Blinken in Mideast to discuss Syrian transition

AQABA, Jordan — Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Jordan on Thursday as part of a Middle East trip to promote an “inclusive, Syrian-led” government transition in Damascus and meet with leaders of neighboring nations to try to get them on board, the State Department said.

“All of these conversations are looking to bring all the countries in the region together, as well as beyond the region, in a unified approach to supporting the Syrian people as they emerge from this dictatorship,” Blinken told reporters Thursday after meeting with Jordan’s king and foreign minister. Later Thursday, he also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Blinken previously said the U.S. government would “recognize and fully support” the new Syrian government if the transition process is inclusive and transparent.

The rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the assault that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime and was formed as an offshoot of al-Qaeda, faces the challenges of consolidating control over a patchwork of rebel forces and demonstrating political inclusivity.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday to discuss Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Netanyahu’s office said.

A former Egyptian official with knowledge of the discussions, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, said Hamas gave Israel a list of the names of living hostages in Gaza, in a goodwill gesture meant to pave the way to a ceasefire deal. The official said the group was willing to abandon previous demands that Israeli forces withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip.

Here’s what else to know:

• Israel reiterated Thursday that it is expanding airstrikes in Syria and advancing forces across the border to protect Israeli security. France has called on Israel to withdraw its troops from the buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory.
• The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that its strikes in Syria have destroyed more than 90 percent of the country’s aerial defense systems. Earlier this week, Israel said it had destroyed most of Syria’s navy.
• The political affairs department of HTS said Thursday that it would “cooperate directly with the U.S. administration to complete the search for the American citizens who were disappeared by the former Assad regime.” It said the search for long-missing U.S. freelance journalist Austin Tice is “ongoing.”
• 1.1 million people, most of them women and children, have been displaced in Syria since Nov. 27, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, also known as OCHA.
• U.S.-backed Kurdish forces said early Wednesday that they agreed to withdraw from the northern Syrian city of Manbij following a U.S. mediation effort, after fighting Turkish-backed forces for control of the city. The Washington Post could not immediately verify the claims.⍐

Can AKD bring big time rice millers to book

 Can AKD bring big time rice millers to book

11 December 2024 12:10 am Daily Mirror LK

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his newly elected parliamentary team are being hit by a barrage of criticism more reminiscent of the firing of multi-barrel weapons which operated during the time of the LTTE-led war which lasted nearly 30 years. The political opposition has rounded on government for its inability to control major rice millers manipulating prices. 

In Parliament, charges of government’s failure to control the interplay between supply and demand of rice, have raised a cacophony of sound. Meanwhile ordinary citizens are literally pushed to the brink of starvation given the skyrocketing prices. 

All the past regimes too, have caved in to the politically powerful rice millers. It is said the group controls the purchase and distribution from paddy to the finished product -the grain of rice- which is the staple food of Lankan families. It must be mentioned however, their reach is limited to those areas of the country, South of the northern province.  

Thanks to the long-drawn-out war in the North and the East of the country, the rice cartel dons were unable to extend their reach into those areas. A different system existed there. After all, even during the war, the people of the North and the East were able to manage on their own agricultural production plus the limited government supplies which reached the population there. 

Outside areas in the North and the East, it is the big-time rice millers who control the marketing of paddy and rice. They also provide loans to small and tenant farmers. Many of these unfortunates are unable to provide collateral needed to avail themselves of government or bank loans.  

At harvest time, it is the agents of big-time millers, many of whom operate smaller mills who set prices -mostly well below market rates. Interest repayments on loans leave the primary producer -the farmer- with a pittance on which he is barely able to survive. 

The three to four large rice mill owners purchase stocks of rice from smaller millers at prices also set by them (large millers) and the grain is uploaded to their go-downs and thence to whole sale, retail and market chains at prices set by the self-same large rice millers. 

They have now become a law unto themselves. To make matters worse, the ‘Weather Gods’ too have not been kind to the new government. Since elections the country has been hit by adverse weather, which devastated crops, pauperized the agricultural community and led to steep increases in the selling price of rice. 

According to the president, the government has provided soft loans for bulk purchase of rice. But the benefit has not been passed on to the consumer. As mentioned earlier, government’s benevolence has not percolated to the primary producer either.  

Scurrilous musings charge government’s inability to act against the mafia, stems from the government having accepted campaign donations. This is a common practice in democracies the world over. But was not expected of the new leaders who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform at the recently concluded elections. 

If it is so, thereby hangs a tale. Perhaps believing quiet charm would solve the problem, the president appealed to rice millers to release stocks and ease shortages in the market. It did not work.  

And so it was, two days ago President AKD called for the rice market to be regulated. He brought in a system of price controls. Before the ink on his diktat had dried a hue and cry had started with numerous interests crying foul. 

Price controls in our country have seldom worked. Older Lankans remember the term of Ms. Sirimavo Bandaranaike in horror. In the not too distant past President Chandrika Kumaratunge attempted to use price control to bring down the cost of bread. That move only worsened the situation. 

But at a time when particular cartels control vital sections of the food chain, control supply and dictate prices it leaves both producers and consumers at the mercy of a few who thrive off the flesh and blood of the average citizen. 

Then it becomes necessary to level the field. This is the government’s duty. The government’s role is to ensure that no player can manipulate the market at the expense of the majority.⍐  

‘A lot of positive news’ after President’s visit to India: Deputy Foreign Minister

Sri Lanka to receive ‘a lot of positive news’ after President’s visit to India: Deputy Foreign Minister

By Sanath Nanayakkare The Island 13-12-2024

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra recently told Ada Derana TV that Sri Lanka would receive a lot of positive news after President Anura Kumara Disanayake’s visit to India.He made this comment during a talk show with TV anchor Mahieash Johnney in a zoom call.

Mahieash asked the deputy foreign minister several questions related to the President’s visit to India from December 15 to 17, which is set to take place following an invitation from the Indian government.

The following are some comments made by the deputy foreign minister during the programme.

Indian Deputy High Commissioner Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, 
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra 

“As a country, we do believe in maintaining good bilateral relations. Sri Lanka is an island nation. Our country is situated in an important geographical location on the world map. So, as a country, we do need a very strong foreign relations and we should have a very strong diplomatic service as well. Based on that, what we believe is that the NPP government should have a very strong foreign policy and we are committed to having one. In the past, as a country, we did not have a similar thing because most of the rulers were making use of the foreign diplomatic service as well as the foreign policy which was supposed to be nation-oriented or country-oriented, but were not practiced in that way.”

“As the NPP-led government, we are committed to a very strong foreign policy. We have to understand one thing. India being a very close neighbour, India being a very strong neighbour and India being a country that helped Sri Lanka during the crisis time without any conditions, we have to maintain a very close relationship with India. And, we have to understand that our country should have a very strong, non-aligned foreign policy, so as a country, we need to understand that it is an art of balancing. We have to consider India’s national security which is their utmost concern. We should focus on that also because being a very strong country, they focus on that. But also, we have to have a very strong country oriented and people-oriented foreign policy, so the NPP government is committed to having such a policy, so there is nothing to worry about that.”

When asked about Sri Lanka’s wish to join BRICS as a means of economic development and about US president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose 100% tax on BRICS’s exports into his country if they created a new currency to replace the US dollar, Hemachandra said said,” Our application to join BRICS has not been rejected. It is still under consideration. As a country, we have joined the new development bank – which is the banking body of BRICS, so the process is still on the move.

And about the statement made by the U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, we don’t know how practical it is for them to impose such tariff. But then again, we have to understand that BRICS was something inevitable because it was something which couldn’t be rejected , so there was a need for BRICS and that was one reason BRICS kept on growing. So, we have not opted out, we have not changed our decision on BRICS. The particular application is still on the move, and we are looking forward to positive updates from them.”

When asked whether new trade agreements, concessions etc. could emerge from the meetings President Anura Kumara Disanayake will be having during his Indian tour, the deputy minister replied,”

“The President’s first official overseas visit will be to India. We believe that we also should continue that tradition as India being a very close and strong neighbour. We believe that we should start from that point. We should understand that there are many pending agreements to be signed. There are still many agreements which are being discussed. I cannot comment on everything here, but then, we are discussing with India regarding many things that were discussed in the past.

So, it is a new administration. It is a new government. So, we should take decisions based on the people’s and the country’s benefit. So, there are many things that are being reviewed. And many things are being discussed. So, the country will have a lot of positive news after the President’s visit to India. We believe that we should maintain very strong diplomatic relations with India, and they are also committed to help us. This morning also I met the Deputy High Commissioner of India who made a courtesy call at my office. We discussed many things. But we have to mention that the decisions will be purely based on the country’s benefit and the people’s mandate,” the deputy foreign minister said.

During his visit, President Dissanayake is expected to meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other senior officials. Discussions are expected to focus on strengthening ties and exploring cooperation across multiple sectors.⍐