Clinton steps into US Treasury Shoes:IMF says Sri Lanka needs help
Daya Gamage – US National Correspondent Asian Tribune
Washington, D.C. 16 May (Asiantribune.com): In the heat of 
IMF loan the Fund’s Managing Director Dominique Strauss-KahnU.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declaration that the time was not yet ripe for Sri Lanka to get the $1.9 billion IMF loan the Fund’s Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Friday 15 May that Sri Lanka currently “faces a special situation” which warrants IMF help.
Clinton stepped into the shoes of U.S. Secretary of Treasury when she made the statement as IMF and IBRD are within the jurisdiction of the Treasury. It is the US Treasury that nominates the Executive Director to the IMF board to represent the United States. The State Department has nothing to do with these international lending institutes.
The secretary of state only has jurisdiction over foreign assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1967 mandated by the Congress.
Strauss-Kahn was reported as saying in news reports that the IMF was still having talks with Sri Lanka but he did not know when an agreement would be reached.
He said the lending agency was "trying to find a solution to the problem in the next few weeks."
There are 185 member countries in the IMF, and when a country joins the IMF, it is assigned an initial quota in the same range as the quotas of existing members that are broadly comparable in economic size and characteristics. The IMF uses a quota formula to guide the assessment of a member's relative position.
Quotas are denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the IMF's unit of account. The largest member of the IMF is the United States, with a quota of SDR 37.1 billion (about $58.2 billion).
The quota largely determines a member's voting power in IMF decisions. Each IMF member has 250 basic votes plus one additional vote for each SDR 100,000 of quota. Accordingly, the United States has 371,743 votes (16.77 percent of the total). With that the U.S. has some influence over IMF decisions but not sweeping powers.
- Asian Tribune
Comments
Why does Clinton needs to do
Why does Clinton needs to do treasury secretary's job? It is true that Clinton is Obama's chief diplomat but when it comes to IMF and World Bank it is the US Treasury Secretary who should make comments. Clinton has a bloated ego; she thnks she can do half of Obama's work and be the 'Chief Disburser" of the US rather than doing the job given to her - Chief Diplomat.
U.S. Secretary of State
U.S. Secretary of State Clinton knows, and thus Prez Obama knows, what it is going to take to make the GoSL make progress on the solution-front. Unless the international community tightens the screws, at least some of the Southern politicians will merrilly be willing to drag this matter on for another 60 years.Therfore, let us hope that the stance now taken by the international community will convince the GoSL that it is high time to make progress on the solution-front. Enough is enough.
Obama is going to have
Obama is going to have problems with clinton very soon.She does not know when to keep her mouth shut.
If one is seeking a loan, we
If one is seeking a loan, we need to abide by the rules of the body providing the loan. But that does not mean we will sell Sri Lanka to get a loan.
Sri Lanka is not the only country watching this development. There will be many small developing countries watching the actions in silence.
Sri Lanka is unnecessarily presured by USA to talk to a group of terrorists who are not prepared to talk.
This is the most hypocritical action displayed by USA.
How can Sri lanka come to settlement when LTTE is not willing to come for negotiations and the elected members of majority Tamil party TNA refused to even meet the President for the 5th consecutive time in this year.
Is this not the same thing as telling USA to immediately come to a settlement in Afganistan & Iraq? At least we are more realistic than the US Secretary Clinton. We do not make unrealistic demands.
unless Obama takes
unless Obama takes precautionary steps, Hillary will step in to his shoes too!
This is blatant misuse of
This is blatant misuse of power to bring political pressure on an institution which says SL deserves the IMF funding. US misuse of international institutions has not ceased with the departure of George w Bush.Pandering to pressure groups Clinton is sacrificing long term interest of the US punishing a friendly country. This is pushing SL to the fold of China.
When Pakistan fights the
When Pakistan fights the Taliban, they should be helped and even pushed to fight harder but when Sri Lanka fights the LTTE they (SL) should be punished.
When Pakistan needs financial assistance they should be given grants but Sri Lanka should not even be given a loan.
When the security of Americans is threatened no measure taken including prosecuting terror suspects outside of the normal US laws (Guantanmo Bay) is enough but when the security of Sri Lankans are threatened they should take permission from US, UK and EU before fighting to eliminate terrorists in their own country.
When Taliban or Al Qaida in Pakistan or Afghanistan continue to exist Gordon Brown believes that the streets of London are threatened and they should therefore be eliminated but when the streets of Colombo are threatened by the LTTE terror, Sri Lanka should not fight but cow down.
Grow up Clinton, Miliband and Couchner. The world is larger than your 3 countries. George Bush and Tony Blair are now exposed for the lies they uttered before invading Iraq. The same fate will befall those who now support terrorism to appease the blood thirsty Prabhakaran.
This women has no decency or
This women has no decency or and intelligence.. World is not America and America is not the world.
No wonder US has so many enemies. President Obama need to clean his state dept.
Long Sighted and Far
Long Sighted and Far thinking US President
Underestimate not Barack Obama the President of USA. Former Senator an eminent lawyer, gave a chance as the Secretary of the State to his rival; who went out of way insultively 'slinging mud'at her opponent. High thinking Lady Clinton in fact suggested Mr. Obama to be her Vice President while she becomes the President. Charismatically with intelligence he asked her directly, "Why he sould do so, when he had won more electoral votes and very much ahead of her by seats". However, President elect kept the important and powerful position in his Cabinet to Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State. Indeed it was Barack Obama's prference as a favour to the very person who went all out to defeat him during the Presidential Campaign. Being relegious as he is, this Honourable man expressed his kindness; buried the verble abuse this Lady slandered at him in every manner.
The Great President is quit aware the positions of Mrs. Hillary Clinton and the M.D. of IMF's Fund Dominique Straus-Khan, who sees the urgency of Sri Lanka's present special situation; which warrants IMF assistance.
If Mrs. Hillary Clinton place her dancing steps 'off beat'; it may assist her to dance to a different beat, as Barack Obama being the Conductor of the Orchestra.
If Mrs. Clinton does not see this, her husband the former President sure will guide her to keep her stepping to the beat of her Boss the Conductor of the Orchestra.
"Music being the food of Love", one must be causious not turning that into poision! The final out come is: Sri Lanka Will receive the US$1.9 billion IMF loan. If not there is also Presidents of Iran and Lybia who are in the Best of Books of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.
Over 3 months in office and
Over 3 months in office and Clinton only has shown incompetence and mediocrity as key job skills. Quite obviously she would have been an unmatched disaster as a President. The American voter knows best; there's a reason why the majority of Americans distrust and are contemptous of this woman.
Perhaps by trying to do someone else' job, she now wants to cover up the fact that she has really no strategies to deal with US' own foreign relations nightmares, other than to go around shaking hands with terrorists and claiming ground-breaking accomplishments with them.
The next President will have a worse nightmare when this outfit leaves the White House.
What else can she do after
What else can she do after taking millions of ill-gotten dollars from the pro-LTTE diaspora for her campaign? She has to work for them, no choise. First, she frantically tried to save Prabha, now she is trying to block the IMF loan. She is a shameless woman with no ethics. It is reported that the tigers diverted their dirty money towards MaCcain campaign after Hilary lost to President Obama!
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