{"id":110848,"date":"2021-01-20T17:40:59","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T00:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=110848"},"modified":"2021-01-21T17:57:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T00:57:04","slug":"the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c9e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/01\/20\/the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c9e\/","title":{"rendered":"THE POHOTTUWA GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 2 C9e"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u00a0 The military relationship between Sri Lanka and USA is continuing. Sri Lanka Air Force Airmen and Pacific Air Forces Airmen participated in the first virtual and fourth annual Airmen-to-Airmen Talk, known as A2AT, hosted from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on December 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Talk included subject matter experts from each country in\nlogistics, flight safety, risk management, crisis response, cyber security and\nmedical procedures in response to chemical, biological, radiological and\nnuclear emergencies. The effort is designed to help the Department of Defence\nwork toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region. We\u2019ve been especially\nsuccessful, despite the COVID-19 restrictions, in being able to lay a path for\nour future where we can strengthen the partnership between our two air forces,\nsaid US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admiral Harris, Head of the US Pacific command   spoke at Galle Dialogue 2016 about the US\npartnership in the Indo-Asia-Pacific with special mention of US special\nrelationship with Colombo. He was pleased to see a growing military-to-military\nrelationship between Sri Lanka and the United States, he said. US looks forward\nto working with Sri Lanka as a key force for maritime security, he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA\u2019s\nmilitary interest in Sri Lanka has been expressed in a roundabout way, to avoid\nalarming the public. Sri Lanka occupies a strategic point in the Indian Ocean,\nsaid USA. She sits in the middle of one of the busiest and most strategically important\nsea lanes in the world.  The sea lanes in\nthe Indian Ocean are considered among the most strategically important in the\nworld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 80\n% of the worlds seaborne trade in oil transits through Indian Ocean choke\npoints, with 40 % passing though straits of Hormuz, 35% through the Strait of\nMalacca and 8 % through Ban el Mandab strait. These sea lanes are the gateway\nto the control of resources and market in the near east, Middle East, Africa\nand Asia, said USA.  US wishes to see\nthat the Indian Ocean \u2018remains\u2019 a zone of peace\u201d and that the US military\npresence in the Indian Ocean will help to keep it so. But this sea route has been\nin operation for a long time, observed critics, for centuries in fact.  It is nothing new.   It is now presented as a new discovery by\nthe USA, said critics, sarcastically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US says the Indian\nOcean is a zone of peace today.  Of\ncourse it is, said critics. The sea lanes are working well except for narcotic\nsmuggling and fishing disputes. It is the US war lobby that is creating a\nhighly exaggerated perception of threat in this zone of peace said critics.\nAlso, it is the unnecessary US presence in this region that is actually creating\nthe threat. US military presence here in the Indian Ocean will by itself ensure\nthat the Indian Ocean ceases to \u2018remain\u2019 a zone of peace, critics said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 US should give up the present \u2018Indo-Pacific\u2019 ,revert\nto the original \u2018US-Pacific\u2019 model terminating in the Straits of Malacca, and\nleave the \u2018Indian Ocean\u2019 to the countries in South Asia, concluded critics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are\nthose who   see USA as a positive force. America\nis seen as the steadying force in international relations. We are now facing a situation in which there\nis uncertainty about America\u2019s ability to carry out this role,  but\nthe United States will not disappear from Asia altogether, said USA supporters.\n. U.S. can still do very interesting things in Asia. We don\u2019t know yet what\nthose will be, but the US is not dead and gone, they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US supporters\nin Sri Lanka wish to nudge Sri Lanka gently towards USA. Sri Lankans should\nunderstand that regardless of the emotional reactions to western imperialism,\nthe country\u2019s economy cannot survive without its trading relationship with the\nUnited States, said Kusum and Rienzie Wijetilleke.  the US already has significant influence over\nSri Lanka through its trading relationship with exports averaging USD 2.0 Billion\nannually, a tariff of a few percent would diminish Sri Lanka\u2019s export revenue\nsignificantly, they observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question\nto be asked is not whether Sri Lanka should sign the SOFA and ACSA, but what\nthe government should ask for in return. If certain clauses in the renewal\nagreement are undesirable, for example those relating to protections and\nprivileges for visiting American troops, these must be negotiated.  The notion that US needs to give a grant of\nUSD 500 million via MCC to exert influence on Sri Lanka seems farfetched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States\nremains Sri Lanka\u2019s largest export market and has donated US$ 6 million in\nCOVID-19 assistance to Sri Lanka. USA\u2019s economy may be failing and China\u2019s economy will overtake that of\nUS by 2030, but US natural gas and oil industries will see it become a net\nenergy exporter. US also funds and thus holds considerable sway\nin many multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development\nBank and the IMF, they said. Conditional borrowings from institutions such as\nthe IMF may be better for the country\u2019s long term financial stability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the area\nof foreign policy, Sri Lanka\u2019s decades long and carefully crafted non-aligned\nand neutral foreign policy, which followed a balance between the competing\ninterests of major powers in the region, including of India, seems to have been\njettisoned in favor of a serious pivot towards China. This is unwise and\nweakens key relationships with our largest trading partner the United States\nand, of course, our historical and huge sub continental neighbor India, to the\ndetriment of our own national interests, said Harim Pieris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka has\nbeen linked to the US by a multiplicity of neo-colonial binds over the decades.\nIt would be naive on the part of local opinion to think otherwise. Neo-colonialism\ncannot be wished away said Lynn Ockersz. At\nthis crucial juncture, can Sri Lanka afford anti-Americanism? Sri Lanka has\nno choice but to follow a conciliatory line with US because it cannot afford to\nantagonize the US. To express it plainly and bluntly, Sri Lanka has and will be\na neo-colony of the West for the foreseeable future. It does not have a choice,\nadded Ockersz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 6th<\/sup> Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington while Congress was getting ready to declare Biden President elect. This has greatly affected the image of US to the dismay of US loyalists and the delight of those who dislike the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pro-Trump supporters storming the US Capitol building <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 On January 6th<\/sup>, hundreds of\npro-Trump protesters   scaled the west wall of the U.S. Capitol, pushed\nthrough barriers, tussled with officers in full riot gear and got into the\nSenate. One protester sat at the desk of the Head of Senate, another was seated\nin Speakers office. They ransacked\noffices, broke or overturned   furniture\nand threw files and papers on the floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had come\nfrom all over the country for a rally called by Trump.  When interviewed by television the rioters said\nthey had no regret about storming the Capitol. They sounded very proud about\nit. The next day they went sightseeing in Washington. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Countries\nsuch as Britain, France, Germany watched in disbelief at this attack on one of\nthe world\u2019s \u2018model democracies\u2019. Iran hooted in derision. Russia said the\nUnited States certainly cannot now impose electoral standards on other\ncountries and claim to be the world\u2019s \u2018beacon of democracy\u2019.\u201d They pointed out\nthat US has supported autocratic regimes and armies in other countries. The\nUnited States is the world\u2019s number one backer of such anti-democratic\ngovernments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsuccession problem is not over. They are anticipating trouble at the\nInauguration ceremony. It will take place amidst unprecedented security. National\nMall in Washington will be closed down. It is usually packed with people for\nthe inauguration. The National Guard will be screened. Some of those involved in storming the Capitol\nhad ties to the military. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of\nWashington resembles a fortified compound in a war zone, with most of the\ndowntown area blocked off; security fences topped by razor wire and about\n25,000 National Guard troops deployed to the capital, reported the media.    They are also anticipating trouble all over\nthe country on inauguration day. Michigan has barricaded its   town hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic\nUSA, defender of Free speech, went into repressive action immediately after the\nCapitol incident. Those who were present were identified, from TV footage and dismissed\nfrom their jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Chicago\nreal estate company dismissed one of its agents who were seen at the site. A\nteacher at Allentown, Pennsylvania, was suspended. A Texas lawyer was sacked from his company Goosehead\nInsurance, after social media posts appeared to show him talking about his\nparticipation in the event. Saint\nVincent College, Pennsylvania, accepted the resignation of adjunct professor Saccone,\nwho has said in a Facebook post that everyone around him was “involved in\npeaceful, First Amendment assembly.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of those\nwho expressed support for the siege are also facing discipline even if they\nwere not physically at the Capitol. The\nTexas Republican Party removed Walter West, its sergeant-at-arms, from his\nposition after West made comments on Facebook supporting the Capitol siege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also\nplans for a federal law against \u2018domestic terrorism\u2019 and the criminalization of\ndissent, which would likely be based on the 2019 Confronting the Threat of\nDomestic Terrorism Act introduced by California Representative Adam Schiff,\nsaid the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media had\nits own take on this event. The shocking scene at the Capitol was met with less\npolice force than many of the Black Lives Matter protests that rolled across\nthe country in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis\npolice officers last year, observed the media. This contrasts with the massive\nand intimidating troop presence around the Capitol and other Government\nbuildings during the largely nonviolent protests for Black Americans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the mob\nconsisted of left-wing agitators instead, of black and brown bodies rather than\nwhite bodies, the news would be quite different. Had that been the case, the\nprotesters would never have made it inside at all, let alone allowed to remain\nthere for over four hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media\nfocus is on Trump. But this is not about Trump.   Trump simply tapped into a deep vein of\ndissatisfaction which was lying just below the surface in America. There is unemployment,\nhomelessness, frustration and bitterness at certain levels.  There were nearly 11 million unemployed in USA\nsaid NBC in January 2021. America dismissed 140,000 workers in December\n2020   said Economist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As economic\ninequality deepens and the middle class disappears, vast segments of people of\ncolor as well as whites have become economically desperate and politically\nalienated from the status quo. The costly military activities, along with the\nloss of industry, job outsourcing and displacement by technology, impoverished\nlarge segments of the US population, both white and people of colour, said\nAsoka Bandarage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not\nknown what Trump did to improve this, but  Trump notched ten million more votes in 2020\nthan in 2016 and there was an unprecedented \nRepublican turn out at the last Presidential election.  His Party also gained more seats in the House\nand   increased its Latino votes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asoka\nBandarage    has issued a warning. She points out that it\ndoes not matter who becomes President, in the US, because they are all the\nsame. Republican and Democratic parties both have the same goals, that of big business\nand     world domination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Obama\neconomic inequality increased and Black poverty, mass unemployment and police\nbrutality persisted, she observed. Trump was no better. He introduced massive\ntax cuts and corporate deregulation. He is a member of the ruling elite\nrepresenting its own interests. Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, heavily\nfunded by the billionaire class, also represent elite interests at the expense\nof the general population.  Bernie\nSanders who had genuine democratic ideas, was blocked from winning the\nDemocratic presidential nomination by the party elite in both 2016 and 2020,\ncontinued Bandarage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Racial activism\nis not as progressive as it sounds, said Bandarage. Movements like Black Lives\nMatter have received extensive funding from leading corporation such as Amazon\nand Microsoft. Such movements take attention away  from \ncompany profits into a safe zone of identity politics. justice is equated with racial and gender\ndiversity, not economic equality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the\nCovid pandemic the combined wealth of US billionaires \u2018surpassed $1 trillion in\ngains since March 2020 and the beginning of the pandemic,\u2019 according to a study\nby the Institute for Policy Studies. The top five US billionaires, Jeff Bezos,\nBill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison , saw their\nwealth grow by a total of $101.7 billion, or 26%, during this short period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Systemic\nviolence and repression are not new to the United States. The noble ideals of democracy, freedom and\nhuman rights aside, the United States was founded on plunder of the land and\nexploitation of people, said Bandarage.  (\ncontinued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS \u00a0 The military relationship between Sri Lanka and USA is continuing. Sri Lanka Air Force Airmen and Pacific Air Forces Airmen participated in the first virtual and fourth annual Airmen-to-Airmen Talk, known as A2AT, hosted from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on December 2020. The Talk included subject matter experts from each country in […]<\/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-110848","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\/110848","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=110848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}