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On May 13, 2019, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s economic performance under the program supported by an extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). 

Completion of this review, upon the granting of waivers of nonobservance for the end‑December 2018 performance criteria on the primary balance and net official international reserves, makes available SDR 118.5 million (about US$ 164.1 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 833.73 million (about US$ 1.155 billion). The Executive Board also approved an extension of the arrangement by one additional year, until June 2, 2020, with rephasing of remaining disbursements.

Sri Lanka’s three-year extended arrangement was approved on June 3, 2016, in the amount of about SDR 1.1 billion (US$1.5 billion, or 185 percent of quota in the IMF at the time of approval of the arrangement).

Following the Executive Board’s discussion of the review, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the Board, issued the following statement:

“We join Executive Directors in extending our condolences to the government and people of Sri Lanka for the loss of life and suffering caused by the recent terror attacks.

“The Sri Lankan authorities have successfully brought the program back on track, despite important setbacks, by advancing fiscal consolidation through a well-targeted 2019 budget, rebuilding reserves, while maintaining a prudent monetary policy under greater exchange rate flexibility, and reviving structural reforms. Sustaining policy discipline remains critical to strengthen resilience, given still sizable public debt and low external buffers, and support strong and inclusive growth.

“Sustained revenue mobilization is needed to place public debt on a downward path, while making space for critical public investment and an expansion of the social safety net under well-defined selection criteria. Strengthening the selection and appraisal process of large-scale investment projects and assessing their fiscal affordability is critical, given Sri Lanka’s high public debt. Stronger fiscal rules and a medium-term debt management strategy will support medium-term fiscal consolidation and debt reduction efforts.

“The authorities should renew their efforts to strengthen SOE governance and transparency, including by advancing a restructuring plan for SriLankan Airlines and completing energy pricing reforms, building on important progress with the implementation of the fuel pricing formula.

“The Central Bank of Sri Lanka should continue to pursue a prudent and data-dependent monetary policy. The amendments to the central bank law will be a major step in the transition to flexible inflation targeting. Efforts to build reserves should be sustained, under greater exchange rate flexibility, to protect the economy against shocks. Harmonizing regulation and supervision of financial institutions, strengthening the macroprudential policy framework, and enhancing the crisis-preparedness toolkit will help further strengthen financial sector stability.

“Continued implementation of structural reforms is essential to support strong and inclusive growth. Efforts should focus on liberalizing trade, improving the business environment and promoting investment, strengthening governance, encouraging female and youth labor force participation, enhancing social protection, and improving crisis preparedness to natural disasters.”

In the wake of political allegations against him in the aftermath of April 21 bombings, ACMC leader and Minister of Industry and Commerce , Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Cooperative Development, Skills Development & Vocational Training, Rishad Bathiudeen, has called for a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to clear his name. 

"The people who make allegations against me knowingly or unknowingly safeguard the real terrorists," Minister Bathiudeen said addressing the Parliament on last Friday.

In his address he said, “Various people made allegations against me saying I ran away from Sri Lanka when I was recently for official work.

Some people and media made these allegations. They made the allegations without checking the facts about this tour. With some other Ministers in Oman, we discussed about multi-billion rupee project for Sri Lanka  with Omani government officials. After I returned from Oman, they have stopped the allegations. “

"They also aimed other allegations against me and these allegations were so dangerous and insulting I had question back from certain media institutions as to why they are identifying myself with terrorists” said Minister Bathiudeen and added: "These allegations too were similar to the allegations that I ran away from Sri Lanka."

“These allegations had no basis, nor were they supported by facts. S.B. Dissanayake holding a press conference lied in this regard. I have taken legal action against him. Since I did not accept his invitation to join their government during the 52 day coup and he is taking revenge by playing cheap politics," The Minister said.

"However I want to stress that I have given my assets and liabilities statements since the day I entered politics. Anyone can inspect these statements. I am also ready face any investigation. Today, I call Hon. Speaker to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to probe on allegations made against me. Then we can find out who is lying and who is not. The people who make allegations against me knowingly or unknowingly safeguard the real terrorists and fundamentalists. Their actions result in myself highlighted while the attention on the real terrorists shifts," Bathiudeen said.

A Sri Lankan man was killed despite a nationwide curfew imposed Monday night after anti-Muslim riots spread to three districts north of the capital in a violent backlash against Easter suicide bombings.

The 45-year-old Muslim man died shortly after admission to a hospital in Puttalam district during the rioting which began Sunday in the area, a police official told AFP.

“Mobs had attacked him with sharp weapons at his carpentry workshop,” the official said. “This is the first death from the riots.”

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the curfew was declared to prevent unidentified groups destabilising the country by orchestrating communal violence.

“At several places in the North-Western Province these groups created trouble, damaged property,” Wickremesinghe said in a televised address to the nation.

“Police and security forces have contained the situation, but these (unidentified) groups are still trying to create trouble.”

Wickremesinghe said the unrest would hinder investigations into the April 21 attacks that targeted three Christian churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people and wounding nearly 500.

In a separate TV address, Police Chief Chandana Wickramaratne warned police will take stern action against rioters, and constables have been issued orders to use maximum force.

Residents in the North-Western Province were ordered to stay indoors after Christian-led mobs torched dozens of Muslim-owned shops, vehicles and mosques on Sunday and Monday.

The attacks came during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Later the curfew was extended to cover the entire country of 21 million people.

Police said there were sporadic incidents of mobs throwing stones and torching shops, motorcycles and cars owned by Muslims. In the town of Hettipola, at least three shops were torched.

In the town of Minuwangoda, just north of Colombo, a Muslim-owned hotel and a mosque were attacked by stone-hurling mobs armed with sticks.

“Several shops have been attacked,” a senior police officer told AFP. “When mobs tried to attack mosques, we fired in the air and used tear gas to disperse them.”

The officer added that “there are people trying to make political capital out of this situation.”

PM warns against rumours

Earlier Monday, authorities banned Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

Platforms were similarly blocked after the Easter attacks.

The prime minister urged the public not to believe rumours and warned that civil unrest will stretch the already thinly deployed security forces.

“I appeal to all citizens to remain calm and not be swayed by false information,” Wickremesinghe said on Twitter, which was not targeted in the social media blockade.

A state of emergency has been in place since the bombings -- which the Islamic State group claims to have helped -- and security forces have been given sweeping powers to detain suspects.

The latest wave of unrest started when a mob targeted Muslim-owned shops in the town of Chilaw, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Colombo on Sunday in anger at a Facebook post by a shopkeeper.

“Don’t laugh more, 1 day u will cry,” he wrote, which local Christians took to be a warning of an impending attack.

The group smashed the man’s shop and vandalised a nearby mosque prompting security forces to fire in the air to disperse the crowd, but the violence spread.

There had already been clashes last week between Christians and Muslims in Negombo, the town north of Colombo that was targeted by the suicide attackers.

The main body of Islamic clerics, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), said there was increased suspicion of Muslims after the Easter Sunday killings.

“We call upon the members of the Muslim communities to be more patient and guard your actions and avoid unnecessary postings or hosting on social media,” the ACJU said.

Internet service providers said they have been instructed by the telecommunications regulator to block access to Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram.

Schools reopen

The latest unrest came as Catholic churches resumed public Sunday masses for the first time since the bombings.

Dozens of people have been detained since the Easter attacks, and with security heightened students are only allowed into schools after checks for explosives.

But attendance has been extremely low, according to education authorities.
Muslims make up around 10 percent of Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka’s population and Christians about 7.6 percent.

President Maithripala Sirisena has left for China on a three day visit to attend the “Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations.

"Sirisena left the Bandaranaike International Airport at 7.35 a.m. on flight UL - 302. It was reported that the delegation included 27 people.

It will be interesting to see whether Sirisena has left the island after appointing an acting Minister of Defence. Sirisena is due to return on Thursday.

Sri Lanka is not a Sinhala Buddhist country but a country that belongs to all those who have taken Sri Lanka as their motherland, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said yesterday in Matara.

Samaraweera pointed out that although the country’s majority is comprised of Sinhala Buddhists, this does not mean we can impose our opinions on others simply because we are the majority.

“There are people belonging to Christian, Catholic, Hindu, Islamic and other religions in Sri Lanka. All of them have the same rights which the Sinhala Buddhists have,” he said.

“We should remember this. Most of us have gone abroad or have relatives abroad. If you go to Italy or the UK and if you become a citizen of one of these countries, there are no second-class citizens. The one who became a citizen today and the one became a citizen even thousands of years ago have the same rights,” he said.

Even I could become a cardboard hero and say that this is a Sinhala Buddhist country. However, Sri Lanka is not a Sinhala Buddhist country but a country belonging to all who have taken Sri Lanka as their motherland,” he said.

Sri Lanka is temporarily blocking some social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, after attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses in the worst unrest since Easter bombings by Islamist militants.

Several dozen people have thrown stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores, and a man was beaten in the Christian-majority town of Chilaw on the west coast on Sunday in a dispute that started on Facebook.

Authorities said they arrested the author of a Facebook post, identified as 38-year-old Abdul Hameed Mohamed Hasmar, whose online comment "1 day u will cry" was interpreted by locals as threatening violence.

Later on Sunday and early on Monday, authorities arrested a group of men in the nearby Kurunegala district for allegedly attacking Muslim-owned businesses, a police source told Reuters.

Military spokesman Sumith Atapattu said people in the mostly Buddhist district then demanded the arrested men's release.

"To control the situation, a police curfew was imposed during the night," Atapattu said.

Several mosques and Muslim homes were damaged in the attack in the district, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka said, but the precise extent of damage and the number of arrests was not immediately clear.

The flare-up is the worst violence in the three weeks since Sri Lankan Islamist bombers blew themselves up in four hotels and three churches, killing more than 250 people.

Since then, Muslim groups say they have received dozens of complaints about people being harassed.

Other communities say they fear the government, which failed to act on successive warnings about looming Islamist attacks, has not caught all potential militants.

Sri Lanka has used temporary bans on social media in a bid to deter misinformation and rumours.

"Social media blocked again as a temporary measure to maintain peace in the country," Nalaka Kaluwewa, director general of the government information department, told Reuters.

On Twitter, Sri Lanka's leading mobile phone operator Dialog said it had also received instructions to block the apps Viber, IMO, Snapchat, Instagram and Youtube until further notice.

A clash between Muslims and Christians erupted a week ago in Negombo after a traffic dispute.

The government also imposed a ban on social media after that clash.

The Presidential Secretariat has not been able to issue the relevant gazette notification to ban the National Thawheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI) of Sri Lanka, despite the ban being imposed on the instructions of President Maithripala Sirisena.

President Sirisena, using the power vested upon him, under Emergency Regulations No. 01 of 2019, took steps to ban NTJ and JMI of Sri Lanka on April 27, the two organisations linked to the Easter Sunday attack as disclosed by State Intelligence. However, 16 days have elapsed since President Sirisena announcement and a gazette is yet to be issued banning the two extremist organisations.

A top official at the Presidential Secretariat said that the President’s Office was still waiting for the Attorney General’s Department to send the drafted gazette. 

“We have sent all necessary documents to the AG’s department and we understand that a few changes are to be made. I think they will send the Gazette document soon and we will be able to issue the gazette early this week,” he said.

Contrary to those comments, a high level official at the AG’s department denied that the gazette draft was still in their possession.

Catholics in the Sri Lankan cities of Colombo and Negombo, where churches were targeted by suicide bombers on Easter Sunday, have held their first Sunday morning masses since the attacks that killed more than 250 people.

Police stood guard at every entrance to St Lucia’s cathedral in Colombo, one of the country’s largest churches, which was full of worshippers, including many who lost relatives in the bombings on 21 April claimed by Islamic State.

Those attending underwent full-body searches and were banned from bringing bags, and the road outside was barricaded and guarded by soldiers. Troops wearing masks and camouflage clothing patrolled the surrounding area on motorbikes.

Soldiers stand guard at St Lucia’s cathedral. Photograph: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty 

Joshua Berney, eight, found it too much, and left partway through the mass. His aunt, an uncle and three cousins – one of whom was his best friend – were killed at St Anthony’s church in Colombo.

His mother, BJ, said: “We still haven’t found his body, so it’s difficult. My son finds it tough.”

At Mother of Seven Sorrows Mater Dolorosa church, two streets away from St Anthony’s, devotees trickled in until the building was full. Wall-mounted fans whirred at capacity to beat back the intense humidity.

Fr Fernando Marcelliar, who led the service, said: “The parishioners were really upset that we didn’t have a mass the last two weeks.” He held a private mass last Sunday, which about 50 people heard about and attended.

“Others found out later that there was a mass and they couldn’t come, and they were really upset – they even scolded me,” Marcelliar said.
A priest gives an emotional address to worshippers at St Theresa’s church. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters

More than a dozen children in the congregation were having counselling, he said. “One mother told me yesterday that her son of eight years gets excited even by the slightest noise and doesn’t sleep well at night,” Marcelliar said.

Stephan Fernando, 16, was apprehensive as he entered the mass. He was serving as an altar boy at St Anthony’s when a suicide bomber detonated a device inside. “I feel better now that I’ve received communion,” he said after the service.

His brother, Eugine, who was also serving the altar that Sunday, had decided to stay at home and had been avoiding public places.

In tears, their mother, Sharmila, said: “My children are OK, but [the victims] were also someone’s children, who were loved and cared for.

“I saw how my sons’ shirts were splattered with the flesh and blood of others when they were coming out. I didn’t see the church, but I could understand how bad the damage was.”

The masses in the two cities – services elsewhere in the country had restarted earlier – were small steps towards the resumption of normal life after the attacks that ended a decade of relative peace following the government’s brutal victory in the country’s 27-year civil war against Tamil militants.

Students at state-run schools resumed classes last week. Campuses were guarded by police, and parents asked to replace school bags with clear plastic sacks. Attendance remains low.

Catholic private schools, which have been shut since the attacks, are likely to reopen on Tuesday.

A heavy police and army presence is still visible in major cities and villages as security forces continue the hunt for accomplices of the terror cell that carried out the bombings.

The president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, told parliament most of the 150 people suspected to have been linked to the plot have died or been arrested. He said 56 had been arrested on suspicion of direct involvement in the plot, of which 12 were hardcore terrorists.

The precise involvement of Isis in the attacks is not clear. Sirisena said police had so far discovered 13 safe-houses, 41 bank accounts and 19 vehicles and motorcycles belonging to the bombers. Those who aided the terrorists had been paid cash rewards of up to 2 million rupees (£8,700), he added.

Police are continuing to issue specific warnings of possible attacks in Colombo.

Update: A police curfew has been imposed with immediate effect until 4 a.m. tomorrow in the Rasnayakapura and Kobeigane areas as well, Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said.

Police curfew was imposed in the police divisions of Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya, Hettipola and Dummalasuriya.

Curfew will start from 2 p.m. today (13) and will remain in effect till 4 a.m. tomorrow (14), the Police Media Unit said.

Police spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunesekara said that temporary curfew was declared to ensure a peaceful situation in the areas.

It is reported that President Maithripala Sirisena had intervened to provide scrap copper to a factory owned by Inshaf Ahmed who blew himself up at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel on Easter Sunday.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Industrial Development Board (IDB) on 06 June 2018, the then Director General of Public Relations to the President, Shantha Bandara requests the IDB Chairman to provide 500 tonnes of scrap copper at concessionary rates to the company owned by Inshaf Ahmed.

The letter, printed on a Presidential Secretariat letterhead, also notes that the company brings in a large amount of foreign exchange to the country and that they have requested help from the President to expand their operations.

The Industrial Development Board is an institution falling under the purview of the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.
Bathiudeen had been subjected to suspicion in both mainstream and social media as the person who had provided scrap metal/copper to the Easter Sunday attackers. 

However, this letter proves that it was under Sirisena’s instructions that a factory owned by one of the suicide bombers got 500 tonnes of scrap copper.

Police believe the factory was used to build the suicide vests using explosive triacetone triperoxide.

On 22 April, nine employees of the factory were arrested by the Wellampitiya Police on April 22 and was remanded until May 6, after being produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate. However, the Court had subsequently released the nine suspects on bail.

Upon the signing of the agreement by Dr. Amrith Rohan Perera, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and Mr. Lang Yabou, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of The Gambia to the United Nations on 10th May 2019 in New York, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of Gambia decided to establish Diplomatic Relations between the two countries with effect from 10th May 2019.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the establishment of diplomatic ties between Sri Lanka and Gambia would enhance the existing friendly relations and cooperation in the political, socio-economic and cultural fields for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said that they are working closely with the Sri Lankan government to ensure the safety of all refugees and asylum seekers that have been forced to flee their temporary residences following the Easter Sunday attacks.

The agency is concerned both at the impact this has had on Sri Lankans themselves and for more than a thousand refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

"UNHCR is working closely with the government, UN and other partners, and local communities to ensure all refugees and asylum-seekers are safe and looked after. We are actively assisting the displaced while discussions are ongoing with the authorities to identify alternative accommodation until refugees are able to return to their residences. We have deployed additional staff to support the government’s efforts," a statement from UN refugee agency said.

Currently, 1,060 refugees and asylum seekers, including women and children, are staying in local mosques, police stations and community centres, having sought refuge for fear of possible reprisals and threats. Many fled persecution in their home countries due to their religion or political beliefs.

UNHCR is providing food, medicine, and shelter materials, while conducting assessments of additional needs. The authorities and local groups have been supportive and helpful, but these sites are not meant to accommodate large numbers of people over time. Families with small children are living without proper shelter, sanitation and access to health care. Quick responses are needed.

According to UNHCR, there are nearly 1,700 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Sri Lanka. Hundreds still live peacefully in their local communities. 

"Sri Lanka has long offered protection to refugees of diverse religions and nationalities, and UNHCR stands in support of the Government and people of Sri Lanka in these trying times," the statement said.