Crisis in Sri Lanka

This seminar discussion explores the causes of the present political and economic crisis, which has been rightly described as unprecedented in Sri Lanka’s independent history, the depth and significance of it, and what can be done to put the country back on its feet.

Four very well qualified Sri Lankan experts address the multi-dimensional nature of the ongoing crisis, and discuss the possibilities of reform and improvement in the lives of ordinary Sri Lankans: Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema, the Editor in Chief of the Sunday Morning national newspaper, Vinya Ariyaratne, the President of Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka’s largest non-government organisation, Indrajit Coomaraswamy, a former Governor of the Central Bank, and Sumathy Sivamohan, an academic, film maker and political activist.

Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema, is a journalist and activist. She is the Editor in Chief of the Sunday Morning national newspaper. She came into journalism under Lasantha Wickrematunge, the Editor of the Sunday Leader who was assassinated for his outspoken criticisms of corruption and abuses of human rights. In 2013, she launched a union for journalists to help those who need legal support and to protect their rights. She is also the Executive Advisor to Factum, an Asia-based think tank.

Abeywickrema gave an account of the protest movement which led to the resignation of the government and the flight of the President – the reasons it developed, the extent of public support and the demands it gave rise to - not just for the President to go but for other changes in the system of government. She highlighed the role of the media - and particularly of social media – in mobilising people and in demanding change; and the broader hopes which emerged for a media able to play its proper role in democratic accountability free from threats to life and other pressures.

Dr Vinya Ariyaratne is the President of Sarvodaya, the largest non-government development organisation in Sri Lanka. He is a medical doctor by profession and specialised in Community Medicine. Sarvodaya has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to over 300,000 people in recent months and has been involved in national-level dialogues to find solutions to the crisis.

Ariyaratne set out in detail the impact of the crisis on the lives of ordinary Sri Lankans - how far they are being plunged into poverty and how their health is being affected. His statistics are a stark reminder of the scale of food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as the levels of mental and physical ill health. He also summarized what is being done to deal with the humanitarian crisis - by Sarvodaya and others, in collaboration with agencies such as the World Food Programme, and how far the resources available so far are adequate to meet the scale of the need which has emerged.

Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and a former Director, Economic Affairs Division and Deputy Director, Secretary-General’s Office, Commonwealth Secretariat. He spent fifteen years working in the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance before joining the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1989. He was made Governor of the Central Bank in 2016 and served for 3 years.

Coomaraswamy set out how the country got into its present dire financial situation before going on to examine what is emerging from the IMF discussions and the timetable and conditions for final agreement. He explained how the proposed debt restructuring will work and his view of the political impact of what is obviously going to be a painful exercise.

Sumathy Sivamohan is Professor in English at the University of Peradeniya, who teaches literature, critical theory, theatre, film and translation. She is a film-maker, poet, playwright and translator who has won national and international awards. In 2011, she received the Sahitya Academy of India’s Premchand Literary Award and in 2022 a Cornell University

Global South Translation Award. During 2020-21, she co-founded the Kuppi Collective, an activist academic initiative of intervention in contemporary educational, political and economic affairs.

Sivamohan reflected on the participation of Sri Lanka’s minorities in the protest movement and their expectations from it. She also addressed the recommendations for the abolition of the Executive Presidency and for more meaningful devolution, including the creation of People’s Councils. The failure of the President to respond has been striking, together with his dependence on the SLPP, and the government’s crisis of legitimacy.

Speakers:

• Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema, is a journalist and activist. She is the Editor in Chief of the Sunday Morning national newspaper. She came into journalism under Lasantha Wickrematunge, the Editor of the Sunday Leader who was assassinated for his outspoken criticisms of corruption and abuses of human rights.  In 2013, she launched a union for journalists to help those who need legal support and to protect their rights.  She is also the Executive Advisor to Factum, an Asia-based think tank. 
• Dr Vinya Ariyaratne is the President of Sarvodaya, the largest non-government development organisation in Sri Lanka.  He is a medical doctor by profession and specialised in Community Medicine. Sarvodaya has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to over 300,000 people in recent months and has been involved in national-level dialogues to find solutions to the crisis. 
• Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and a former Director, Economic Affairs Division and Deputy Director, Secretary-General’s Office, Commonwealth Secretariat.  He spent fifteen years working in the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance before joining the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1989.  He was made Governor of the Central Bank in 2016 and served for 3 years.  
• Sumathy Sivamohan is Professor in English at the University of Peradeniya, who teaches literature, critical theory, theatre, film and translation. She is a film-maker, poet, playwright and translator who has won national and international awards.  In 2011, she received the Sahitya Academy of India’s Premchand Literary Award and in 2022 a Cornell University Global South Translation Award. During 2020-21, she co-founded the Kuppi Collective, an activist academic initiative of intervention in contemporary educational, political and economic affairs.