{"id":109286,"date":"2020-12-02T18:02:03","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T01:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=109286"},"modified":"2020-12-03T14:25:58","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:25:58","slug":"the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/12\/02\/the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7e\/","title":{"rendered":"THE POHOTTUWA GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 2 C7e"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka\u2019s strategic military location in the Indian Ocean    and\nthe value of Trincomalee to the USA was well understood by the Sri Lanka intelligentsia\nin the 1950s.  The\nintelligentsia knew that Trincomalee harbor could comfortably hold the 7th Fleet\nof the US Navy. This was mentioned regularly in drawing rooms in the 1950s. I\nrecall hearing such conversations as a child. But the possibility of America\nactually doing so was glossed over. That was not\ndiscussed and the general public was not told.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

American\npower is based on alliances not colonies. US\nhas some 60 treaty allies today. In the 20th<\/sup> century, US was mainly interested in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic\nOcean and South East Asia.   Five of the\nseven US security alliances were with Asia-Pacific partners.  US also had defense pacts with sixty nine\ncountries. Sri Lanka was not one of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US was always    deeply interested in Sri Lanka, because of\nSri Lanka\u2019s strategic position in the Indian Ocean but America was not in a\nhurry to capture Sri Lanka. However,  \nwhen China started its rise as a superpower, US decided to project a\nmore powerful image of itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wiswa\nWarnapala says in his autobiography that in 1985 Wiswa was invited to visit USA\non an International visitor programme. \nThe aim was to brief us on the superior US war   weaponry. The focus was on military hardware. The\ntour included the military complexes and the industrial centers engaged in the\nproduction of armaments. The tour gave us a good glimpse of the arsenal in the\nUS .All aspects of their military superiority was shown to us to make sure that\nwe understood the military might of the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the rise\nof China, in the 1980s, the western focus changed. The\nIndian Ocean was a part of China\u2019s new Maritime Silk Route so the Indian Ocean\nbecame vitally important. Sri Lanka’s strategic position in the Indian Ocean\nwhich had always been important now became urgently important, said K. Godage.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n2010 US Senate was told that Sri Lanka is strategically positioned along key shipping\nlanes. \u2018Sri Lanka is strategically located at\nthe nexus of maritime trading routes connecting Europe and the Middle East to\nChina and the rest of Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All\nof China\u2019s and Japan\u2019s energy resource from the Persian Gulf transits Sri Lanka\nand the island has the potential to control or impede the free flow these\nresources to China. Half the world\u2019s\ncontainer traffic also passes through Sri Lanka and the island has the\npotential to block this as well.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In view of strategic importance of Sri Lanka to the US,\nan alliance should be maintained with Sri\nLanka.  US foreign policy should be recast\nfor the purpose.\u2019 Sri Lanka could be used to further US interests in the Indian\nOcean, said US advisors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For US policy\nmakers and military planners Sri Lanka  \nbecame a top geopolitical priority. White\nHouse and Pentagon are trying urgently to figure out how \u2018not to lose Sri Lanka\n\u2018. And also how we can use Sri Lanka to further US national security interest\nin the Indian Ocean, said analysts.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is best to go\ncarefully with Sri Lanka, said advisors. US should adopt a less confrontational approach.  It should follow\na subtle and a sophisticated approach, since the political game had changed in\nSri Lanka.  The formulas which were used\nin the past 20 years are now dead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early 2012 US officials in \nColombo met 15 or so business executives representing companies that\nwere  importing from or exporting to US .\nThe US embassy wanted regular feedback about security related matters in this\ncountry. The meeting was sponsored by the Overseas Security Advisory Council of\nthe US State Department which looked after US business interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was\nsome urgency. It was observed in 2014 that\u2018<\/strong>If Sri Lanka has this same stability for the next five years then\nit will be difficult to   achieve US\nambitions.  A weaker Sri Lanka is easy to\ndominate\u2019.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahinda Rajapaksa,\nPresident from 2005-2015 was not prepared to give in to the US. He had refused to bow down to US pressure to stop the war on\nLTTE.  Also he had established\nlinks with China   and was  \nplanning a big military deal with Russia, which had offered a credit\nline for arms, ammunition, helicopters and land mine clearing. Rajapakse was\nbecoming a serious obstacle to US interests in the Indian Ocean region.  He had to go.    Rajapakse gave them the opportunity by\ncalling for elections in 2015.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US had tried\nand failed to introduce a puppet leader at the Presidential election of 2010,\nbut at the 2015 election, US succeeded. A puppet leader was elected as \u2018common\ncandidate\u2019 and US took control of Sri Lanka. The Yahapalana\ngovernment was a puppet government controlled by the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka had\na highly publicized, triumphant visit from US Secretary of State, John Kerry,\nIn May 2015. The Secretary of State is the highest ranking member of the US Cabinet.\nOther officials followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nisha Biswal,\nAssistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, had visited\nSri Lanka six times by July 2016.  Alice\nWells, who replaced her, was in Sri Lanka in August 2017, Thomas Shannon, [US\nDeputy Secretary Defense], Tom Malinowski [US assistant Secretary for democracy\nand Human rights] and US Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, also visited Sri\nLanka. There is a photograph of Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera holding\nhands with Biswal and Malinowski. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha\nPower, US ambassador to the UN, visited in November 2015. She said USA was\ndeeply committed to supporting Sri Lanka\u2019s efforts at peace, reconciliation and\naccountability.    She feels a strong\nsense of responsibility towards the beleaguered people of all communities of\nSri Lanka. She considered Neelan Thiruchelvam her friend. She said that Mahinda\nRajapakse, when President, had brusquely brushed aside her overtures to initiate\na meaningful dialogue. Gotabhaya and Basil Rajapakse had been even worse. They\nhad been brazenly unpleasant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US supporters\nin Sri Lanka were pleased about the arrival of the USA. America is very\nimportant to us, said Minister Harsha de Silva. 25% of our exports go to US and\n70% of that is garments. Changes in US trade policy have a large repercussion\non Sri Lanka, because of our dependency on the US economy, he added. Within months\nof Yahapalana government coming to power, the application form for a fixed\ndeposit in a state bank asked \u2018are you a US person\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others were\nnot pleased. They saw the Yahapalana government as a puppet government of the\nUSA. They spoke of the \u2018USA led conspiracy that installed the present\ngovernment\u2019.  \u2018The government is pursuing\na Western agenda  and is hell bent on destabilizing post-war Sri\nLanka\u2019, said A.J.M. Mussamil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana  government is following a course of action\nthat is likely to result in a foreign dominated, bankrupt, dependent economy\nthat places enormous burdens on the people, and destroys Sri Lanka\u2019s\nindependence and sovereignty, making us a semi-colony of the USA and its\nallies,   said Tissa Vitarana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current government appears to be highly dependent on the West\nfor its political survival, said critics. \nYahapalana government is   a\n\u2018fully pro-Washington regime\u2019 said Tamara Kunanayagam. Tissa Vitarana said that\nRanil Wickremesinghe was going to make Sri Lanka a puppet of the USA like the\nPhilippines. Mangala Samaraweera is America\u2019s poodle and the West\u2019s darling,\nsaid Rajeewa Jayaweera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the\n2015 election, USA planned to entrench itself comfortably in Sri Lanka. US\nimmediately started to convert Sri Lanka\u2018s economy, administration and society\nto suit the needs of the USA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA had a new Constitution drafted and ready. Keheliya Rambukwella\nsaid in 2017. A new constitution has been prepared by the US and given to the   Yahapalana government .Almost everybody had\naccepted the draft except a bunch led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, complained US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 2015 to 2019 the US started many projects in Sri Lanka which\nwere intended to entrench US thinking. Two batches of senior judges visited US\nin August 2018 and April 2019. The US State Department made provision for a\nResident Legal Advisor in Colombo to provide anti-corruption and asset recovery\ntraining and also support the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery\nand Corruption (CIABOC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Yahapalana government was given three instructions (a) weaken\nthe state, (b) ruin the economy and (c) crush the people. Then a dissatisfied,\nangry, restless society will be created, which will\nbe encouraged to protest. A state of chaos will result. The west will then be able to move in,\nprobably using Right to Protect\u201d (R2P). \n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana\naccordingly, tried to destroy every important segment of the public life of the\ncountry. Sampur power plant was cancelled, to precipitate an energy shortage. Train\ntransport was disrupted by strikes.  The\neconomy was to be drastically changed. Yahapalana planned to revise the Customs\nOrdinance, Inland Revenue Act, Audit Act and reduce the powers of the Central\nBank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 An economic programme was prepared by a team\nled by Ricardo Haussmann of Harvard University, funded by the Open Society\nFoundation of George Soros. This was unveiled at Sri Lanka Economic Forum of\n2016, with Joseph Stieglitz of Harvard participating. Local economists\ncriticized the plan and wanted it dismissed. They\nsaid it was infantile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In agriculture,\nState refused to buy paddy from the local farmers. Their paddy was stored at\nMattala airport. Rice was imported. Villagers at Moragahakanda complained that\nall they needed was just one more round of water and their harvest would be ok.\nThe engineers had sent water, but an order had come from high up, to close the\nsluice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The local\npepper and onion industry faced drastic fall in prices since onions and low\ngrade pepper were imported. Yahapalana planned to sell the Maha Illuppalama\nseed farm to a Bangladesh firm. The acreage owned by the Regional Tea\nplantations was to be limited to 5000 acres. \nGlyphostate and Paraquat vitally important chemicals were banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ministry of Rural Economic Development imported pregnant milch\ncows, carrying highly contagious and deadly diseases, which were new to Sri Lanka.\nThe dairy farmers were thenadvised\nto get rid of the Sri Lankan animals they already had. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The free health service was to be replaced by an insurance based\nservice. Eye surgeons in government hospitals could operate only on patients\nwho get lenses from the Health   service.\nAlso, they could not use equipment loaned by the private sector. The number of cataract surgeries per day at\nthe National Eye Hospital, Colombo, dropped from 80-100 surgeries to 23 per\nday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 A useless Russian drug   for terminal cancer was imported but a drug\nwhich would help cure breast cancer at the early stage was not. Doctors\ntransfer list was delayed. Their vehicle permit was not given, schools were not\nprovided for their children when doctors went on transfer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nregulations governing cosmetic products were removed.   Skin whitening creams containing mercury\namounts very harmful to the users came in. “There is one cream which has\n10,000 times more mercury than the permitted amount, said critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education was\naffected in several ways. Principals due to for promotion were not given their\nappointment letters. Salary arrears of principals and teachers were not paid.\nVouchers were given instead of free school uniform material. External degrees\ncould not exceed the number passing internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Elevated\nHighway Project from Rajagiriya to Athurugiriya was to be built over a lake and\npaddy fields avoiding settlements. Yahapalana  \nchose another route which went over750 land lots, affected 1,010\nfamilies and would demolish 120 shops and business places. Residents wanted to\nknow why the RDA chose such a highly residential area for a highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a\nclear anti Buddhist slant. Buddhism was to be suppressed.  I do not think this was in the Washington\nagenda. It would have been introduced by the anti \u2013Buddhist NGOs in Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bhikkhus were\nimprisoned and elephants were impounded, so that temples and peraheras would be\naffected. The best teachers of Dharmaraja and Mahamaya were transferred\nout.  Dharmaraja and Mahamaya are the two\nleading Buddhist schools in Kandy. This anti Buddhist activity resulted in\nangering the Maha Sangha who then emerged as a formidable anti Yahapalana\nforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA was not\nthat admired and welcomed in Sri Lanka as the US thought.  There was always considerable anti-USA\nfeeling in Sri Lanka. Critics seem to outnumber admirers. A\nNGO attitude survey done   in the year\n2004, found that the Sri Lanka respondents were suspicious of America. America\nwas searching for a centre to block China, they said.    It would be a\nmistake for Sri Lanka to rely too much on USA. Other countries that sought\nWashington assistance found that they were invaded and occupied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 America\nalways creates problems in any country it involves itself in, said Shenali\nWaduge in 2011.  USA has been directly and indirectly involved in coups, invasions,\nregime changes from Iran in 1953 onwards, she added. USA supported   dictators like Pinochet, Marcos, Suharto, Somoza,\nand Pol Pot. Saddam Hussein was\ninitially a CIA agent. Osama Bin Laden was initially nurtured by the US and had\nfinancial interests in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US was the world\u2019s worst offender when\nit came to human rights, critics continued. Look\nat the enormous number of persons the US army has killed in its wars. The chemical Agent Orange in\nVietnam resulted in severely disabled children. \u2018Island\u2019 <\/em>editorial in 2016\nsaid \u2018If the US solves its own problems without being a problem to other\ncountries, it will help solve most of the problems the world is facing\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana\ngovernment rapidly became unpopular. It was seen as the run up to yet another\nbout of foreign rule. When Yahapalana took power in 2015, there was an\nimmediate comparison with 1815. Sri Lanka is definite that it does not want\nanother bout of foreign rule. They think that three rounds of it, Portuguese,\nDutch and British is more than enough. They do not want to be under the USA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, things did not so as smoothly and easily in Yahapalana as\nUS thought it would. The Yahapalana administration did not crush the public\ninto silence as the US hoped. Instead it infuriated the public and acted as a\nwakeup call. Wait till the next election comes\u201d the public said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a\ntriumphant, highly visible start in 2015, with prominent visits by Secretary of\nState John Kerry and other high ranking officials, the USA went into low\nprofile.  Departments like USAID\ncontinued working and US officials   came\nin, but without much publicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public\nreaction to the Yahapalana victory was immediate. The electorate realized what\nhad happened as soon as the 2015 election results were announced and the next\nday, they flocked to the private residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom they had\nrejected at the polls. They insisted that Yahapalana must go and Rajapaksa\nshould take over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were\nhuge meetings, demonstrations and parades in support of Mahinda Rajapaksa such\nas May Day gatherings and Pada Yathra. When they found that Mahinda Rajapaksa\nwas not eligible to contest the next election, the public then turned to\nbrother Gotabaya. They greeted Gotabaya royally when he returned from USA. They\nyelled, garlanded and cheered him. They insisted that he must come forward and\ndefeat Yahapalana in the 2019 election, which he did.  (Continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Sri Lanka\u2019s strategic military location in the Indian Ocean    and the value of Trincomalee to the USA was well understood by the Sri Lanka intelligentsia in the 1950s.  The intelligentsia knew that Trincomalee harbor could comfortably hold the 7th Fleet of the US Navy. This was mentioned regularly in drawing rooms in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109286\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}