Midweek Review

Should Sri Lanka Neglect Latin America and the Caribbean?

Published

4 years ago

2020/08/19

By Dayantha Laksiri Mendis

Dayantha Laksiri Mendis was the former Director of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS). He was also Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna. He has worked and travelled extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean region as UN and Commonwealth Legal Expert/Adviser. At present, he is the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Guyana in South America. Latin America and the Caribbean is a neglected area in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy-making, academic research, and scholarship. The broad focus of this article is to give an overview of Latin America and the Caribbean. The narrow focus is to ascertain as to how Sri Lanka could improve relations with this region in a beneficial manner. This approach would be more relevant than a mere description of Latin America and the Caribbean, since Sri Lanka has recently decided to establish closer relations with this region for a variety of reasons.

First of all, it is useful to define the terms ‘Latin America’ and ‘the Caribbean.’ The term ‘Latin’ refers to those persons who speak the Spanish language, and thus the term ‘Latin’ refers to the Spanish speaking states in the Americas. The Caribbean has a different definition. It refers to independent and dependent territories in the Caribbean Sea. The independent states belonged to several ex-colonial powers such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands. These island states are also called the West Indies. However, in recent terms, with the birth of the Association of the Caribbean States (1994), the term ‘Caribbean’ is re-defined to include those countries which are abutting the Caribbean Sea in South America and Central America, in the same way as states belonging to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORAC) are determined.

Overview

A short overview by reference to the geography, history, and culture is necessary to understand the major issues confronting this region, before we consider their relevance to Sri Lanka.

Geographically the Latin American states spread from Mexico in North America to Argentina in South America. The land area exceeds 7.9 million square miles, and equals the landmass of Europe, and the US combined. In distance, it covers roughly an area from London to Cape Town. It is quicker to fly from Rio de Janeiro to Johannesburg than from Mexico City to Buenos Aires. This would demonstrate that Latin America and the Caribbean constitute a vast area.

It is important to note that Brazil is bigger than India in size, and Amazonia is the largest repository of biodiversity and constitutes the world’s largest ‘sink’ for carbon dioxide (CO2). The Galapagos is an off-shore island of Ecuador, where Charles Darwin wrote his famous book on The Origins of the Species to dispute the birth of homo sapiens to the horror of theologists.

Latin America can be further classified into several sub-regions such as the Andean States, Central American States, and Rio de la Plata. Similarly, the Caribbean can also be classified into Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern Caribbean States. Eastern Caribbean is further classified into Windward and Leeward Islands. The Caribbean is now one of the most beautiful, up-market and popular tourist destinations in the world, with a galaxy of off-shore financial centres.

Historically, it must be emphasised that Latin American and the Caribbean civilisations were in existence before the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World over 500 years ago. In fact, the Mayans in Belize, Aztecs in Mexico, and the Incas in Peru had sophisticated civilisations. It is, therefore, a myth to say that Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Latin America and the Caribbean as if these civilisations and states were not in existence in the early 16th century. Since the conquest of these areas by the Spanish conquistadors and other colonial powers, the whole face of Latin America and the Caribbean changed rapidly. Approximately 14 million slaves from Africa, and later indentured labour from India, were shipped to this region for sugar and coffee plantation, and the original inhabitants of this region were decimated by the European powers, through the colonisation of the New World.

This region has contributed to the international community in literature, art, music, and sports in a substantial manner. In the arts—the famous Pablo Casals, Pablo Neruda, and the artist Pablo Picasso lived in Latin America. They have also produced a number of Nobel Prize winners. In sports, the West Indies, the former British Colonies in the Caribbean Sea dominated the game of cricket. Both Argentina and Brazil dominated the soccer scene. In music, the Latin American rhythms such as the Tango, Bossanova, Cha-cha-cha, Rhumba, and many other rhythms are popular in many parts of the world. The Calypso and Reggae rhythms, as well as the wonderful sonorities of the Caribbean Steel Drums, are taught and played in many Western capitals for the listening pleasure of millions of people throughout the world.

Relations with the US

This region cannot be fully understood without reference to the US. Since the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), the US excluded any extra-hemispheric rivals from this region. It has followed a ‘hegemonic’ policy in the region in the Cold War period and interceded in the internal affairs of those states. It has sent troops to Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Grenada in the recent past.

In the landmark Paramilitary Activities Case in 1986 (Nicaragua v. the US) the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held the mining of the Nicaraguan harbours and support to the Contras by the US was contrary to international law. The US continues to hold a tough stance on Cuba. It has passed the Helms-Burton Act to prevent other states from doing business with Cuba in regards to expropriated property4. However, at present, the most sensitive factor in US-Latin relations is the drug problem. The US holds a very strong position with regard to the extradition of traffickers. Nonetheless, the US is the driving force behind the economic expansion of this region through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), and several aid programmes.

Major Issues

It is important to understand the major issues confronting this region, and how the region has dealt with these issues are of relevance to Sri Lanka. Firstly, the question of promoting economic development is of paramount importance. The debt crisis in Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s has created difficulties for this region and will continue into the new millennium. The Latin American debt crisis arose because this region was unable to pay their debts which they borrowed from foreign banks. As this crisis began to grow, countries like Argentina and Brazil were really affected as they had to pay at least 50% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in servicing the debt. The Baker Plan (1986) and Brady Plan (1989) ameliorated this situation but the debt crisis still continues to be a major problem in this region5.

Another important issue is the shift from dictatorship to democracy. In most Latin American countries, there are no tin-pot dictators. Most have gone back to multi-party democracy through Presidential systems or the Westminster model.

Under Carlos Menon, Argentina has reverted to a Presidential system of government. Chile, Nicaragua and Panama have now established a democratic system of government. In most Latin American countries, democracy is the order of the day and dictatorships have taken a back-seat.

Finally, the viability of mini-states in the Caribbean is another major issue on the international agenda. After COVID, the mini-states are likely to suffer tremendously in the global economy. Previously, the Banana Issue has created huge trade disputes between the US and the European Union in regard to its preferential treatment. The viability of these states has been taken up at several Commonwealth Summits. A recent report on vulnerability by consultative groups of the Commonwealth Secretariat suggests many recommendations to overcome these difficulties.

Can we benefit from this region?

Sri Lanka can benefit a great deal from this region. The language barrier, lack of diplomatic representation, and geographic distance elude us from benefiting from this region in the following spheres.

Firstly, Latin America has taken a lead role in creating a ‘new platform’ to deal with the questions of globalisation and liberalisation of trade in a more effective manner at international fora. Jorge Castaneda’s initiative Alternativa Lationamericana provides a Latin answer to neo-liberalism. This initiative is of significant value to South Asia, and in particular to Sri Lanka, as we share similarities with this region

Secondly, the Caribbean experiment with off-shore financial services is relevant to Sri Lanka at this moment. It is indeed a success story. The Caribbean off-shore companies and banks have attracted high net worth individuals and corporate clients. It has created new employment opportunities and numerous benefits to a large number of Caribbean citizens. It is an experiment which can be copied easily, and therefore it has some value in making Sri Lanka an off-shore financial centre (OFC) in South Asia. If Sri Lanka can be developed as an OFC to India and other Asian states in the same way as Mauritius is to India, we can expect some offshore banks and trusts and offshore companies to establish offices in Sri Lanka to do business with other Asian giants especially in providing insurance and syndicated loans.

Thirdly, if Sri Lanka were to encounter difficulties of importing oil from the middle east countries, we may have to import oil from Latin America and Caribbean and our good relations with this region can help Sri Lanka to rely on them in a crisis situation. The Republic of Guyana is now emerging as a new oil producing country in this region.

Improving relations with this region

This is a neglected area in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy-making. Successive governments have failed to establish closer relations with this region. In this regard careful cost-benefit analysis should be undertaken in foreign policy making

Sri Lanka cannot afford to neglect this region since it provides a veritable avenue for export for manufactured goods, tea, coconut, cinnamon, and rubber products to Latin America, and precious stones especially to the Caribbean destinations, since these island states attract up-market tourist trade, through a network of cruise ships. India dominates the gem trade in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. St. Maarten and Aruba are havens for gems and jewellery businesses and provide an avenue to market these products to high net-worth individuals. We have a comparative advantage in certain goods and services, too numerous to mention in specific terms in this short article. Hence, the selection of the appropriate countries for trade and diplomatic representation and penetration is of crucial importance.

It is also important to have closer relations, since any Sri Lankan who is vying for an international position in the future has very little chance to succeed without the support of this region. Almost, two decades ago, Judge Professor Christy Weeramantry, who was not a traditional diplomat, knew this too well in his election to the ICJ and worked extremely hard through expatriate Sri Lankans to win their support. On my invitation, he attended the Caribbean Heads of State Meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis and was able to form links with several Heads of State.

It is axiomatic that Sri Lankas relations cannot improve without adequate diplomatic and trade representations. It is unfortunate we have Ambassadors in Brazil and in Cuba and the Honorary Consuls in some Latin American and Caribbean countries. Cuban representation is for political rather than economic reasons, but this Embassy can be upgraded with proper accreditation to establish better relations with the neighbouring English-speaking Caribbean countries in the region. In the long run, Cuba might be the number one tourist destination for North American tourists, and therefore we must get prepared to build good economic relations with Cuba, as the sale point for some of our goods to the tourists who may arrive from North America. It is unclear as to why the Caribbean states are served from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC and New York and not from Havana, Cuba—the heart of the Caribbean.

Recently, Sri Lanka obtained Observer status in the Organization of American States (OAS). It is a step in the right direction. It is also useful for Sri Lanka to join the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) at least as an observer to improve relations with small island states in the Caribbean.

It is impossible to improve relations with this region without a good knowledge and understanding of Latin America and the Caribbean. Sri Lanka needs to send ambassadors who can speak the language and understand the culture of Latin America and the Caribbean to maximise the benefits and good relations with this region

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Midweek Review

With somewhat muddled foreign policy where are we heading?

Published

3 days ago

2024/10/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

U.S. and Sri Lankan Marines conduct Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) drills during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise in 2023. CARAT Sri Lanka is the largest bilateral military exercise meant to enhance US-Sri Lanka relationship. (Pic courtesy US embassy, Colombo)

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Sri Lanka Navy will take command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 154 from the Egyptian Navy soon. Since its establishment in May 2023, US (Capt. Oliver Herion), Jordan (Capt. Ayman Al Naimat) and Egypt (Commodore Haytham Elsayed Khalil), respectively, commanded the unit, one of the five Task Forces that operated under the purview of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).

The whole operation is spearheaded by Bahrain headquartered US Fifth Fleet. SLN, under the previous regime led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, joined the CMF in 2023 as its 39th member. Meanwhile, strange bedfellow Argentina is the latest addition to it. To make matters worse for that country, Buenos Aires, under eccentric right wing President Javier Gerardo Milei, wants to make the US dollar its official currency..

SLN disclosed the CMF’s move in a press release dated Oct, 02 under the new JVP/NFF regime that dealt with CTF commander Commodore Haytham Elsayed Khalil of the Egyptian Navy meeting Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera.

CTF 150 focuses on maritime security in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, CTF 151 leads regional counter-piracy efforts, CTF 152 handles maritime security in the Arabian Gulf, CTF 153 is responsible for operations in the Red Sea, and CTF 154 is tasked with training, thereby improving operational capabilities to enhance maritime security in the Middle East.

The CMF’s overall strategy should be examined taking into consideration the widening of the Middle East conflict, with Israel simultaneously taking on Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) in Gaza, Hezbollah (Party of God) based in Lebanon and Iran widely accused of financing Hezbollah. In the wake of further destabilization of the region as a result of Israeli ground forces entering Lebanon and Iran firing missiles at the Jewish State in retaliation for terrorist acts committed against it, inside Iran, and elsewhere, the US and the UK bombed Yemen where Iran backed Houthis are trying to disrupt ship movements in the Red Sea. Since Israel launched a war against Hamas, in Gaza, and using that as an excuse, is committing acts of genocide against the Palestinians to create a homogeneous Jewis state, Houthis have meanwhile targeted nearly 90 merchant vessels in the Red Sea to force a halt to Israeli terror tactics to drive out or kill the Palestinians. Hezbollah and other resistance groups from Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, too, are stepping up attacks to turn the tide against the extremist Jewish state.

Sri Lanka is now ironically among the coalition backing Israel battling Iran and Tehran-backed groups on multiple fronts and thousands of our workers are now employed in the Jewish state because of the extreme poverty here. Did Israel, in spite of knowing the impending Oct. 07, 2023 Hamas raid, targeting Southern Israel, conveniently turn a blind eye to pave the way for a sustained offensive? In other words, did Iran backed groups walk into an Israeli trap. The Israeli onslaught appeared to have been a meticulously planned response. The triggering of explosions in pagers used by Hezbollah, or those in some way connected to it in Lebanon and Syria, in the third week of September, before the killing of Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut, and the Israeli ground invasion, suggested the Jewish State planned a knockout blow against the Iran-led coalition. What Netanyahu did not bargain for is that the present day resistance is made up of committed fighters unlike the Arab armies that met Jewish state’s terror tactics in earlier wars as in 1948 and 1967. Though the Western media tries to paint Iran as the villain over the whole issue, Iran, nor its proxies, have caused needless bloodletting among Israeli civilians. Two major missile attacks that Teheran has so far carried out against the Jewish state had taken extraordinary measures not to target civilian infrastructure thereby hardly harming any noncombatants there. This is unlike Israel that has caused unimaginable harm to Arab civilians.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s suggestion that Israel shouldn’t hit Iranian oil or nuclear sites in response to a massive missile strike but consider other alternatives underscored the gravity of the rapidly developing situation.

Whether the world likes it or not, the war in the Middle East, as well as Ukraine, where the US and its major allies (all part of CMF) are trying to wear down Russia, is being politicized. There cannot be a better example than Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump’s declaration that he believed Israel should strike Iranian nuclear facilities in response to the recent Iranian missile barrage.

Those who had compared the decimation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 by the Sri Lanka military and the war between Hamas and Israel in the aftermath of the Oct. 07 raids, included New Delhi based Narayan Swamy, who served UNI and AFP during his decades long career. While acknowledging that no two situations were absolutely comparable, Swamy, who currently serves as the Executive Director of IANS (Indo-Asian News Service) declared: “Oct 7 could be a turning point for Hamas similar to what happened to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka in 2006. Let me explain. Similar to Hamas, the LTTE grew significantly over time eventually gaining control of a significant portion of Sri Lanka’s land and coast. The LTTE was even more formidable than Hamas. It had a strong army, growing air force and a deadly naval presence. Unlike Hamas the LTTE successfully assassinated high ranking political figures in Sri Lanka and India. Notably LTTE achieved this without direct support from any country??? Well Hamas received military and financial backing from Iran and some other states [emphasis is mine]. The LTTE became too sure of their victories overtime. They thought they could never be beaten and that starting a war would always make them stronger. But in 2006 when they began Eelam War 1V their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran couldn’t have foreseen that within three years he and his prominent group that the world was led to believe as being virtually invincible, especially by the Western media and so-called military experts, would be defeated. Prabhakaran believed gathering tens of thousands of Tamil civilians during the last stages of the war would protect them and Sri Lanka wouldn’t unleash missiles and rockets. Colombo proved him wrong. They were hit. By asking the people not to flee Gaza, despite Israeli warnings, Hamas is taking a similar line. Punishing all Palestinians for Hamas’ actions is unjust just like punishing all Tamils for LTTE’s actions was wrong. The LTTE claimed to fight for Tamils without consulting them and Hamas claimed to represent Palestinians without seeking the approval for the Oct.7 strike. Well two situations are not absolutely comparable. We can be clear that Hamas is facing a situation similar to what the LTTE faced shortly before its end. Will Hamas meet a similar fate as the LTTE? Only time will answer that question.”

In a way, the circumstances of the ongoing Middle East conflict and the emergence of Tamil terrorism here is so dissimilar, the situations cannot be compared at all.

GoSL stand on ME conflict

In the first week of January, this year, the then President, who is also the Commander-in-Chief, in addition to being the Defence Minister, Ranil Wickremeisnghe, declared his intention to deploy an SLN vessel in the Red Sea in support of the ongoing CMF operations. The specific US-led effort meant to overcome the Houthi challenge was called ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian.’ In spite of statements attributed to various spokespersons at that time, we are still in the dark as to the actual implementation of Wickremesinghe’s directive.

How could Sri Lanka undertake such a costly deployment in the absence of at least one properly equipped vessel to operate in missile and drone environments at a time the Wickremesinghe administration claimed it couldn’t hold Local Government polls for want of sufficient funds?

Why on earth Wickremeisnghe wanted a role for SLN in ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’, launched in Dec. 2023, when some of Washington’s allies were skeptical about the initiative?

With the further deterioration of the Middle East situation, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government should take stock of the situation. Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) leader AKD, in his capacity as the Commander-in Chief of armed forces and Defence Minister, should receive a comprehensive briefing regarding the current situation.

In the absence of a properly constituted foreign policy, Sri Lanka found itself in a deepening quandary. The armed forces, as well as the JVP that had been at the receiving end, in 1971 and 1987-1990, of the counter-insurgency campaigns, need to work together in an environment caused by AKD’s unexpected triumph over the two-party system.

Let me examine the JVP/JJB stand on the SLN’s Read Sea deployment as desired by Wickremesinghe. It would be pertinent to mention that the SLN joined the CMF during Wickremesinghe’s tenure as the President.

On behalf of the JVP/JJB, Sunil Handunetti strongly condemned Wickremesinghe’s declaration on the Red Sea deployment. The former JVP parliamentarian questioned the rationality of Wickremesinghe move while warning of dire consequences. The one-time head of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), a vital parliamentary watchdog committee, accused Wickremesinghe of joining a US-led effort supportive of Israel. Warning Sri Lanka could earn the wrath of certain countries by participating in such US-led endeavours, Handunetti asked whether President Wickremesinghe could decide on active participation in an international operation.

Against that background, President AKD and his Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath should make Sri Lanka’s position clear in respect of the Middle East conflict. Regardless of the country heading towards parliamentary elections in a couple of weeks, the President will have to keep an eye on developments as various interested parties pursue strategies which may not align with our own.

The developing situation in Lebanon, as well as Syria, compelled the Foreign Ministry to issue travel warnings in respect of both countries while keeping its options open on Israel. The second Iranian missile barrage carried out against Israel in October obviously didn’t influence Sri Lanka to issue a travel warning. Iran mounted its first bombardment in April also this year. Sri Lanka maintains diplomatic missions both in Tel Aviv and Beirut.

Developing dilemma

One can easily understand bankrupt Sri Lanka’s dilemma when India finds itself in an unenviable situation. In spite of denials at different levels, India made ammunition, explosives and other equipment that are used by Israel and Ukraine, with the latter using them against Russia, one-time major supplier of armaments to India. The late Indian Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit, who at times behaved like a Viceroy when he was their High Commissioner in Colombo in the ’80s, in his memoirs ‘Foreign Policy Makers of India’ defended Indira Gandhi’s controversial decision not to condemn the 1979 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan due to their heavy dependence on the Soviet Union for defense needs.

New Delhi obviously cannot ignore Washington’s requirement to ensure a steady supply of ammunition to Israel and Ukraine alike.

Reuters declared on Sept. 19, 2024, following the publication of a New Delhi datelined exclusive headlined “Ammunition from India enters Ukraine, raising Russian ire,” India’s Foreign Ministry described the report as ‘speculative and misleading.’

The news agency quoted Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal as having said: “It implies violations by India where none exist and, hence, is inaccurate and mischievous.”

“India has been carrying out its defence exports taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation and based on robust legal and regulatory framework, which includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria, including end user obligations and certifications,” Jaiswal said.

The bottom line is that even strategic alliances are changing or done away with. India-Russia relationship, built largely on defence ties, can be cited as an example. Indian’s backing for Ukraine and Israel meant that the former’s role in the world stage has undergone a drastic change. That is the undeniable truth.

India skipped the U.N. General Assembly vote on February 23, 2023 on a resolution that underscored the need to reach as soon as possible a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine in line with the principles of the U.N. Charter. India won’t condemn Russia over the war in Ukraine either. But, that wouldn’t prevent New Delhi from supplying Israel and Ukraine while Indians serving with the Russian Army battling Ukraine remains an issue. New Delhi, too, is obviously playing both sides like most of the Arab regimes when dealing with Israel and the issue of hapless Palestinians as we have explained earlier.

In the run-up to the presidential election here, the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government was accused of turning a blind eye to ex- and serving military personnel joining Russia. Although both Russia and Sri Lanka promised to address the concerns of men on the Ukrainian-Russia front, as well as their families, the current situation is not known.

The former Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, intervened in this matter and ex-Defence Secretary General (retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, especially, visited Moscow to explore ways and means of reaching consensus on the issue at hand. However, the AKD administration should examine the whole issue afresh as combat experienced Sri Lankans serving with foreign forces can be a social issue.

We know Sri Lanka paid a heavy price for failing to take remedial measures after Sri Lankans reached Syria during the Yahapalana administration (2015-2019). Had the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government acted on a warning issued by its own Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, as advised by the intelligence services, the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage may have been avoided.

At that time, some speculated that 45 persons of nine families joined ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Taking into consideration the arrest of four Sri Lankans by Gujarat police on terrorism charges during the general election in India, the new government should also pay attention to emerging threats. The arrests, last May, proved that security concerns remain. However, the All Ceylon Union of Muslim League Youth Fronts (ACUMLYF) repeatedly questioned the failure on the part of the previous administration to take up this issue with India.

In response to The Island queries, the grouping’s President Sham Nawaz said that though they had made representations in this regard to the then State Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya in the first week of June, the Foreign Ministry at least didn’t bother to respond. In fact, there hadn’t been any response whatsoever until the change of the government in September. Perhaps, Nawaz should make representations to new Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

Another US ship

Sri Lanka will receive another mothballed US Coast Guard Cutter, gratis, courtesy the USA. Over the years, the US transferred three Coast Guard Cutters to Sri Lanka, also gratis. The transfer of the fourth US Coast Guard Cutter will take place during President Dissanayake’s tenure, perhaps mid next year and marks a significant development in bilateral relations. The US intention to transfer the vessel was announced in late February this year during Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma’s visit. Verma also visited the site of the West Container Terminal (WCT), a deep-water shipping container terminal in the Port of Colombo. The WCT, is being constructed by Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) Private Limited with $553 mn in financing from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. But the real danger is we are being increasingly dragged into a quagmire of American making vis-à-vis the bloc led by Russia and China. As the old saying goes there is no such a thing as a free meal. Let us hope comrades who are leading us now realise it as well before it is too late.

The CWIT is a consortium consisting of India’s largest port operator, Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd., Sri Lanka’s major listed conglomerate, John Keells Holdings PLC, and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The consortium is set to develop the CWIT on a Build, Operate, and Transfer agreement, for a period of 35 years.

The US investment at the Colombo Port should be viewed against the backdrop of Chinese presence at the Colombo Port, in addition to China having Hambantota Port on a 99-year lease and other projects. India is keen to expand its influence here and, as a Quad member, seems to be working with others (the US, Australia and Japan) to bolster defence ties.

The expansion of China Bay, the Trinco-based No 03 maritime squadron, is a case in point. The squadron that had been moved to China Bay five years ago consists of Beech King Air B-200 and Dornier 228. A Beechcraft King Air 360ER equipped with cutting-edge technology is to be inducted to the squadron tomorrow (10) to further boost SLAF’s ability to patrol its waters and address maritime threats. The US is the donor of Beechcraft King Air 360ER.

Another maritime surveillance aircraft is expected to join the squadron before the end of this year. The donor is Australia that provided two patrol boats to SL years ago and paid for fuel for vessels engaged in anti-human smuggling operations. What we need to understand is the support received as part of the often repeated free and open Indi-Pacific strategy pursued by Quad. Valuable support received/offered for enhancement of Sri Lanka’s hydrographic capabilities from Australia and Japan should be considered accordingly.

Midweek Review

Ahambakaraka : A postscript

Published

3 days ago

2024/10/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

by Ashanthi Ekanayake

Liyanage Amarakeerthi’s Ahambakaraka, received much attention when it was first published and then went on to win many accolades. The most recent among them was the Vidharshana Literary Prize for best translation in 2024. It is a novel with immense possibilities and offers multiple readings and interpretations. When it first came out, it received the attention of Captain Elmo Jayawardena, who is also a writer of some substance. He wrote a comprehensive review of the novel in The Daily News of 19 October 2016.

In his review Captain Jayawardene describes the protagonist of the novel, Bandula Balagalla, using a somewhat unfortunate turn of phrase, and twists the “born with a silver spoon in the mouth” into a different expression which will not be quoted here. It must be said that a reader’s take on what is read depends entirely on their world views, the theories of reading they encounter, and also mainly the experience they gain as readers.

As the translator of the novel under discussion of which the English title reads as The Maker of Accidents, I must say that what motivated me to translate the novel was these very same possibilities for multiple readings. The novel offered among other things a reading which aligned closely with Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of habitus, capital and power. This brief attempt is simply an opening to the immense possibilities of the novel. I will unfortunately not be able to deal with the topic adequately and do it justice but I will try my best and leave a deeper exploration for another occasion.

In many of his works Bourdieu describes these notions as that which inscribe in us a certain social status. Amarakeerthi’s novel while dealing with the socio-political upheavals which span a wide period of time also brings out these aspects of society as presented by Bourdieu.

Bandula Balagalla is an affluent man and his conduct and his aspirations, or lack thereof, create in the mind of the reader the image of someone who has everything in life and can live without being burdened by new ambitions. He can simply live a contented, if self-centered life. The novelist creates some doubt in the reader’s mind by making the reader challenge the notion of BB as the protagonist because the narrative describes him as a smug, self-satisfied person in contrast to Vijaya Wickramasinghe who in addition to all other drawbacks has to also resort to being mute for simple survival and thus be denied language and the use of it to his advantage.

Language and the “symbolic power” languages have, as discussed by Bourdieu is a primary if mostly ignored theme in this novel. Balagalla strives to create a space for language in his township as does the novelist by giving prominence of place to the different languages the characters resort to. Radha is a teacher of language and performance. For her language is performance. Language is in the Marxist sense a commodity in the novel as described by the narrator. When engaging in the translation, too, I made a conscious effort to use language suited to the different characters. Some were anglophiles, and they might not code mix or code switch easily, and they would attempt to sound more “English.” Some were more at ease with the Sri Lankan English variety. Some would use “broken English.” As a teacher of language this was partly my fascination with the novel.

Translating some Sinhala turns of phrase turned out to be a gratifying exercise because of the novelist’s natural playfulness with Sinhala and language as a whole. Just as the protagonist made up the rules of his game similarly the novelist too played with language. Rather than being obstacles, the quaint expressions and the intricate plot made me realize how correct I was to see the immense potential it offered for a “Bourdieusian” reading.

To put it simply Bandula Balagalla through his upbringing and privileged position is always at ease in any situation. This is a clear manifestation of habitus as explained by Bourdieu. He has symbolic, cultural and linguistic capital. He in fact has everything Wije does not have. Radha, who is from a more middle class upbringing and background is also somewhat “vulgar” in her aspirations in comparison. A case in point is her venture “to make ladies” of the lady-doctors of Kurunegala. Balagalla has good taste in food, music, other matters of life-style and also literature. The first narrator attempts to compete with Balagalla’s taste in literature in this sense. The ironical choice of name for the bookstore i.e. Tower of Babel is a case in point of the sense of power Balagalla wields. He has cultural, and social capital. He is well connected and he is almost native like, not simply in his use of English but also by disposition. He has the right connections as the occasion calls for. In contrast Wije with his rags to riches back story has economic power but is lacking in all other aspects. This is what he pursues and hankers after. Although he is good at “hustling” he is lacking in other ways. Here the question of class and social prestige also come into question. The Balagalla Wallauwa provides Bandula Balagalla with social standing and the right type of connections and also an inbred (in the sense of innate), or even inculcated cultural awareness which helps him navigate society. Social, cultural and symbolic capital need to be accompanied by the “economic” to help a person gain distinction. The crowns and swords that Wije seeks are but symbols of prestige which he is continuously denied. He seeks social mobility and believes that he will gain it by being in possession of these symbols which are part of what the Balagalla estate entails.

This is in fact the most thrilling aspect of the novel. One does not have to be limited to Bourdieu’s theories. However, it cannot be denied that Ahambakaraka, which means the maker of accidents or alternately the planner of coincidences is a rich novel as it offers multiple readings.

There is an interesting plot, full of twists and turns which will be gratifying for any reader. However, if one seeks to read deeper and engage with theory it does not disappoint. The three women for whom the novel is initially written are also a fascinating aspect of the story. The characters are so intricately developed and thought out that a feminist reading of the female characters also proves to be a fruitful endeavor.

My ultimate aim was to highlight these very obvious aspects of the work which were not addressed in the earlier reviews.