CV killed by suicide
bomber
by Norman PalihawadanaIndustrial Development Minister C.V.Gooneratne (64) was
among those killed yesterday by an LTTE suicide bomber at Golumadama Junction at Ratmalana
when they were walking in a procession to launch war heroes day.
First reports said at least 21 were killed and more than 60 were injured in the
explosion when the suicide bomber hurled himself towards the Minister.
The Minister’s wife, Chyami was among those seriously injured.
Police said the procession, which began at Nugegoda was proceeding towards Panadura,
collecting funds for the security forces when the suicide bomber attacked.
Several processions were due to converge on Panadura for a fund raising event for the
troops, organised by the ITN Television.
Several prominent politicians were among those feared killed but details were not
available immediately.
Minister Gooneratne’s last official engagement had been a few hours earlier when
he participated in the ceremony at "Temple Trees", where President Chandrika
Kumaratunga hoisted the national flag and observed two minutes silence in honour of the
war heroes.
Minister Gooneratne, who entered politics as a member of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia
Urban Council, was a Central Committee member of the SLFP during the early 1970s.
His first attempt to enter parliament in 1977 failed but he succeeded at the next
general election in 1989.
He was re-elected as MP for Ratmalana in 1994 when he was appointed Minister of
Industrial Development which portfolio he held until his death.
Mr. Gooneratne was educated at Royal College and Aquinas in Colombo. At Royal College
he was a prefect, captain of the college rugby team and a cadet. In rugby he also
represented CR & FC Club later. He was the son of late Chairman of Dehiwala-Mt.
Lavinia, L. V. Gooneratne.
Among those killed was the deputy mayor of Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council Anura
Silva and several security personnel of the minister.
The injured were rushed to the Kalubowila hospital.
Mahinda Abeysundere, Media Advisor to the ITN said that this procession to collect
funds for the soldiers was organised by the ITN and Lakhanda.
He said that the procession of cars started at Ananda Samarakoon playing field in
Nugegoda. When the motorcade reached Golumadama Junction those in the motorcade alighted
from their vehicles and started walking as a procession.
President
reiterates armed forces will fight the Tigers and end terrorism
by Chittaranjan de Silva
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga yesterday re-iterated that the armed
forces would continue to battle the LTTE as long as the Tigers engaged in
‘terrorism’.
She was addressing a ceremony held to mark the inauguration of the "War Heroes
Day" at the Presidential Secretariat, which was attended by government ministers,
party leaders and service chiefs.
The President emphasised that the country and its people are forever grateful to the
"war heroes" who have fought and laid down their lives for the sake of the
country and its people.
President Kumaratunga reiterated that though the government pursued the path of peace
with the LTTE, the LTTE have time and again shown through their actions that they are not
for peace.
"The LTTE don’t want peace, this they have displayed without doubt," she
said.
Even as peace was being discussed with them, the Fascist LTTE have killed many
democratically elected leaders belonging to both the Sinhalese and the Tamil communities
of this country, she said.
The President while praising the brave efforts of soldiers valiantly battling the LTTE,
thanked them for their efforts, without which, she said "the countrymen would have
had to live in fear."
Efforts have been made to help the families of soldiers who are fighting at the battle
front, by granting them land to build houses and providing them with housing and other
amenities.
"Even though salaries to the armed forces personnel have been increased recently,
this is not sufficient," the President said.
She noted that when young men battle at war and die, a generation of children belonging
to their families would grow up without a father.
She stressed that more support has already been channelled to help the families of war
heroes and added that it is the responsibility of everyone to provide more support to the
families of these brave men who have risked their lives to protect others.
A "Ranaviru Seva Authority" has been set up to help this cause, the President
said and commended efforts by some people, whom she said have come forward and are helping
these families of war heroes even without being requested.
The President also noted that just as the war heroes are remembered, "we should
remember the Tamil people in the north-east who have been under pressure by both by the
armed forces and the facist LTTE."
She said these people in NE, who are not LTTE supporters, have been displaced on
several occasions during these two decade long war. "Their houses have been bombed
and they have lost most of their little treasures."
Rehabilitation programs are needed to provide help to these Tamil people, as well as to
those Muslims, who were chased away from Mannar and the Eastern province and already steps
are taken in this direction, she said.
She said the LTTE is been funded mostly by the Tamils who migrated after the July
’83 uprising, who live in a dream that one day the
LTTE might be able to form a separate state.
The President also paid a tribute to the "intelligence" of the Sinhalese
people.
"The Sinhalese people have displayed enormous intelligence even when they were
tested to the limits by the LTTE in recent times by not retaliating in the way they did in
July 1983."
Even the riots in 1983 were created by mobs, she added.
Before the President’s speech, two minutes silence was observed in front of the
old Parliament building.
Afterwards, the President distributed savings pass books to the children of ‘war
heroes’ and to those servicemen missing in action and wounded in the war.
A lottery ticket called ‘Jayaviru Samapatha’ was also launched yesterday, the
proceeds of which would benefit war heroes.
Karunanidhi to Sri
Lanka:
Find political solution, stop the war
From S. Venkat Narayan, Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Unfazed by the attacks by Indian political parties and media, Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi today defended his controversial "solution"
to Sri Lanka’s raging ethnic crisis.
In a five-page statement issued in state capital Chennai (Madras), he justified his
proposal that the Sri Lankan government either devolve more rights to the minority Tamils,
or follow the Czechoslovakian model dividing the country into separate Sinhala and Tamil
states to end the problem.
Clarifying the suggestions he made at a public rally in Chennai to mark his 77th birth
anniversary celebrations last Saturday night, Karunanidhi asserted that his proposals were
not borne out of "linguistic chauvinism," but based on humanitarian grounds.
The chief minister, who also happens to be the boss of the ruling Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK), said: "Find a political solution and stop the war by following any
model. Do not send refugees to Tamil Nadu and give us trouble. Let peace prevail in the
backyard of India. This is my appeal."
The crisis in the island cannot be resolved through military means. A political
solution alone will help end the ethnic crisis. "I am not wrong in suggesting that
the political solution should be based on a quasi federal, confederal or Czech
model," he claimed.
If any one of these models is accepted to end the crisis, no danger will descend on
India, Tamil Nadu or South Asia. Those who do not talk from the ivory tower alone can
understand this, Karunanidhi said.
He said he fully realises that no one has the right to demand that a particular country
be carved out to create an independent state. But the situation in Sri Lanka is totally
different. "There is a marked difference between those who are sitting in
air-conditioned rooms approaching the issue, and those who know the ground
realities."
(He was presumably referring to those journalists who wrote blistering editorials in
today’s newspapers, lambasting him for suggesting that Sri Lanka be split up into a
Sinhala nation and a Tamil one on the lines of the Czech and Slovakian republics as a
solution to the ethnic problem in the island).
Tracing the history of the Tamils’ struggle in Sri Lanka, the DMK supremo pointed
out that the Tamils had not gone to the island as coolies and settled there. (CENSORED)
After Sri Lanka’s independence from the British, the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam
Agreement (B-C Pact) was signed to provide more rights to the Tamils, but it was never
implemented.
(CENSORED)
(CENSORED)
(CENSORED)
(CENSORED)
(CENSORED) One should not forget the fact that it was a Buddhist monk who assassinated
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the then Sri Lankan prime minister, he pointed out.
East
European NATO member offers to sell arms to Sri Lanka
by Shamindra Ferdinando
An East European country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation [NATO] has offered
to sell a wide range of arms, ammunition and equipment to Sri Lankan forces battling
separatist LTTE terrorists, defence sources said yesterday.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga recently thanked countries which assisted Sri Lanka
when the LTTE appeared to have been on the verge of more spectacular battle-field
victories.
The country, formerly a key member of the then USSR led Warsaw Pact has informed Sri
Lanka of her ability to provide urgently needed armaments in the Jaffna peninsula, the
sources said.
Sri Lanka has diplomatic ties with this particular country.
The 19-member NATO armed forces have strict rules on the deployment of forces and their
equipment. In view of this all East European countries which joined the NATO have started
selling their standard Warsaw Pact arms, ammunition, equipment and other armaments and
acquiring NATO standard equipment, defence sources said. Poland, Czech Republic and
Hungary are the East European nations among the organisation.
A senior Sri Lankan military officer said that the government should use this
opportunity to its advantage and sharply increase security forces fire -power and explore
the possibility of negotiating friendly terms for future purchases.
The East European country’s offer includes armoured fighting vehicles particularly
Main Battle Tanks [MBTs] .
Army headquarters yesterday said that an advanced Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher [MBRL]
system airlifted from the East European country has become operational in Jaffna. The
sources said that deployment of this particular system seen in action in many parts of the
world including Chechnya has been deployed along with the other MBRL acquired from
Pakistan, a member of the seven member South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation.
The deployment of these two systems has already produced results, an officer said
revealing that recently monitored enemy transmissions in the Jaffna theatre indicated that
the LTTE had been forced to take a defensive posture after taking heavy losses in the past
several weeks. Monitored enemy transmissions indicated that their front-line units had
been badly affected by the effective use of MBRLs and other equipment .
The sources said that apart from acquiring armaments that had not been in use with Sri
Lankan forces previously, action has been taken to replace some of the ageing armaments.
The sources, quoting intercepted enemy communications said that the LTTE has admitted
losing 712 cadres in the ongoing Jaffna battle. The sources also said that the LTTE
leadership has ordered approximately 250 cadres from the Ampara-Batticaloa region to fill
vacancies in units depleted in recent battles.
The sources said that Sea Tigers last Monday made a desperate attempt to hit a navy
convoy (CENSORED). Navy headquarters yesterday said that at least 13 Sea Tigers including
a self styled lieutenant colonel Sashikaran were killed during the confrontation which saw
the destruction of four LTTE and two navy boats, (CENSORED) Fast Attack Craft and
(CENSORED) Fast Attack Craft.
The military yesterday said that the LTTE on Tuesday night admitted the loss of eight
cadres including a top woman leader Kurunja Akka during an army assault on their positions
about two kms north of Omanthai around 3 pm earlier on the same day. However, the army
said at least 13 terrorists were killed in the assault and many more would have been
killed and wounded when artillery engaged enemy reinforcements coming to the assistance of
the group under attack.
The military said that troops went beyond about two kms from their Omanthai defences to
mount the assault.
Indians
lambast Karunanidhi for suggesting Sri Lanka’s break-up
From S. Venkat Narayan Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, June 6: India’s leading political parties and newspapers have lambasted
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Supremo Muthuvel
Karunanidhi for suggesting that Sri Lanka be split into Sinhala and Tamil provinces as a
solution to the raging ethnic conflict in the island nation.
Main opposition Congress Party General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said it is strange
that the DMK, an important constituent of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s
ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), should have made such a statement. "The
prime minister should clarify the NDA’s position on the issue."
The Congress opposes Sri Lanka’s division and wants a solution to be found on the
ethnic issue without disturbing its territorial integrity and sovereignty, Azad declared.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) attacked the central government for its
"silence" on the stand of NDA’s Tamil Nadu allies DMK, PMK and MDMK on Sri
Lanka. Its politburo said: "With Tamil Nadu chief minister joining in to echo the
demand made by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), this campaign is sought to be
raised to new heights."
The CPI-M warned that the division of Sri Lanka and the creation of a separate Tamil
Eelam will have "dangerous consequences" in the region and serious implications
for India, where separatist movements will receive a boost and give
"imperialism" more room to pursue its strategic aims in the region.
CPI National Secretary D Raja said Prime Minister Vajpayee cannot remain silent when
some of his own coalition partners are differing with the official line, which is that
India wants a solution to the ethnic problem within the framework of Sri Lanka’s
unity and territorial integrity.
Meanwhile, all major Indian dailies came out with strong editorials slamming
Karunanidhi. "The Hindu" dubbed his statement as "unwarranted, unwelcome
and irresponsible." The DMK chieftain’s endorsement of the idea of Sri Lanka
being divided along ethnic lines "runs contrary to India’s commitment to a
united Sri Lanka, a position which has been the cornerstone of the country’s foreign
policy since the mid-Eighties," the daily wrote.
It said the establishment of Eelam would be against India’s larger interests in
the South Asia region. "What if leaders of other countries were to make similar
suggestions about Kashmir or parts of the Northeast ?"
"The Hindu" pointed out that the situation is totally different in Sri Lanka
from the erstwhile Czechoslovakia in eastern Europe, which was split into the Czech and
Slovak republics. The Sri Lankan government is engaged in a brutal conflict with the LTTE
— "a powerful Pol Potist-type organisation that has ruthlessly destroyed its
rivals, that is unwilling to see reason and that behaves as if it is the sole
representative of the Tamil community."
The respected daily attacked the MDMK and PMK for engaging in "patent
doublespeak" — loudly supporting the cause of a Tamil Eelam on the one hand, and
endorsing the stance adopted by the Union Government on the other. "Such
contradictory positions are a direct result of seeking to pander to a chauvinistic
political constituency in Tamil Nadu while, at the same time, wanting to remain in the
Union Government."
The daily went on: "The belief that there is considerable support within Tamil
Nadu for the LTTE or Eelam is one of the myths that a number of political parties in the
state continue to subscribe to. One result of this is a game of competitive politics or
the phenomenon of political parties vying with each other to play what they regard as the
Sri Lankan Tamil card."
In its editorial, "The Times of India" asked: "Are the Tamil parties
suggesting that there is a constituency in Tamil Nadu that wants Eelam? If no, then, the
Indian Tamil parties are unnecessarily whipping up emotions where none exist. If yes,
then, that suggests the existence of a pan-Tamil identity that cuts across international
borders. Surely, the latter is not something the Indian state can support? Indeed, if this
is accepted, it would be perfectly legitimate for a Kashmir Muslim to support Pakistan on
the grounds of pan-Islamic emotionalism."
"The Hindustan Times" found three faults with Karunanidhi’s prescription
that Sri Lanka be divided into two separate states on grounds of Sinhala-Tamil
incompatibility. It wrote: "One: a marriage suggests a coming together of two
distinct entities; Sri Lanka was and continues to be a single entity. Two: marriage
counselling is not necessarily a perfect guide to global politics. And three: unkind
cynics may well want to remind Mr. Karunanidhi that for some men there is an alternative
— why go in for a divorce when you can have two wives?"
Declaring that his prescription is unacceptable, the daily roared: "Sri Lanka is a
sovereign nation, and an Indian chief minister has no business making pronouncements that
seem to encourage secession...solutions can be worked out within the framework of the
nation state."
The "Indian Express" opined: "All things considered, the fuzzy formula
would appear to be Karunanidhi’s solution, not so much to the neighbouring
nation’s problem, as to a peculiar predicament of his own party. The context makes it
clear that his statements on the subject were meant for the consumption of his own
political camp in the state, rather than either New Delhi or Colombo."
"The Pioneer" chided Karunanidhi for preaching Sri Lanka’s division into
two sovereign states for the Sinhalese and Tamils, and said this runs contrary to the
Indian Government’s frequently reiterated stand that a settlement has to be found
without compromising Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity.
However, it sympathised with his second proposal that Colombo should grant greater
autonomy to the Tamils to hammer out a lasting solution. The 1987 India-Sri Lanka
Agreement had a devolution package providing for the grant of greater power to the
country’s Tamil-majority areas. But the LTTE refused to accept it.
The daily noted that the LTTE also did not respond favourably to President Chandrika
Kumaratunga’s 1997 devolution package. Clearly, it is a question of not just
persuading the Sri Lankan Government to provide more autonomy, but also of getting the
LTTE to accept any arrangement short of Eelam, or giving it the substance of independence
under a constitutional fig leaf, the newspaper wrote.
It added: "No Sri Lankan Government can grant either and survive. One hopes that
the military situation in Jaffna — which has not yet fallen and where the Sri Lankan
Army is now better equipped and motivated to fight—makes the LTTE more accommodating
that they have been so far. It is here that leaders like Mr. Karunanidhi have a role.
Instead of talking about the splitting up of Sri Lanka, they should be persuading the LTTE
to see reason."
In Parliament on
Tuesday
Resolution under Customs Ordinance on Import Duties
Bilateral agreements need deeper study — Kodittuwakku
(by Walter Nanayakkara and Kesara Abeywardena)
Parliament met at 10.00 a.m. Tuesday 6 June, 2000. Speaker K. B. Ratnayake presided.
He read the proclamation made by the President extending the state of emergency in the
entire island by one more month from June 4, 2000.
Later the ministers presented reports and oral questions were answered by them.
Prof. G. L. Peiris, Minister of Justice, Constitutional Affairs, Ethnic Affairs and
National Integration and Deputy Minister of Finance moved the following resolution:
"That the resolution under Section 10 of the Customs Ordinance (Chapter 235)
relating to import duties which was presented on 6.4.2000 be approved.
Momentous developments are taking place in the entreprenuerial sector in India. Fifty
Indian companies have reposed confidence in Sri Lanka and have agreed to take part in a
symposium on the bilateral trade between the two countries.
India is a large source for raw materials from which Sri Lanka could benefit as a
result of the Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and India.
Provision has been incorporated into the agreement to protect Sri Lankan agricultural
and other industries. There are anti-dumping laws, among others.
We are seeking to reverse the customs duties which are in force in the light of recent
developments.
Fewer tariff bands and lesser tariffs are core content of the policy of the government.
After this government came to power, tariff changes were affected to make the local
industrial products competitive with the prices of imported goods.
Tariff structures have also helped the transport industry in a big way.
Import duty on cement which ranged between 7.5 percent and 10 percent has now been
fixed at 10 percent as an incentive to local production.
At the outset, Mahinda Samarasinghe MP, Kalutara District, asked Minister Peiris to
make a statement with particular reference to the impact of the customs duty changes on
the goods which come under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, as the gazette
notification running into a large number of pages contained thousands of articles.
At the conclusion of the minister’s introductory speech, Ronnie de Mel MP, Matara
District (UNP) asked the minister for an explanation on the duties on tea, rubber and
garment exports to India, under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.
The minister said he would study the subject closely and would make a statement when
the resolution will be debated for the second time in June.
Karunasena Kodituwakku (UNP — Colombo District) said: The UNP is not against
having liberalised trade agreement with India.
With regard to agricultural goods even with a 35% tariff rate, the Indian agricultural
goods would be cheaper and our farmer produce will not be able to compete with them. The
agricultural produce of Indian farmers is cheap not because of any miracle by them but
because the Indian government gives them many concessions. But the Sri Lanka farmer does
not get any of these benefits.
However, although it is our policy that this sort of agreements should exist, it will
not be of much benefit to local industries.
Although the Indian market is massive, I don’t think we have the capability of
increasing our exports. That’s why we say that this agreement was signed in haste. It
would have been better to have been discussed with the business community and other
parties concerned, before an agreement was reached.
We feel that the government should have concentrated more on service oriented
industries. We should have focussed on tourism more. How many airports in India are open
to us today? India has maintained a protectionist attitude in its tourism.
One of the world’s most successful bilateral trade agreements is the trade
agreement between Japan and USA. It is so because that agreement was reached after a lot
of intensive preparation and study. But this agreement was shrouded in secrecy and even
ministers didn’t know of it until it was signed.
Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Ratnapura district) said: Under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade
Agreement, Sri Lanka has been called upon to deal with a giant. Sri Lanka is compared to a
tiny country in comparison to India in the region.
If one thinks Sri Lanka is the winner in this deal with India, it’s utter folly.
It is just a fool’s paradise.
Dealing with a colossus
There is no equality between India and Sri Lanka in any sense. A giant like India has
its own larger interests and equally larger aims. How can we make a dent on this colossus.
I would rather say that the agreement opens the door for businessmen of the two
countries to work closer for the sole purpose of enhancing their mutual wealth. I
don’t see any other beneficial outcome from this arrangement for the country.
The poorer patient will not be benefited by the removal of tariffs on drugs imported
from India under the agreement.
Even in the US the people are agitating against trade arrangements of this nature.
The final beneficiaries of the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement are a mere 20
percent of the population of the two countries — the elite.
You cannot dump any rubbish in India. But the changes that have taken place in Sri
Lanka have thrown open the doors of the country to make it a dumping ground of substandard
Indian products.
That is why I say that there are vast differences in trade and commerce between India
and Sri Lanka.
The Indian rupee is much higher in value than the Sri Lankan rupee. There is also no
common currency in the SAARC region.
For Indian goods, Sri Lanka should pay in US dollars or Indian rupees. To pay by way of
Indian rupees, Sri Lanka should export to India more goods than India pays for Sri Lankan
goods in Indian rupees.
Kabir Hashim (UNP, Kegalle district) said: Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement is
destroying Sri Lanka’s economic initiative.
It was said that the agreement allowed the export of 8 million pieces of Sri Lankan
garments to India. To qualify for this concession, 6 million pieces must be made of Indian
raw material.
Sri Lankan garments use a very low percentage of Indian raw material and therefore will
not qualify for the concession.
Then again the agreement allows the export of 15 million kilograms of Sri Lankan tea to
India. India recently increased its duty on tea imports. To qualify for the concession of
exporting 15 million kilograms of tea to India, tea should be exported through only two
Indian ports. Costs of exporting tea through these ports are much more expensive.
In addition to taxes and duties collected by the Centre, there are inter-state taxes
and duties in India.
The agreement should have been debated before it was implemented. Only now we are
discussing it.
War expenditure
In 1991 the UNP government was spending Rs. 6.1 billion on the war. Today war
expenditure has increased by more than tenfold. The government is waging a war in the
south too. It sealed the Sunday Leader to cover up its own failures.
Vajira Abeywardena (UNP Galle District) said:— We are going into this agreement
with India at a time our industries are passing through difficult times. This will only
lead to the ultimate downfall of our agriculture and industries.
Ravi Karunanayake (PA National list) said:— The trade between India and Sri Lanka
has been going on for thousands of years although the new agreement came into force
recently.
But I want to show that when compared with India, the trading power of Sri Lanka is
miniscule. But we don’t oppose this agreement since this is the way we should
proceed. However, we should consider the benefits accruing to this country from this
agreement. That’s why I say that this agreement has been signed in haste.
Miniscule
India has imposed a number of non-trade barriers for their benefit.
The domestic industries have hit a bad patch and the PA government has transformed the
export oriented economy into an import-oriented market economy.
However, although the agreement was signed with a view to benefit Sri Lanka, the Indian
bureaucracy has cleverly manipulated it for India’s gain.
The ideal example is the issue concerning tea. I have come to know that tea exporters
have to pay more than what was paid before the agreement was signed.
There is a rule concerning the verification of the origin of the country. I think this
should be looked into so that value addition will have a bearing.
The Chamber of Commerce were given the negative lists only ten days before they closed.
The government said they wished to protect the domestic industries, but actually the
government has increased tariffs on imported items.
We should first win the trade war. If the trade war is won, we would win all other
wars.
We should impose non-trade barriers to prevent dumping. We should have protection
against dumping of substandard goods.
Mahinda Samarasinghe (UNP — Kalutara District) said: The Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade
Agreement is rather complex and it needs deeper study.
Are we in a position to penetrate the Indian market? The question is are we benefited
as a result of the agreement.
India, with a market of nearly one billion people and a 300 million middle class, is
being eyed by other countries. The recent visit of Bill Clinton was precisely this.
As far as exports are concerned, India could produce articles with a much more
competitive edge than Sri Lanka.
The biggest non-tariff barrier in India is its bureaucracy. It is the Indian
bureaucracy that makes Indian exports penetrate other markets. Many countries, including
India, uses the non-tariff barriers to by-pass trade agreements.
You must advice your negotiators to ensure that para-tariffs as well as non-tariff
barriers will not be applied to stifle our exports under the agreement.
The trouble in the north is also due to the high rate of unemployment in the area. This
fact should be given urgent consideration as soon as the situation improved.
Two Central Bank economists in their report for 1999 have made shocking revelations on
the impact of the agreement on our industries. They have pointed out 25 percent of our
industries will be affected by the agreement and another 15 percent moderately. This is
food for thought.
When we gained independence in 1948, our growth rate was far ahead that of India, which
received its independence in 1947. But in the years that followed we have slipped while
India’s growth rate kept growing.
In India there are only 12 national holidays. The world average is 10. We have 22
holidays in an year. I am not advocating the reduction of holidays but I must say there is
a problem as a result of the increased number of holidays. Sri Lankan workers, who have
won their holidays by a long struggle, are not agreeable to a reduction in their holidays
even if the trade chambers are ready to compensate them.
Further debate on the resolution and the voting was adjourned for June
21, at this stage. |
