Donald Trump was the best thing that happened to Sri Lanka
Posted on November 16th, 2016
By Rathindra Kuruwita Courtesy Ceylon Today
Donald Trump’s election as the 45th President of the United States was probably the best thing that happened to Sri Lanka, internationally, for a long time. Even a Bernie Sanders presidency would not have been as good for us. But then again it would not be good news if you are some upper class social justice warrior who was clamouring for stronger international mediation, ignoring evidence that the majority of Sri Lankans view such moves with distaste.
Trump throughout his campaign promised to keep out of the internal affairs of other sovereign nations and to focus on developing the United States, which if he adheres to during his presidency would be welcome news to Sri Lanka.
Hopefully this means that the Trump administration will have better things to do than sponsor UNHRC resolutions against us, especially when the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration is doing their best to bring about reconciliation, and stop pushing the government to promise unachievable outcomes in a limited time. I mean at least they will stop inflicting the presence of Samantha Power on us.
Intervention doesn‘t work
Almost for a decade Sri Lanka has been facing a number of resolutions at the UNHRC and other international forums on alleged war crimes and very real human rights violations under the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration. While I admit that it is vital to have international norms and standards, I have often felt that attempts at meddling in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka by the West, often manipulating the UN processes, actually contributed to the survival of the Rajapaksa administration. How many times did the Rajapaksas use defeats at UNHRC to local political advantage? People of this country figured out that Rajapaksas were faking ‘patriotism’ and that the rule was benefitting only a few elites soon after Mahinda won the second term and they got two thirds vote in Parliament. They were appalled when Rajapaksas dragged former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to jail and when news of massive corruption related to infrastructure projects surfaced and they would have voted against the UPFA a lot earlier if they did not fear that weakening the government would allow the ‘international community’ to impose terms on Sri Lanka that most Sri Lankans wouldn’t like.
And as Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said last week Trump can make the world a whole lot better simply by non-intervention.
On the other hand, a Hillary Clinton victory would have ensured that UNHRC and UN attempts to meddle with Sri Lankans affairs would intensify. It is not for nothing that Northern Provincial Councillors K. Sivajilingam and Ananthi Sasitharan dashed 1,008 coconuts in a Hindu Kovil hoping for a Hillary Clinton victory. And seriously when would our politicians figure out that dashing coconuts, at Rs 60 per nut, is not working out? Remember the Joint Opposition MPs who dashed the same amount of coconuts at Seenigama to get rid of the government? It didn’t really work out for them, right. Unless, of course, you call getting quizzed by the FCID and the CID all the time, and a split in the party as winning!
And maybe without the constant pressure by the West to direct our reconciliation process, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government will be able to carve out a solution that is acceptable to most Sri Lankans after consulting local experts. This also places a greater responsibility on the hands of the government because whether they succeed or not will be completely dependent on them, no more space for anyone to point at the big bad West when things go wrong. Our politicians have been using the ‘West’ the way Hillary was using Russia; God how these people love to avoid individual responsibility.
Trump win and 8 January election
Soon after Donald Trump was elected, a few members of the Rajapaksas and some prominent members of the Joint Opposition attempted to draw parallels between Trump and Mahinda Rajapaksa. Following some weird logic they also seem to think that Trump’s strategy can be used as a template to ensure future electoral wins for them.
Are these people insane? If we compare the 2016 US presidential election to 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election, Mahinda was Hillary Clinton. Mahinda Rajapaksa had the entire mainstream media behind him, except Ravaya and Sirasa (coincidently Trump only had endorsement from two media institutions), the power of the State apparatus, unending donations from rich businessmen, and smart money was going for Rajapaksa.
And just like Hillary 2016 campaign, using its overwhelming media presence and resources, tried to convince the US voter that Trump would create a fascist State a la 1930s, Mahinda’s 2015 campaign tried to convince the people that a Maithripala Sirisena’s victory would lead to a separate State with minorities getting uppity. And just like ‘smart money’ betted on Mahinda prior to the 8 January election the ‘smart money’ was betting that Trump would lose. Living in their own bubble, both Mahinda’s 2015 and Hillary’s 2016 campaigns believed that given the choice the people will prefer the status quo and never realized that a whole lot of people have not benefitted from the status quo and the ‘silent majority’ was itching to give their collective finger to the political establishment. And just like the Mahinda’s 2015 team, the Hillary’s campaign is being a sore loser by blaming the ‘shortsightedness’ of some ethnic groups and foreign intervention.
Just like Mahinda’s 2015, Hillary’s 2016 campaign has no idea what was going on in the real world and judging by the statements made by the Rajapaksa loyalists they are never going to seriously review what went wrong and to come up with alternative strategies. For me this is a good thing because it would ensure that Rajapaksas will be out of power for some time, hopefully forever.
P.S – All this is written with the assumption that Trump will keep his election promises, but the empire that he is saddled with is strong and is resistant to change. Hopefully, he won’t go over to the dark side.
Rathindra can be reached via rathindra984@gmail.com
November 16th, 2016 at 7:30 pm
“Just like Mahinda’s 2015, Hillary’s 2016 campaign has no idea what was going on in the real world and judging by the statements made by the Rajapaksa loyalists they are never going to seriously review what went wrong and to come up with alternative strategies. For me this is a good thing because it would ensure that Rajapaksas will be out of power for some time, hopefully forever.”
Thank you Rathindra Kuruwita for telling the truth.
But I want MR to REVIEW what went wrong, FIX them and come back to power. (If they don’t change, they cannot come to power.)
November 16th, 2016 at 8:54 pm
Following some weird logic they also seem to think that Trump’s strategy can be used as a template to ensure future electoral wins for them. – Kuruwita
That weird logic can in fact be THE LOGIC of RULING forever if MR choose to
1. Apologise to nation of his wrong doings ( it may not be hiw own, but ALL under him, most are now with Sira and his family mebers)
2. Come back as a Strong Sinhala Buddhsist Nationalist rather than follower of God and mulit-cultural , multi-riligious mess.
3. Rather than ordering Sinhala to learn Tamil, force all Tamils to learn Sinhalses ( like in Malaysia). His idea is now going to be a rule intorduced to North by his best friend Wiggie.
4. Do not betray Sinhalese , distroy our virgin forrest and donate to Jihadists from Doha. ( Jassim City opened in Dec 2014 without FEAR)
November 16th, 2016 at 9:21 pm
Well said, Rathindra Kuruwita!
Just IGNORE the Katussa (Lorenzo) and his lapdog follower the Kalawedda (Gon-Gonsal), two Eelamist bahiravayas haunting LankaWeb!
Their purpose is to flood LankaWeb with comments that undermine the Patriotic effort to regain control of our Resplendent Motherland now ruled by the Yamapalanaya puppets they helped to bring to power!
November 16th, 2016 at 9:23 pm
Sri Lanka just doesn’t understand the United States at all, and this ridiculous idea that Trump is good for Sri Lanka demonstrates this fact.
First, US interest in Sri Lanka is NOT based on war crimes accountability – this is just a pressure point to gain leverage over the country to counter China’s rise in the area. Although Trump might not be as gung-ho about war crimes accountability and human rights, interest in countering China’s rise remains, and this interest will just assert itself in different ways (e.g., US military bases on the island).
Second, the idea that Trump is anti-Muslim and therefore will promote Sri Lanka’s effort to enshrine Buddhism as the national religion and halt Muslim expansion is similarly misguided. Trump and his supporters are against ANYONE who is not white (100% Caucasian) and Christian, and would frown just as much on Buddhism as they would Islam. Anyone who has ever driven across the middle and southern parts of the United States knows this for a fact, as a large percentage of these people hate anyone who is not white and Christian, and they make up the vast majority of Trump’s voters.
And, finally, how could anyone believe that a guy who made a fortune from gambling, and lives atop a gold-plated tower with his name flashing in lights with a former porn model as his wife that he met at the Kit-Kat Gentlemen’s Club in NYC is anything but the Mara character from the Pali suttas that opposed everything the Buddha stood for and taught? Addiction to ego gratification, sex, gambling, materialism are all things the Buddha was trying to undermine with the Dhamma, as he knew chasing those things does not lead to happiness and only ensnares and enslaves one in a life of suffering. If you could point to one character in real life that represents Mara, Trump would be it, so it is beyond belief that anyone who is sincere about Buddhism in Sri Lanka or anywhere else would celebrate the rise of Donald Trump as leader of the free world.
November 16th, 2016 at 10:33 pm
Mettaya_Bradmana,
I am afraid that it is you who may not understand what is happening politically in the United States!
That, however, is not surprising, because NONE of the ESTABLISHMENT PUNDITS understood the forces and issues that underlay the election victory of Donald Trump.
First, what makes you think that most Sri Lankans do not understand that the US actions against Sri Lanka are driven by its move to confront China, and the Obama Admimistration’s so-called failing pivot to Asia?
That is not a new revelation, it is the ACCEPTED explanation among LankaWeb readers in particular. Did it come to you as a revelation only just now?
Second, no Sri Lankans have been speculating that it is Donald’s opposition to Muslims that will motivate any help he may give to Sri Lanka. How did you conclude that?
Donald Trump has a fresh view point on foreign policy, and he debunks the accepted posture of the Washington and media establishments.
It is not his posture towards Muslims that will benefit Sri Lanka, but his recognition that the broad policies the USA has adopted ovet sevetal decades towards other countries, without consideration of the essential national interests of those countries and their internal demographics has led the United States into blind alleys without viable internal support in those nations from their majority communities.
For example, he reaches out to the Russian nationalist Putin who has broad support in Russia and stoutly defends historically intrinsic Russian interests. He also recognizes that Assad represents a stable majority of an embattled government in Syria that is supported by Russia and Iran, that the USA should not undermine in favor of an unknown minority of “Sunni Democrats” allied to Al-Quaida and ISIS, which are in turn supported by Salafist monarchies in the Persian Gulf. He correctly questions the viability of the US position on Syria in the long term. He has a slew of analyses of recent US foreign plicy failures to support his arguments.
Your third point, that a high-living real-estate mogul is unlikely champion of the public benefit is more valid than your first two points. Yet, he has been interested in entering the political arena for about a decade, and his interest in politics is not a recent absolutely brand new phenomenon.
Moreover, his judgment in focusing on the issues of interest to the average working class American, not necessarily White but cutting across all working class citizen communties, has been impeccable and right on target.
Not only that, his view point on many issues like illegal immigration, amnesty for 14 million illegals, lack of protection of our open borders, international trade and adverse trade agreements, flow and sharing of wealth, decline of local manufacturing, incorrect foreign policy posture and involvement in unnecessary wars, unaffordable national health care also reflect what many Americans feel but have not had a champion. He has also promised to adopt a just and fair foreign policy towards other nations.
Many of the issues he has raised, that reflects his understanding of the issues, are the same issues that we Sri Lankans face. Given that he already has such an understanding, the battle that confronts Sri Lanka in gaining his sympathy is half won. We have to do the rest to seize this opportunity and get his support for Sri Lanka. In doing so, we should remember that the control that Donal Trum and the Republican party now have on ALL 3 BRANCHES of the US Govt will endow a longevity on his policies thatcould extend for DECADES!
It BEHOOVES Sri Lankan leaders to look beyond the demonization of this man by his opponents, and RECOGNIZE the SIGNIFICANCE of the TRUMP REVOLUTION and SEIZE THE DAY to the benefit of our Motherland!
Carpe’ Diem!
November 16th, 2016 at 11:05 pm
OOi USA ,
You did not even read the article and you said “well said”.
What he said was “…..For me this is a good thing because it would ensure that Rajapaksas will be out of power for some time, hopefully forever.”
So now you are a changed man, wanting “Rajapaksas will be out of power for some time, hopefully forever” ?
I will record it and replay later.
November 16th, 2016 at 11:26 pm
Oi Kalawedda (Gon-Gonsal),
No! I don’t agree with those anti-MR statements of Kuruwita, but with those statements he made pointing out the potential benefits to Sri Lanka of Donald Trump’s ascension to the US Presidency!
Down with ALL the EELAMIST AVATARS of the Katussa ( Lorenzo )!
November 17th, 2016 at 9:50 pm
>>>Not only that, his view point on many issues like illegal immigration, amnesty for 14 million illegals, lack of protection of our open borders, international trade and adverse trade agreements, flow and sharing of wealth, decline of local manufacturing, incorrect foreign policy posture and involvement in unnecessary wars, unaffordable national health care also reflect what many Americans feel but have not had a champion.<<<
Trump can't possibly be the champion of these issues, which shows the shear ignorance of Trump voters if they 'really' did vote for him on that basis. Nearly ALL of Trump's suits, ties, shirts that he sells under the Trump brand are made in CHINA, not the USA, so if he were really concerned about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US, he could have started with his own businesses like Brooks Brothers or Allen Edmonds.
Open borders? Have you ever been to Montana? There is no border enforcement at all there, and in many places you could just walk down the street into America from Canada without a single border control person to be found. The "build a wall" thing is CODE LANGUAGE for keeping brown-skinned people out of America, which would include Sri Lankans if you really understood the white nationalist sentiment of most Trump voters. The American food industry would collapse if it weren't for illegal Latino labor, as no one else in America is willing to bend over in the hot sun for hours each day picking fruit and vegetables. These undocumented immigrants have EARNED a right to live in America based on the extraordinary contribution they are making to the American economy. If you asked any of the Trump voters if they were willing to pay double or triple for fruits and vegetables if there was no undocumented Latino labor, they would say NO!
Unaffordable healthcare? Do you remember how it was BEFORE Obamacare? If you didn't have a job where your employer paid your healthcare, you were basically priced out of the market, and forced to rely on 'emergency room care", which has zero chance of forseeing health problems down the road and taking corrective action now to prevent illnesses and death. Preventive medicine was simply out of reach for millions of Americans, only so a few private insurance companies and medical malpractice lawyers could make a buck. Most of the premiums under Obamacare are rising in states that rejected expanded Medicaid (Republican states), so using these states as the example instead of other states where Obamacare is working (Democratic states), is a political ploy to distract attention away from Republican plans to go back to focusing on the profit motive of private insurance companies rather than on quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. It is totally shameful that one of the richest countries in the world can't provide quality healthcare for all of its citizens, and we all know that an insurance company only profits when they provide the LEAST amount of care for their premium, which is not in the best interest of Americans who become ill and need the MOST amount of care necessary to address their health conditions. The private works great in pricing goods if it is a truly free market, but when it comes to providing vital services, the profit incentive forces them to do the least amount that they can to minimize their costs.