"Sri Lanka’s debt problems result directly from borrowing to finance its war on Tamils, and to occupy the territory of Tamil Eelam. Therefore, to put itself in the proper financial position to repay its debts to you as bondholders, Sri Lanka must first agree to a political solution towards Eelam Tamils, cease its military occupation, and slash its military spending. 

Eelam Tamils include a successful, business-oriented diaspora in Europe, North America, Australia, and throughout Southeast Asia. We’re willing to help Sri Lanka repay its financial burden, if Sri Lanka commits itself in writing to negotiate an amicable political separation between Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam, a formal agreement subject to binding arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration."

சிறிலங்கா உலக நாடுகளிடம் ஒப்பந்த பத்திரத்தில் கடனாகப் பெற்ற பெரும்தொகைப் பணத்தை தமிழின அழிப்புக்கு முழுமையாக பயன்படுத்தியது. இதன் விளைவே சிறிலங்காவின் இன்றைய பொருளாதார நெருக்கடிக்கு மிக முக்கிய காரணியாகவும் அமைந்துள்ளது. இலங்கைத்தீவின் இப்பாரிய பொருளாதார வீழ்ச்சிக்கு சிங்கள பௌத்த இன வெறி கொண்ட சிறிலங்கா அரசுகளே முழுக்காரணம். தமிழர்கள் அல்ல. தமிழர்கள் சேமிப்பு பழக்கமும் கடுமையான உழைப்பும் கொண்ட சமூகம். தமிழர்களின் சுயநிர்ணய உரிமைகளுக்கும், தமிழீழ நாட்டுக்கும் விடுதலை கொடுக்கப்படும் பட்சத்தில், புலம் பெயர் தமிழர்கள் ஒருங்கிணைந்து கடனை முழுமையாக செலுத்த உதவுவர். சிறிலங்காவுக்கு கடன் கொடுத்தோரை தமிழரின் தாயகமான தமிழீழம் விடுதலை பெற அழுத்தம் கொடுகுமாறும் வேண்டுகிறோம்.

Request to private holders of Sri Lankan sovereign bonds: Tamil human rights defenders and private bondholders share an interest in the Sri Lankan sovereign debt restructuring process

According to The Economist: ‘on April 12th…the South Asian island nation’s finance ministry said in a statement that it would suspend payments on all foreign debt until it had come to an agreement with creditors on how to restructure the loans.’ Later, the article states: ‘Sri Lanka owes around half of its $35bn in external debt to private bondholders in international credit markets.’ Those figures are confirmed by the Sri Lankan government itself.

In any future restructuring negotiations, there is no reason for you, the private bondholders, to accept a haircut. Please hold out for full repayment. This is better for your bottom line, and it’s good for Tamil Nation. 

Here’s why we advocate holding out. The Tamil Nation, with a long and proud entrepreneurial history, wants no part of Sri Lanka’s self-inflicted misfortune. Sri Lanka incurred this debt to commit genocide against Eelam Tamils. Instead, we’d like the chance to start with a clean financial slate, in a nation where we govern ourselves. We consider ourselves citizens of the occupied state of Tamil Eelam, in the North-East of the island. 

From its beginnings, Sri Lanka has failed to be a responsible financial steward. Since independence under the name ‘Ceylon’ in 1948, the country has resisted every proposed political model of ethnic harmony. Instead, it has embedded ethnic scapegoating and war against Tamils (its Tamil-speaking populations) into its laws and politics. In turn, Sri Lanka’s ethnocratic politics have impoverished the state. 

According to World Bank figures, compiled by the Macrotrends business intelligence website, Sri Lanka's military spending on the war against Tamils (1983-2009), was 14.92 billion USD. The cost of military spending, during its military occupation of Tamil Eelam, was 17.28 billion USD (2010-2019 figures). The total is 32.2 billion USD spent on Sri Lanka’s military from 1983-2019. This presents a compelling symmetry with the figure of 35.1 billion USD that Sri Lanka owes the international community—including to you, as bondholders.

A glance at Sri Lanka’s history clearly shows: its political and financial instability are rooted in its ethnically discriminatory political structure. As long as it continues to occupy Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan ‘good governance’ indicators bode poorly for the tradable value of its sovereign bonds. The politics of ethnic targeting lead directly to a state and society that is perpetually, cyclically, unstable. 

What’s true for us, is also true for you as foreign investors: a government that violates our human rights will also violate your rights as owners of Sri Lanka’s sovereign bonds. With such a fickle Sri Lankan policy environment, you’ll never know when another default or credit event is on the horizon.

Sri Lanka’s debt problems result directly from borrowing to finance its war on Tamils, and to occupy the territory of Tamil Eelam. Therefore, to put itself in the proper financial position to repay its debts to you as bondholders, Sri Lanka must first agree to a political solution towards Eelam Tamils, cease its military occupation, and slash its military spending. 

Eelam Tamils include a successful, business-oriented diaspora in Europe, North America, Australia, and throughout Southeast Asia. We’re willing to help Sri Lanka repay its financial burden, if Sri Lanka commits itself in writing to negotiate an amicable political separation between Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam, a formal agreement subject to binding arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Please hold out until Sri Lanka does so. 

Don’t throw good money after bad in Sri Lanka—which seems to slip deeper into geopolitically risky debt, no matter which government is in power. We encourage you to invest in an independent and prosperous Tamil Eelam. We’re part of a nation that, in spite of a brutal genocide and occupation, has also learned a great deal from the mistakes of its neighbour about how to behave as a responsible and prudent destination for foreign investment.

Let’s set a precedent where private bondholders and distressed-debt investors can promote human rights, and help enforce global environmental, social, and governance standards. You deserve full repayment of the debts owed to you; and we deserve freedom and dignity. 

Let’s work together on this.

Undersigned urges the Sri Lanka bondholders to hold out for full payment and pressure Sri Lanka to commit itself in writing to negotiate an amicable political separation between Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam.

References:

1. Tamil Eelam Infrastructure: https://archive.org/details/tamil-eelam-infrastructure

2. The Economist, ‘Sri Lanka Says it will Stop Servicing its Foreign Debt’ (16 April 2022), available at: https://www.economist.com/asia/sri-lanka-says-it-will-stop-servicing-its-foreign-debt/21808728 

3. Sri Lanka Department of External Resources, ‘Foreign Debt Summary’ (30 Apr 2021) http://www.erd.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=308&lang=en 

4. ‘Endless War: The Destroyed Land, Life, and Identity of the Tamil People in Sri Lanka’ (7 March 2021) available at https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/tamils-sri-lanka-endless-war 

5. Macrotrends compiles data from the World Bank; however, the current World Bank website only reaches back to 2000 and ends in 2019, and uses local currency units (Sri Lankan rupees) which make it difficult to compare year-over-year figures prior to 2000. Macrotrends figures are consistent in USD, from 1960 to 2019. See: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/LKA/sri-lanka/military-spending-defense-budget 

6. Bankrupt Sri Lanka begs diaspora to send cash https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/bankrupt-sri-lanka-begs-diaspora-to-send-cash/articleshow/90824366.cms

7. Open letter to private holders of Sri Lankan sovereign bonds https://fgto.org/news/press-releases/open-letter-to-private-holders-of-sri-lankan-sovereign-bonds/