Last month’s mass demonstrations in Sri Lanka have sent warning signs to the rest of the world. This as several middle-income and developing countries are dealing with similar problems of political dysfunction and the impact from external economic shocks. Sri Lanka has a higher GDP than Peru, Egypt and South Africa, yet it’s devolved into…
'kathika' social, cultural and political review
From Economy
Left with Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Sri Lanka yet to understand the immense tragedy of economic depression and the dangers of famine What are our policymakers and economic experts from both divides of the political spectrum going to do about the food crisis? The morons who were part of and advised the Rajapaksa regime crippled agricultural production with the overnight chemical…
No International Economic Fix for Democracy in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan peoples’ calls for change cannot be set aside with quick economic fixes. Ahilan Kadirgamar and Devaka Gunawardena write: Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the regime of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on the ropes. On 9 May, the supporters of his brother and the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, attacked protestors, especially…
Sri Lanka’s Economic Depression and the IMF
Farzana Haniffa, Ahilan Kadirgamar The public are facing tremendous suffering from the economic depression currently underway. We hope to initiate a discussion centred on questions such as: How long the depression is likely to last, and what social and political consequences can we anticipate? What are the possible consequences of the economic policies already underway…
They redirect popular anger about inequality into violent rage against minorities – Bernie Sanders
But the struggle we are facing today is not just economic. Across the globe, the movement toward oligarchy runs parallel to the growth of authoritarian regimes – like Putin in Russia, Xi in China, Mohamed Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Viktor Orbán in Hungry among…
the Government must restrict imports and invest more in the local economy – AHILAN KADIRGAMAR
“We need to urgently redirect the economy towards strengthening local production, and reverse the direction of trade and financial liberalization. The Government is finally taking measures to restrict imports. The Government also seems to have realised, even at this late stage, that it is the flight of capital to Western financial centres that has hammered…