Regional economic integration in the Bay of Bengal

Today (6 June) marks 20 years since the establishment of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical, and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), a regional organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia including Sri Lanka. To mark this occasion, Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of IPS, argues that the two key functional aspects of BIMSTEC, which are market-driven integration and government-driven integration, should be utilised selectively to seek quick gains to the region

President Maithripala Sirisena with BRICS Heads of State at the BIMSTEC Summit 2016

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

The Bay of Bengal is rich in natural resources and embraces both South and East Asia. Although a number of regional groupings like Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) and Bangladesh-Bhutan-Nepal-India (BBNI) partially cover the region, it is the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical, and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) that covers the entire region and provides a framework for regional economic integration.

BIMSTEC accounts for $ 2.7 trillion GDP, 21% of global population (1.3 billion population) and 7% of intra-regional trade. BIMSTEC provides South Asian countries a conduit for economic cooperation with East Asia countries and a link to East Asian production networks and value chains. It can become a building block of a future Asian community; however, the progress so far has been exceedingly slow.

Launched in 1997, BIMSTEC began as a sectoral cooperation grouping partly to better utilise the natural resources in the region and partly to quicken integration of the region. Sectoral cooperation was broadened by extending it to many selected areas normally referred to as Multi-Sectoral Cooperation. Such cooperation is government-driven in contrast to mostly market driven integration through a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). BIMSTEC has identified a number of areas for sectoral cooperation such as tourism, fisheries, transport, etc.

BIMSTEC also envisaged a market-driven integration process when it first mooted an FTA in 2004. It was supposed to be in full operation by 2011, but did not become a reality by then. This is most probably because some member countries of BIMSTEC questioned the need for another FTA when the tariff levels in the region are already low. As it is well known, via unilateral liberalisation as well as through bilateral and regional liberalisation via the existing FTAs and RTAs (regional trading arrangements) in the region, the tariff levels have come down. Despite delays, a BIMSTEC FTA still remains in its agenda.

It is argued here that the two key functional aspects of BIMSTEC, which are market-driven integration and government-driven integration, should be utilised selectively to seek quick gains to the region.

As for market integration, BIMSTEC should not have high hopes on an FTA coming into operation. Indications are that it will drag on for a long time. In this situation, more emphasis should be given on trade facilitation via liberal transit, business-friendly customs, transport corridors, etc. Such a process will partly address some of the non-tariff barriers in the region and catalyse trade. According to the ESCAP, Trade Facilitation is a more powerful driver of trade than tariff reductions when tariff levels are already low, and this argument is aptly applicable to BIMSTEC.

As for government-driven integration, it is prudent to focus on a few sectoral cooperation projects related to connectivity and people-to-people contact rather than spreading too thin by focusing on a large number of sectoral cooperation projects. Road, rail and sea transport facilitation through road and rail links, transport corridors, multi-modal systems, transit arrangements, etc., which have been highlighted by the 2009 ADB Study on BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistic Study (BTILS) needs to be worked on to improve connectivity. Perhaps digital connectivity may also be considered to strengthen physical connectivity. People-to-people contacts can be improved by improving air connectivity and tourism promotion via inter-governmental cooperation in the region. Buddhist circuit is one such example for BIMSTEC tourism promotion.

For sectoral cooperation to be effective, there needs to be strong institutions and information. Four areas need particular focus: BIMSTEC Secretariat; BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce and Industry; external partners, viz., ADB and ESCAP; and interaction of the BIMSTEC network of think tanks with BIMSTEC officials, and BIMSTEC Chamber.

A strong Secretariat is required to push the activities of the regional grouping in between summits. The SAARC Secretariat has proved to be an ineffective body, whereas the ASEAN Secretariat has been able to drive the ASEAN agenda of the organisation more effectively. The BIMSTEC Secretariat needs to be similarly empowered like the ASEAN Secretariat, and delegated by member states to play a more proactive role in driving the BIMSTEC agenda. This becomes all the more important in the absence of a Charter for BIMSTEC.

BIMSTEC working mechanism has six layers: a leaders’ summit; ministerial meetings; senior officials meeting; expert group meetings; business and economic forums; and BIMSTEC Working Group (BWG). Basically, leaders’ summit to expert group meetings are at the inter-governmental level, and the new BIMSTEC Secretariat has absorbed all the work of the BWG. The business and economic forums should basically be absorbed by the BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce and Industry located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Chamber should closely coordinate with the BIMSTEC Secretariat and drive the BIMSTEC economic integration agenda. The CUTS (India) proposal to have an annual BIMSTEC economic summit should be welcomed and should be closely coordinated with the BIMSTEC Chamber.

The external funder to facilitate BIMSTEC regional integration could be the ADB. The role ADB played in sub-regional cooperation in the Greater Mekong sub-region is well known. With the concurrence of the BIMSTEC member countries, the BTILS project can be initiated by the ADB. Thereafter, attracting additional funds to complete the project will not be a problem. However, duplication with the initiatives of BCIM and BBNI needs to be avoided. The Asian Highway that ESCAP suggested sometime back can also be part of the BIMSTEC connectivity and ESCAP can provide technical assistance to drive the project. Japan played a key role with FDI in ASEAN economic integration, likewise ADB and other external funding led connectivity improvement can catalyse BIMSTEC economic integration.

Finally, the role of think tanks cannot be overlooked in regional economic integration. They can play a crucial role as knowledge-partners of BIMSTEC. It is understood that there is both a Track 1 and Track 2 think tank networks for BIMSTEC. Both these tracks can interact with each other and network with the BIMSTEC senior officials and private sector to bring about necessary policy changes to activate sectoral cooperation.

When BIMSTEC started, India’s ‘Look East’ policy coincided with Thailand’s ‘Look West’ policy and there was much enthusiasm to drive the organisation by these two member countries to integrate a part of South Asia to the growing economies of East Asia. But since then, India and Thailand had embarked on an FTA and India and ASEAN had worked out an FTA. Thus both these member countries do not have the same enthusiasm to push the organisation for deeper integration as before. The other member countries are less powerful and passive partners of BIMSTEC. Thus BIMSTEC is no longer a member-driven organisation, and in this context, the Secretariat becomes vital in driving the organisation. Clearly, empowering the BIMSTEC Secretariat should become a priority of the member countries to keep the BIMSTEC Work Programme moving and producing gains to the people of the Bay of Bengal region.

(Saman Kelegama is the Executive Director at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS). To view this article online and to share your comments, visit the IPS Blog ‘Talking Economics’ - http://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/. This article is based on the synopsis of the Lecture delivered at the BIMSTEC Secretariat, Dhaka, on 19 February 2016. It originally appeared on The Daily Star on 25 February 2016.) 

Venezuela’s Road to Disaster Is Littered With Chinese Cash

Politicized loans left the socialist South American country trapped under a mountain of Chinese debt — but now others want to sign up for Beijing's "generosity."

BY CHRISTOPHER BALDING-JUNE 6, 2017

The Venezuelan and Chinese economies seem like they could hardly have less in common. The Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro has looted the state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to pay for the “Bolivarian revolution,” the socialist movement begun under the late leader Hugo Chávez. With oil prices down, the country is unable even to repair rigs or pay workers to generate income, and the government now faces the prospect of a mass uprising. Meanwhile, half a globe away, China’s gleaming malls stand in stark contrast to Venezuela’s empty shelves.

But Venezuela’s ruinous state has more to do with China than one might think — specifically, with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plan for expanding China’s global influence through financial diplomacy. Venezuela’s collapse is about to serve as an object lesson on that plan’s high costs for China’s erstwhile partners — and ultimately for China itself.

Within a few years of Chávez assuming power in 1999, China, seeing in the new leader an ideological ally, began increasing lending to Venezuela. By 2006, the Chávez regime’s debt levels had become worrying enough that then-World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, referring to Venezuela, noted that “there is a real risk of seeing countries which have benefited from debt relief become heavily indebted once more.”

Officially, lending from Beijing comes without strings or concerns about nonfinancial matters. The reality is more nuanced. No one doubts Beijing cares little for niceties such as human rights, environmental protection, and anti-corruption when working abroad. Until recently, even geopolitical flag planting was relatively unimportant to Chinese technocrats.

But there was still a hard-edged focus on Chinese interests. The driving motivation of Chinese investment and lending since 2000 has been an obsession with opening up new export markets and securing access to natural resources. China’s interests in gaining friends in the Western Hemisphere while securing access to oil overlapped with Venezuela’s interest in diversifying its customer base away from the United States. But that overlap of interests doesn’t mean China has ever offered any sort of discount on its loans. China lent at exorbitant rates to Venezuela. Now, China refuses to renegotiate those debts, even as the South American country’s economy and oil industry crater.

From 2007 to 2014, China lent Venezuela $63 billion — 53 percent of all its lending to Latin America during this time. There was an important catch to this largesse; to guarantee repayment, Beijing insisted on being repaid in oil.

From 2007 to 2014, China lent Venezuela $63 billion — 53 percent of all its lending to Latin America during this time. There was an important catch to this largesse; to guarantee repayment, Beijing insisted on being repaid in oil. With most lending agreed to when oil hovered at more than $100 a barrel, as it did for most of 2007-2014, it seemed a good deal for both sides. However, when oil dropped to close to $30 a barrel in January 2016, this caused Venezuela’s price tag for serving its debt to explode. To repay Beijing today, Venezuela must now ship two barrels of oil for every one it originally agreed to.

If Venezuela collapses and Maduro departs unceremoniously, China faces a large risk of diplomatic and financial blowback. Opposition politicians are well aware that China propped up the ruinous Maduro rule. A new Venezuelan government could well refuse to honor the Maduro-era obligations entirely and look to Washington for support instead. That would be both economically and politically embarrassing for China, which in the past has been a vigorous supporter of the right to default — as long as the debts were owed to the West.

But a Venezuelan default could have consequences far beyond Caracas and Beijing. As part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China is planning to extend the same kind of deal it made with Venezuela to many more countries around the world. By leveraging its financial strength and expertise in infrastructure, China saw an opportunity to push its influence farther afield, winning friends and securing assets at the same time.

America’s abdication of its historical leadership role under Donald Trump has made it easier for China to push this grand geostrategic vision, especially after the Barack Obama’s administration’s failure to follow up the much-hyped “pivot to Asia” with real substance. Many Asian countries talk quietly, and some openly, about craving greater U.S. engagement in the region rather than quiet surrender to Beijing’s dominance. But if the choice is a risky deal with Beijing or no deal at all with the West, many have shown that they will choose the former.

Venezuela collapsed thanks to a malevolent dictatorship pushing disastrous economic policies aided by a benefactor willing to extend near bottomless credit. This same toxic mix is present throughout many of the countries receiving large amounts of Chinese lending under the BRI. Worried about stagnating economies, autocrats around the world see an opportunity to drive growth by borrowing from China to fund white elephant projects regardless of the long-term consequences.

While China may argue that it makes investment decisions on a purely commercial basis, its history with Venezuela argues otherwise. That has been confirmed by the problems that have already cropped up in BRI-related projects. In the short time since 2016, we’ve already seen major debt problems from Chinese infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. China negotiated a swap of its debt for a 99-year leasehold in a Sri Lankan port project along with surrounding business park development interests. China provided emergency funding to Pakistan over the past year to stave off a potential currency crisis but still plans to invest $52 billion over the next few years in infrastructure projects.

Beijing likes to cite the Marshall Plan when talking about the BRI, but its deals are far more shrewd and self-serving. The BRI scheme isn’t offering concessionary lending or international aid but market-based lending rates with high-interest loans. The borrower countries then have to use Chinese firms, inputs, and workers to build out their railways and ports. China is making the loans not out of a long-sighted vision of a better global order, as its boosters like to claim, but from a calculation of the financial incentives it needs to keep its own over-indebted firms afloat and their workers working.

That’s going to come with hard costs for China. Reports indicate that Chinese officials expect to incur significant losses from their loans to South and Central Asian countries that can’t necessarily pay them back. Consider Sri Lanka, which effectively defaulted on a $2 billion loan from China but subsequently received an offer for an additional $32 billion from Beijing to fund infrastructure projects. There are also good reasons to think Pakistan won’t be able to absorb China’s large investment inflows without triggering inflation, thus undermining its ability to repay the loans.
Officially, China plans to invest $5 trillion over the next 10-15 years in the BRI. If this amount actually materializes in practice, it represents a major sum, even for China, whether in absolute terms or relative to GDP. That means that even relatively small defaults could have a serious cost, economically and politically.

There’s no surer way for China to lose goodwill worldwide than to provide large amounts of ruinous lending that pushes developing countries to financial ruin. Sri Lanka has seen widespread protests and riots over Chinese debt. Meanwhile, Beijing has been leaning on the Venezuelan opposition not to default on the existing debts. All this is already having reputational costs for China. Having witnessed the consequences of Beijing’s lending in Venezuela, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, other potential borrowers seem to have cooled on the possibility of borrowing from Beijing — or at least to be more discerning of the risks.

Large-scale lending projects without a focus on their economic viability and the repayment capacity of the borrowers are hardly the soundest basis for financial diplomacy of the sort China is attempting to practice. At best, it will lead to mutual suspicions and tensions between lender and borrower. At worst, it will prove financially ruinous for countries burdened with debts they cannot repay in foreign currency they do not possess. Unless China’s lending gets smarter, it may find that nobody’s interested in the money it has to offer.

Photo Credit: GEORGE CASTELLANOS/AFP/Getty Images

Human – A Film

( June 6, 2017, Boston, Sri Lanka Guardian) Accepting the reality of our own existence.

From stories of everyday experiences to accounts of the most unbelievable lives, these poignant encounters share a rare sincerity and underline who we are – our darker side, but also what is most noble in us, and what is universal.

Read more here; More here http://www.human-themovie.org

WHO ranks antibiotics in a bid to counter drug resistance

By Tom Miles | GENEVA- Tue Jun 6, 2017

The World Health Organization published a new classification of antibiotics on Tuesday that aims to fight drug resistance, with penicillin-type drugs recommended as the first line of defence and others only for use when absolutely necessary.

The new "essential medicines list" includes 39 antibiotics for 21 common syndromes, categorised into three groups: "Access", "Watch" and "Reserve".

Drugs on the "Access" list have lower resistance potential and include the widely-used amoxicillin.
The "Watch" list includes ciprofloxacin, which is commonly prescribed for cystitis and strep throat but "not that effective", WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation Marie-Paule Kieny told reporters.

Its use should be "dramatically reduced", the WHO said.

"We think that the political will is there but this needs to be followed by strong policies," Kieny said.
In the "Reserve" category antibiotics such as colistin should be seen as a last resort. That prompts questions about how producers of such antibiotics could make money, said Suzanne Hill, WHO's Director of Essential Medicines and Health Products.

"What we need to do is stop paying for antibiotics based on how many times they are prescribed, to discourage use. We don't want colistin used very frequently. In fact we don't want it used at all," Hill said.

"What we need to do as a global community is work out how we pay the company not to market colistin and not to promote it and to keep it in reserve."

The WHO classification takes into account the use of antibiotics for animal health use, and was developed together with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Other changes to the list included the addition of two oral cancer treatments, a new pill for hepatitis C that combines two medicines, a more effective treatment for HIV, and new paediatric formulations of medicines for tuberculosis.

But the WHO also said Roche's (ROG.S) well-known flu drug oseltamivir, marketed as Tamiflu, may be removed from the list unless new information supports its use in seasonal and pandemic influenza outbreaks.

"There is an updated data set compared to when the committee evaluated this product last, and what that suggests is that the size of the effect of oseltamivir in the context of pandemic influenza is less than previously thought," Hill said.

But oseltamivir was the only listed antiviral, and was still useful for pregnant women and patients with complications, so the drug should be restricted to the most critical patients, she added.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Hartal and protests against sexual violence in Eastern Province

04 Jun  2017

People across the Eastern Province undertook a day of Hartal and protest on Friday calling for justice for the sexual assault of three children in Trincomalee last week.

Three schoolgirls from Mallikaitheevu, Trincomalee, between the ages of 6 and 8 were reportedly hospitalised after being assaulted by four construction workers who were not from the area.

A week of protests culminated in a shutdown of areas of the East, with the Eastern Teachers Union and civil society organisations undertaking Hartal and protesting for the protection of children.

Attendance at all Tamil schools in Trincomalee was low, with most teachers striking and students joining them in protest.

Tamil students in Batticaloa also protested in solidarity.

Govt. lags behind in its overall development targets – Civil Society Organizations

Jun 05, 2017

The Sri Lankan Government, after it came in to power in January 08, 2015, has so far been able to complete only 17 milestones as promised, civil society organizations state based on their latest monitoring.

The fact was pointed out in the latest update of the Open Government Partnership, a tracker on the National action plan which is an initiative undertaken by the Transparency International jointly with several other civil society organizations.

The Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) issuing a statement today pointed out that they are “concerned over the state's lack of progress in implementing the Open Government Partnership (OGP) National Action Plan, which consists of 116 milestones.”

Accordingly deadlines for achieving 32 milestones have lapsed, 25 are stalled and 15 are in progress while only 17 milestones have been completed as of May 31, 2017.

Among the 17 commitments the Government has been able fulfill, the implementation of the Right To Information Act is highlighted. Yet the Government has not yet met its targets in developing health, education, Information and communication technology, environment, local government, women’s affairs and controlling corruption.

The OGP was formally launched on September 20, 2011 on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting during which Heads of State from 8 founding governments endorsed the Open Government Declaration and announced their country action plans along with an equal number of civil society leaders.
Sri Lanka became a signatory to the Open Government Declaration and joined the OGP in October 2015 becoming the only OGP member nation from the South Asian region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the main agency overseeing the implementation of the OGP National Action Plan in Sri Lanka.

Response to Devanesan Nesiah on “National Reconciliation Policy”

Featured image courtesy Steve Chao /Al Jazeera via JDS

LAKSIRI FERNANDO on 06/05/2017

First, I must thank Devanesan Nesiah for his response in Groundviews (27 May) to my article on ‘National Reconciliation Policy’ (The Island, 15 May) with his agreement on 7 of the 8 policy areas raised, and clearly expressing his doubts, disagreements and suggestions. As John Stuart Mill said, ‘the usefulness of an opinion is itself matter of opinion’ (‘On Liberty,’ p. 46). There is no infallibility. All these are open for discussion.

Second, his identification of three areas in combating caste discrimination are commendable. But one might ask why insist that the ‘the initiative needs to come from Sri Lankan Buddhists’? Finger pointing is not that ‘conciliatory’, from whichever side it comes.

Third, his endorsement of trilingual policy is appreciated although he has not come up with anything particularly new. I make this comment, since I am strongly of the opinion that this could be the breakthrough in reconciliation and in many other areas: economic development, people’s social advancement and Sri Lanka’s status in world affairs, among others. What I have proposed is not merely a policy, but a ‘language revolution’ which can catch the imagination and enthusiasm of young generations, rural and urban.

Fourth, while I admit that the present district quota system for university admissions is defective (I have said ‘controversial and misused’) the way forward is to rectify the defects and not scrapping it. Because I cannot simply disregard the urban-rural disparities and disparities between and within districts. Of course, there are other ways of uplifting the situation: increase the intake and address the disparities among schools. I cannot however comprehend or agree with the logic when he says, “District quotas, in design and in impact boost further the privileges of the children of the rural elite.” It is difficult for me to comment about all faculties, but my experience in Arts faculties show that underprivileged sections of society do gain entrance thanks to this system.

I also cannot comprehend or agree when Nesiah says “Socio-economic and educational levels of parents and families are difficult to quantify, and therefore, to compensate for.” It may be difficult. What is not difficult? But does that mean that it is not valid or desirable? In my article, what I particularly mentioned was “Similarly, an income threshold can be identified as a criterion for affirmative action, particularly among the estate workers/communities.” I still maintain it. This also should apply in rural areas.

These days I am watching the Sinhala teledrama ‘Siyapath Arama’ (Lotus Field). Sudara is a bright student from an underprivileged family in a rural area. Her mother has to work extremely hard (as a single parent) in a way that appears inhuman, to educate her and two other children. At the last episode (4 June), Sudara is waiting for Advanced Level results. She will gain admission to university, but she contemplates looking for a job instead, because her sibling’s education woud otherwise be in jeopardy. This is a common predicament to my knowledge and experience both in rural and urban areas. This is where affirmative action should apply, however difficult it may be to implement. If I take an example from Australia, there are ‘child support payments’ from the Department of Human Services, to families who are in comparison, much better off. There are methods of quantifying eligibility. We have 51 Departments in Sri Lanka. Do we have a Department of Human Services?

Readers who enjoyed this article might find “The Art of Connection: Two organisations take on reconciliation” and “State reforms as a domestic policy imperative” enlightening reads. 

11 Days Later, Police Say Hunt For BBS Gnanasara Continuing

JUNE 6, 2017

A cat and mouse game ensued between the police and Bodu Bala Sena’s (BBS) Galagoda Atte Gnanasara who continues to evade his arrest, 11 days since the police deployed units to apprehend him. However, Police Spokesman DIG Priyantha Jayakody assured that the hunt for Gnanasara had not ceased and units were continuing their search to apprehend him.

Meanwhile, police have also questioned the doctor who claimed to have treated Gnanasara and had issued a medical certificate to be produced in court claiming that the monk was suffering from ill health.

Galaboda Atte Gnanasara

“It has become obvious that Ven. Gnanasara admitted himself to a not very prominent medical centre in Navinna on 31st May early morning, in an attempt to avoid being present in court. He had admitted himself at 4.30 am and then soon after the court proceedings were over he had got himself discharged on the same day and disappeared again,” DIG Jayakody told Colombo Telegraph.

According to the police spokesman, the medical certificate issued by the doctor in question was unaccepted as it was a handwritten letter. “Even the medical certificate that was issued is not in formal order, as it is not in a printed form, but just a handwritten letter,” he said. DIG Jayakody also said that the police will lodge a complaint to the Sri Lanka Medical Council against the doctor who had issued the questionable medical certificate through Gnanasara’s lawyers.

With the two week mark nearing since the police said that it had deployed several units to arrest Gnanasara on several charges, including for inciting religious disharmony, when pointed out that the police have been blamed for inaction in this case, DIG Jayakody said that this is not the only case that the police is handling but investigations are very much on and the search for the monk is continuing. “He is in hiding, but we are continuing investigations to apprehend him,” DIG Jayakody added.

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Why Muslim leaders shouldn’t overplay an ‘anti-Muslim threat’

2017-06-06

Last week, I argued why a fringe ethno-religious extremism articulated by the Bodu Bala Sena should be tackled forthwith with intensity and pro-actively. Now the lead monk of the BBS, Galabodaatte Gnanasarathera, who has been absconding has admitted himself to a hospital, his lawyers informed Court.   

The BBS is a malign force. However though its rhetoric is disturbing and repugnant, its involvement in ‘actual violence’ is marginal. Its real danger is as an agent of radicalization and reviving of old prejudices of some segments of conservative Sinhala Buddhists. In ideal conditions, such rhetoric should either be rebuffed as rubbish or tolerated as a matter of freedom of expression. But, the world we are living in is not an ideal place, and countries like ours which are multi-cultural and multi-ethnic and suffer multiple, economic, social, cultural and ethnic fault lines, cannot afford such differences to be exploited under the guise of pluralism of ideas. (Or we could well turn a blind eye, until reality sinks hard as Theresa May the British Prime Minister admitted early this week (after the third terrorist attack in two months) that there was far too much tolerance for extremism in Britain).  

That is also why some sections of the Muslim community should not overplay the BBS’s rhetoric as an existential threat to their community, thereby deepening existing differences. But, that is what some people have been doing recently, meeting foreign diplomats while the rest of the country was grappling with a natural disaster; painting a gazette notification on Wilpattu in an ethnic bias as directed against the Muslim community and warning in public that Muslims are running out of patience.   

Such acts could provoke a reaction or would vindicate the BBS. Equally dangerously such affected or inflated grievances would lead to radicalization within the Muslim community. The things get trickier with the influx of Gulf funds which brings with them an alien and highly doctrinaire version of Islam, which is intolerant and susceptible to violence.   

The Muslim community is well integrated in all areas of public life in this country. Though there may be many explanations for that success, one of the most consequential factors was their integration with mainstream politics, which the Tamil political leaders however choose to avoid. Those different choices shaped the different legacies of the two communities during the next seven decades.  

Muslim leaders contested elections from two mainstream political parties and held posts in coalition governments.That political association dampened a potential polarizing effect of ethnic politics. Also perks and rewards of being part of the government fostered that partnership. However, in this era of social media and virtual jihad, the old status quo can easily be challenged and the traditional leadership can easily be de-legitimized for not speaking up enough against perceived grievances.

Also information can be concocted, exaggerated and proliferated to advance one’s aims. An affected sense of grievance fostered by such exaggerated reportage could lead to disastrous ends. The pathways of radicalization of the Muslim community are also fast-tracked these days thanks to growing worldwide Islamization. In this context, exaggerating the BBS’s antics and creating a groundswell of mass grievance is a very dangerous ploy.  

The BBS is bigoted, but its involvement in actual violence is marginal. Such culpability in violence, wherever it is, should be investigated and punished. However most attacks that were blamed on it during the past couple of weeks (and hardly reported in mainstream media) are themselves suspect. The failure to adhere to due proportionality in the campaign against ‘islamophobia’ would do more harm than good.   

The BBS is a fringe phenomenon, no less peripheral than Wahabi Islam in the East. The difference is loud-mouthed Gnanasara thera prefers to spew his venom in front of television cameras while his counterparts do it in private. To confront both, Sri Lanka needs a hate speech law; and to confront extremism, Sri Lanka needs enhanced counter terrorism laws.   

However, to project Gnanasara thera and BBS as a national phenomenon and a manifestation of inherent nastiness of Sinhala Buddhism has different sinister calculations. No political party that campaigned exclusively on a Sinhala Buddhist line -- the Sinhala Urumaya in the past and JHU recently -- have only managed to win more than a couple of seats. In comparison, Geert Wielder’s Dutch Freedom Party, which campaigned on an anti-immigrant and anti-Islam platform came second in the recent parliamentary elections. Marine Le Pen won 34 per cent of the popular vote in the French presidential race. British UKIP claims for around 8-10 per cent of British vote base.  

This penchant to equate the Sri Lankan state with Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism was a time tested ploy of Tamil politics, which used it to justify its detachment from the Centre and subsequently its separatist agenda. That strategy proved to be a disaster both for Tamils and the country at large. Muslim community leaders should not succumb to that temptation. They can also learn a few more lessons from Tamil politics about how not to approach a problem. One obvious lesson is not to overplay grievances. Such self-interested strategies would serve in the short term (like the Vadukkodai resolution helped the TULF sweep the board in the North in the 1977 elections for the first time), however there will be a Prabhakaran lurking somewhere who will hijack the campaign to take it to the next level of intensity. That happened in the past, and there is no guarantee that it would not happen again.
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Anti-Muslim violence: The puzzle of continuing impunity

By Jehan Perera-June 5, 2017, 8:29 pm 

Some years ago, in 2011, there was a phenomenon called the "grease devils" that struck fear in communities in different parts of the country, and particularly those living in areas in which the Tamil people predominate. Semi clothed men with grease on their bodies started to infiltrate into the homes of people. They broke inside and sometimes groped women but usually they only caused utter fear and no other physical harm. As in the case of the present upsurge in anti Muslim violence, the grease devil attacks took place in a number of places almost simultaneously, as if pre-planned. On occasion when people from the affected communities gave chase they found the suspected grease devils running into camps of the security forces in their bid to getaway. As suddenly as it started the grease devil phenomenon ended. There were no arrests by police that led to convictions.

In the last two months there have been several violent attacks targeting the Muslim community which appear to have ended at least temporarily. Muslim owned business enterprises and places of religious worship were especially targeted. These incidents, numbering over 20, caused economic ruin to many people, hurt their religious sentiment and brought dismay to the entire community.  However, attacks on the Muslims have been taking place on an irregular basis for the past several years. They spiked in 2014 with the burning of a section of Aluthgama town in which the Muslim community was dominant. The most recent attacks took place in different parts of the country. While not simultaneous, they were sufficiently widespread and systematic to suggest a pre-planned effort to target the Muslims. None of the recent attacks led to deaths. It appears that the attacks had been carefully calibrated. None of the attackers are known to have been arrested.

The failure of the security forces to apprehend those who have broken the law is at the root of the puzzle. It has led to calls for action by the government to uphold the Rule of Law. These calls have been made by civil society organizations, political parties, foreign governments and also by the Bar Association. The statement issued by the Bar Association sets out the provisions of law under which the police can arrest those who perpetrate violence and hate crimes against the Muslim community and under which the Attorney General’s Department can file indictments in the courts of law. The puzzle is that the police have been inactive in taking the first step which is to obstruct the violent actions of those who are terrorizing the Muslim community and arrest those who have been videoed and documented as having been in the attacking parties.

MYANMAR EXAMPLE

The evidence of attacks and the identity of the attackers are readily available. A national television station, for instance, showed an incident where the temporary shelters of Muslims in a rural area were being physically pulled down and demolished by a group of people with a prominent Buddhist monk in the picture. Those who have suffered violence and destruction at the hands of violent groups have also provided the police with footage of the attacks. The irony is that the governmental leaders who are in charge of the security forces have been affirming their opinion that the police ought to act, even in Parliament, but there continues to be governmental and police inaction that is difficult to explain.

It may be that the governmental leadership does not believe that this is the time to act. The massive crowds bused in by the Joint Opposition for their May Day rally was larger than any other. It is also indicative of the political opposition’s ability to muster people power onto the street, even if they have to be provided with a handout inclusive of transport, meals and drinks. In this context the government’s instinct may be to delay taking decisive action and hope that the problem will go away. The government may also be trying to follow the example of Myanmar, where the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi has sought to accommodate the hardline Buddhist nationalist groups within the government in order to win their support.

In Myanmar, the greatest threat to the stability of the democratically elected government comes from the military that ruled the country for over five decades. It has only been in the last five years that the military has taken a step back from its direct hold on power and relinquished power to the elected civilian government that is led by Aung San Suu Kyi. But the government is afraid that the military generals are waiting in the wings to take back power and this is why the democratically elected government has preferred to try and bring the Buddhist nationalist groups within its own fold. During the period of military rule the Buddhist monks were a powerful and non-violent force that stood resolutely in opposition to the military dictatorship.

ACT SOONER

The problem is that while the Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar are opposed to the military dictators, they have also identified the Muslims as a source of future threat to Myanmar especially in terms of changes in the demographic composition of some regions of Myanmar. As a result the Myanmar strategy of trying to bring the hardline nationalists within the government has not been successful. Instead it has further legitimized the hardliners in the eyes of the general public and they have become more active in attacking the Muslims in Myanmar. It is ironic, and unfortunate, that in a similar manner in Sri Lanka, the government appears to be seeking to pacify hardline Buddhist nationalist groups in order to deal with the political challenges posed by the Joint Opposition which can exploit Buddhist nationalist sentiment and insecurities.

Although the anti Muslim violence has got the centre stage at this time, there is also anti Christian violence that has been directed for a longer period against evangelical Christian groups that engage in conversion activities. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance has reported that since the beginning of this year, over 20 incidents of violence and intimidation took place against Christian places of worship across the country. In this context, the government may want to prevent the Joint Opposition and the Buddhist nationalist groups from coming together for fear that they can create conflict on the streets in a way that would make the country difficult to govern. It is noteworthy that the anti Muslim attacks grew in numbers after the Joint Opposition’s show of strength at its May Day rally. But whatever may be the motivations of the anti Muslim violence it cannot be condoned, justified or permitted.

The right to equal protection of the laws is not only a constitutional right; it is an absolute human right in any civilized society that cannot be violated. The government has a particularly strong political mandate to uphold the equal protection of the laws for the ethnic and religious minorities. These are the groups that gave their wholehearted support to the government at the last elections. All Sri Lankans need to keep in mind the lessons from the past in which the failure to protect minorities from discrimination became a cause for three decades of war. We have seen that when problems are not resolved and are permitted to go on unchecked that they escalate with time. With terrorism spreading throughout the world, it is important that Sri Lanka should be committed to its non-recurrence in Sri Lanka, and for this it needs the fullest support of all its people who benefit from the equal protection of the laws.

Trincomalee mosque attacked with petrol bombs

03 Jun  2017

A Trincomalee mosque was attacked with petrol bombs in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The Periyakadai Jumma Mosque, situated close to a Sri Lankan Navy camp, is the latest victim in a series of anti-Muslim attacks on the island, most of which had been carried out in the predominantly Sinhala-Buddhist South.

The frequency of the attacks in the past month has led several diplomats as well as international and local organisations to speak out and call on the Sri Lankan government to act on hate crimes against minorities on the island.

Related Articles: 

23 May 2017 : Tamil Civil Society Forum calls on Sri Lanka to confront Sinhala Buddhist nationalism and end attacks on Muslims

Muslim-Owned Shop Torched In Wijerama

JUNE 6, 2017

Another Muslim-owned shop in Wijerama, Nugegoda has been petrol bombed at 1 AM on June 6th. While the police have deployed 4 teams to arrest Galagoda Atte Gnanasra, this is the 5th big shop that has been set on fire.

“Fortunately, the shop owners have adopted a genius fire protection system by filling water in to plastic bottles behind the front door so that if petrol bombs are throw, the plastic bottle will burst and the fire would be doused.” a ship owner in Wijerama told Colombo Telegraph.

Speaking to Colombo Telegraph, a member of the Muslim Council said: “While the President is talking about discussions among religious leaders to resolve ethnic conflicts, the Muslim economy is being set on fire on a daily basis. The president must immediately order the arrest of these arsonist or force the IGP to resign if he cannot do his job.”

The following is a documentation of the violence against Muslims during the last 5 weeks:

1 16th April, 2017 – Petrol Bombs thrown at shops in Godapitiya

Four shops owned by Muslims were attacked with petrol Bombs in Godapitiya, Porruva,. This incident went unreported due to the pressure brought in by the local police. This was not even reported in the social media by local residents, fearing further police intimidation. Even after a month, the police have still not been able to investigate and apprehend the perpetrators of this act of violence.

20th April, 2017 – Land Grab at Irrakamam in Mayakkali

2  1/2 Acres of Muslim land was forcible taken over in Irrakamam in Mayakkali. No police action has been taken even after complaints have been lodged.

25th April 2017 – Incitement by Ven. Gnanasara Thero in Irrakamam.

Ven. Gnanasara thero visited Irrakamam and made a very provocative speech violating his bail conditions. Police complaints have been made and no action has been taken up to todate.

Read More

ISIS bogey: An arms industry canard to intervene in developing countries 

 2017-06-06

This is in response to Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka’s interview about ISIS’ presence in the island and alleged Muslim involvement published in the Daily Mirror of June 1, 2017

Time and again, top police and intelligence officers and several others clearly and repeatedly denied the presence of ISIS -- a fascist entity allegedly created by the United States, trained by Israel and funded by their client state Saudi Arabia as part of their ongoing murderous global campaign against Islam and the Muslims -- in the island. 

Yet, sections of the mainstream local media, joining the US-Israeli war mongers, continue to use the canard ISIS to demonise the Muslims, and deceive and cover up the crimes perpetrated on the minorities in Sri Lanka by the BBS racists. Perhaps, it was as part of this campaign that Minister Champika Ranawaka had reiterated his allegation claiming that ISIS is present here and Muslims are involved with it. 

First and foremost, this is not a subject that comes under Minister Ranawaka who is in charge of Megapolis and Western Development. This subject comes under the ministries of Law and Order and Defence. But, the first thing a presidential or prime ministerial hopeful ought to have done is to urge the police to arrest those violent Sinhala extremists attacking the minorities, as he did when a building in Wellawatte collapsed. 

He did not voice against these Sinhala extremists. He did not even participate in the adjournment motion in parliament where several Sinhala and Tamil members condemned the attacks on Muslims. The joint opposition also did not field a single participant. Minister Ranawaka probably had his reasons. 

But without batting an eye lid and even before investigations commenced, he publicly called for the arrest of the Muslim owner of the Wellawatte building who obviously did not spend millions on that structure wishing or hoping for it to collapse on himself. In fact, that man himself narrowly escaped. But in a more horrendous man-made disaster, the Meetotamulla garbage dump, in which 32 innocent persons died, no one was dealt with, although responsible people made accusations openly. Coming as he does from the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the policies of which are fairly well-known, Minister Ranawaka’s slip is showing. Aspirants to high office in this country must be clever enough at least to veil their racist dispositions to the world at large. After all, he is in the watch list of the global village. 
Minister Ranawaka’s terrorising statement dragging the BBS, All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) and Thauhid Jamaath into this canard of ISIS involvements in Sri Lanka is extremely irresponsible and frightening. Irresponsible because Minister Ranawaka is simply trying to add fuel to fire to the ongoing tense ridden racist attacks on Muslim Mosques and businesses. Frightening because with this allegation he is indirectly trying to justify the ongoing attacks on Mosques and Muslim trading establishments during the past one month and a half and pave the way for yet another July ‘83 type bloodbath, this time against Muslims, in the country. 

A repeat July ‘83 on the Muslims will not destroy altogether the two million strong Muslim community of Sri Lanka. July ‘83 did not destroy all the Tamils. The Tamil diaspora, the result of the ‘83 riots is perhaps more powerful internationally than even the LTTE. It is internationally harassing and thereby humiliating every post ‘83 government of Sri Lanka, to this day, in search of justice. The then President J R. Jayawardene’s failure to take action for the first five days after riots broke out in July ‘83 until India’s call and the follow up visit the very next day of Indian External Affairs Minister Narasinha Rao led to the subsequent unceasing Indian pressure on Sri Lanka which resulted in the controversial July ‘87 Indo-Lanka Accord, a dubious honour to Sri Lanka mishandling its racial riots.

 
If the BBS wants to add the Muslims now and the Christians a little later to its terror list, the noticeably weak national government and every moderate Sri Lankan will surely pay a heavy price.

Minister Ranawaka probably does not know the country’s economic plight, sinking in internationally unacceptable levels of debt vis a vis our GDP. Today, more than 50% of Sri Lanka’s real foreign exchange comes from Muslim countries, from foreign employment (85%) and exports of tea (70%). Over a million Sri Lankans are voluntarily employed in Muslim countries. Let us not show the world that some fools are running this country. Muslims have already paid a heavy price at the hands of the LTTE for not supporting the division of the country or even the merger of the North and the East. Muslims will not want to face another calamity at the hands of the violent extremists from the South. 
Perhaps, this may be his government’s ultimate target to divert the country’s attention from its miserable failure in many fields. Add to that distressing list is the government’s failure to arrest even one single person connected to the nearly 30 complaints made to the police relating to attacks on the Muslims or the nearly 20 other incidents of attacks on Christians. Nobody here or elsewhere will believe that the Sri Lanka Police is comprised of nincompoops! 

In view of the seriousness of the situation, not only the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and its leaders and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), but several other leading Sinhalese intellectuals, monks, columnists and others warned the government to act quickly to bring to book the culprits and avert another disaster which would only benefit the racist forces hell-bent on destabilising the country. 

The minorities, particularly the Muslims, are living in terrible tension and fear for the last two months. The severe monsoon rain storm that killed over 200 innocent Sri Lankans and devastated thousands of families came in the way of the BBS conspiracy during the Holy Month of Ramadhan. The armed forces, civil society and the media did a splendid job. They covered up the naked kings of the country. But the utter inefficiency of the political bigwigs got nevertheless exposed. 

It was under such frightening circumstances Minister Champika Ranawaka in his recent interview with Daily Mirror stated: 

“Unfortunately, today we are not focusing on the real issues in our country. We have the best example with the bombing in Manchester, UK. It was a radicalised youth operating alone who exploded. How many such lone wolves are operating in this country? Top foreign intelligence agencies have been warning Sri Lanka on this threat. We have not paid enough attention. The BBS, Jamiyyathul Ulama, Thowheed Jamath are visible. Legal action can be taken against them when they break the law. But the threat I mentioned earlier is invisible.  

“It is proven by intelligence agencies that persons radicalised by the ISIS are operating in Sri Lanka originating from various countries. And, the foreign elements – especially from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Maldives are operating in Sri Lanka in hundreds. We know that. It will become a serious threat in the future to the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.”

Minister Champika Ranawaka should disclose the people involved and prove these allegations which have all the ingredients to inflame the growing tension. As a responsible citizen of this country, he should spell out the details of every ISIS element, including their identity in writing to the Inspector General of Police, promptly, with proof. I am certain the entire Muslim community will support the minister and the police to deal with them according to law. If there were foreign elements here, it is easily within the powers of the government to deport them if the allegations are true. I believe he will not complain because his utterances on ISIS are pure fiction. 

But, we urge the minister not to fall prey to the false so-called ‘intelligence reports’ emanating from countries that want to sell their weapons by creating conflicts amongst an otherwise peaceful people. The government cannot be misled by false Indian, Israeli or US media propaganda or dubious intelligence reports against Muslims. The ISIS bogey is used by the West to legitimise the use of forcible intervention in third world countries, especially Muslim countries, to create conflicts. The canard is also planted to justify the supervisory take-over of the country’s security apparatus by foreign organisations and to enable discreet non-resistable interventions in all the internal affairs. 
Minister Champika and all his ministerial colleagues have forgotten that Muslims in the island remain one of the most peaceful communities despite systematic discrimination in every possible field. There is no problem between mainstream peaceful Sinhala Buddhists who follow genuine Buddhism and the peaceful Muslims in the island. 

The JHU mindset is not something unknown to people. Their agenda is not far from BBS. In fact, BBS took over from where the JHU left in their hate Muslim campaign.  

Minister Champika also cited the Manchester bombing, warning that such radical youths could emerge here too. Minister Champika perhaps may be not aware that the 22-year-old Manchester bomber of Libyan origin, Salman Abedi, is the direct outcome of United States-European-Israeli barbarism on Libya. 

Libya was the richest African country where the people lived happily in peace and harmony. It was the US-Israel-UK-French bombing and destruction of Libya to plunder their wealth which turned Libya into a killing field, forcing people to risk their lives and flee in unsafe boats in search of safety and refuge. These young ones who had seen the unbearable misery caused to them turned into suicide bombers. In fact, it is a clear message to those racist hooligans who have all the potentials to turn this country into another living hell.