. Peiris’ criteria for patriotism is not even footnoted. Dayan sweeps it all away with a clean India-made, for-India broom.
He lets it all out by claiming that there is an ‘imperative need for compromises and concessions on the secondary and the tactical, so that a strong protective ring can be reconstructed on our perimeter, i.e., our neighbourhood, thereby protecting that which is essential: Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and the gains of the historic military victory’.
In other words, we need to please India, and pleasing India means giving into Eelamist demands pertaining to devolution, not because it resolves any ‘grievances’ but because it is a ‘tactical imperative’. We need to, according to Dayan, agree to a course of action that asserts a falsehood and affirm claim that cannot be substantiated in order to, marvel of marvels, ‘ensure sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and gains of a historic military victory!’
Military victory
So, we give up all that or pave the way for giving it all up and then pat ourselves on the back for having not given it all up? The key word in his argument is ‘compromise’ and ‘concessions’. This means, that we yield something that we should not because we believe it is wrong to give it up. It is an admission that India is being grossly unfair and so too the Tamil chauvinists; that they don’t have a case, but that anyway, we will go along with the lie because that’s the only thing we can do to stop a Libyanization. And to make it sweeter, we can have a celebration later for having secured ‘sovereignty’, ‘territorial integrity’ and keeping intact the gains of a historic military victory!
Dayan says ‘the final analysis is closer than one thinks’ (Dayan’s fear-mongering has a long history) and that in this final analysis, the most durable defence (apart from groveling at India’s feet) is to repair ‘internal fragility’. Now here he may have had a point if he was on Fr. Peiris’ page, which is far more real than that which Dayan offers, ‘discontent and disaffection of the minorities’. He then drops some names of books and personalities (again, Classic Dayan), and says the way to go is ‘to replace or transform an ethnocracy into a modern democracy’, elaborating the latter as ‘a state in which belonging to a particular ethnic group ensures you of privileges over the other inhabitants of a country; in a democracy, all citizens, whatever their origin, language, religion or customs enjoy the same rights’.
Expansionist intentions
Well, we already have that to the extent that territories containing multiple ethnicities are ‘democratic’ anywhere in the world. Carving out one-third the land mass and offering two-thirds of the coast is not ‘democratising’, it is pandering to land-theft and expansionist intentions of chauvinists. If this is an ‘ethnocracy’, then what is Norway, Britain, the USA, France, Pakistan, India, Bangladhes, the Maldives, Indonesia and other countries where either ethnicity or religious faith is privileged in pernicious ways that are totally absent here in Sri Lanka? What Dayan is offering is not ‘ethnocracy to democracy’ but ‘democrazy to ethnocrazy’. Both don’t get the general public anywhere.
What’s most amusing about his piece and why it contrasts so much with Fr. Peiris’ comment is that he asserts that nothing can be more patriotic than his proposition. I’ve heard people say that patriotism is the last resort of the scoundrel. Well, looks like the scoundrel has named himself. I believe Fr. Peiris’ piece helps undress Dayan and it came on the same section of the same edition of the same newspaper, which, tellingly carries the name ‘The Island’!
http://www.malindawords.blogspot.com
Dayan while Your are trying again to parrot 13th amendment to ‘idiots’(in Dayan’s mind) who have neither read or understood re the amendment. Just read on I can give some glimpse of it:
Let us, therefore, take one by one the precious and inestimable boons granted to the Tamil people by the 13th Amendment. The boons are three in number, a trinity of marvels: a Provincial Governor, a Provincial Board of Ministers with a Chief Minister, and a Provincial Council.
At the head of this constitutional Trinity stands the Provincial Governor. Who will select and ordain him? Who else, but the President of Sri Lanka. But that is not all. The Provincial Governor will hold office ‘during the pleasure of the President’. When the President is no longer pleased with the Governor the President may dismiss him. And what is the constitutional reason for this provision that the Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President? The 13th Amendment does not leave us in doubt as to that reason. It declares that the Governor ‘shall hold office, in accordance with Article 4(b), during the pleasure of the President’.
It is a rather curiously phrased provision. What pray, is Article 4(b) of the Constitution? This is the Article which vests ‘the executive power of the people’ of Sri Lanka in the President. It is ‘in accordance’ with the provision of the Constitution which vests executive power in the President, that the Governor will hold office at the pleasure of the President. And so let us ask: wherein lies the constitutional link between the President being vested with executive power and the Governor holding office at the pleasure of the President – in what way is the latter ‘in accordance’ with the former?
The connection, ofcourse, lies in the character of the office of the Governor created by the 13th Amendment. The Governor is no mere figurehead. The 13th Amendment enacts that executive power in the Province in relation to those matters which are within the competence of the Provincial Council, shall be exercised by the Governor.
But if the Governor is to exercise executive power in provincial matters, then the Sri Lankan Constitution which vests executive power with respect to all matters in relation to the entirety of Sri Lanka, in the President, will be violated unless, ofcourse, such Governor holds office ‘during the pleasure of the President’ and is made subject to the control and direction of the President.
The reason for the curious wording of the 13th Amendment becomes clear. ‘In accordance with Article 4(b)’ of the Constitution which vests executive power in the President, the Provincial Governor shall hold office ‘during the pleasure’ of the President. The 13th Amendment reinforces the powers of the executive Presidency and secures that the executive power vested in the President by the Constitution will not be eroded in any way.
——————————————————————————–
Executive power will be exercised by a Provincial Governor appointed by the Sinhala President
In sum, executive power in relation to provincial matters, will be exercised by a Governor who will be appointed by the President, who will hold office ‘during the pleasure’ of the President, and who will exercise his executive powers as the faithful and loyal servant of the Executive President of Sri Lanka. That is the naked political and constitutional reality of the character of a Provincial Governor under the 13th Amendment.
Perhaps, not surprisingly, in May 1988, two long standing Sinhala members of the ruling party who had served as Ministers in the Sri Lankan Cabinet resigned their offices and gratefully accepted appointment as Governors of the North Western and Uva Provinces, so that they may serve the President ‘during his pleasure’. The circumstance that in early 1989, one of them resigned and accepted appointment as Prime Minister in President Premadasa’s Cabinet serves to underline the close links that the Governors were intended to have with the Central government.
In June 1988, a Tamil who had served the Government of Sri Lanka with exemplary loyalty and acceptance as its Chief Justice for the past few years, was selected and appointed by the President as the Governor of the Western Province – a Province which has a Sinhala majority. It was an appointment which was, amongst other things, presumably intended to pave the way for the appointment of a Sinhala Governor for a Tamil Province.
At that time, we could almost see in our minds eye those honourable and distinguished Sinhala gentlemen who the President of Sri Lanka would regard as being qualified to serve as the Governor of a Tamil Province. It was a vision which was later made real with the appointment of the Sinhala Major General Nalin Seneviratne, as the Governor of the Northern and Eastern Province. Major General Nalin Seneviratne had served as Commander in Chief of the Sri Lankan Army in the war against the Tamil militant movement and now that the war had been ‘won’, it was wholly appropriate that he should return to rule the Tamil people as their Governor.
Here, let us recognise that it matters not whether the Northern Province is joined with the Eastern Province or not. If the Northern and Eastern Provinces are joined together, the Tamils will have one Governor. If they are not joined together, then the Tamils will have the privilege of having two Governors.
Ofcourse, it is always possible that the Sri Lankan government, in a moment of great daring, at some future date, may even consider it safe to appoint a Tamil as a Governor for a Tamil Province – so long, that is, that such Tamil Governor will serve faithfully and loyally ‘during the pleasure’ of the President.
After all, there should be no better way of governing the Tamil people than through a Tamil Governor appointed by, and holding office during the pleasure of, a Sinhala President!
It would be an approach that would rival that of Hitler who sought to govern Norway in the 1940s through a Norwegian whose name was Quisling – and thereby made an everlasting contribution to the vocabulary of the English language. In the months ahead we shall know whether a Tamil Quisling will come forward to make a similar contribution to the richness of the Tamil language.
But, be that as it may, let us move on and continue with our efforts to examine the provisions of the 13th Amendment seriously – however difficult that task may be. We have seen that the Amendment enacts that executive power in respect of provincial matters shall be exercised by the Governor. But it does not stop at that. It enacts that the Governor shall exercise such executive power ‘either directly or through Ministers of the Board of Ministers, or through officers subordinate to him’ .
Executive power shall be exercised by the Governor. The Board of Ministers and subordinate officers shall have executive power exercised through them – by the Governor.
As we shall see presently, the juxtaposition of the Board of Ministers with ‘subordinate officers’ is not without significance. But before we determine the way in which the Governor may exercise executive power ‘through’ Ministers let us first ask: in what way may a Governor exercise executive power ‘through’ subordinate officers and who are these ‘subordinate officers’? What is the different between You and provincial govenor? Dayan
Dayan what is the difference to what is happening now and your 13th amendment mate?
If Ministers do not agree with the Governor, President may take over.
What will happen, if the Chief Minister or the Provincial Council do not act in accordance with the ‘wishes’ of the Governor and pass the recommended statutes and issue the requisite warrants in respect of the Fund? In such a deadlocked situation, the 13th Amendment enables the President if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the administration of the Province cannot be carried out, to himself assume all the functions of the Governor, the Chief Minister and the Ministers and declare that the powers of the Provincial Council shall be vested in the Central Parliament.
And the President’s action shall not be called in question in any Court.
The provisions of the 13th Amendment are intended to educate the Chief Minister and his Board of Ministers about the benefits of loyal and faithful service to their rulers.
In sum elected Ministers without Ministerial power
The 13th Amendment is polite, if nothing else. To say that Ministers are required by law to ‘aid and advise’ the Governor is a polite way of saying that the Ministers are required to serve the Governor. They shall serve the Governor by aiding and advising him. Where the Governor chooses to act on such advise or accepts such aid, and acts through the Ministers, to that extent, the Governor is enabled to exercise executive power in respect of Provincial matters ‘through’ the Ministers.
Under the Sri Lanka Constitution executive power will continue to be vested in the President and in respect of provincial matters it will be exercised by his loyal servant the Provincial Governor who is authorised to act through either ‘officers subordinate to him’ or through Ministers, who, in relation to the exercise of such executive power, are also his subordinates. And it is the Governor who will have financial control. It is the Governor who will be in control of the provincial public service. The 13th Amendment may, take credit for inventing a new constitutional species – Ministers without ministerial power.
13th AMENDMENT IS NOT DEVOLUTION IT IS CONSOLIDATION OF POWER IN ANOTHR NAME.
The article contains nothing …except the 2nd paragraph…perhaps written..may be….
Of the total population the Sinhalese majority is 74% and that is approx.15.5mn…IF…9:10 is behind President Rajapakse as you claim then it is 14.0mn ..Dr. Jayatilleke….the man was polled only a highly questionable 5.8mn at 2010 Presidential Elections.Therefore the 9:10 has to be based on that actual vote which indicates that he is on a slow but steady descent….but hypothetically you are absolutely right….But who works on hypothesis….as it is not reality….other than people like you……DO NOT FORGET THAT THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS GEN FONSEKA WAS POLLED 4.2MN WITH ALL VIOLENCE AND CONTROVERSIES AND THE BASE IS YET INTACT…people know whom to vote…
The popularity of the Chinese in this Country is again a gross exaggeration.It is pathetic to hear such crap ..)…the Chinese are heartless Money LENDERS….Dictators…that is how they have become rich…like the Sri Lankan Banks…it is only the West who INVESTED in the Countrie like ours over the past 30 years…..they helped us to develop the Economy…..Look at our trade…..China accepts only 0.6% -0.9% our exports when we import 11% from them…..WEST ACCEPTS 50%-60% OF OUR EXPORTS….the average farmer or a villager do not understand this reality besides they are fed up of the deceit of the Govt….under such circumstances even if SOMALIA OR ETHIOPIA invests none will be bothered…..as long as their day-to-day needs are made available….AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU WILL CLAIM THEY ARE THE MOST POPULAR IN SRI LANKA…
( by LION )
Dear DJ : I guess you have figured out .You learnt you learnt your lesson 2 years ago. .
The writer assumes readers are naive enough to believe the peaceful ascent of china as truth. Facts, however, do not support the idea he is trying to propogate citing late Kadrigmar’s statement. The writer does not expressly say whether he concurs or not with Kadrigmar’s view on China. The link below proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that China’s ascent is not as peaceful as it is made out to be.
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2009/01/02/why-china-helped-countries-like-pakistan-north-korea-build-nuclear-bombs
DJ’s finest offerings. just read the comments!
There was a time when foreign countries invaded our country and grabbed all our lands and wealth by force. Today the same thing is happening in a different way. Today, foreign countries like China are buying all the prime lands of our country.
In other words, the Rajapakshes are not only robbing the country left, right and centre but they are also selling the country piece by piece to the foreigners. The foolish patriots and nationalists of Sri Lanka are blind to see this reality. The Sinhala nationalists are worried only about the Tamils and devolving power to them and the Tamil nationalists are worried about Sinhalese colonization but both these foolish nationalists (Sinhalese & Tamils) are blind to see what the Rajapakshes are doing to their country. They are selling the country to foreigners, robbing the country and buying/owning a large part of the country’s assets. Have anybody checked what the Rajapakshes own in Sri Lanka and abroad?
Its NHS, National Health Service. You need those specs, not me.
If you disagree with it, why quote it?
Hello and greetings fellow Sri Lankans!……i suppose now that we are mortgaging ourselves to the Chinese…..and when they come around to collect on the debt…and the Chinese definitely will…they are very good about that……We can hand over the Bim Saviya list and kiss our homeland goodby. With that will come the end ……Oh never mind…the other religions are thriving elsewhere anyway…so thats ok…We’ll just have kiss Sinhala Buddhism goodby and look forward to a Communist state…
malinda seneviratne is the Jathika Chintana member who once influenced MR to give a one ticket to DJ in the past is still more powerful than DJ. MR will do anything and everything to keep these ultra-nationallist psedo-patriots happy.
I am wondering about the people who bark at CHINA but keep silent how USA and its allies help local criminals to destroy Sri Lanka!
China never planted any spies like CIA’s in Jaffna.
China never involved in any internal matters of Sri Lanka or even it make no comments while westerners from Louise Arbor or any in the west directly bark against SL and supporting the LTTE criminals who destroyed billions of SL economy.
China is an OLD friend of Sri lanka than any other westerners. DJ is telling the truth and truths hurt many!
Lanka’s OLD friends helped to eradicate the WEST backed LTTE menace. That is why Prez Mahinda once mentioned INDIA is our relative, China and others are friends!
Nobody here is saying you are pro-chinese or pro-India.
They are saying that you are pro-you to keep your job in France and ingratiate yourself before your masters.
Stick to your article, where you are trying to use a dead man (Kadirgamar) to justify YOUR points, and above you are using Malinda, a poor journalist, to deflect those who are exposing you.
Both Kadirgamar and Malinda, despite his inaccuracies and prejudices, clearly have more integrity.
At least they do not write as “Keerthi Godayaya” to throw mud at female colleagues, using words such as “rape” and “whore”
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/200208-1.html
Here someone is trying to ingratiate himself before the “intellectuals” of Lanka.
Rajapaksa’s getting their share from China, how much of this pocket money will be used for common good?
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/07/17/chinese-economic-hitmen-and-the-rajapaksas/
n an unprecedented move China has given President Mahinda Rajapaksa 9 million USD (over one billion rupees) as a grant in March this year to use at his discretion. According to highly placed sources at the External Resources Department of the Treasury these monies were part of a grant amounting to a total USD 12 million for “enhancing friendly relations and bilateral economic and technical cooperation.” Of which USD 2.0 million was set aside for the flood affected and USD 1.0 million for the Bandaranaiyake Centre for International Studies.
China made another similar payment in June last year amounting to USD 500,000 to Namal Rajapaksa to promote IT technology among the youth in Sri Lanka.
This is the first time in the history of the country that a foreign government has given grants to the country’s leader and his son money to be used ”at their discretion.”
Go to the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, stand on the otherside of Bullers Road and look at the size of the building and the electronic equipment on it and then read what you have written above again.
M. Sivananthan,
You are completely wrong about the Madame Louise Arbor and the west.
It’s the west that helped the GOSL to win the war by banning the LTTE, restricting it’s cash transfers or flow and arresting the LTTE arms agents.
I have learned lots of information through your past comments in this website but totally disagree here.
What ever some people accuse you or not, the fact remains that your President gave an assurance to the IC that once the war is over he will give political soln to this problem.
What soln is given now. No land powers and no police powers, both of which are the main issues in the 13th amendment.
Our shared histories……more than two thousand years of it…is maintained in our relevant religious teachings and in turn, in our communities, from the nothern most point in VVT to the southermost tip near Tissa….So, let me reiterate what is at stake here…..”Help” is a wonderful thing…in fact any help we can get, post civil war, can only be looked as a good thing as we look toward rebuilding our homeland. However, accepting “help” from a nation that doesnt believe in democracy as a political practice or in religious freedom is an extremely dangerous prospect…..Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, while in India last year, on a free day, wanted to visit the Dalai Lama, the GOSL prohibited them from doing so…..makes one wonder doesnt it….
M.Sivananthan
If your grand children are still living in Sri Lanka, the best advice you can give them is to learn Chinese.
China has given Mahinda Rajapaksa over one billion rupees as a grant in March this year to use at his discretion. China has promised Mahinda Rajapaksa that they will fully support Sri Lanka at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session over allegations of war crimes and human rights. Do you think China is doing everything what they are doing to Sri Lanka is for Summa?
The Rajapakshes are pawning the entire country to China. When Sri Lanka is unable to repay the Chinese loans, China will buy Sri Lanka. Already, they have started buying all the prime lands in Colombo. For the next generation in Sri Lanka, there is no point in learning Sinhala/Tamil which can only be used at homes, the official language will be Chinese.
Bwfore the Chinese, it was owned by Ford. he he he …
Does that mean anything??????
You guys are living in caves during the cave age.
In the 1980′s Mrs Thatcher told the Brits, that it does not matter who owns what. What matters is that they employ people and pay taxes…….All companies require rejuvination after a cycle…..
You guys are still in the wessantara times, giving undue weight to OWNERSHIP. which is no longer relevant in todays global economics. The difference betwen you guys and the rest is that you are holding onto a bygone outdated set of beliefs which are no longer valid in todays world, and you are the majority of Sri Lanka….living in the past….
She has never tried to dominate, undermine or destabilize Sri Lanka. She has come to our rescue with timely assistance on several occasions when there were threats to Sri Lanka’s national security and territorial integrity………
I agree