Proud to be a Sri Lankan
LTTE terrorism held sway in Sri
Lanka for almost three decades, inflicting untold misery on people of
all communities and faiths. Massive bomb explosions in public places
were the order of the day and people lived in abject fear.
The Tigers not only destroyed places of national importance and
cities but also crippled the economy. Apart from the bomb explosions
which killed and maimed tens of thousands of civilians and disrupted
day-to-day life, the Tigers also attacked key economic institutions such
as the Kolonnawa oil installations, Colombo Port, Galle Port, Katunayake
International Airport (BIA), Kelanitissa Thermal Power station and the
Central Bank headquarters in Fort.
In launching the terror attacks on strategically important economic
locations, the LTTE was all out to shatter the economy and succeeded to
a great extent as Sri Lanka's economy was in a near state of collapse
when President Mahinda Rajapaksa first took office on November 18, 2005.
The President's prime target was to liberate the country from the
clutches of LTTE terror and his unmatched political leadership inspired
the Security Forces to militarily crush the LTTE, the world's most
ruthless terrorist outfit at one time.
President Rajapaksa told the nation after the Security Forces crushed
the LTTE at the Nandikadal lagoon on May 18, 2009, that he vowed to win
the "economic war" as well. His sole aim was to take the economy to
greater heights to make Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia.
He boosted the economy and launched several development programs
simultaneously while the Security Forces were engaged in massive
operations in the East. After the Security Forces liberated the Eastern
Province, he launched massive infrastructure development and
resettlement projects in the East while the Security Forces were moved
to the North for the final battle against terrorism. This helped Sri
Lanka to bounce back much earlier than it had anticipated.
No other country, after such a bitter battlefield experience, had
bounced back as soon as Sri Lanka. When Sri Lanka celebrated its fifth
anniversary of eradicating LTTE terror a few months ago, the country had
made steady progress in its forward march to become the Wonder of Asia.
The official Gross Reserves of the Central Bank crossed the USD nine
billion mark on August 8, for the first time in history. Sri Lanka's
gross official reserves by end May 2014 amounted to USD 8.8 billion,
equivalent to 5.9 months of imports, while total foreign assets which
include foreign assets of the banking sector amounted to USD 10.2
billion. Sri Lanka aims to increase its gross reserves to US$ 10 billion
by end 2014.
The official Gross Reserves reaching USD nine billion is a sign of
Sri Lanka's economic stability.
The Sri Lankan Rupee will not be under downward pressure in the near
future due to a policy aimed at building foreign reserves and a gradual
appreciation in the currency is expected. This was the first time that
Sri Lanka had reached this target, thanks to the Government's sound
economic policies.
The increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows, foreign
exchange earnings and exchange inflows in the Corporate and Government
sector had paved the way for the Gross Official Reserves of the Central
Bank to reach this unprecedented level. The country's economic growth
has been one of the fastest among Asia's developing economies in recent
years.
Moreover, the short-term outlook seems broadly positive as Sri Lanka
is well positioned to benefit from the global economic recovery and
particularly stronger growth compared to advanced economies. The
country's economy rebounded strongly in 2013 with an annual real GDP
growth of 7.3 percent while inflation remained at a single digit for the
fifth consecutive year.
The financial sector remained resilient, facilitating the investment
and financial needs to support the growth momentum of the economy.
The Central Bank has bought more than USD one billion this year to
prevent a sharp gain in the currency amid strong inflows from
remittances, project-related loans, and investment in government
securities in the absence of strong growth in imports and private sector
credit growth.
The International Monetary Fund on July 30 called upon the Central
Bank to limit its intervention in the foreign exchange market saying it
may create a perception that the rupee was implicitly fixed and it could
lead market participants and firms to hold un-hedged foreign exchange
risk on their balance sheets.
The Sri Lankan Rupee gained 0.5 percent this year. It closed at
131.60 to the dollar on Friday and Central Bank sources said that it
would have gained 125 had it not absorbed the US currency. Although the
Central Bank had allowed flexibility in the foreign exchange market, it
has always intervened to ease volatility.
The Central Bank's heavy dollar buying in the currency market has
pushed Government debt down sharply due to higher liquidity in the
absence of strong importer demand for the US currency. Dollar buying had
boosted the foreign currency reserves to a record USD nine billion -
sufficient for six months of imports.
None of these goals could have been achieved if Sri Lanka had not
crushed LTTE terror. All earlier Executive Presidents tried to crush the
LTTE but were unsuccessful due to international pressure and poor
military strategies.
President Rajapaksa's perspicacity helped Sri Lanka to beat all
overwhelming odds and vanquish the LTTE leadership - the dream of 21
million people who had suffered in silence. The President had an able
military leader in Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose
first-hand battlefield experience paid rich dividends to formulate
successful strategies.
The two of them changed the nation's destiny - from a country plagued
by terrorism and an economy in the doldrums to a peaceful country with a
booming economy. This was something which none had dreamt of even in
their wildest dreams. More importantly, no other country had crushed
terrorism, let alone strengthen its economy.
Sri Lanka has no doubt set new world standards not only in global
human rescue missions and resettlement of displaced persons but also by
bouncing back in next to no time with massive development projects and
an economic boom.
These gigantic achievements had been made possible due to President
Rajapaksa's far-sightedness.
Today, even those domiciled abroad and had sought citizenship in
their adopted countries are yearning to get dual citizenship saying that
they are 'Proud to be Sri Lankans'. The nation is beholden to the
President who marked Sri Lanka's position prominently on the world map.
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