PARLIAMENT

Debate on Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act :

‘Opposition does not appreciate tax exemptions’

Sandasen Marasinghe and Irangika Range

Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody presided, when Parliament met at 1 pm yesterday. After the presentation of papers and oral questions, the House took up the order under the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act for debate.

Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena:

These new regulations on the increase of stamp duty on affidavits, insurance deeds and liquor licenses have been presented to the House during the budget debate too.

Ajith P. Perera (UNP):

The Finance Minister has to be present in the House and speak on stamp duty revision. Not even the Deputy Finance Minister is to be seen. These regulations have been brought with the intention of increasing stamp duties. The stamp duty on affidavits had been increased from Rs. 25 to Rs. 250. The common man obtains affidavits for bank purposes or to get his or her child admitted to a school. So how could the common man bear up these burdens?

The stamp duty on insurance deeds have been increased by Rs. 1,000. Notary fees too have been increased.

Deputy Chairman of Committees Murugesu Chandrakumar takes the chair.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake (DNA):

The sum charged for an affidavit has been increased by ten fold. How could an ordinary man undergo these burdens? Today the government imposes limitless taxes on ordinary people.

The Treasury is today empty. It is run on bank overdrafts. The entire economy has collapsed and people face severe hardships.

Dayasiri Jayasekara (UNP):

The increase in stamp duties and on affidavits, would badly affect the common man. The people use affidavits, especially in court procedures. So how can poor people living in rural areas tolerate these price hikes? For instance, the government today, generates its revenue by imposing taxes on ordinary people. It had not given any relief for their well being.

Sajith Premadasa (UNP):

Today the government is suppressing and pressurising the people. It has imposed a number of taxes, placing huge burdens on them. The ‘Deyata Kirula’ programme is totally a failure. Today the Oyamaduwa has become a thick jungle. No new houses have been constructed and no relief given to the people of Oyamaduwa through last year’s ‘Deyata Kirula’ programme.

Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardene:

Under these amendments, some sections have been exempted from taxes. Some have even been revised. But the Opposition does not appreciate tax exemptions. The opposition speakers are full of hatred, over the government’s development programmes. We know how much time it would take to build a harbour and port. None speak of the income coming from these development projects.

We know how the UNP was ready to sell the country’s resources to foreign countries.

The Bill was passed with amendments.

House Condoles

death of Chavez

DNA Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake: moving an adjournment motion, stated that Parliament should condole the demise of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Parliament resolves that the House should condole the demise of Venezulan President Hugo Charveiz.

Hugo Charvez was not the result of a mere accidental incident. He was a creation of the leftist environment in his country. The 1990s witnessed a bad luck to the leftist countries. With the collapse of the Soviet Union affecting the balance of the political world, the power was polarized around USA. Then federalism and separatism spread throughout the world. The Latin Amarican region too was a victim of this wave created in USA.

The USA was successful in creating a Military Junta or dictatorship in those countries. The inflation in Argentina increased by 8,000 percent and Brazil by 5,000 percent.

Venezuela was special in this region. During this period, Venezuela’s economy went bankrupt and democracy breached. In 1992, Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Charvez stood against the government and was taken into custody by a government led by the then President Carlos Andres Pevez Rodriguez. An impeachment was moved against Carlos. He was imprisoned in 1996 and was convicted of corruption.

In June and July 1996, the IMF granted two loans consisting of US$ 1.4 billion. The IMF imposed conditions on Venezuela. Later on, it was revealed that President Carlos had saved his money in American banks. This situation helped Hugo Charvez, who wanted to save the people in his country from the sorry plight.

However, he was elected in February 1990 as the President with 53 percent votes. He later formulated a constitution required by the people. It was passed by the people at a referendum.

Later on, he was re-elected under the provisions of the new Constitution.

The UNP Parliament prohibited talking about the US President George Bush when we spoke of the operations conducted by them against Iraq. So it is no wonder why they fear to talk of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Charvez.

His vision was that property and wealth of the country must to be divided evenly among the people.

National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara:

I second the motion moved by MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake with pleasure. The Venezuelan people were all for Charvez. They said that they accepted the vision of Charvez. Their amendments could change the negative aspects of capitalism. He held 17 elections and referendums. He won 16 of them. He took 55 percent of the 80 votes of the entire country. No European ruler could even think of such a victory. He permitted all his opponents to contest impartially.

He never used guns against them. The Venezuelan assets that were exploited by the imperialists were gradually absorbed into the assets of people by President Charvez.

The change which took place in Venezuela was not superficial, but one that was made with public participation. The Latin American region is uniting against the imperialists. Though Venezuela President Chavez in no more, the Venezuela voted for Sri Lanka standing against imperialism at Geneva yesterday.

Sri Ranga (UNP):

Late Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, was a formidable leader who rose from among the oppressed people to give leadership against imperialism. In his term, he implemented several pro-democratic measures, constitutionally, mandated the alleviation of poverty and the allocation of sufficient resources for education and health. He impressed his audience with his wits, charm and business savvy.

High oil prices boosted the government revenue, and he used it to help the poor. He was a charismatic political leader, whose heart was in the right place in championing the interests of the poor and the weak.

Weerakumara Dissanayake: Late Venezuelan President Hug Chavez, showed the path to defeat barbarous imperialism by the people’s mandate. Venezuela is one of the countries situated at an arm’s length of the American imperialists. It is due to this very reason, that most of revolutions against American imperialism emerged from Latin American countries. Having been emboldened by the revolutions spread against Spanish Imperialism, the people in Latin American countries stood against American imperialism, providing a huge motivation to the masses in the world to rally against global imperialism.

US imperialism tried at every passing second to dominate Latin American countries, using new strategies. Due to the advanced nature of the strategies used by the imperialists, the Progressive Front too needed to create formidable leaders to face the challenges of the imperialists. Hugo Chavez was such a prominent leader who stood firmly against imperialism.

Senior Minister Athauda Seneviratna:

Although his death did not come as a surprise, it generated a feeling of an innumerable loss. A loss not only to the poor, marginalized and progressive people in Venezuela, but also for the toiling masses throughout the world. In the heyday of neo-liberalisem, he attacked it and went against it. When people were scared of the US and its aggression against the people in Iraq and Afghanistan, he single handedly challenged Washington. He was determined that he would not allow the US imperialists to redo Chile in Venezuela in the 21st Century.

Hazan Ali (UPFA):

Hugo Chavez was the President of Venezuela from 1999, until his death in 2013. The Chavez regime claimed huge successes in reducing poverty in Venezuela.

He lived a very modest life. Today, Venezuela has become a middle income earning level country. Hugo Chavez was behind this success. Venezuela is a close friend of Sri Lanka and has given strong support when needed.

A true son of Venezuela

A. H. M. Azwer (UPFA):

He was a charismatic political leader whose heart was in the right place in championing the interests of the poor, weak and marginalized. He introduced a radical programme of economic changes.

The rise of oil price contributed to his implementing this programme, that delivered huge improvements to the poor in Venezuela. Housing schemes, subsidized food programmes, new medical centers and a literacy programme, all organised through popular missions, made a huge impact on the life style of millions of people. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed his deepest condolence at the death of President Hugo Chavez, to the bereaved family and the people of Venezuela. President Rajapaksa in his condolence massage, stated that Hugo Chavez was a true son of Venezuela and as a leader, was deeply committed to the welfare and development of his country and a strong advocate for the developing world. He was a cordial friend of Sri Lanka and played a significant role in enhancing diplomatic ties between the two countries.

He stood firm against imperialism

Senior Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana:

Late Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, was a prominent leader who stood firmly against imperialism. He was a brave and formidable leader who arose from the oppressed to give leadership against imperialism. He became a new leader of a new world. He also envisioned that such a leader of Latin American region would lead not only Latin America, but also the entire world. He introduced a new constitution. He created a new kind of democracy and gave democracy a new meaning. His Bolivarian experiments had generated a glimmer of hope to the poor people in the world.

People of Venezuela were alleviated from poverty due to his radical programmes of economic change. Nearly half the population had regularly received cheap food supplies from the state. As a result, poverty had reduced significantly in the last 14 years of Chavez’s rule.

The living standards of the poor and marginalized, had increased.

Human Resources Senior Minister Dew Gunasekera

On behalf of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, I wish to associate myself with the sentiments expressed by members of both sides of the House on the death of President Hugo Chavez Frias of Venezuela.

Chavez representing 29 million Venezuela people within 14 years he was in power as President of Venezuela, blossomed into a charismatic leader of the Latin American continent and a much respected world leader at the time of his untimely death.

As a close friend of Sri Lanka, I consider it most fitting and appropriate that this House should record our appreciation of his role and contribution for the cause of anti-Imperialism, socialism, people’s sovereignty and human dignity.

He shook the world during the 14 years that he was in power as an anti-Imperialist fighter, who transformed the lives of 29 million Venezuelan people through political, economic, social and cultural changes. He propelled a political tidal wave in Latin America that elected a galaxy of Left, Pro-left and Centre-left regimes in the entire continent. Cuba was of course the source of ideology, knowledge experience and inspiration.

He emerged as President of Venezuela in 1998, on the horizon of the 21st century and at a time when the world balance of forces had decisively changed in favour of imperialism, neo-liberalism and uni-polarity with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US by this time had embarked on unilateralism as its foreign policy and preemption as its defense policy the Latin America had been identified as a continent of military coups, political assassinations, colonial plunder, invasions and incursions, unbridled exploitation, poverty misery for nearly three centuries.

It was a backyard of US hegemony. It was a laboratory where neo-liberalism was experimented rigidly and vigorously under the heels of military dictatorship. It was where Economic Milton Friedman’s theory of free markets was tired and tested. It was on the strength of this experiment that Margaret Thatcher made her infamous declaration that there was no alternative to neo-liberalism. Chavez was raised by his grandmother in a house with a mud floor in rural Venezuela and evoked passion among poor supporters who loved his charm common touch.

With the advent of Chavez to power in Venezuela, he reversed this trend through his radical economic and social policies and through the Bolivarian Revolution he propelled, he provided to the Latin American people, a viable alternative economic policy. He survived the military putsch engineered by US, as people walked into streets in his defence. During his 14 years of rule, Venezuela achieved a dramatic reduction of poverty and inequality. He put the country’s oil wealth at their service.

His vision, oratory, diplomatic skills for initiatives, his intellectual insight, cheerful disposition, charismatic glamour of his leadership, his spirit of internationalism and commitment for the cause of his people all earned him the love and admiration of the people, the world over.

As a member of the Sri Lankan delegation to the UN General Assembly I had the privilege and fortune to listen to this charismatic socialist leader’s emotional outburst at US President George Bush, at the UN General Assembly sessions in 2004 during the Iraq war. He said ‘the devil came here yesterday.

It smelled of sulphur till today”, referring to George W. Bush.

He under conditions of dictatorship started his political career in the early 1980s by founding a secret organization – the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement which was renamed ‘the Movement of the Fifth Republic’ which has now blossomed as the United Socialist Party, merging with other Left and radical groups, and supported by other Left forces from outside. Having languished in jail for two years and on his release two years later, he swept to power in the 1998 elections.

Chavez kept oil revenues within Latin America unlike Saudi Arabia which buys US Treasury Bills and other assets. Venezuela at one point withdrew $20 billion from the US Federal Reserve and since 2007 has aided other Latin American countries with $ 36 billion, the most of which has been repaid. In fact, this in effect supplanted the IMF and World Bank, weakening the US regional hegemony.

In 2011, to his credit the community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) came into being.

He promoted the International Humanitarian Fund in 2013 to provide assistance to social programmes without attacking the customary neo-liberal strings, as in the case of IMF. He gave life to the OPEC, causing de-dollarization of international oil sales. He paved the way for a multi-polar world, through his policy of national sovereignty and human dignity.

He diversified commercial and military relations to lessen dependency on the United States, demonstrating his spirit of internationalism

The Latin American unity that Simon Bolivar dream of was realized, to a greater degree, before the demise of Chavez.

Though he played the leading role in the transformation of the lives of his people, his real strength lay in the active involvement of the social movements and in the coalition of Left and radical forces. Last October, he won a new six year term and his death within five months of his magnificent victory is undoubtedly devastating for millions of his supporters and voters.

Bearing in mind, the support he gave Sri Lanka through international fora and agencies, let us pay our deep respect and honour to that great patriot and internationalist for what he stood, fought and gave his life.

We have no doubt that the incumbent Acting President Nicholas Maduro will lead the Venezuelans in defence of all what Chavez stood for.

The House was adjourned until 9.30 a.m. on April 9.