{"id":110028,"date":"2020-12-23T17:40:22","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T00:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=110028"},"modified":"2020-12-24T16:18:06","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T23:18:06","slug":"the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c9b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/12\/23\/the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c9b\/","title":{"rendered":"THE POHOTTUWA GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 2 C9b"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Analysts\nobserve that in addition to China, Sri Lanka\nhas close relation with Iran and Russia.     Russia has always stood by Sri\nLanka, they said. Russia supported Sri Lanka at UNHRC in Geneva   and gave military assistance during the war.   Iran gave interest\nfree loans as well as military items. Iran also supplied us with our crude oil requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\na lapse of a few decades when it was battling with Glastnost, Russia is now\ncoming back onto the international scene. Russia now    plans to become a world power. Russia\nstarted by complaining, at the start of the 74th<\/sup> UN General Assembly\nsessions in September 2019, that\nRussia\u2019s role in defeating Hitler is ignored in the west. The sole\ncredit for winning World War II was given to America and Britain, when in\nreality, Britain and America moved in only after Russia had weakened Germany in\nthe east and the Russian army had arrived in Berlin.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, wrote, Expunging\nfrom memory the Soviet Union\u2019s role in the defeat of Nazism, belittling the\nSoviet contribution to the victory, but also  \nretrospectively strip our country of its historic role as an architect\nand guarantor of the post-war world order\u201d. (\u2018Russia in Global Affairs\u2019, 20 September 2019) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian\nAmbassador to Sri Lanka, Yury Materiy  \nsaid in Colombo, that detractors seek to diminish the role of the Soviet\nUnion, in World War II, and portray it as an aggressor along with Nazi Germany.\nThere is a pronounced anti-Russia motive. Young people are being told that the\nmain credit for winning WWII goes, not to the Soviet troops, but to the West,\ndue to the landing in Normandy. It was the Soviet Union that broke the backbone\nof the Third Reich”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has now established significant\nlinks with other countries. Putin was shown standing next to President Ji at\nChina\u2019s 70th<\/sup> anniversary celebrations in Beijing. Russia sent a\ncontingent for the army parade. In the float parade, the second Chinese float\nsilently recognized the Russian Revolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin\nand North Korea’s Kim met for their first-ever summit in April 2019. Putin,\nknown for delaying meetings with international guests, was waiting for Kim when\nhe emerged from his limousine. The two leaders greeted each other warmly,\nshaking hands and smiling. The meeting lasted nearly five hours, reported the\nmedia. Russia is also wooing the elites in Africa, said TIME.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\nis specifically targeting countries which have a toxic relationship with USA,\nobserved TIME. Russia is intervening wherever USA is active. Maduro in\nVenezuela has survived USA sanctions thanks to Russian cash and political\ncover.  In Syria Russia rescued Bashar\nAssad with a militia campaign that forced the US to abandon hopes of ousting him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nleast 18 governments have signed military cooperation deals with   Russia since 2015, said TIME. Two Russian\nwarships docked in the Philippines. Philippines is a US treaty ally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n2019 India signed a $3 billion deal to lease a third Russian nuclear-powered\nsubmarine. Russia\nremains a major supplier of arms to India, despite the fact that the United\nStates has imposed sanctions on nations buying military hardware from Moscow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has started\nto publicly condemn US policy, specially its policy in the Indian Ocean.  during  the UN General assembly 74th<\/sup>\nsession in September 2019, Foreign Minister of Russia , Sergey Lavrov wrote a\npiece to \u2018Russia in Global Affairs\u2019 magazine, (20 September 2019.)  in that piece he said, the [US]\nrhetoric on liberalism, democracy and human rights goes hand in hand with  policies of inequality, injustice,\nselfishness and a belief in their own exceptionalism.\u2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The West\nfocuses on individuals and their rights and freedoms, Lavrov continued. How\ndoes this [fit in with] economic strangulation and overt military threats\nagainst a number of independent countries such as Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, North\nKorea or Syria. The reckless Arab Spring gamble destroyed the unique ethnic and\nreligious mosaic in the Middle East and North Africa. There is also Washington\u2019s open refusal to\nimplement unanimous UN Security Council resolutions is the settlement of the\nIsraeli-Palestinian conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia also\ncommented on R2P\u201d. The interventionist ideology of \u2018responsibility to\nprotect\u2019, R2P, which justifies violent \u2018humanitarian interventions\u2019 without UN\nSecurity Council approval under the pretext of an imminent threat to the safety\nof civilians are part of the same  US policy.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This R2P\nconcept provides for direct reach over the head of legitimate governments.\nObviously, the real purpose is to obtain a tool of interference in the internal\naffairs of states bypassing the UN. The introduction of such new concepts is\ndangerous. It rejects the principles of international law embodied in the UN\nCharter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our American\ncolleagues are persistently trying to mobilize all of their foreign partners to\ncontain Russia and China. US must accept that the emergence of polycentric\nworld is irreversible, no matter how hard anyone tries to artificially hold it\nback (let alone send it in reverse). Most countries don\u2019t want to be held\nhostage to someone else\u2019s geopolitical calculations and are determined to\nconduct nationally oriented domestic and foreign policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lavrov went\nto Delhi and  launched a frontal assault\non US maneuvering in the Indian Ocean region, criticizing the US\u2019s new concept\nof \u2018Free and Open Indo Pacific\u2019 as one that is designed to contain China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In Japan, Lavrov addressed a high-powered gathering\nthat included the Commander of the US-Indo Pacific Command and the Joint Chief\nof Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces. “Why do you need to call\nAsia-Pacific as Indo-Pacific, he asked. The answer is evident – to exclude\nChina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept\nof a “free and open Indo-Pacific region” promoted by the United States\nhas a destructive purpose. Its true objective is to divide the regional states\ninto “interest groups\u201d. Terminology should be unifying, not divisive, said\nLavrov. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lavrov also\ncommented on the US invention of a \u2018rules-based liberal order\u2019 in opposition to\nan \u2018authoritarian order.\u2019 These \u2018rules\u2019 are being invented by the west and\nintroduced into everyday usage and is being actively implemented. This\n\u2018rules-based order\u2019 is intended to affect the powers of the UN Security\nCouncil. Its purpose is to replace the universally agreed international legal\ninstruments and usurp the decision-making process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\nhas taken care to nurture its relationship with Sri Lanka. The Russian\nAmbassador to Sri Lanka, Yury Materiy speaking at Russia Day, 2020 said that\nRussia is not only a European but also an Asian country, due to its\ngeographical position, history, cultural and religious links with the East,\nthus becoming a natural bridge between the East and the West. South Asia and\nAsia-Pacific region remains one of the key priorities of our foreign policy, he\nsaid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka is one of our closest partners and friends in the South Asian region. The\ndiplomatic relations between the two countries were established on February 19,\n1957. Russia has always supported and backed Sri Lanka in all international\nfora, particularly in the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as the\nSri Lankan efforts in UN Peacekeeping Missions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nrecent years, relations between our countries have developed at a good\npace. The latest example of our ever-growing partnership is the working\nvisit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov to Sri Lanka\non January 14, 2020. The Russian Foreign Minister met with the President\nGotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Minister for Foreign\nRelations Dinesh Gunawardena, concluded Ambassador Materiy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President\nSirisena had spoken with President Putin at Fifth Summit of Heads of State of\nthe Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in\nDushanbe, Tajikistan in June 2019. He had told Putin about the difficulties in\nbuying defense equipment from Russia due to a US directive prohibiting his\ngovernment from dealing with some Russian enterprises. This prevented Sri Lanka\nfrom using a credit line made available by Russia. Sirisena had sought advice\nfrom President Putin as to how \u2018the problem could be tackled\u2019. He told Putin\nthat that the three MIGs given by Russia in 1972 to fight an insurgency are\nstill in service.  On his return, President\nSirisena spoke warmly about his interactions with Russian President Vladimir\nPutin, reported the media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vice Admiral\nPiyal De Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, made an official trip to\nRussia in July 2019 at the invitation of Russia. This was the first visit by a\nCommander of the Sri Lanka Navy to Russian Navy Headquarters at Saint\nPetersburg. Vice Admiral\nDe Silva called on the Commander in Chief of the Russian Navy. He participated\nin a working meeting with high level specialists in military technical\ncooperation and was given a detailed tour of a Russian patrol corvette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this\nvisit, representatives from Sri Lanka embassy in Moscow had met with Russian\nNavy Headquarters\u2019 International Relations officers to discuss upcoming visits\nwhich aimed at advancing cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia Naval\neducational institutions. The first exchange visit would be between the Naval\n& Maritime Academy, Trincomalee, and Admiral Kuznetsov Naval Academy, Saint\nPetersburg, the principal education & research centre of the Russian Navy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\nparticipated in Cormorant Strike 2019\u201d, the combined forces field training\nexercise   organized by Sri Lanka\narmy.  Sri Lanka is taking steps to\nenhance naval cooperation with Russia, announced the Foreign Ministry, on that\noccasion. In 2019, Sri Lanka participated at the Main Naval Parade, Russia\u2019s\nlargest-scale international ceremonial event at sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces of the\nRussian Federation General Oleg Salyukov <\/strong>participated\nin Sri Lanka\u2019s 72nd Independence Day celebrations of 2020. General Oleg\nSalyukov thanked the Sri Lankan Government for the invitation and warm welcome\naccorded to him. He commended the Army Commander for his bravery during the war\nand praised him for being one of the most decorated officers in the history of\nthe Sri Lankan military. He placed a floral tribute at the war\nmemorial.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran also been helpful to Sri Lanka, not only with military supplies but\nalso with interest free loans. Iran also supplied us with our crude oil\nrequirements, said K Godage.  Iran is important\nand should not be ignored by Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA\u2019s interest in Iran started due to its oil. American companies\nwere drilling Iran\u2019s oil. USA got rid of Iran\u2019s popular ruler, Mossadegh and\nreplaced him with the awful Shah Reza Pahlavi. The Shah\u2019s secret police SAVAK\nwas assisted by CIA and Israel\u2019s MOSSAD. The Shah was unpopular and the USA had\nto take him away. A theocratic Iranian state, openly hostile towards USA, came\ninto being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA\nthen started its present day battle with Iran. There was the \u2018Iran hostage\u2019\ncrisis, the \u2018Iran Contra\u2019 issue, \u2018Iran nuclear programme\u2019 Iran has loomed large\nin American politics, despite the distance, observed analysts. Currently, USA has imposed sanctions on Iran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran,\nhowever, has not meekly given in to USA as USA hoped. Iran criticizes USA at\nevery turn. When you click on Al Jazeera today, there is sure to be an Iranian\nauthority on the screen, scolding USA. Iran accuses US of being the only country\nto have used nuclear weapons, twice in Japan in 1945, and yet of blocking other\ncountries, especially Iran, from benefiting from a civil nuclear program. Iran\nis simultaneously fighting three cold wars, Israel, Saudi Arabia and US,\ncommented TIME. Iran\u2019s leader\nAyatollah Khamenei, has \u2018confounded every US President\u2019 for the last 30 years,\nTIME added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clash between the two\ncountries is increasing. In 2019, Iran unveiled a set of anti-American murals\non the walls of the former US embassy. The message in the paintings was of a\nviolent US, thirsty for war and bent on tightening its grip on the world, but\nwas in reality, a weakening power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The murals, mainly painted in\nwhite, red and blue, the colors of the US flag, showed the Great Seal of the\nUnited States with a Star of David in it. Instead of an olive branch, the eagle\nis clutching bullets in his talons. Another mural showed the American Global\nHawk drone shot down by Iran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But things are not going well for\nIran either. 2020 began with the assassination of Iranian top military officer\nSoulamani and ended with the killing of Iran\u2019s top nuclear scientist, the\narchitect behind Iran\u2019s nuclear programme Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2020, Fakhrizadeh was\nassassinated outside of Tehran. First, a truck with explosives blew up near the\ncar carrying Fakhrizadeh. Then, gunmen started firing on Fakhrizadeh\u2019s car. The\nimmediate speculation was that Israel had carried out the attack. The\ncoordinated assassination of Fakhrizadeh in Teheran came days after the covert\nIsraeli-Saudi-US meeting that reportedly took place in Neom. All indications indeed point to Israel. In\n2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified Fakhrizadeh, as a\ntarget of his administration. Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh, Netanyahu had\nsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fakhrizadeh was not first Iranian\nnuclear scientist to be assassinated. Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian\nnuclear scientists were assassinated, Masoud\nAlimohammadi<\/a>, Majid\nShahriari<\/a>, Darioush Rezaeinejad, and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. Israel, working\nwith the MEK, was behind the killings said analysts.  The Israeli government never denied the\nallegations. Mujahedin-e-Khalq\n(MEK) is a political party inside Iran, working towards the defeat of the\ngovernment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sri Lanka the Iranian embassy\nstated that the evidence clearly indicates the involvement of Israel in the\nterrorist attack. Israeli authorities have repeatedly named Dr. Fakhrizadeh and\nplanned to assassinate him several times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local analysts have drawn\nattention to the significance of Iran in world politics. Asanga Abeygoonasekera\nhas pointed out that Iran holds a pivotal position in the Middle Eastern\nfrontier.  The recently concluded Abraham\nPact between UAE, Israel and Bahrain backed by Saudi Arabia was intended to\ndeter Iran.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka should take note of two geopolitical\npressure points, said Asanga. First, the Middle East with its Abraham Pact, to\ndeter Iran. Second, in the Indo Pacific region to deter China. If sanctions against Iran are relaxed, Iran\nwould play a much larger economic role in the oil trade. If China is not\ncontained by the US and its allies, it will continue to influence through its\neconomic, military and CCP political model\u201d. \n(Continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Analysts observe that in addition to China, Sri Lanka has close relation with Iran and Russia.     Russia has always stood by Sri Lanka, they said. Russia supported Sri Lanka at UNHRC in Geneva   and gave military assistance during the war.   Iran gave interest free loans as well as military items. Iran also supplied […]<\/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-110028","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\/110028","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=110028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}