{"id":112953,"date":"2021-03-23T18:26:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T01:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=112953"},"modified":"2021-03-23T18:26:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T01:26:46","slug":"have-the-superpowers-ever-helped-the-third-world-countries-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/03\/23\/have-the-superpowers-ever-helped-the-third-world-countries-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Have the Superpowers ever helped the Third World Countries?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Garvin Karunaratne<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Today at the UNHRC in Geneva we have seen the UK and other Developed Countries sponsor a vote against our country. In detail,\u00a0 this resolution involves the UNHRC establishing a programme to document human rights violations and find and preserve evidence against our war heroes for prosecution in International courts for incidents where they had to use fire power to defend the sovereign country. It is time we stop adoring the UK. It\u00a0 follows that sanctions will inevitably follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Even India that should\nhave stood with us abstained. Yet we implement the 13 th Amendment imposed on\nour country by force- our President Jayawardena shivered in his boots and gave\nin and he even incarcerated his members of parliament in a Four Star Hotel and\nmarched them to Parliament to approve the 13 th Amendment, the implementation\nof which will someday split our country into two. He held letters of\nresignation signed by his members of parliament which he threatened to use to\ndeprive them of their seats in Parliament if they refused. That was the\n\u2018democracy\u2019 of Jayawardena, the Don Juan Dharmapala of our time who sold our\ncountry to India and the IMF.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context it is worthwhile assessing whether the\nSuperpowers ever helped our countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Fifteenth Century, the Superpowers conquered over half\nthe World and imposed their colonial domination. Sovereign countries that had\ntill then enjoyed peace, had self reliant and self sufficient economies were\nstructurally altered to produce crops for export and also to be the consumers\nof the manufactured products of the Superpowers. The highlands lands in the\nhills, that enabled people to obtain their firewood and building materials,\nwhere their cattle were tethered during the paddy cultivation and also retained\nwater throughout the drought months for cultivation was taken over under the\nCrown Lands Ordinance which deemed that all unoccupied land belonged to the\nState. These lands were then sold to Europeans at some five shillings an acre\nfor opening up plantations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sri Lanka the railways were built to bring down tea and\nrubber from the hill country. To build the Railway lines the British used\nRajakariya- forced labour, (normally enlisted for two weeks a year,  to\nmaintain the village infrastructure of tanks and channels), to pull down the\nforest, clear the rail track and laydown rails. People were forced to travel\nfrom far. It is reported that the number of people killed by snake bites while\nlaying the rail track  is more than the number of sleepers on the rail\ntrack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Superpowers benefitted from the colonial economies. From\nBengal, a small state of India, when the East India Company defeated Shiraj Ud\nDaulah, the ruler of Bengal 2,750 million pounds was sent to Britain,- in the\nfirst eight years of Company rule, 5.9 million pounds were extracted out of\nBengal\u2026In the 1770 famine where a third of the population of Bengal died, more\ntaxes were colleted than in the earlier year\u2026. the yearly drain of wealth from\nIndia represents at least pounds 35 million.\u201d This income from all colonies\nenabled Britain to become wealthy, build skyscrapers, develop social security\nand free health  systems for their entire population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the colonies became sovereign states the Superpowers had to\nchange their modus operandi.  Then it became controlling the countries\nvery unofficially, covertly and at times enforced with threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us see what happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One can quote Professor Jeffery Sachs: The USA has thrown elections\nthrough secret CIA financing- putting foreign leaders on CIA payrolls.\u201d(From;\nCommonwealth Economics for a Crowded Planet) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1953, a  CIA Coup was staged in Iran.   . The\nCIA ousted the democratically elected ruler, Mohammed Mosadegh, ushered in a\nquarter century of brutal rule under the Shah and stimulated the rise of\nIslamic fundamentalism and anti Americanism in the Middle East.(Stephen Kinzer:\nAll the Shah\u2019s Men) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mossadegh had sought to make Iran a full democracy. He\nnationalized the Iranian Oil industry   that belonged to the Anglo\nIranian Oil Company. In August 2013, the CIA formally admitted  that it\nwas involved both in the planning and the execution of the coup, including the\nbribing of Iranian politicians, security and army high ranking officials as\nwell as pre-coup propaganda.\u201d(wikija.org) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rohith , a Director of Adult Education in Afghanistan was a\nbatchmate of my doctoral studies at Michigan State University in 1978. He told\nme again and again to take a month\u2019s leave after studies and come to\nAfghanistan when he promised to take me all over the country when he goes on\ncircuit. Afghanistan was a prosperous country till the USA and Russia invaded\nit under various pretexts.  Today it is a country torn between war lords. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sovereign countries mustered their resources and developed\ntheir agriculture and industry. Sri Lanka was in the forefront and achieved\nself sufficiency in paddy, the staple crop by 1970 and did wonders in the\nimport substitution type of industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The countries developed their agriculture by having streamlined\nextension systems, also using people\u2019s organizations like cooperatives and\ncultivation committees to plan and enlist the participation of the people. The\nUSA itself- its,  Agency for International Development and  its \nFord Foundation backed by expertise at Michigan State University, spearheaded a\nrural development programme in the Kotwali Thana of the Comilla District. In\nunder a decade the yield of paddy was doubled, industries were developed and\npoverty was totally alleviated. Kotwali Thana is today an oasis within a\npoverty stricken country. Its method was through cooperative extension work and\ntotal development, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third World agricultural development had to be stopped . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This the Superpowers did in around 1978, through the World Bank.\nAs each trained agricultural officer at the village level had over a thousand\nfarmers, cooperatives were used to enable the farmers to cooperate. In Sri\nLanka there were two peoples organizations- the multipurpose cooperatives and\nthe cultivation committees to organize paddy cultivation. The World Bank barred\nagricultural officers from using peoples organizations. Instead the officers\nwere asked to contact farmers direct.  To make the various countries accept\nthis system, an Aid package was offered . The Training and Visit System is\nfinanced under IDA Credit where funds are brought in on foreign aid  to\nmeet the salaries of local officers and servicing costs. The IDA Credit is also\nbased on a grace period of 10 years so that the Government that takes the\nloan  has nothing to worry about the consequences of repayment.\u201d (From:\nKarunaratne:Administering Rural Development in the Third World(1983) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The adoption of the Training & Visit System totally\ndestroyed the agricultural extension systems that had been built up in Sri\nLanka and other similar countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USA was very keen to develop their sale of wheat. The USA\ncame up with Public Law 480(PL480) which provided wheat at concessionary rates\nto Developing Countries. Food Aid was provided till the countries came to\ndepend on it.  A USA Department of Agriculture Officer once said: We\ntaught people to eat wheat, who did not eat it before.\u201d Orville Freeman, US\nSecretary of State said; in the last seven years our agricultural exports to\nTaiwan climbed by 531%  and to South Korea by 643%.  PL480 makes good\nsense.\u201d(From Lappe & Collins; Food First: Beyond the Myth of\nScarcity)  It has been proved that the inroads of wheat sales has had a\ndetrimental effect on local agriculture in that bread found a place and ousted\nlocal grains, yams etc. that  were consumed by people earlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Third World countries were at the forefront of developing\nnew varieties of paddy,  Sri Lanka established seed producing\nstations  and developed new varieties well before 1955. This enabled the\ndoubling of yields. To undo this the Superpowers through the IMF advised the\nprivatization of seed farms. Many important seed farms were privatized. The USA\nalso established the International Rice Research Institute in Manila,\nPhilippines in 1990 and sought to undermine the  production of new\nvarieties by countries.  In my words: Sri Lanka was the first country to\ncome up with miracle paddy seeds. In 1955 we had H4 and immediately afterwards\nH 8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We privatized most seed farms and thereby cannot assure our\nfarmers of high yielding certified seed. Distributing high yielding certified\nseed and organizing cultivation was the mantra by which we became self\nsufficient by 1970.  Our country was deprived of certified seed as well as\nthe extension service through cooperatives, all at the behest of the World Bank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, multinationals in the USA  that deal with\nseeds  are engaged in a massive campaign to buy all the seed farms all\nover the World\u2026 Led by Monsanto they are buying seedfarms.. The multinationals\nare seeking patents for the seeds they develop and they have also developed\n\u2018terminator technology\u2019 whereby the crop that is produced from the certified\nseed does not germinate. It follows that once the multinationals develop new\nvarieties the farmers even in the remotest areas  will have to purchase\nnew seeds from the multinationals. Gone are the days when farmers can retain\ntheir stock of seeds from the earlier harvest to the next.\u201d(From: How the IMF\nRuined Sri Lanka) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka is blessed with many resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Superpowers  have tried again and again to wrest\ncontrol of these resources. Eppawela has a major Phosphate resource . A US\nmultinational was interested in securing this phosphate and I quote from the Report\ndone by scientists appointed by Minister Batty Weerakoon once Minister of\nTechnology.(who passed away today-6\/01\/2019): <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal of the US mining company will exhaust the resource\nin 30 years, with insignificant benefit to the country. The proposal is highly\nenvironmentaly damaging and does not serve in the national interest in any\nmanner. Mountains of gypsum, an unwanted byproduct  will accumulate\npolluting the environment\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The invasion on phosphate had to be stopped by a  Supreme\nCourt order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to enable people-farmers to increase their production\nand thereby alleviate their poverty, Sri Lanka had in place a development\ninfrastructure. This included the Marketing Department(MD) activities- the\nVegetable and Fruit Purchasing Scheme under which the MD purchased vegetables\nand fruits from producers at a higher rate than what was offered by\ntraders,  This produce was transported to the Cities and sold at Fair\nPrice Shops at cheap rates. The MD kept a margin of 15% for handling and wastage\nas opposed to 100% kept by traders. The fruits were processed into Jam and\nJuice, which enabled the country to become self sufficient. The MD ran rice\nmills which milled paddy into rice. The MD had a Bakery which produced bread\nand pastries. The MD used to run canteens at festivals like Kataragama where\nfood was sold at cheap rates, competing with hoteliers. This was the\ninfrastructure we had to combat inflation. The International Monetary Fund\n(IMF) forbid the countries from attending to commercial undertakings and the MD\nwas abolished.  With this the producers found it difficult to sell their\nproduce and this reduced production. Imports increased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the advice of the IMF, which is run by the Superpowers,\ndevelopment was brought to a standstill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once President Clinton tried to entice Bangladesh. Let me\nnarrate what happened: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the overtures of President Clinton on his current visit\nto Bangladesh, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has refused to change\nBangladesh\u2019s long held stance  against the liberalization of  of gas\nexports until local needs were met and a fifty year reserve was assured.\nPresident Clinton had earlier announced $ 97 million in food aid, $ 84 million\nin clean energy initiatives and $ 8.6 million to reduce abusive child labour,\n\u2018debt for nature\u2019 swap and forgave $ 6 million  in Bangladesh\u2019s external\ndebt but Prime Minister Sheik Hassina stood her ground stating, \u2018we would like\nto lead a life of dignity\u2019. The decision of the Government of Bangladesh\ndisappointed US and British Companies as well as the World Bank. Their idea was\nto prise open the gas reserves of Bangladesh for exploitation by multinationals\nand the bulk of the wealth created would flow to the Western Companies.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One can go on for ever detaling how the Superpowers have tried\nagain and again to ruin Third World countries. This is a never ending saga.\nThey have never helped us. Instead they want us to produce raw materials, sell\nit to them and buy their manufactures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka is already trapped by the International Monetary Fund-\nthe IMF by their imposing the Structural Adjustment Programme on us which\nadvised us to spend foreign exchange which we did not have and advised us to\nmeet the shortfall with loans. We are now an indebted country to the extent of\n$ 60 billion, of which say half was spent on development projects-Mahaweli,\nroads and armaments to win the war etc and half spent to help the rich, on IMF\nadvice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is time we shake off the shackles of domination from foreign\nSuperpowers and their IMF. Instead we have to follow a non aligned path and\ndevelop our resources, help our people to increase production get employed in\nindustry and alleviate poverty.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paper will also appear in my forthcoming book: Selling the\nMotherland & Ideas for Development at Godages <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garvin Karunaratne  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former GA Matara. 23\/3\/2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Garvin Karunaratne Today at the UNHRC in Geneva we have seen the UK and other Developed Countries sponsor a vote against our country. In detail,\u00a0 this resolution involves the UNHRC establishing a programme to document human rights violations and find and preserve evidence against our war heroes for prosecution in International courts for incidents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-garvin-karunaratne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112953","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=112953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112953\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}