By Shivanthi Ranasinghe Courtesy Ceylon Today

Mohini is an old popular ghost story. Apparently, she convinces men who are on the road at odd times to hold her baby until she adjusts her wraparound cloth. However, the minute the man picks the baby Mohini transforms into a fearsome monster. The story is so thrilling with the man either getting frightened to death or unhinged that no one pays attention to the baby’s fate. It becomes obvious that the baby was just an illusion used to trap the man into a defenceless position. 

A perfect parallel can be drawn between this timeless ghost story and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which came into being through an act of the US Congress soon after 9/11. This was supposedly to be the improved version of the already functioning but inefficient USAID that is mired in endless red tape and suffering from a superiority complex. 

The stated objective was to neutralise the growing global hostility against the US from developing nations. The MCC was to be the modus operandi that was to offer grants to countries that meet a certain set of criteria. These grants were to fund development projects that would be led and administered by the host countries. It is noteworthy though this criteria was not honoured in the grants offered to Sri Lanka and Nepal. Instead, violating its own criteria, the US was to administer these projects.  

The USD 480 million grant offered to Sri Lanka discussed two projects. One was to create an economic corridor that would cut across the Island from its East coast to the West coast. The second was to improve public transport systems and upgrade provincial roads so farmers can get their goods to market. It also offered to provide secure land titles to smallholder farmers and other Sri Lankan landholders.

The USD 500 million grant offered to Nepal is to set up a 400KV transmission line along with related infrastructure allowing Nepal to trade in electricity with India. Nepal too is to contribute USD 130 million to be used in the maintenance of the country’s most important highway.

Impossible Conditions 

On the face of it, these grants appear to be innocent — quite like the baby entrusted on unsuspecting men by Mohini. However, not only the US intended to be the boss of these projects, the US also reserved the right to exit from the agreement at any time of their choosing, without taking responsibility for the repercussions. Even though Nepal contributes USD 130 million, Nepal as the supposed beneficiary is not allowed a say on the project’s administration. 

The conditions that the bald eagle’s MCC talons extract are highly subjective and would not be easy for the recipient country to honour. For instance, the Grant insists on the host to uphold its human rights values. 

Most unfortunately, human rights have become a highly politicised tool to bludgeon countries with weaker economies into the bidding of economically stronger countries. The western nations are forever stoking disharmony and instability in other countries. They thus at their convenience deliberately misinterpret crucial steps taken by other Governments to strengthen national security as an undermining of human rights. 

A case in point would be the allegations levelled at Sri Lanka by entities as the UNHRC over the arrest and detention of radicalised Muslim youth since the Easter attack. Intent on discrediting Sri Lanka, this effort to eradicate Islam extremism has been misconstrued as marginalisation and intimidation of minorities. 

The MCC Compact (MCCC) was announced by the then Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera just four days after the Easter attack. He thought the USD 480 million was the golden nugget we got out of this attack. If the timing of the announcement was in bad taste, then the congratulatory mood of the Yahapalana Government Ministers was worse. 

This sequence of events brings forth an important question: could there be a link between the Easter attack and the MCCC? Even the best laid plans can go awry and it appears that it is so with the Easter attack as well. To date, motive has not been established and thus we do not know if those who planned these attacks even achieved their goals. 

However, if we allow ourselves to consider the alternate reality, we may be able to appreciate the harrowing trap we narrowly escaped. That is, 

n instead of the calm and peace that prevailed in the aftermath, had riots followed;

n Suppose these riots allowed those who were behind the Easter Attack to launch the other acts of violence that they had prepared to unleash; 

n In the midst of this confusion and violence that the MCCC was signed. 

Had this sequence followed, then the country would have been in an unenviable twist with extremism and terrorism back in action. We would have been unable to move a finger with US threatening to pull the plug on the MCCC if we do not manage our internal affairs as per their dictation. 

Even without such speculation, it is obvious that the MCC would be a ruse. Even if the projects under the Grant were managed by the host country, that country would not be able to escape from foreign powers meddling into internal matters through other guises as human rights concerns. As Governments these countries would be unable to meet their obligations to the people and would have to be on bended knee and bowed head to the US until the project is completed. However, whether the misadventures for the recipient countries would end with the MCC projects is questionable. 

Hidden agendas

These grants, offered to both Sri Lanka and Nepal, had a time limit of five years. At the end of the five years, irrespective of the project’s status, the Grant ceases. If the project fails to be completed by this time, the full weight of the incomplete project would be on the recipient country. This however is likely to be the least of the country’s concerns. 

For instance, granting land titles to smallholder farmers and other landholders was only seemingly humane in intent. In actuality, the real agenda was quite devilish. 

Most of Sri Lankan farmers and landholders are living off Government property for generations without owning an inch of land to their names. Thus the property that they live on cannot be divided among their children nor offered as mortgage to a bank to seek monetary assistance. They also do not have the freedom to grow the crop of their choosing. Therefore, gifting them with a title deed to the land they have been living for generations appears to be a most humane act. 

However, a farmer needs more than a land to his name to establish his independence. The Government policies too must be conducive to the farmers’ requirements. As these farmers are now cultivating Government land, the State is obliged to provide or subsidise seeds, fertiliser, technology and even control market prices. 

Once the farmer has his own land, whether supporting the farmer will continue to be an obligation a Government is willing to undertake will depend entirely on its beliefs. The UNP, headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe and in which Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa was its deputy, do not see the point in supporting agriculture in Sri Lanka. As far as the UNP is concerned, agriculture is a failed venture in Sri Lanka despite 60 per cent of the population engaged in the agrarian industry. 

The Yahapalana Government that was in power at the time the MCCC was trying to make its way into Sri Lanka certainly did not support the farmer. Instead, as ardent followers of neo-liberal principles their policy was to allow market forces to act freely. Hence, importing food products at cheaper prices than protect the domestic farmer was logical to these politicians. 

The economic corridor that the MCCC was trying to push into Sri Lanka was not for small or medium enterprises or farmers. It was for conglomerates. This means that our farmers would have to compete against corporate farmers sans Government support. 

Had Sri Lanka accepted the MCCC, the likely scenario would end with the farmer struggling to get a fair price for his produce. Between the cheaper imports and produce from corporates enjoying economies of scale, the small farmer would not be able to compete and survive. 

As the owner of the land, the farmer would be able to mortgage it. However, without a good return on investment whether he will be able to release it from the bank is highly doubtful. Consequently, the alternative before the farmer would be to sell his land to a corporate or allow it to be foreclosed by the bank. This would be later auctioned by the bank to corporates. 

This will leave the farmer landless. A repetition of the displacement of our citizens that took place with the Waste Land Ordinance by the British forced occupiers. Our farmers without land to cultivate would be forced to work as labourers in the corporate sector ushered in by the MCCC. 

The MCCC might have delivered on the two projects as specified in it. However, it does not take a genius to realise that the yield would be poisoned fruits. 

Why is Nepal balking over MCC? 

It was Nepal that pursued the MCC Grant since 2012. Nepal finally qualified for it in 2014. The MCC was signed in 2017 and a Government entity Millennium Challenge Account-Nepal (MCA-Nepal) was set up to implement the account. 

However, since then the Nepali Government and people had shown extreme reluctance over the Compact. Hence, despite pressure from the US the Nepali Government had been sitting on it. This was only presented to Parliament in 2019. Even though more than two years have lapsed since then, this remains without being ratified in Parliament. 

The US is getting impatient and has even set the deadline to have it ratified by 28 February. The US has assured the Nepali Government that it has the freedom to accept it or reject it. With the same breath the US warned Nepal of dire consequences if they reject this Compact. The US has promised that in such an event all aid with the US interest that Nepal has been enjoying thus far will cease. In a thinly disguised veiled threat, the US has even indicated that their attention will lock on Nepal’s human rights records. 

Nepal’s hesitation is truly surprising as Nepal had been enjoying the US patronage since 1947. With the ‘Quit India’ movement, Nepal needed a strong force to replace the departing British. US, who was concerned over the rising communism, became a willing partner as Nepal’s neighbour, Tibet is a country that has strategic interest to China. 

Over the years, with tensions between India and China rising, Nepal feared for its sovereignty. Hence, Nepal found it a relief to have US’s strong support. Therefore, when MCC was been signed, the Nepalis did not blink. 

This all changed when then-Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia David J Ranz and then Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Alice Wells made the mistake and revealed that the MCC is an integral part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy to neutralise China. It was this point that alarmed Nepal. 

The fact that Nepal is risking the wrath of the US indicates a change in perspectives with regard to global power. For obvious reasons, Nepal does not want to be caught in this power struggle. However, there is more to the story. 

Nepal’s reluctance must be viewed alongside the diplomatic boycott US is calling over Olympics Winter 2022 to be held in Beijing. Only 14 nations have backed US. Even New Zealand has pinned their absence on Covid-19 and not the boycott. This is a contrast to Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980 when 66 countries, including athletes, headed the US led boycott. 

Mohini & the MCC

Countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal are also like Mohini’s victims. Instead of strengthening the home front, we loiter trying to latch onto a superpower. Conversely, countries like China worked with single-minded determination to be where they are today. It is not its size or population for tiny morsels like Singapore too have grown to be formidable forces. 

Like Mohini uses a baby, the MCC too is enticing countries like ours with projects that if we agree to carry will leave us in a helpless mess. Just like this ghost story where a beautiful young woman transforms into a devil, we will see the US’s monstrous side as they will hound and harry us into their bidding while they adjust the geopolitical powers to their liking. 

We have to be grateful to this Government for letting the MCCC to lapse without  signing it. This was done despite the pressures exerted from bodies as the UNHRC. Consequently we can expect a few punches at this forthcoming session as well. That is alright for we will survive. 

Today, Nepal is in a similar situation we were in 2019-2020. Hopefully, Nepal will draw inspiration from Sri Lanka and stand its ground. After all, the projects that the MCC is promoting have anyway been in Nepal’s pipeline. 

(ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com)