N.A.DE S. AMARATUNGA Courtesy The Island

In the 2500 long history of this country there have been several betrayals that had adversely changed its destiny. Some of them were forced on the rulers and some engineered by them. And some could have been avoided. An act by a ruler that compromises the independence and sovereignty of the country could be considered a betrayal of its people. Legend has it that Kuveni and her people were betrayed by Vijaya. However, the first major betrayal is perhaps by King Don Juan Dharmapala, who in 1580 after listening to Franciscan monks wrote his last will naming the king of Portugal as the claimant to the throne of Kotte after the demise of the king, as he had no son to succeed him. Then comes the often quoted gross betrayal in 1815, the Kandyan Convention which handed over the hitherto unconquered Kandyan Kingdom to the British. Though conditions were included in this agreement they were breached with impunity by the British. Since then a similar betrayal cannot be found until 2016 when the ‘yahapalana’ government co-sponsored the UNHRC Resolution against its own country, which is unprecedented in UN history, and which enabled the western powers to encroach on our independence and take this country in its grip, opened the doors for a new constitution which eventually if adopted would establish a federal/separate state in the North and East, and also made unsubstantiated charges against the war wining armed forces of war crimes, which were to be investigated by a foreign judiciary.

Perhaps this little country is prone to periodical betrayals, but now it seems they are coming on us at rapid succession. The same government which co-sponsored the UNHRC Resolution is going tooth and nail to sign three agreements with the USA before its tenure ends. One has already been entered into; the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). This was originally intended for NATO countries and other pro-US submissive states. The agreement provides for logistic support for US forces by Sri Lanka, in case there is a need for their forces to be stationed in the region. This obviously is a military agreement which grossly compromises our claims for non-alignment. It could either discourage economic aid from countries like China, Russia and Iran, or make them pressure the government for similar military arrangements in order to counter the aggressive moves by the US.

ACSA has to be considered with the other proposed military agreement the State of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which aims to establish Rights and Privileges of US forces, particularly with regard to visa-less entry, freedom of movement, and civil and criminal jurisdiction. These two agreements together would enable the US forces to enter into Sri Lanka, get logistic support and even launch a military base and a campaign against its enemies using our soil for the purpose, without prior permission from the government. The US personnel would not come under our law and if they commit an offense our police and courts will not be able to take any action. For instance in 2011 in South Korea, which has a SOFA,  three brutal rape and arson cases were committed by US soldiers and a curfew had to be enforced to control the riots. The other relevant fact is most countries who have entered into SOFA with the US have US military bases on their land. Therefore the argument that the US which has huge aircraft carriers in the oceans doesn’t need to have bases on land like Sri Lanka may not hold water.

The other wicked betrayal that may befall us is the Millennium Challenge Corporation Agreement (MCC). It was started by President George Bush purportedly to streamline aid, and it is supposed to be independent of the State Department and USAID, though its chair is the Secretary of State. More than 23 countries have entered into the compact, most of them are US allies in Africa and South America, with only Indonesia and Philippines being the Asian countries to have entered into it. Indonesia and Philippines had MCC compacts for five years and the projects pertained uncontroversial areas like prevention of corruption, revenue, immunization, transportation. Once these projects are completed the US or its companies have no hold or presence in those countries. In some others, however the compact had a facade of innocence but core projects were designed for the pursuit of an imperial agenda. The proposed MCC compact for Sri Lanka is also for five years, but according to the terms and conditions of the compact and the areas they cover, there may be provision for US and its companies to have a hold on land and other national assets for a long period of time.

Researchers like Emma Mawdsley (2007), Mark Engler (2006), Susanne Soederberg (2004) have commented on the real intentions of the US in pushing countries to accept MCC on their terms. For instance Mawdsley says that the first five MCC compacts in Cape Verde, Honduras, Madagascar, and Georgia is using a new security development paradigm to legitimate more spending on “development” programmes, which are primarily intended to serve the interests of US consumers, manufacturers and investors, and that poverty reduction at best is a secondary objective. These researchers say that security improvement projects in recipient countries are really intended to serve US defense and military goals. Further they reveal how the World Bank contrives to show bad business of these projects as good business.

The proposed five year MCC compact for Sri Lanka has programmes for transportation improvement and land registration, ownership, and utilization aimed at poverty alleviation. There are 17 Eligibility Criteria for US MCC agreements and one of them is termed Land Rights and Access Indicator and items under this include suitability of land to buy. Under the latter the lands that are suitable for purchase by companies are given in detail, for example it is stated there should not be title disputes. The Land Acts that were proposed by the government recently are obviously for the purpose of meeting these criteria. The titles of a substantial extent of land that lies in the area identified for these projects, are in the form of permits and not in deeds, this needs to be corrected to meet MCC conditions, hence the need for new Land Acts. The Land (Restrictions on Alienation) Act No. 38 of 2014 which prevented companies with foreign ownership of shares in excess of 50% purchasing land has been amended to remove that restriction. Further a Task Force is being put in place to establish Land Banks which are essential for the MCC.

Obviously the ground work is being done for the US to take complete control of the economy of the country supported by a military presence. It is part of their geopolitical anti-Chinese agenda in the Indian Ocean region. The US is pressuring the Government to sign the ACSA, SOFA and MCC as a matter of urgency before the presidential election. An item in the Eligibility Criteria for MCC is Government Effectiveness Indicator, under which policy consistency and continuity is stressed so that the MCC could continue even after a change of government.

 Because of these several betrayals by the government the people, their land, economy, independence and sovereignty are in great peril. Unwavering vigilance and a concerted resolute effort by the people to thwart these treacherous deeds are needed at this critical hour.  

N.A.DE S. AMARATUNGA