Midweek Review

US wants travel ban on Lanka Army Chief ‘technically, factually and legally right’

Published

4 years ago

2020/11/4

By Shamindra Ferdinando

US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, at the conclusion of a brief visit to Colombo recently acknowledged that the US decision to slap a travel ban on Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva could be wrong.

Responding to questions raised by a local journalist on behalf of a dozen scribes invited by the Foreign Ministry to cover the joint media briefing at the main auditorium of the Foreign Ministry following Pompeo meeting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, one-time CIA Chief said (verbatim): “All right. Thank you. I think there were three questions there. The last one, look, it’s a legal process in the United States. We’ll always continue to review it. We want to make sure we get it both(sic) technically, factually, and legally right. We’ll continue to do that.”

The writer was among those subjected to the RT-PCR test at the Foreign Ministry on the afternoon of Oct 26 in preparation of Pompeo’s press engagement along with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. Print and electronic media assigned to cover senior Chinese leader and top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi, who is a member of the Communist Party of China’s Politburo and the director of its Central Committee’s Foreign Affairs Commission, the top policy-making body, over a week before too were subjected to PCR tests.

Media denied an opportunity

Having asked both print and electronic media to be present at the venue by 9 am to avoid inconvenience, the briefing got underway just over two hours later. About 30 minutes before the much delayed commencement, the local media were told only one could be allowed to raise a question. We were told the US media accompanying Pompeo, too, would be given one opportunity. Local media present there quickly discussed and decided on a set of questions. Many an eyebrow was raised there as questions were directed to Pompeo, who responded first to the question as regards Lt. Gen. Silva’s predicament. The local media asked (1) why he chose to visit Colombo less than a week before US presidential election (11) whether US wants Sri Lanka to be part of its strategic alliance (US, India, Japan and Australia)) against China by finalizing MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) agreement and SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) and finally (III) what is the status of US travel ban on the war hero and whether Sri Lanka requested him to reconsider the action taken against its Army Chief in terms of the Geneva Resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka in Oct 2015.

Sri Lanka media were deprived of an opportunity to raise contentious issues with Pompeo-the highest US State Department official to visit since then Secretary of State John Kerry in May 2015. We wouldn’t have minded an exclusive given to one private television station, if sufficient time was allocated for at least three or four local print media representatives to question Pompeo.

Pompeo’s declaration that the US wanted to make sure their decision on the Sri Lanka Army Chief is technically, factually, and legally right over six months after the imposition of the travel ban highlighted the need to raise additional questions. In fact, the writer earnestly felt the need to question the Foreign Minister as regards incumbent government efforts to address accountability issues. Having announced Sri Lanka’s decision last March to quit Geneva Resolutions, the SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) government hadn’t taken tangible measures to address concerns expressed by a section of the UN community obviously directed by the US.

Controversial Pompeo tweet

Pompeo brashly tweeted on Feb 14, 2020: “I’m designating Shavendra Silva, making him ineligible for entry into the US due to his involvement in extrajudicial killings during Sri Lanka’s civil war. The US will not waver in its pursuit of accountability for those who commit war crimes and violate human rights.”

What about brazen committing of war crimes by the US servicemen in Iraq for example as amply reproduced by Wikileaks in one incident in particular, where an American helicopter gunship ruthlessly cuts down a team of Iraqi journalists with its machine guns, despite ability to see from the air they the victims were working for Reuters? To top it all the head of the above news messenger Juliange Assange is being persecuted by the UK/US for telling the truth to the world.

Pompeo conveniently side-stepped the local media query whether the Sri Lankan government requested him to reconsider the travel ban imposed on the Army Chief. The local media was also deprived of an opportunity to raise the issue with Minister Gunawardena. Statements issued by both the President’s Office and the Foreign Ministry made no reference whatsoever to the accountability issue.

Before dealing further with Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva’s matter, let me briefly discuss the US response to the 2019 Easter carnage, over a year after the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) carried out nearly simultaneous suicide attacks. Minister Gunawardena appreciated US support provided in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks and the proscription of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) before 9/11 attacks.

In spite of the absence of conclusive evidence to prove a link between the Easter attacks and ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State. Daesh is its Arabic acronym), Pompeo blamed the carnage on ISIS. We were denied the opportunity to seek a clarification from Pompeo. Did the US receive information that could prove a direct link between Zahran Hashim’s group of killers and ISIS? Did the US share such information with the government of Sri Lanka during the previous administration or after the change of the government last Nov?

Let me reproduce the relevant section verbatim from Pompeo’s speech: “Finally, this afternoon, I’ll travel – it’s important for me to take a moment to go and visit the Shrine of St. Anthony, one of the five sites that were attacked by ISIS on Easter Sunday of 2019. I’ll shortly have the chance to pay my respects to the hundreds of victims of evil terrorists, including five Americans. I’m proud that the State Department has offered substantial counterterrorism assistance to help Sri Lankans bring killers of Americans and their own people to justice. These Easter Sunday attacks represent the kind of sectarianism that Sri Lankans are ready to leave behind forever. Sri Lankans of all backgrounds –Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims alike – want a peaceful nation where their human rights are respected.

Did the US, too, warn Lanka over the Easter Sunday carnage?

Obviously, the State Department Chief lacked knowledge of the circumstances leading to the Easter carnage perpetrated by a group that had been infiltrated by the Indian Intelligence services. Sri Lanka received advance Indian intelligence on April 4, 2019. Perhaps, the Indians alerted the US, simultaneously. The day after the attacks, the then State Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva claimed on CNN, Sri Lanka received advanced warning from both the US and India regarding impending imminent attacks. But when CNN’s Christiane Amanpour sought clarification from the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz, she contradicted Minister De Silva. Ambassador Teplitz claimed they had no prior knowledge of Easter attacks.

Against the backdrop of Pompeo confidently blaming ISIS for the Easter carnage perhaps the on-going Presidential Commission (P CoI) should write to US Ambassador Teplitz seeking the State Department cooperation. Sri Lanka needs international support, particularly the US to establish the identity of those responsible for the attacks. Archbishop of Colombo Rt. Rev. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith on several occasions demanded that the government should make a genuine effort to identify those behind the dastardly crime against humanity, in addition to inquiring into lapses on the part of the then administration.

India offered support to Sri Lanka in dealing with the common threat of ‘Jihadi terrorism’ following the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed nearly 270 people, including 11 Indians and injured more than 500.

The then Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Taranjit Singh Sandhu gave the assurance close on the heels of the attacks.

Obviously Pompeo hadn’t been properly briefed of the Easter attacks. Had he been aware of the NTJ deliberately targeting Tamil Catholics too, in addition to Sinhala Catholics, he wouldn’t have compared Easter violence with over three decades of bloodshed caused by Indian military intervention in the early 80s.

Pompeo’s tweet on Feb 14, 2020 and his subsequent response at the Foreign Ministry revealed the failure on the part of Sri Lanka to properly present its case before the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) well over two years after Lord Naseby provided the country required ammunition. Pompeo appeared to have conveniently forgotten that US travel ban on Lt. Gen. Silva was imposed in terms of the Geneva Resolution. Sri Lanka remained silent in an obvious bid to describe the US travel ban as an isolated US matter rather than something in line with the Geneva project.

Pompeo’s tweet was nothing but an affront not only to Lt. Gen. Silva but the war winning Sri Lankan security forces, who achieved that almost impossible task despite the West forever repeating like a mantra that our fighting forces were incapable of defeating the LTTE militarily.

Pompeo’s motorcade escorted by elite personnel moved out of the Foreign Ministry, adjoining the President’s House about 10 minutes after the conclusion of the media briefing. Outside the Foreign Ministry across the road were several bomb disposal units, including that of the Army. The security contingent certainly found it easy to move Pompeo and his wife, Susan to St. Anthony’s church about three kilometres away as Colombo was under ‘quarantine curfew.’ Security was extremely tight due to Pompeo being high on the hit list of those fighting the US. The possibility of international terrorists mounting an attack on a visiting foreign dignitary can never be ruled out. In spite of Pompeo, in his capacity as Secretary of State designating Lt. Gen. Silva, who is also the Acting Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as a war criminal, the US official received security fit enough for a President.

Lanka’s failure in Geneva

Sri Lanka never really challenged international action against senior military officials, both serving and retired, since 2015 on the basis of Geneva Resolution 30/1. War winning Army Commander the then Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka is one of those who had been humiliated by international sanctions. The US denied him a visa on more than one occasion during the yahapalana administration. Top military strategist Major General Chagie Gallage, too, was denied an Australian visa during the yahapalana administration. The previous government did absolutely nothing on behalf of those unjustly dealt with in terms of the shameful Geneva Resolution carried to a fruition by our then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

Sri Lanka never really challenged the Geneva Resolution adopted on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations. Successive governments should also be ashamed of their failure to effectively use Lord Naseby’s revelations to counter Geneva lies. Lord Naseby fought the UK government for over two years to secure official dispatches from the UK High Commission in Colombo during January –May 2009. They proved invaluable in Sri Lanka’s defence though the country lacked a cohesive strategy. Almost a year after the last presidential election, the incumbent government is yet to address the accountability issue properly.

The British High Commission in Colombo was rattled by Lord Naseby’s disclosure. In early Dec 2017, the British High Commission declared that Lord Naseby’s House of Lords statement pertaining to accountability issues in Sri Lanka didn’t reflect the UK’s stand.

The British HC said so in response to The Island query whether the BHC had discussions with the Foreign Ministry here or the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as regards Lord Naseby’s call for reviewing Geneva Resolution 30/1. The following is the text of the BHC statement: “Lord Naseby was not speaking for the British Government when speaking recently in a debate in the House of Lords. As a Member of Parliament he is entitled to express his own views”.

Having failed to convince the Rajapaksa administration to co-sponsor resolution against its own armed forces, the US threw its weight behind the political project to end the Rajapakas reign in January 2015. Within weeks after August 2015 parliamentary polls, the UNP-SLFP coalition co-sponsored Resolution 30/1.

State Department forgets

Smith’s revelation

Pompeo quite easily forgot war time US Defence advisor here Lt. Colonel Lawrence Smith’s revelation as regards war crimes accusations. Obviously, Smith made his position clear at the first Colombo Defence seminar held in late May-June 2011 on the inaugural day. Smith got it technically, factually, and legally right when he declared the Sri Lanka military didn’t commit war crimes. The American, perhaps inadvertently contradicted the Geneva Resolution (brainchild of the US) when he responded to a query posed by retired Indian Major General Ashok Metha to the then Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva. The writer was among those present there at that time. The US officer certainly based his assessment on official US data available to him and over two months after the UN released its Panel of Experts’ report – the basis for the Geneva Resolution. Lt. Gen. Silva is among those affected as a result of the Geneva Resolution.

The US State Department, quite embarrassed by its own defence attaché’s declaration, claimed Smith was there in a private capacity though in uniform. Funny isn’t it? Basically the US defence advisor and his British counterpart Lt. Colonel Anthony Gash basically defended Though the UN accepted allegations made by unverified sources in the so called Panel of Experts’(PoE)report, headed by very partisan Yasmin Sooka, that prohibited the release of its ‘sources’ for a period of 20 years thereby depriving Sri Lanka of a just inquiry. Ironically Sri Lanka never bothered to properly present its case against that hand-picked Kangaroo court appointed by the then UN Secretary General Ban KI-moon, especially for hiding the mystery accusers against us or before 47-members of the Geneva HRC in spite of a section of the UN quite brazenly exploiting bogus war crimes accusations to trigger political chaos here. Parliament ignored UN interventions. The UN went to the extent of recommending a new Constitution by way of addressing post-war reconciliation measures.

Having faulted the Sri Lanka Army, on three major counts, the PoE accused Sri Lanka of massacring at least 40,000 civilians. Let me reproduce the paragraph, bearing no 137, verbatim: “In the limited surveys that have been carried out in the aftermath of the conflict, the percentage of people reporting dead relatives is high. A number of credible sources have estimated that there could have been as many as 40,000 civilian deaths. Two years after the end of the war, there is no reliable figure for civilian deaths, but multiple sources of information indicate that a range of up to 40,000 civilian deaths cannot be ruled out at this stage. Only a proper investigation can lead to the identification of all of the victims and to the formulation of an accurate figure for the total number of civilian deaths.”

The military/the country paid a huge price for not properly addressing the accountability allegations. The US travel ban on Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva is all part of measures taken by the West against Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration. If the wartime Defence Secretary, a US citizen at the time he held that coveted post, lost the 2019 Nov presidential election, the US may not have slapped the travel ban. The decision announced in mid-2020 is political. The US strategy vis-a-vis Sri Lanka is clear. The US threw its weight behind UNP- backed common candidate Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the 2010 presidential election. The US had no qualms in doing so having categorized Fonseka along with the Rajapaksa brothers, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa war criminals.

Sri Lanka needs to keep in mind that Lt. Gen. Silva’s matter cannot be addressed in isolation. The government should review its Geneva strategy without further delay. US travel ban is part of measures taken in terms of the UN response to war crimes accusations. Let there be a comprehensive examination of all facts before making representations to the international community.

All News Advertisement

Midweek Review

With somewhat muddled foreign policy where are we heading?

Published

2 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

2 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.