By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 6 -- When the International Monetary Fund establishing a lending program with Sri Lanka in 2009, the year in which according even to a UN report the government killed tens of thousands of civilians, the IMF stated that
"This, together with savings on military spending ... should help finance the considerable reconstruction spending needs... Cuts in military and other expenditures will help make room for post-conflict reconstruction and relief spending."
The IMF has since been ducking questions about its program in Sri Lanka, declining to answer questions submitted during and after its biweekly media briefings, most recently this year on January 12 and January 26.
Inner City Press first asked the IMF about Sri Lanka in Mrach 2009, when spokesman David Hawley saying the IMF would support the government's priority. Since then, despite some answer on other countries, the IMF has stonewalled on Sri Lanka.
The IMF's reasoning has belatedly become clear in a table of data the Fund sent out on January 31 in response to inquiries by the Sri Lanka Campaign to Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
First, the IMF's "head of mission" to Sri Lanka Brian Aitkins sent a response claiming that in Sri Lanka "overall security-related spending has declined both as a share of GDP and of total government spending."
When asked for the data behind this claim, the IMF produced a chart, about which Inner City Press has asked the IMF for comment -- so far, there has been none -- and which is now being placed online here.
Contrary to the IMF's table, according to the SLC,
"much of the so called 'reconstruction' work the Government is conducting in the north and the east – no doubt under non military budget headings – is actually a form of militarization by stealth. Our contacts in the north talk of the creeping infiltration of the military into every aspect of civilian life – and that in the Vanni area soldiers now form one third of the population.
A non exhaustive list of industries the military is involved in would include: construction, fruit production, whale watching, fishing, hotels, management of the three largest cricket stadiums, pedalo hire, and transport. This militarization is doing untold damage to Sri Lankan society and rapidly undermining the primacy of the civilian state. The IMF demanded a cut in the defense budget and instead the Government of Sri Lanka increased defense spending by 30%. This demands firm action."
But what action will the IMF take? So far, it has been unwilling to even answer questions.
(c) UN Photo
IMF's Lagarde & UN's Ban Ki-moon, supporting militarized Sri Lanka?
IMF's Lagarde & UN's Ban Ki-moon, supporting militarized Sri Lanka?
Meanwhile at the UN, Inner City Press on February 6 again asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman aboutBan accepting as a "Senior Adviser" on Peacekeeping Shavendra Silva, named in Ban's own Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka in connection with war crimes such as shelling hospitals and killing people who were trying to surrender.
On this, SLC chairman Edward Mortimer after back and forth told Inner City Press:
“It’s disgraceful that someone against whom there are strong and credible charges of war crimes should serve as Deputy Permanent Representative of his country at the UN, and even more disgraceful that the Asian Group has chosen him, without even taking a vote, to serve on the Secretary-General’s Special Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations – disgraceful, and insulting to the Secretary-General. I’m surprised that he puts up with it.”
