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| Sri Lanka (Republic of Sri Lanka) |
A state located in the Indian Ocean on the island of the same name at the southern tip of the South Asian subcontinent. Territory - 65.6 thousand sq. km. Population - about 15 million (1979); Sinhalese - almost 12 million, Tamils - about 2 million, as well as Moors - descendants of Arabs (0.8 million), burghers - descendants of the Dutch, Malays and Veddas - the indigenous population of the island. The capital is Colombo (600 thousand inhabitants.). The state language is Sinhalese, English is widely used. The main religion is Buddhism (Sinhalese), in Tamil regions - Hinduism, part of the population professes Islam (Moors, Malays) and Christianity (burghers and a small part of Tamils). In the V-II centuries. BC NS. The island of Ceylon was inhabited by immigrants from India - Sinhalese and Tamils. Taking advantage of feudal civil strife, Portugal in the 16th century. captured the coastal part of the island, in the middle of the 17th century. it was supplanted by Holland, from the end of the XVIII century. Ceylon became a British colony. The struggle of the Ceylon people for independence forced the metropolis to grant the country the status of dominion on 4II 1948. However, the country for a long period remained in economic and, to a certain extent, political dependence on Great Britain. 22.V 1972 Ceylon, according to the first constitution of the country, was proclaimed the Republic of Sri Lanka. All forms of political dependence on Great Britain were eliminated. Since Sri Lanka gained political independence, the two largest political parties, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (PSLP) and the United National Party (UNP), representing respectively the left and right wings of the Sri Lankan national bourgeoisie, have alternated in government. In 1948-56. the UNP was in power. The 1956 parliamentary elections were won by the PSLL, headed by the prominent progressive leader Solomon Bandaranaike. The PSSL government took a course towards strengthening the country's independence, proclaimed a policy of non-alignment, and established diplomatic relations with the USSR(1957) and other socialist countries (1957-58). Some sectors of the economy were nationalized, including foreign trade. oil companies. However, at the end of 1964, opposition forces achieved the dissolution of parliament. In 1965, the UNP government came to power again. In the economic field, it has implemented measures to encourage the private sector. In May 1970, the United Front (UF) won the next elections as part of the PSSL, the Socialist (SPSL) and the Communist (KPSL) parties of Sri Lanka. The PF government adopted a republican constitution, implemented a partial agrarian reform, but failed to resolve a number of acute economic problems. Parliamentary elections in July 1977 brought the United National Party (UNP) a new victory. The government of the UNP has stepped up the activity of private entrepreneurship in all spheres of the economy, is pursuing a policy of attracting foreign capital to the economy, in particular by creating the so-called. "Free trade zones". On major international issues, Sri Lanka adheres to the position of non-alignment, together with a number of developing countries, it is fighting for the establishment of a more equitable international economic order. Sri Lanka is a republic. The highest body of state power is parliament. The executive power is concentrated in the hands of the president (from 4.II 1978 - J.R. Jayawardene). In accordance with the new constitution, which entered into force in September 1978, the country became known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. United National Party (UNP) - founded in 1946, since July 1977 - the ruling party. Represents the interests of the large Sri Lankan bourgeoisie associated with foreign capital and landowners. Leader - J.R. Jayawardene. Sri Lanka Freedom Party (PSSL) - founded in 1951. Expresses the interests of various layers of the Sinhalese national bourgeoisie. PSLL President - Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The Tamil United Liberation Front (TOFO) is the party of the Tamil national bourgeoisie. The Socialist Party (SPSL) - founded in 1935, unites the petty-bourgeois strata of the city, part of the workers and the intelligentsia. The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (KPSL) was founded in 1943. The KPSL program (1975) adopted a course for the development of the country along a non-capitalist path towards socialism. In March 1980, the XI Congress of the KPSL took place, which defined the tasks of the party at the present stage. Chairman - S. A. Vikremasinghe. General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KPSL - KP Silva. Since May 1977, the United Left Front (OLF) has been operating as part of the communist and socialist parties, democratic trade union and youth organizations. The goal of the OLF is to fight for radical socio-economic transformations in the interests of the broad masses of the working people. Leading trade union associations: Federation of Trade Unions of Sri Lanka (KPSL), Ceylon Federation of Labor (SPSL). Recently, trade union associations of the ruling party have been created - the National Union of Workers, the Lankan National Union of Plantation Workers, as well as the Joint Committee of Trade Union Organizations, influenced by the communist and socialist parties. The country has a developed youth movement: all large parties have their own youth organizations. Sri Lanka is an agrarian country with a developed plantation economy. Agriculture employs about 70% of the independent population, it provides 75% of all foreign exchange earnings. Major crops: tea, rubber and coconut. In 1978, 200 thousand tons of tea, 160 thousand tons of rubber and about 2.2 billion pieces were collected. coconuts. Rice is the main food crop (harvest in 1978 - 1.2 million tons). There is not enough grain even in the most productive years (in 1978, 180 thousand tons of rice were imported). In general, the level of production in agriculture in 1978 exceeded the level of 1977 by 5.7%. Industrial production increased in 1978 by almost 6% over the previous year. Industry accounts for about 20% of GDP. The largest enterprises (about 30) are concentrated in the public sector, which accounts for about half of all industrial production. products. The backbone of the public sector is the metallurgical and tire factories and the mill combine built with the assistance of the USSR , as well as the textile combine, created in cooperation with the GDR, and the woodworking plant, built with the assistance of the People's Republic of Poland. There are enterprises for the primary processing of tea, rubber and coconut. The private sector concentrates mainly on the production of food and consumer goods. Tourism is developed (over 100 thousand foreign tourists visit the country annually), which is a significant source of income. The length of railways is 1,750 km, of highways - about 25 thousand km. The largest port is Colombo. The monetary unit is the rupee of Sri Lanka. 100 rupees = 4.18 rubles. (February 1980). Main export items: tea, rubber, precious stones, coconut products; imports: fuel, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, industrial products. Main trading partners: Great Britain, USA, Japan, Germany, India, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia.
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