IMF
Put
Off Sri Lanka
Military
Budget
Question, Then
Ignored, Mali
&
Romania
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 15 --
The
International
Monetary Fund
lent
into Sri
Lanka's
military
build-up,
then when
challenged tried to
downplay it.
Two
weeks ago,
Inner City
Press asked
the IMF to
comment on the
Rajapaksa
government's
new 2013
budget, which
reportedly has
$2.2 billion
for
defense /
"urban
development,"
a 26% increase
over 2012.
Inner City
Press asked,
"Given past
IMF claims
defense
spending
was not
rising, what
is IMF comment
now?"
The
IMF did not
give a
substantive
response, but
a spokesperson
replied,
"On Sri Lanka,
the 2013
budget is
expected to be
finalized and
presented in
early November
(we understand
November 8).
We have not
yet seen the
2013 budget,
and thus would
not be in a
position to
comment at
this time."
The
spokesperson,
asking to be
identified as
such, told
Inner City
Press
"it would be
the best if
you could
follow up on
this later
this
month."
On November 15
the IMF
announced a
"Press
Briefing by
William
Murray, Deputy
Spokesman,
External
Relations,
IMF, at 9:30
a.m.,
Washington
time."
And
so at this IMF
briefing,
after the Sri
Lanka budget
was released,
Inner City
Press asked
again: "On Sri
Lanka, now
that the
budget
is out: given
past IMF
claims defense
spending was
not rising,
what
is IMF comment
now?"
In
light of news
all over the
world this
week,
Inner City
Press also
asked, "in
light of this
week's UN
report on its
failures in
Sri
Lanka
during the
killings in
2009, does the
IMF as a
member of the
UN
system have
any review of
or comment on
its
performance
with regard
to the
killings,
accountability
and defense
spending in
the country?"
But
during the
IMF's
embargoed
briefing,
alongside
question after
question on
Greece, an
online
question was
taken, why
can't the IMF
make
concessionary
loans to
Greece? The
answer given
was that
Greece
is a
relatively
affluent
country, not
eligible for
concessionary
loans.
It
was said that
the IMF has a
relationship
with Portugal,
but only
monitors banks
in Spain. Then
the new Deputy
Spokesman said
it was
over, there
were no more
questions.
What
about the
deferred Sri
Lanka
questions?
What about the
new questions
on Mali and
Romania which
Inner City
Press
submitted,
through the
IMF
Media Center
and by email?
On
Mali,
did
IMF's $18
million
agreement on a
Rapid Credit
Facility
include any
consideration
of the
involvement in
the government
of
those
participating
in the coup
d'etat earlier
this year?
Would any
funds be used
for military
activity in
northern Mali?
On
Romania,
what is IMF's
response to Economy
Minister
Traicu's
criticism
that IMF
doesn't
understand
that
appointing
private sector
managers for
public
companies
takes time?
None
of these
questions were
answered.
Inner City
Press e-mailed
again,
asking for an
explanation
before
deadline /
embargo time.
None was
received. This
is Lagarde's
new IMF? Watch
this site.
, 
