Modi Keen on Building Ram Setu Bridge
Why Senior ministers abstained from Modi’s Events?
Government and Opposition Unite to Counter Trump’s Tariffs
Modi Extends Invitation to Sajith
Ranil’s Failed Attempts at Fabricating International Relations Continue
Modi’s Banquet Photos Withheld from the Public
Why was April 5th chosen?
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna celebrated its 54th April Heroes’ Day on the 5th in Anuradhapura. Normally, senior JVP leaders would attend, but this time only JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva attended. The other leaders did not attend because a massive diplomatic operation was already underway in Colombo. Or because Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka began on April 5th, and agreements between the two countries were signed on April 5.
April 5th is a very crucial day for India and the JVP. The JVP Heroes’ Day is celebrated in memory of the party members who died in the 1971 rebellion and the 88-89 rebellion. Both these events have a great significance in India as well. In the 1971 rebellion, the JVP not only opposed the government but also carried out a massive protest against Indian expansionism throughout the country.
In the 1988-89 rebellion, the JVP used the Indo-Lanka Agreement signed between the two countries and the Provincial Council system established under the 13th Amendment as their concerns. Accordingly, in the 1988-89 revolt, the JVP strongly carried out anti-India protests throughout the country. In both these uprisings, more than 60,000 people were killed, and to commemorate this, the JVP celebrates the April Heroes’ Day with great pomp. Ironically, the same day on which the JVP commemorates its members who were allegedly killed due to their anti-Indian stance was used to sign a security agreement between India and Sri Lanka, including many other agreements.
Modi also arrived in Sri Lanka at a time when Sri Lanka was facing a number of crises, both national and international. On the one hand, the Asian stock markets were collapsing day by day due to the tariffs imposed by the US President targeting the entire world. The country’s garment sector was showing signs of facing a serious crisis due to the 44% tariff imposed on Sri Lanka.
Also, last Monday, the stock market suffered a massive collapse, reporting a loss of 12,000 crores. On the other hand, due to the government’s failure to fulfill the promises made during the President’s visit to China, China has suspended all promised loans and investments. The government is currently engaged in a three-pronged battle with India, America and China. In addition, Modi too came to Sri Lanka at a time when his close friend Gautam Adani’s renewable energy project was being suspended, causing great controversy.
Stories not exposed
Although many incidents related to Modi have already come out in the media during the two days he spent in Sri Lanka, there are many more facts that were not reported by the media than the reported facts. Some ideological conflict was created within the government on Modi’s visit. We had reported several times before through the ‘inside politics’ column that in addition to the division between the Compass and the JVP, several other divisions were emerging within the government ranks.
Here, although the leftist policies that the JVP had maintained until now through the merger with the Compass underwent some changes, we saw how Minister Bimal Ratnayake was engaged in a fierce battle to further protect those leftist policies throughout the past. It is a fact that everyone knows that while the President is running the government outside, Bimal is running the government inside the parliament by maintaining a strong stance as the Leader of the House.
Also, Bimal has had strong opinions on India since then, and recently, when he went to Jaffna, Bimal made anti-India comments. Accordingly, many people call Bimal a person with an anti-India and Chinese bias who represents the original ideology of the JVP. Bimal’s strong anti-Indian stance was liked in some places in India as well.
For this reason, although there were some disagreements within the government in the past, between Bimal and Anura, Malaimawa and the JVP, the Left and the Right, it was never come out in public. However, with Modi’s visit, that disagreement was clearly seen to have surfaced. Notably, the Leader of the House Bimal was not seen at any time during Modi’s visit in any state events. Not only Bimal, also several other members of the government were not seen during the two days that Modi was in Sri Lanka.
Bimal – Lal – Samantha none participants
The visit of a head of country such as India is very important to a small country like Sri Lanka with a small cabinet. When such a head of state arrives, it is a common tradition for all the cabinet ministers of the government to attend the official ceremony. However, since Bimal, who is the main figure of the government, was not present at the event, we did some research on the matter. We came to know that Bimal had left the country even before Modi arrived in Sri Lanka, claiming that it was a private visit.
Apart from Bimal, Minister Lal Kantha was also not seen during the two days that Modi was in Sri Lanka. During our investigation in this regard, we came to know that Lal Kantha had met the President or made a phone call and informed him that he usually do not attend such events. It is also said that the President has agreed to it. Apart from Bimal and Lal Kantha, Minister Samantha Vidyaratne. There was some discussion between Samantha and the President, during which too not present in Modi’s events.
Samantha informed the President that he would not be attending those events. This is because Samantha has made many statements against India in the past, and Samantha may have suspected that if he attended these events, those statements would be spread on social media. Whichever way this is interpreted, it is clear that there was some disagreement within the government ranks over Modi’s arrival, as Bimal, Lalkantha and Samantha Vidyaratne did not attend any of the events from the time of welcoming the Indian Prime Minister to the time he left Sri Lanka.
The reason behind Bimal taking a back seat and not meeting Modi is said to be the huge change that is expected to take place within the JVP within the next year. Sources say that Bimal is aiming to take over the post of JVP General Secretary next year. Usually, the most important position in left-wing parties is not the party leader or the chairman, but the party’s General Secretary. Even if the government takes power, the person holding the post of General Secretary of the party is the most powerful. Accordingly, many see this as a signal that Bimal, who is a staunch leftist, will continue to defend his views and take over the top position in the party.
Chinese Ambassador meets Anura
However, before Modi visited Sri Lanka, China had also engaged in a special discussion with the President. The China represented by the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, in this very crucial meeting, information we have indicates that a major topic affecting China-Sri Lanka relations was discussed. China had made investments in Sri Lanka under several previous governments, and several leading companies of the country, representing the Chinese government, had taken steps to carry out projects such as highways, expressways, and ports on a contract basis.
However, due to the financial crisis that Sri Lanka faced in the past, none of those companies had made proper payments. Although payments had been made in installments on several occasions during the previous government, steps had been taken to completely stop those payments after the current government came to power. Due to this, all investment projects carried out by China were also been suspended. Therefore, the Chinese Ambassador had informed the President to immediately pay the money due.
But the President has not given the answer that China expected at all. The President has pointed out that certain people have committed fraud and corruption on a large scale through this project. At present, many investigations are being conducted in this regard, and since it has been revealed that massive financial fraud has occurred even in the vouchers issued to pay certain amounts, it is not possible to pay those amounts at this time.
It is understood that the Chinese Ambassador was not very unhappy with this answer by the President. Accordingly, he has again pointed out to the President that if the outstanding amounts are not paid, it will adversely affect even the investments to be made in the future. However, it is also understood that the President has maintained the same position as before.
If the government generates conflicts with China and if there is any harm to Chinese relations, it will directly affect Minister Bimal, as highways and expressways are under Bimal’s purview. Bimal will be the one who will be the most inconvenienced if this happens. Many believe that Bimal will launch a fight on behalf of China in the future.
Ranil’s big try
During Modi’s visit, he used his official meetings rather differently. In addition to meeting the President and the ministers of the ruling party, Modi met only one representative from the opposition. That was the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Sajith Premadasa. Usually, whenever Modi visits Sri Lanka, it is a tradition to meet Tamil representatives from the North-East and the plantations. This time too, Modi took the initiative to meet Tamil leaders from the North-East and the plantations. In addition, Sajith is the only representative of the opposition who met Modi.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe also made great efforts to show that he has India’s support in the past. Ranil had launched a major media campaign to show the country that he was a close ally of Modi using various media. However, even if the public did not know the truth, we knew from the beginning that Ranil was someone who had no international relations and was pretending to be an international politician.
We have exposed Ranil’s false character to the country on numerous occasions. When the country was in crisis during Gota’s time, Ranil took office as President, saying that he had extensive international relations and that through them, he could bring aid from America, Japan, India, and Europe to rebuild the country. At one point, Ranil told Gota that he was going to receive $4 billion from Japan as soon as he assumed power.
We said that Ranil would not receive a single dollar from Japan, let alone $4 billion. As we said, Sri Lanka did not receive any assistance from Japan during the two years that Ranil was in power. Nor did the US and India assist Ranil. During the previous COVID crisis, India assisted Sri Lanka on two occasions, and on one occasion, India assisted with $4 billion.
The Sri Lankans who were in the gas queue and medicine queue were able to receive oil, gas, and medicine quickly, thanks to the assistance provided by India. However, it was not Ranil who received that assistance, but Basil Rajapaksa, who was the then Finance Minister. China also assisted Sri Lanka, and that assistance was received thanks to Mahinda Rajapaksa. The US helped Sri Lanka in preparing the IMF agreement, and Basil Rajapaksa was behind those activities. When Gotabaya fell from power, Basil had prepared the IMF agreement as the Finance Minister, and all that was left was to sign it. All Ranil did was to sign it and get the credit.
Ranil also tried to present himself as a close friend of Modi in the past. Recently, during a conference held in Delhi, he met Modi for two minutes and had his photograph with him published in the media, showing the country that he is Modi’s closest friend. Through this, Ranil attempted to show the country that he is the only character who deals with Modi. In addition, when Adani, who is a very close friend of Modi, was leaving the country, Ranil issued statements on behalf of Adani to show the country that he is Modi’s friend.
We knew that all this was not the real situation, but that it was Ranil’s stupid trick, we reported it time to time. Ranil did all these things not for any other reason, but to somehow meet Modi during Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka and have his photograph with him published in the media to show the country that ‘I am the only fighter’ and to show the country that India cares about him no matter who holds power in Sri Lanka.
Modi does not give Ranil time
With the date of Modi’s arrival in Sri Lanka being decided, Ranil tried to arrange a time to meet Modi in Sri Lanka through several parties. But the answer Ranil received from all of them was that Ranil could not arrange a time due to Modi’s busy schedule. These parties had informed Ranil that Modi would meet only one person from the opposition in Sri Lanka, apart from the government ministers and Tamil leaders from the North, East and plantations, and that was Sajith Premadasa.
Sajith informed in advance
Modi’s meeting with Sajith was confirmed by Indian authorities exactly two weeks ago. Also, a week before Modi visited Sri Lanka, the Indian authorities called Sajith again and made another special request to Sajith. That is, no other representatives should be brought during the discussion with Sajith, and the Indian Prime Minister wants to talk to Sajith alone, face to face.
Usually, when meeting a foreign ambassador or head of state, Sajith’s takes several senior leaders and young leaders of the party along and allows them to build foreign relations. Knowing this, the authorities wanted to convey a special message to Sajith by saying that Prime Minister Modi wanted to meet Sajith alone. This could be termed a special from India. Accordingly, the notification further stated that the Indian Prime Minister is ready to meet Sajith at the Taj Samudra Hotel at 3 pm on Saturday, and that 25 minutes have been allocated for that.
Accordingly, on Saturday at exactly 3 pm, Sajith arrived alone at the Taj Samudra Hotel to meet and discuss with Modi. Modi received Sajith very warmly and discussed several very important political issues with him. This discussion was so important to Modi that Modi had to extend the 25 minutes allotted to Sajith to 40 minutes amid a very busy schedule.
Modi’s question to Sajith
The information we have here says that on one occasion, Modi asked Sajith a specific question regarding Sri Lanka. ‘What do you think India and I should do for Sri Lanka at this time?’ Modi asked Sajith here, and although it is not clear what answer Modi was expecting, Sajith’s prompt answer, without thinking twice, was seen to have raised Modi’s eyebrows.
‘Sri Lanka is currently going through a difficult time. Given the current situation, difficult times are going to continue. Therefore, I request you to do the best you can for this country. Because when the coronavirus crisis came and the country fell into a serious crisis, the only country that supported us was India. Without the support you gave at that time, we would not have been able to recover so quickly. I will never forget that in my political life. We are grateful for that. Such a difficult period is coming to Sri Lanka…’ was Sajith’s reply.
Modi was very surprised to see Sajith speaking for the country in this way while holding the position of Opposition Leader. Modi had thought that if there was an opportunistic and self-centered opposition leader at that moment, he would have asked him not to help the country, but Modi was very surprised by the response he received.
Also, making another request, Sajith informed Modi that Sri Lanka is currently facing a serious crisis due to the high tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, and therefore steps should be taken to increase the quota given by India to Sri Lankan garments. In addition, a number of other special issues were discussed between the two, according to the information.
Sajith surprises Modi
Sajith presented Modi with a photo as a souvenir. The photo showed a leopard in Wilpattuwa with one eye shining blue. Sajith is generally known as an environmentally friendly politician who loves the environment and often takes photos of animals like elephants and leopards. When he gets a break from politics, Sajith is often seen carrying a large camera in forests like Yala and Wilpattu. Modi is also the same. Modi is also considered an environmentally friendly politician who loves forests, trees, and animals. Documentary programs of Modi spending time in the forests can be seen on the world-famous Discovery Channel. Modi is especially interested in the Indian tiger.
For this reason, Sajith, who gifted Modi with a photograph of the tigers in Wilpattu, also gave Modi a special description of the tigers. Modi asked if the tigers were still there. Sajith had informed Modi that he had not seen the tigers during his last visit to Wilpattu. However, Modi, who was very happy with the gift given by Sajith, informed Sajith that he would visit the wildlife and forests of Sri Lanka during his next visit as he did not have time during this visit.
A special invitation from Modi
When Sajith was about to stand up after the discussion, Modi made a special announcement to Sajith. Many people believe that Modi had informed Sajith in advance that he wanted to meet him alone to make this special announcement. Accordingly, as soon as Sajith stood up, Modi shook Sajith’s hand and said that he was extending a special invitation to Sajith to visit Delhi. Looking at the Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who was at the negotiating table, Modi said to make all necessary arrangements for that. That was the special moment that Sajith and Modi had.
Sajith accepted the invitation with great pleasure and when he came out after the discussion, Sajith could see the Tamil MPs from the North and East who had come to meet Modi next. Although they had been given a time of 3.25, they were already 15 minutes late, and it was 3.40 pm, so when Sumanthiran saw Sajith, he smiled and jokingly said, “Ah.. it looks like the Indian Prime Minister has given you a big welcome…” Sajith also took the initiative to entertain him with a smile.
An invitation from the government too
Only special guests are invited to an official event in addition to the government’s ministers is the practice. However, the opposition leader, Sajith was also invited from the government side to attend the official dinner hosted by the President for PM Modi. Sajith was the only political leader invited from the opposition to the event held for Modi. However, even though Sajith attended, there was a problem that no photograph of the opposition leader was officially released to the media by the Presidential Media Unit.
If such a photograph had been published, the government could have taken advantage of it, but due to an order from above not to publish the photograph or because the photograph was deliberately not released to the media, the government missed out on the opportunity to take advantage of it.
Sajith remained there until the end of this event held at the President’s House. At the end of the ceremony, as Sajith was about to leave, the President and Vijitha approached Sajith and shook his hand. Sajith said that during the discussion with Modi, he had requested Modi to support Sri Lanka and increase the garment quota. Anura was seen expressing his gratitude to Sajith by saying, “Thank you Sajith.”
Ranil could not hold back
As Modi’s series of events unfolded in this manner, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe knew in advance that he would not get any space in Modi’s visit. It was confirmed with the report that Sajith had been invited for a face-to-face meeting. Since then, Ranil has been trying to somehow create an opportunity to meet Modi and somehow find out the issues that were discussed face-to-face between Sajith and Modi. Ranil tried to somehow sneak one of his pawns inside the SJB. For this, Ranil chose a pawn from the Gampaha area. This SJB pawn from Gampaha is known to have been inside the SJB throughout the past and acted in the way Ranil wanted.
He is known to have made money illegally by making various deals during his time as President. He is known to have spent his vacation with Ranil when he was in Nuwara Eliya. Ranil immediately handed over the contract to this SJB Gampaha pawn and told him to somehow infiltrate the Sajith-Modi discussion. Accordingly, this Gampaha pawn also tried to infiltrate the Sajith-Modi discussion to inform Ranil using every strategy he knew, but Sajith, who had already identified the character, did not take action favouring that pawn. SJB seniors, including Sajith are now well aware of the cunning tactics of this pawn.
Ranil’s next knot
However, knowing that the contract handed over to Gampaha SJB pawn did not go well, Ranil somehow played the next trump card to meet Modi. Accordingly, Ranil first went to meet former President Chandrika. Ranil, who went to Chandrika’s house, got Chandrika to agree to request the Indian authorities to allow him to meet Modi as former presidents.
Although we cannot confirm this, there were reports on social media that Ranil had also spoken to former President Mahinda in this regard. However, those reports also stated that Mahinda had rejected the request due to his illness. In addition, Ranil also suggested to Maithri that they go to former President Maithripala Sirisena’s house and jointly submit a request to meet Modi. However, Maithri did not give a good response. Accordingly, Ranil presented the proposal to the Indian authorities as proposed by former presidents, but when they did not respond, Ranil appealed to the Indian authorities to at least provide a time to meet or at least to provide a ‘Zoom discussion. Nonetheless, the fact that Ranil’s request did not receive any response from Modi’s side is special.
Why did Modi go to Anuradhapura?
Several other special incidents were reported towards the end of Modi’s visit. One of them was the way Modi left Sri Lanka. Normally, if a foreign head of state comes to Sri Lanka, he or she should arrive and leave Sri Lanka only through an internationally recognized airport. Accordingly, Modi arrived in Sri Lanka through the Katunayake Airport. But, Modi left Sri Lanka in a completely different and strange way. That is, Modi did not leave Sri Lanka from Katunayake or Ratmalana, which are considered international airports in the country. Modi left from the airport belonging to the Anuradhapura Air Force Base. It is not an international airport. So, how did Modi leave Sri Lanka from a non-international airport?
The government, which was well aware of this, took steps to use a very clever strategy. That is, it was to issue a circular converting Anuradhapura Airport into an international airport for only 24 hours. But another problem arose. That is, it was not possible to take off from such an airport. However, it is possible to take off from such an airport for helicopters. Accordingly, although Modi arrived in Sri Lanka from India on an Indian Airlines aircraft, Modi took steps to bring in a separate Indian Air Force helicopter to leave Anuradhapura. In addition to that aircraft, three other escort helicopters also arrived in Anuradhapura.
Reason: Ram Setu Bridge
Why did Modi choose Anuradhapura to leave Sri Lanka in this way? There is a big story behind that story. Modi left Anuradhapura in a helicopter and traveled to India via Talaimannar as planned to see the historical sea route that connected India to Sri Lanka in the past. Although this is currently a sea route, it was also a land route that connected India and Sri Lanka in the past. Legends say that Rama of India came to Sri Lanka through this land route in search of Sita. One of Modi’s dreams is to build this Ram Setu road again and connect Sri Lanka and India.
Another is that Modi is considered an ardent Ram devotee. That is why Modi took steps to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Also, on April 6, which is said to be Ram’s birthday, India and Sri Lanka came via the Ram-Sethu road as a mark of respect to Ram.
Modi not only left Anuradhapura and viewed this Ram Sethu sea road from the air but also took steps to video it and post it on his social media accounts at the same time. Through this, Modi hinted that he still has the dream of building this Ram Sethu road. Also, immediately after leaving Sri Lanka, Modi went straight to Rameshwaram, not to Delhi. After landing in Rameshwaram, Modi first worshipped the Ram Kovil and participated in the Ramadarshan Puja. After that, he opened the Pamban railway bridge, the last stop on the Indian side of the railway line connecting India and Sri Lanka. Accordingly, we are recording as a prediction this week through the inside politics column that Modi dreams of extending this bridge to Sri Lanka via the Ram Sethu route. It is still unclear whether that dream will be realized during his term and what further steps he will take for that.
Anura did not consent
It is reported in the inside politics column that Modi, who signed several agreements while in Sri Lanka, has also submitted a proposal to build this bridge to the President. It is also known unofficially that the President has not expressed his agreement to it. No information related to this has come out so far from the government of India. However, when looking into the final stop of Modi’s visit, it is not difficult to understand that Modi is still dreaming of building the Ram Setu road.
However, with the information that Modi signed a security agreement with Sri Lanka, many parties, including the Frontline Socialist Party, accused him and said that for the first time in history, the President has entered into a security agreement with India in a way that no other head of state has done. They also alleged that the President has pushed Sri Lanka into a serious geopolitical crisis through this. In particular, they alleged that India, America, Japan and Australia have now formed a security organization called ‘COD’, and that by signing such agreements with India, Sri Lanka will also be subject to the agreements related to that COD organization.
However, China is also seen to be very worried by this security agreement signed by Sri Lanka, as it has been reported that they are also planning to enter into new agreements with other countries close to India and build a new power alliance. In particular, it is reported that China is already discussing this with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. China, which has taken advantage of the fact that all three countries are currently in a hostile attitude towards India, is seen to be working with them to build a powerful organization like ‘COD’ in the Indian Ocean region. Many people expressing opinions on this point out that, inevitably, Sri Lanka will also become a victim of this geopolitical battle.
Cardinal’s change of stance
The 6th anniversary of the Easter attacks will be on the 21st. Earlier, through the inside politics column, we first reported on the march from Kochchikade to Katuwapitiya that the Catholic Church has prepared to hold on this 6th anniversary. We also reported on how a special discussion was held at the Colombo Archbishop’s residence, how high-ranking officials such as Ravi Seneviratne and Shani Abeysekara came and discussed it with the Cardinal after the information about that meeting was reported, and that a special revelation is scheduled to be made in this regard before the 21st, the 6th anniversary of the Easter attacks. Accordingly, what is the Catholic Church preparing to do on the 21st?
It has been seen that some changes have been made to the protest by now from the Church side. Instead of a protest march from Kochchikade to Katuwapitiya Church, arrangements have been made for it to take place from the Kotahena Main Church to Kochchikade Church. After that, the main service is scheduled to be held at the Kochchikade Church in the morning, and it is learnt that all the ambassadors have been invited to it. It is also reported that the Cardinal is scheduled to make a special statement targeting the Easter attack. It is also reported that a protest will be held in front of the Katuwapitiya Church at 4.00 pm on the same day and the Cardinal is scheduled to make a special statement there as well.
Following this series of events scheduled to be held on the 21st, the Cardinal is scheduled to embark on a special tour of Eastern Europe the very next day. All the related activities will be organized by Father Neville Joe Perera, who is the respected representative of Sri Lanka in the Vatican. Accordingly, the Cardinal has planned to hold a mass with a large crowd at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy, on May 1st, and it is learned that over a thousand Sri Lankans have been invited to it. It is also learned that the Cardinal is scheduled to make a special statement on the Easter attack in a manner that is appropriate for the international community. It is also learned that the Cardinal has planned to state that no proper investigation has been conducted into the Easter attack so far and that it does not appear that such an investigation will be conducted in the future.
Who went to America?
It seems that the heat of the 44% tariff bomb imposed by the US President targeting Sri Lanka has already begun to be felt by the government, the business community, and opposition politicians. Last week, we revealed that if the government does not succeed in changing the percentages of these taxes before the 10th, businessmen will take action to suspend all goods shipped to the US after the 10th.
We also mentioned that there is a possibility of a serious crisis in many industrial sectors, including the garment factory sector. Also, with the imposition of these taxes by Trump, the Sri Lankan stock market suffered a massive collapse last Monday, reporting a loss of over 12,000 million in a single day. This is why the President, while participating in a public rally held in Galle last Monday, said that a serious risk has emerged through this tariff, and that everyone as a country must face it together.
Although the President said so, a strong accusation being made by the opposition is that the government did not take it seriously despite being informed about this crisis in advance. For example, for the first time in Sri Lanka, the media revealed information in this regard through the ‘inside politics’ column and brought an extraordinary report on March 2nd, stating that the Trump government is planning to increase Sri Lanka’s tariffs by almost 50%.
After this revelation, on March 18th, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also expressed his views on this issue in Parliament and took steps to draw the government’s attention to this issue. The Opposition Leader said that if this situation is not resolved through negotiations immediately, the country will face a serious crisis.
The Opposition Leader, who did not stop there, had expressed his views on this issue on two occasions outside Parliament. However, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, who immediately responded to his comments in Parliament, said that preparations have been made to send a team to the United States to discuss the issue. However, it is a special incident that the government has not provided any explanation as to whether the team was sent, who was included in the team, who they met in the United States, and what issues they discussed.
Did Julie Chung deceive the government?
However, there has been a very close relationship between the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mrs. Julie Chung, and the Malima government in the past. This closeness is so great that it has been said in many places that Julie Chung is very fond of the President. On many occasions, Julie Chung has also been seen expressing opinions in favor of the Malima government and the President. It has also been said that Chung did a great deal of work behind the scenes to bring the Malima government and the President to power.
However, the question that many people are asking now is whether Chung, who was so close to the President and the government, did not inform the President in advance about the imposition of these serious tariffs by the Trump administration. Especially since Julie Chung traveled to the United States a few weeks ago and discussed with officials from the State Department there, it is unlikely that she was unaware of this tariff issue. If so, whether Chang had known about it and not told the President, or whether he deliberately avoided it, is a serious question.
However, during our investigation into this matter, we learned that although the government had received advance notice of the imposition of such high tariffs, it had failed to take further action due to its dependence on Juli Chang. It is not clear whether this was due to the government’s ignorance or lack of experience.
However, the government, which was officially very upset with the imposition of this tax, had immediately set up committees, held discussions, written letters, etc. to discuss the matter. In one such discussion, a high-ranking businessman who participated in it had asked whether Julie Chung, who was so friendly, had not informed the government about this in advance.
A government representative who holds a powerful ministerial position related to the economy has replied that when asked about it, Chang said, “Don’t worry, nothing like that will happen.” According to that answer, it is clear that either the message sent to Chung from America was not received or the government was waiting for the crisis to subside without thinking ahead. If that were not the case, the Malama government should have acted in the same way that other countries have resolved this problem by immediately discussing with America. But it is not known that such a thing has happened.
Anura writes to Trump
However, since many leading businessmen had informed the government that the situation could become very serious if this issue could not be resolved by the 10th, the government immediately initiated the necessary discussions to resolve this situation by the 9th. Accordingly, the first thing that was examined was the measures taken by other countries to resolve this situation.
It was seen that countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, which had imposed high tariffs, had immediately discussed with the United States and informed it that they would reduce the tariffs imposed on American goods from their countries to 0%. Accordingly, the government had already decided last Friday to cut the tariffs imposed on goods imported from the United States, which are currently 88%, to 0%. Accordingly, steps were also taken to inform the US President through a special letter.
In addition, how other countries, including India, have worked to bridge the trade gap with the US was also discussed. It was said that India has decided to buy oil and gas from the US, and through this, it has decided to increase imports from the US. It was said that the US buys about $3 billion worth of goods from Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka buys almost $300 million worth of goods from the US. Accordingly, it was proposed to buy oil and gas from the US in the same way as India did to change these values.
However, attention was also drawn to another serious issue. That is, the mafia in the electricity sector. It was said that there is an oil, coal and gas mafia in Sri Lanka, and that if we go to buy fuel and gas from the US, there may be opposition from that mafia. However, most of those present said that this decision should be taken first, and then the issues that arise should be faced at that time. Accordingly, on Friday night itself, a special letter was sent to Washington, signed by the President, including these matters.
Will things work out now?
Will Sri Lanka also receive the tax relief provided to the US, Vietnam and Cambodia through these responses by the government? But there is a problem with that too. The problem is that although countries like Vietnam and Cambodia received tax relief due to the 0% tax imposed on American goods, about 50 other countries have followed the same system and have hastily reduced the tax imposed on American goods to 0% and informed the US about it. Accordingly, Sri Lanka is outside the 50 on that list.
However, the US has not yet announced any action regarding the 50 countries that took this decision before Sri Lanka. Accordingly, many people are saying that there is no chance of Sri Lanka receiving the relevant tax relief by the 9th. Although Trump had spoken to Vietnam and Cambodia after the imposition of the tax and stated that he would personally reduce their taxes, it is not conceivable that such a thing will happen in the case of Sri Lanka very soon. Accordingly, it is now necessary to speculate on what the situation may be after the 10th. Especially after the New Year season, if the garment industries in this country have to stop sending garments to the US, what will be the future of their employees, how will they be paid, etc? Factory owners will have to face several serious issues.
However, even if the tax rate imposed on American imports is reduced to 0%, the problem does not end there. It is only the beginning of another series of problems. We say this because there is a risk that other countries that export goods to Sri Lanka will also request that the tariffs imposed on their goods be reduced to 0% based on this incident.
Many believe that countries such as Europe, China, and India, which buy our garments a lot, will request that the tariffs imposed on Sri Lanka be reduced to 0%. If such a situation arises, it will not only plunge the country’s economy into a serious crisis but also put the export sector itself into a crisis. That is why we first said that reducing tariffs on American goods to 0% would not end the problem but rather the beginning of another series of problems.
What Anura tell the IMF?
Meanwhile, last week, the President also met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund. One of the issues that many had already informed the President about was why the IMF had not sought the IMF’s assistance in discussing the tariffs imposed by the United States in a context where the country was trying to recover from bankruptcy with the help of the IMF.
Many parties had pointed out to the President that their assistance should be sought. They understood the situation in Sri Lanka properly, because they had very close relations with Washington, and because the government had already fulfilled almost all the conditions imposed on Sri Lanka by the IMF. Accordingly, the President had emphasized to them in his discussion with the IMF representatives how Sri Lanka, as a country facing a serious economic crisis, would face such tariffs. The President pointed out to the IMF representatives that since the government has serious financial targets to achieve next year, it should immediately negotiate with the US and try to minimize these tariff rates, otherwise a small country like Sri Lanka will not be able to cope with it and will have to face a serious crisis. The State Secret Service also reports that the IMF has received a positive response to this.
Mahinda’s Plight
A news story that garnered a lot of attention on social media last week said that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had been suddenly hospitalized. Although some people did not pay much attention to it because similar news had been published on several occasions before, it was seen that others were quick to investigate the truth of this news. Two weeks ago, a news report was reported in the State Secret Service that Mahinda had been hospitalized for a leg surgery, so we also took steps to investigate it.
However, Mahinda’s leg injury did not arise yesterday. Mahinda’s knee injury had been recurring from time to time since a few years ago. Accordingly, two years ago, Mahinda arranged for a well-known Sri Lankan doctor living in Britain to be brought to Sri Lanka on a special plane and undergo knee surgery at a leading private hospital in Colombo.
Although Mahinda was informed that he would also undergo surgery on the other knee, Mahinda agreed to only have surgery on one leg at that time. Accordingly, although Mahinda, who had been in the hospital for several weeks, recovered and returned home, he had to travel with someone’s help due to recurring problems in his other knee.
Accordingly, Mahinda had decided to undergo surgery on his other knee this time. Although many people advised him to go to Singapore to have the surgery done or to bring the Sri Lankan doctor in Britain who had performed the original surgery, Mahinda decided to have the surgery done by a renowned doctor in this country. Accordingly, Mahinda had successfully undergone surgery on that knee last week, and the doctor’s advice had been to take a few months to rest and take it easy. This is the story behind the news that suddenly appeared on social media last week that Mahinda had been hospitalized.
However, these days, Mahinda is spending his time at his Wijerama residence in peace. Accordingly, people who come to see Mahinda are saying that he has become quite big, fair and handsome due to the good food and drink.
