Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), C. G.
Kumar PONNAMBALAM; Ceylon Workers Congress (CLDC), S. THONDAMAN;
Communist Party, K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N.
SHANMUGATHASAN; Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF), leader
NA; Democratic United National Front (DUNF), G. M. PREMACHANDRA; Eelam
People's Democratic Party (EPDP), Douglas DEVANANDA; Eelam People's
Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRL), Suresh PREMACHANDRAN; Eelam
Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), Shankar RAJI; Lanka
Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Colin
R. DE SILVA; Liberal Party (LP), Chanaka AMARATUNGA; New Socialist
Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja Party), Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA;
People's Alliance (PA), Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA; People's
Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Dharmalingam
SIDARTHAN; People's United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna),
Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirimavo
BANDARANAIKE; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M. H. M. ASHRAFF; Sri
Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri Lanka Mahajana Party), Ossie
ABEYGUNASEKERA; Sri Lanka Progressive Front (SLPF), leader NA; Tamil
Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), leader NA; Tamil United
Liberation Front (TULF), M. SIVASITHAMBARAM; United National Party
(UNP), Ranil WICKREMANSINGHE; Upcountry People's Front (UPF), leader
NA; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either
parliament or provincial councils
note: the United Socialist Alliance (USA), which was formed in 1987
and included the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B, was defunct as of
1993, following the formation of the People's Alliance Party (PA)
Other political or pressure groups: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist groups; other radical
chauvinist Sinhalese groups; Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay
groups; labor unions
Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jayantha DHANAPALA chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028 FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s): New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Teresita C. SCHAFFER embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345
Flag: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
@Sri Lanka:Economy
Overview: Industry - dominated by the fast-growing apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of export earnings and accounts for over 16% of GDP. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth, which has been depressed by ethnic unrest, accelerated in 1991-94 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for foreign investment brightened. Currently, however, the new government's emphasis on populist measures has clouded Sri Lanka's economic prospects.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $57.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)