Canadian MP, Gary Anandasangaree, called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that any potential bailout for Sri Lanka should "impose severe reductions on it's out-of-control military spending" to help solve the island's escalating economic crisis.
In a letter to Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director at the IMF, Anandasangaree highlighted that any funding given to Sri Lanka "will invariably be spent to augment support for the armed forces" who stand credibly stand of agregious war crimes.
Last week, cash-strapped Sri Lanka announced that it would work with the IMF in order to solve its deepening economic crisis. Although Sri Lanka has been struggling to find the dollars to pay for fuel and other essential goods, they have expanded their military budget.
"Sri Lanka should be held to account for its unnecessary spending on military and defence when there is no clear and present threat to the security of the island," Anandasangaree wrote.
"At this critical juncture, the IMF has a responsibility to ensure that the current financial instability in Sri Lanka is not used to leverage uspport for military spending which would inevitably make IMF party to the continued atrocities of the Government of Sri Lanka and its military," he added.
Sri Lanka's military budget accounts for 15% of total government expenditure for 2022, a 14% increase over the allocation in 2021. Despite the armed conflict ending over a decade ago, the military has failed to demilitarise the North-East. Instead, the military's inflated presence has intruded into civilian life, including running farms, canteens and schools.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, wrote in her latest report that there has been a "further drift towards militarisation". Bachelet also expressed that the "concentration of civilian positions in the hands of military officials, affects the democratic governance and the long-term character of the state."
After initially resisting assistance from the IMF, Sri Lanka said it would work with the organisation "to find a way to pay off our annual loan instalments, sovereign bonds." Sri Lanka, who need to repay $4 billion worth of debt this year, secured a $1 billion credit line from India last week and have requested a $1 billion loan and a $1.5 billion credit line from China.
Read the full letter here.
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