Tourism industry battered and bruised

The leisure industry although suffering immensely during the 2007/ 2008 winter season managed to pick up slowly after many a promotional campaign, but the recent spate of attacks on civilian targets have made all winter season predictions somewhat gloomy.

Adding insult to injury, the scheduled SAARC Summit too has dealt a severe blow to city hoteliers.

As Sri Lanka prepares to host the regional summit in Colombo under a tight security blanket, city hotels have been issued directives banning the holding of banquets and weddings during the summit period.

Lowest ebb

As hoteliers struggle to survive with business reaching the lowest ebb in many years, the ban by defence authorities against the holding of banquets and wedding  functions during the weeklong summit scheduled to commence in late July  has come as a rude shock to the hoteliers who were awaiting some sort of a turn around in the industry with eager expectation.

The instructions to the hospitality industry within the Colombo city are clear.  These hotels are not to accept any new bookings and are to cancel prior wedding and banquet bookings between July 29 and August 5. Needless to say, such cancellations are bound to cause severe  repercussions in the long term. 

The  situation is compounded by the fact that Colombo is considered unsafe following LTTE aerial bombings last year, the temporary closure of the airport for night traffic and the series of bomb attacks on civilians in the city as well as in the suburbs.

Those in the hospitality industry stress that unless peace is ushered soon, not only the leisure industry but also the country's ailing economy would hit rock bottom very soon.

With the continuous decline in the number of tourist arrivals not only the city hotels but also the resorts located in popular tourist destinations face serious issues. Apart from the direct stakeholders the indirect stakeholders - tour guides, drivers, hotel support staff, food suppliers and entertainers now face an uncertain future.

No immediate hope

According to Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) Renton de Alwis there is no immediate hope for the industry to bounce back until the country's ground situation improves. (See box for his comments)

According to some leading professionals in the leisure industry, Sri Lanka has become a mere buyers' market as the hoteliers are compelled to sell their rooms at much lower rates than earlier.

"Considering the present situation we have had to be flexible with the tour operators. Otherwise we can't sell our rooms. This is now a buyers' market, not a sellers' market,"  Managing Director, Unawatuna Beach Resort,  Vinodh de Silva said.     

Consequently most resort hotels have commenced  laying  off staff, which is expected to have a cascading effect. "As a remedy to cut down our expenditure we have been compelled to lay off certain categories of staff, de Silva  said."

Meanwhile according to Vice President, Tourist Hotels' Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), Srilal Miththapala, the pulling out of CONDOR and LTU - the main airlines from Germany that flew in many leisure seekers to the country -  with effect from May 2008, has badly affected the industry. "They suspended operations from last month for the first time. It will badly impact on the industry.

Travel advisories

"Meanwhile since Anuradhapura, Yala and Udawalawe - three main tourist attractions are still listed as 'do not travel' locations in most travel advisories, the hotels in those areas have been badly affected," said Miththapala.

Since the service charges too have dropped, hotel staff are facing untold difficulties.  According to Director/ GM, Eden Resort and Spa, Tilak Selviah the service charges have declined from Rs.20, 000 to a mere Rs.4,000.

"This is a 75% drop of extra earning and since the months ahead too seem to be not good hotel staff are plagued by financial difficulties," Selviah told The Sunday Leader.

Meanwhile, according to THASL statistics, the number of tourist arrivals from January to end April 2008 show a clear drop when compared to the same period the previous year.

"Since the beginning of January, a decline was indicated. But in March, there was an 8.6% increase, possibly due to a special Iranian group that visited the country. But once again, there was a 10% drop in April," Miththapala added.

Aerial attack on Katunayake

However, he said a slight increase was observed in May  compared to the previous year. "Possibly the drop in arrivals in May 2007 would have been due to the aerial attack on the Katunayake air base in April followed by the temporary closure of the airport for night traffic," Miththapala opined.

According to statistics, since 1967 the occupancy rates have been similar to a roller coaster ride and during the Cease Fire Agreement period (2002- 2004), they showed a sharp increase in arrivals and in particular, during 2004, the occupancy rate reached the highest (60%) since 1967.

Statistics also show that with the resumption of war in 2005, the number of foreign guest nights in Colombo city hotels sharply declined and what is worse; even business travellers dropped in numbers, according to available data.

Further, foreign guest nights along the southern coast, hill country, northern coast, eastern coast and the ancient cities too have dipped since 2004. "Even the total arrivals from January to April 2008 have recorded a 1.4% drop compared to the same period last year. Although arrivals from the UK, Russia, Middle East, Germany, France have seen a slight increase,  Indian arrivals have dropped by a marked 13.8%. In total, the number of arrivals for 2008 till end April was 165,263 compared to the previous year's 167,674," a top hotel source noted. 

'Beach Feast in Hikkaduwa'

However, according to Srilal Miththapala, although the situation is bleak at the moment,  the up coming 'Beach Feast in Hikkaduwa' is expected to draw more tourists - locals and foreigners  alike.

"The mega beach carnival organised by the SLTB in Hikkaduwa from July 30 - August 3  is to seize Colombo's tourist traffic during the SAARC Summit - something the south can benefit from. Hence it would not be all doom and gloom at least from July 30 - August 3 for the southern hoteliers. All classes of hotels will benefit from this mega event," added Miththapala.

Meanwhile the suppliers of perishables to the hotels in the southern coastal belt told The Sunday Leader that their income too had dropped drastically due to lack of tourists.

"Earlier, we earned more than Rs.150, 000 per month. Now it has reduced to Rs.15, 000 or some times even less," suppliers said.

Most of these suppliers are in dire financial straits since some hotels have not settled their bills for the last two months. "We cannot insist that they pay us as they too are undergoing severe hardships," they said.

According to the Airport Taxi Drivers' Association and Tourist Guide Association sources, their  fate too is the same. They are also going thorough a lean period. "No tourists to the country means, no jobs for us," they chorused. And so it seems that the hospitality industry is seriously doomed as Sri Lanka's economy takes a serious nose-dive.

Getting ready for the PC polls

By Nirmala Kannangara and Arthur Wamanan

Despite strong opposition against staggered elections being held, the government on June 9 dissolved the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils prematurely.

The two councils that had more than one year to go before the end of their terms, was dissolved hurriedly one month after the ill famous Eastern Provincial Council elections where the government became victorious. The victory came amidst allegations of rigging reported from almost all the polling stations while ballot boxes were stuffed by the ruling party politicos with the entire state machinery and paramilitary armed groups being put to use.

Meanwhile the main opposition last week claimed that more than Rs. 1000 million is expected to be spent on the elections in the two provinces and charged that if all the provincial council elections were held on the same day the country could have saved billions of rupees.

"Although the country's economy has reached rock bottom the rulers still spend public money unnecessarily. It is the common man who would have to undergo hardships and not the politicians. If the Mahinda Rajapakse administration was worried about the country's dire economic  situation then it would not hold staggered elections. But it is now clear that their main objective is political survival and not the people," UNP Anuradhapura District MP, P. Harrison said.

FR applications

The opposition also called for the appointment of the Constitutional Council and the independent commissions to decide whether there was a need for elections just now.

The JVP had filed four separate fundamental right applications in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 17 against the dissolution of the two provincial councils and it is also learnt that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) too has decided to seek legal action against the premature dissolutions.

"What was the need for the government to dissolve the two provincial councils in a rush? If the government really wanted to check the people's pulse then they could have gone for a general election rather than going for staggered provincial council elections," charged Harrison.

However Provincial Councils Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon told The Sunday Leader that the dissolution was constitutional and that the decision was taken by the two respective governors on the request of the two chief ministers.

"If the governor is pleased with the reason given by the chief minister then he is constitutionally empowered to dissolve the council. Although the opposition claims that the dissolution was premature the governor does not need to consult the opposition to take the final decision as claimed by the opposition parties," added Tennakoon.         

The term of the North Central Provincial Council  was due to end on August 10, 2009 while the term of the Sabaragamuwa PC was due to end on August 8, next year.

Lack of majority

At the time of the dissolution the ruling party had 13 members in the NCPC and the opposition had 20 while in the Sabaragamuwa PC the ruling UPFA had 19 members while the opposition had 25. The lack of a majority for the government was of course due to the coalition between the UPFA and the JVP ending and the Marxists crossing over to the opposition. However there was no move to defeat the administrations, with the majority opposition informing the two governors of this position in writing.

According to the UNP although the government claims that it had to dissolve the two councils as they did not have a majority in the councils the main opposition queries as to whether any resolution that was tabled by the ruling party was obstructed by the opposition in the two councils.

"The UNP would wish to find out whether there were any instances that the ruling party could not pass any resolution due to them being a minority in the council?" queried Harrison.

Meanwhile Chief Minister, North Central Province, Berty Premalal Dissanayake when contacted by The Sunday Leader said that the decision to dissolve the NCPC was taken by the governor. Justifying the decision Dissanayake further said that such a decision had to be taken since there were administrative issues when passing resolutions.

Dissanayake said that there were many reasons for the council to be dissolved other than the fact that the government was not having the majority in the council.

Several problems

"There were several administrative problems. The councillors did not allow us to pass any resolutions. They created several problems for us," he said. Meanwhile Chief Minister Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council, Maheepala Herath told The Sunday Leader that he had to request the governor to dissolve the council as the opposition parties did not allow the council to discharge it duties.

"There were numerous occasions that the collective opposition obstructed the council's smooth functioning. As a result the ruling members were deprived of discharging their duties. There were numerous occasions when the ruling members had to undergo hardships as a result of the opposition members' non cooperation with council work," added Herath.

However the UNP last week claimed that since the Sabaragamuwa PC received unconditional support from the opposition the Chief Minister had once said that there was no need to make any request for the dissolution of the council.

Dissolution premature

"Just a couple of days before the dissolution, Chief Minister Maheepala Herath said that since the opposition had never opposed any decisions of the ruling party there was no necessity to ask for the dissolution of the council. If that was so then what was the sudden reason for him to change his mind. The real reason was not the CM's request for a dissolution but President Mahinda Rajapakse's directive," Harrison further stated.   

However according to the NCPC provincial councilors the government's decision to hold staggered elections in the country is likely to result in several repercussions. "Staggered elections to the two PCs are being held to make it easy for the government to use its entire machinery to rig the elections. The cost of holding these elections would also be exorbitant. We would never be able to have a free and fair election under the Rajapakse administration," they asserted.

"A perfect example is the recently concluded PC election in the east, where the government was able to use its maximum power to win the polls. One should also not forget that the TMVP, which contested under the UPFA banner, was accused of election rigging in many parts of the east.

The next provincial council polls would also yield the same results if the government repeats what it did in the east, they charged.

 Seeks action against Sri Lankan government officials

US lawyer lands in Toronto
on Sri Lankan mission

Saying he's not a lobbyist for the Tamil Tigers, US Attorney Bruce Fein is in Toronto on a mission to bring three high-ranking Sri Lankan officials to face US justice.

The Washington Times columnist, a functionary in the Ronald Reagan administration, also seeks to get the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam off his country's list of terrorist groups and for Tamils around the world to vote on creating a Tamil state in Sri Lanka.

Curiously, neither Fein nor Justice for Tamils, the group who sent him here, will offer any opinion on whether the separatist LTTE or the World Tamil Movement (branded an LTTE offshoot this week) should stay banned in Canada,

"Every state or government has its different laws," Fein said in his Radisson Hotel room off Victoria Park Avenue this week. "I'm not a Canadian lawyer and I'm not talking about what Canadian law is."

But Fein is asking Canadians for money, last night at the Radisson and twice (tonight from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and tomorrow from 4 to 9 p.m.) at the Canada Kanthaswamy Kovil Hall on Birchmount Road.

The donations, he said, are to cover legal fees and the cost of gathering evidence against two brothers of current Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse (one a US citizen) and that nation's army chief, Sarath Fonseka, who Tamils for Justice claim are responsible for "daily atrocities" in Sri Lanka.

Fein said the three have homes and other assets in the US and US Congressional hearings and court cases can make their alleged crimes known to the world.

He admitted he doesn't expect the Sri Lankan government, which recently called Fein "a carrion bird of LTTE terrorism" paid to run a misinformation campaign, to hand them over.

"That doesn't mean you don't go forward anyway," Fein said, adding his group will gladly trade criminal indictments of the three to secure a UN-monitored referendum on a Tamil state in Sri Lanka's north and east.

Meanwhile, Fein is arguing the LTTE should be dropped from the banned list because it doesn't meet important criteria: Tamil Tigers have not killed Americans or threatened US security, he said.

Asked why it's so important for the US, to de-list the LTTE, to which he said he has no connection, Fein said, "it will encourage the Rajapakses to think they would not prevail with a military solution," in the island's lengthy civil war.

"Our goal as a moral matter is trying to bring the bloodshed to an end as quickly as possible."

And though maintaining he has no view on whether Tamils should vote for statehood in territories the LTTE claims, Fein said the US Declaration of Independence says people under a despotic government "have a right or duty to revolt."

Tamils in Sri Lanka, he argued, are "way past that" standard after decades of bombardment of civilians and internal displacement under the island's Sinhalese-dominated government.

As it happens, Fein is trying to impeach US President George Bush (a man he voted for twice) because he objects to Bush's use of executive powers to defeat legislation, for example, or to transfer prisoners to secret overseas jails.

"The institution of the executive branch is becoming despotic," he said.

- Mike Adler, insidetoronto.com

Bruce Fein - Stay Home!

I smiled with amusement when I read Bruce Fein's article that appeared on June 8 on TamilNet. Just in case you don't know who he is, he's the media mercenary from Washington D.C., a former US Deputy Attorney General, who is paid an alleged $100,000 per month to campaign for an independent Tamil State in Sri Lanka.

His retainer fees come from "Tamils for Justice," which I and many others believe is a transparent front organisation funded by the LTTE. Fein, of course, says that it's not, but it would be interesting to investigate where the money comes from that supports TFJ - as well as Fein's website organisation dedicated to the same cause called the "Bruce Fein Project."

The latter is a clever name, don't you think? Sounds like something for science class or a '70s rock band. What these two organisations promote, however, is far from benign. They plot and promote separation, death, and the destruction of a sovereign nation - yours!

Applause

I applaud the Canadian federal authorities who followed the "money trail" and yesterday published the following in "Public Safety Canada," an official government website:

"The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, today announced that the Government of Canada has listed the World Tamil Movement (WTM) as a terrorist group, effective June 13, 2008, pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada. The decision to list the WTM meets the legal threshold set out in the Criminal Code...which requires the existence of reasonable grounds to believe that the entity has knowingly participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity or is knowingly acting on behalf of, at the direction, or in association with such an entity.

"The listing of the WTM is meant to support the Tamil Community of Canada, which consists of law-abiding and hard working people who have left their country of origin to build a better life for themselves and their families in Canada. The government is taking this step to help ensure that Canadians, including the Tamil community are protected from the activities of this organisation.

"The WTM, created in 1986, is the leading front organisation for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Canada. The various offices of the WTM in Canada transfer funds to bank accounts in Sri Lanka meant for the LTTE. The leadership of the WTM acts at the direction of leaders of the LTTE. WTM representatives canvas areas in Canada with large Tamil populations demanding large donations on behalf of the LTTE. Refusals to contribute often lead to threats and intimidation."

Dead serious

Does WTM smell anything like TFJ - or "Bruce Fein Project"? These terrorists don't fool around. They are dead serious, and as we all know, they won't stop with a well-planned public relations smear campaign. They are dedicated and determined (though brainwashed and misguided), and they will continue to use their suicide bombers and international funding schemes to create chaos and disruption in order to get their prized Eelam.

In Bruce Fein's recent article cited from TamilNet above he says, "I readily accept your invitation to visit Sri Lanka to talk with Tamils in confidence in Colombo and elsewhere to obtain direct and candid testimony of Tamil sentiments toward a unitary state as opposed to separate Tamil statehood."

Please, Government of Sri Lanka, do not buy this load of you know what. This dangerous man really wants to go to Sri Lanka and privately interview LTTE plants and supporters so he can drum up false allegations about government human rights abuses. I see clearly now that this former prosecutor's end-game is to file charges with the international courts so he can drag the Defence Minister and the Army General to trial.

This, of course, would just about finish off any hopes for a peaceful, unified Sri Lanka. Once the government and these two officials are dragged through the mud, international peacekeepers would soon flood into Sri Lanka and start doing things their way. Then the LTTE media machine would kick into full gear, and because the government unfortunately doesn't have adequate representation in the world press, international opinion would be so swayed in the LTTE's favour that the barn door would swing wide open.

Eelam

After the peacekeepers descend, the next step would be for the establishment of the desired Tamil state of Eelam, which I feel is only a stepping stone for the LTTE to take over the whole island. Please don't think this is as far-fetched as it may sound. It would be a relatively easy goal to realise if international public opinion was so far stacked against the government that it was forced to capitulate - very much like recent situations we have witnessed in other parts of the world. Yep, they could wind up with the whole enchilada.

Fein sarcastically comments, "You insinuate that Tamils in Sri Lanka exult in living with Sinhalese in a unitary state. If you have the courage of your purported convictions, then you should have no fear of a free and fair referendum on Tamil statehood. If you are correct, a commanding or simple majority would vote to retain a unitary Sri Lankan state. TFJ is not demanding a Tamil state, but only making that an option in a free and fair referendum."

Such a referendum makes absolutely no sense when you consider the fact that only 12% of the Sri Lankan population is Tamil, and most Tamil people are living peaceably with the Sinhalese majority.

Bound to fail

If the referendum proposed by Fein is a national referendum, then even if the entire 12% voted for the independent state it would surely fail. After all, what is the incentive for the Sinhalese people? Why would they vote for allowing a minority group to carve out a piece of its homeland for a separate country? The peacefully co-habiting Tamils certainly won't go for it either. What would be their incentive? Do you think they'd want to give up everything they have, go up north, and live in the abject poverty of an isolated fourth-world dictatorship?

The whole idea is insane, and there are absolutely no good reasons whatsoever to go through the costly and painful exercise of conducting such a pointless national referendum.

Can you imagine the local advertising and media campaign for such an electoral event? Talk about picking the scabs off of fresh wounds!

The idea does make sense, however, if it is used by the LTTE and its supporters as a tool for getting the international media and political spotlight focused on such a referendum, which will give ample opportunity for the terrorists and their front organisations to air their litany of ancient grievances - no holds barred. Welcome, peacekeepers!

So please, Government of Sri Lanka, do not give this pretentious Beltway prostitute the time of day. Letting him into your country is like inviting in the Trojan Horse. No good can come of this soulless man's cold, calculated visit, which I have no doubt will be turned into something nasty for inflicting irreparable harm upon you, the good people of Sri Lanka. Beware!

- Stephen Long (Courtesy www.defence.lk)