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IMF loan delay 'political' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sri Lanka has urged the International Monetary Fund to decide quickly whether to approve a one-point-nine-billion dollar loan for the country's war ravaged economy. The request has been held up for months after pressure from the United States and other western nations over Sri Lanka's handling of the final stages of its battle against Tamil Tiger rebels. It's alleged that thousands of civilians were killed in the onslaught. The Sri Lankan trade minister, G L Peiris who's in Washington for talks with Fund officials said the IMF had never taken political factors into account, and now appeared to be doing so indirectly. “The IMF is now going to be embroiled in controversial political issues as part of the criteria governing their judgment in respect of particular transactions. That is very much our view”, he told AFP news agency. He said such a move would be a dangerous precedent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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India's frustration with Sri Lanka over Tamils