Sri Lanka not benefitted by colonialism - Tyronne Fernando

COLOMBO: Colonialism had not overall benefitted countries such as Sri Lanka and India, said Presidential Senior Advisor and Former Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando.

Fernando was addressing the political activists of all political parties in the Southern Province at a workshop on public policy organised by the National Democratic Institute at the Mount Lavinia Hotel last Saturday.

The colonial powers were more motivated by their own interests than ours, Fernando said.

He said the growth rate in British India from 1900 to 1947 had averaged 1%. Today it was nearly 9%.

"Sri Lanka was importing 50% of our rice requirements at independence. The Mahinda Chintanaya had put us on the right track of basically developing our own resources", he said.

Answering a question whether Sri Lanka should spend money and time on cricket, Fernando a former Cricket Board President said our cricketing talent was a national resource which had taken us to the top of the world in that field and demonstrated to the world that Sinhalese and Tamils could play together for Sri Lanka.