{"id":146569,"date":"2024-12-14T19:03:14","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T02:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=146569"},"modified":"2024-12-14T19:03:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T02:03:14","slug":"usa-takes-more-steps-to-destabilize-sri-lanka-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/12\/14\/usa-takes-more-steps-to-destabilize-sri-lanka-india\/","title":{"rendered":"USA Takes More Steps to Destabilize Sri Lanka &\u00a0India"},"content":{"rendered":"

e-Con e-News<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Before you study the economics, study the economists!<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e-Con e-News 08-14 December 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BJP National Spokesperson & MP Sambit Patra<\/em><\/strong> directly accused<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the US State Department of trying to \u2018destabilise India\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

& claimed that the US \u2018Deep State\u2019 is working<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

to <\/em>\u2018target Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/em><\/strong>\u2018.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 MK Bhadrakumar (see ee Sovereignty<\/em>, Beware the US Deep State)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Lisa Curtis, a Senior Fellow & Director of the Indo-Pacific Security<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program at Center for New American Security, is a foreign policy &<\/p>\n\n\n\n

national security expert in the US government, including at the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Security Council<\/strong>, CIA<\/strong>\u2026 Her work has centered<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on US policy toward the Indo-Pacific & South Asia, with a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

particular focus on US-India strategic relations<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

& China\u2019s role in the region<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 see ee Sovereignty<\/em><\/strong>, Pathfinder hosts US South Asia Expert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018In times of major crisis, regional collaboration & timely sharing of information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

is critical to an effective & rapid response<\/strong>. We must prepare ourselves<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for every scenario<\/strong>, which includes ensuring that we can respond to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

any Chemical, Biological, Radiological, & Nuclear <\/strong>incident in the region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 to save the lives of our people<\/strong>, <\/strong>maintain our economies<\/strong>, & protect our way of life<\/strong>.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Roy Baran in Colombo (see ee Sovereignty<\/em><\/strong>, US International Security)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The masked Lone Ranger<\/strong> & his native informant Tonto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

find themselves surrounded by hostile Apache:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ranger asks Tonto: \u2018Wha\u2019 we gonna do, Tonto?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonto replies: \u2018What you mean we<\/em>, white man?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 An American Fairy Tale<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, indeed! Who\u2019s we?<\/em> Who or what or where on earth does this Roy Baran mean by \u2018our<\/em> people\u2026 our economies \u2026our way of life\u2019? There was little publicity given to Baran\u2019s 3-day December \u2018Disaster Workshop\u2019 in Colombo, even as the US embassy ensured there was many glossy photos handed out focusing on the US State Department\u2019s \u2018Coup-lees\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 laughing Imran-Coupster Donald Lu, USAID\u2019s Anjali Kaur, with the US Treasury\u2019s Robert Kaproth, USAID Mission Director Gabriel Grau & US Embassy\u2019s Political Officer Shawn Gray, trailing behind the ubiquitous Jiyoon (Julie) Chung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 With US Coup-lees of Color Chung & Lu & Kaur Providing Shade \u2013<\/strong> <\/strong>The assassinated African American leader Malcolm X, noting the penchant for the US white-settler government to send Black officials & celebrities (Ralph Bunche, Louis Armstrong, etc.) to whitewash their imperialist designs across the world, called them \u2018State Department Kneegrows<\/em>\u2019 \u2013 for they knelt before the white man\u2019s horrors. The word \u2018coolie<\/em>\u2019 (resonating in \u2018wage slavery\u2019 in Sinhala and Tamil; & \u2018bitter strength\u2019 \u2013 kuli<\/em> \u2013 in Chinese) is an equally reprehensible word as \u2018negro<\/em>\u2019, and was used to denote predominantly enslaved Asians. So here, Lu & Chung et al are referred to as \u2018State Department Coup-lees\u2019, as the descendants of collaborators with US & English & Japanese imperialists who sought to enslave China, Korea & India, and now wish to enslave us further.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy Baran<\/strong>, a Senior Analyst at US State Department\u2019s Bureau of International Security<\/strong> & Nonproliferation led a \u2018SR2 Sri Lanka\u2019 workshop, sponsored by the US Embassy & Sri Lanka\u2019s Disaster Management Centre<\/strong>. They wish to \u2018improve readiness for Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies<\/strong>\u2019. 40 actors (or reactors!) joined him from the US, Maldives, Bangladesh & India as well. The workshop is part of a series by the US Office of Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism<\/strong> \u2018to deter & defend against the increasing use of CBRN weapons globally\u2019. As far as we can recall, the only state to use nuclear weapons is the USA itself. And as for \u2018Weapons of Mass Destruction\u2019 (WMD), Iraqis at least know what that has meant for their country. (see ee Sovereignty<\/em><\/strong>, US & SL Advance Emergency Preparedness)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     So what does \u2018terrorism<\/em>\u2019 mean, when the USA, unable to get their own working-class grunts to kill abroad, are backing settler-Israel & Ottoman-dreaming Turkey, to fund, arm & direct Zionist baby-killers & Al Qaeda & ISIS head-choppers to decapitate Syria. ISIS?<\/em> April 2109, anyone? Why are the Colombo Archbishops, Anglican & Catholic, radio silent about the slaughter of their fellow-believers in Syria (let alone Palestine)? The Muslim leadership, too. Silent as Judas. Though, it\u2019s not about religion after all, no? It\u2019s politics, and more precisely \u2018political economics\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Much of Asia is still colonized by the white man, outside of China, Free (aka North) Korea, Vietnam, Russia. So what disaster is Baran preparing us for? Is the disaster, their fear, that Sri Lanka may eventually reject their genocidal \u2018way of life\u2019 and opt for \u2018the threat of a good example\u2019 that China et al offer? Another \u2018way of life\u2019 they are desperately trying to prevent the world from seeing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In this ee Focus<\/em><\/strong>, Shiran Illanperuma in Shanghai reports on the recent Global South Academic Forum <\/strong>there, with the theme \u2018Global South & Global Modernization\u2019, where over 250 guests from 35 countries & regions concluded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Without socialism<\/em><\/strong>, independence movements<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

in weaker nations during the imperialist era,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

cannot address issues of new & old colonialism<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 So who\u2019s to stop us? Well, there were even less publicity about the entry of another angel of death, hosted in Colombo by the Exxon-Rockefeller Pathfinder Foundation\u2019s t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate \u2013 Lisa Curtis, the National Security Council<\/strong> & CIA<\/strong> expert on \u2018US-India strategic relations<\/strong>\u2026 & China\u2019s role in the region<\/strong>\u2018. The supine media tells us the workshop was to prepare for the advent of the latest nuclear-gunslinger-in-charge Donald Trump. And who was there? \u2013 un-named \u2018experts on security & academia, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomats, & leaders from trade, commerce & industry\u2019. (see ee Sovereignty<\/strong>, Pathfinder\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     So who could these \u2018experts\u2019 be? Especially from \u2018trade, commerce & (non-existent) industry?\u2019 It turns out that there were no election-promised ruling-NPP \u2018negotiations\u2019 with the IMF, because both sides of the table include these expert \u2018private bondholders\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018While the Government trumpets its recent ISB restructuring, a closer look reveals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a sweetheart deal for a select few, struck at the expense of the Sri Lankan people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local entities<\/strong> including commercial banks<\/strong>, represented by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

whose Chair Duminda Hulangamuwa<\/strong> is now an advisor to the incumbent President,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

were allowed to swoop in like financial vultures during the Covid crisis, snapping up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lankan ISBs at fire-sale prices \u2013 discounts of up to a staggering 45-50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This windfall for the privileged few came at a steep price<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for the nation, further draining our dwindling foreign reserves.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(see ee Focus<\/em><\/strong>, D Pathirana)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, as Pathirana suggests, the local bondholders include local private banks who cashed in on the \u2018debt default\u2019 in 2020. Why didn\u2019t the then (SLPP) government, in 2020, buy back the debt at \u2018fire sale prices\u2019 as Ecuador under Rafael Corea did, in 2008, when they \u2018boldly repurchased their defaulted ISBs at a mere 10% of their original value?\u2019 Will the NPP-JVP also be hijacked by the import merchants & moneylenders, agents of the multinational corporations, themselves puppets of the imperialists, who have assassinated, couped (militarily & otherwise) and waged terrorist wars (against popular leaders in Sri Lanka)? What Pathirana does not say is that these \u2018local banks\u2019 are not local<\/em> at all, but agents of foreign banks. The largest local private bank, Commercial Bank<\/strong> of Ceylon is also owned by the World Bank\u2019s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which has their claws in numerous other import cartels<\/strong> (Sunshine Holdings, Star Garments, to name just 2) and dismantling state enterprises (SL Telecom, SriLankan Air), and banks (DFCC) etc. \u2013 see ee Focus<\/em><\/strong>, House of Cards<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     We should add that Ecuador\u2019s Corea also offered to train the US government in real \u2018human rights\u2019. They also formed a public debt commission, which ruled that country\u2019s debt earlier incurred were illegal due to the unfair private gains<\/strong>, etc.The US then funded a judicial coup against Corea\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2022 Right after the State Department\u2019s laughing coup-lees & their dour handlers flew away, the US government targeted Lanka\u2019s ex-envoy to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, and former Sri Lankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, sanctioning their families as well. Their crime is (other than being allied to Gotabhaya and Mahinda Rajapakse\u2026.But strangely, leaving out Basil R\u2026) for buying aircraft from US industry\u2019s competitors, Russian MIGs, and France\u2019s Airbus. So what\u2019s this \u2018Cola-very\u2019 about? Simultaneous with the latest US sanctions on Sri Lanka, we find out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) unveiled the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Corruption Risk Mapping Research: a Study on Sri Lanka\u2019s Private Sector\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on Dec 12 in Colombo, presenting an in-depth analysis of corruption risks\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

allegations of private sector entities engaging in political lobbying &<\/p>\n\n\n\n

significant market manipulation through the creation of monopolies\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

women were at a higher risk of being solicited for sexual bribes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in exchange for jobs, promotions or even to provide a service.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(see ee Economists<\/em><\/strong>, US TISL launches research report)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, look at all this timing, such synchronicity? Have they just discovered the private mother of all corruptions? This ee<\/em><\/strong> Focus<\/em><\/strong> looks at the curious & curiouser origins of Transparency International<\/strong>. In 1955 \u2018the most predatory aspect\u2019 of the world economy was exposed in the operations of such Multinational Corporations (MNCs) Unilever, <\/strong>etc \u2013 then called Transnational Corporations (TNCs<\/strong>). The Bandung Final Communiqu\u00e9 of the NonAligned Movement (NAM)<\/strong> pointed to TNCs like Unilever, who had emerged under colonial rule, a product of colonial theft with privileged access to raw materials & captive<\/strong> markets<\/strong>. The attempt at a New International Economic Order (NIEO) in the 1970s sought to control TNCs either by regulation or restriction. In 1974 the UN Centre for Transnational Corporations (UNCTC) <\/strong>was set up.However, the TNCs struck back. In the 1960s many scholars like Samuel Huntington<\/strong> even argued that corruption \u2018humanises government\u2019<\/strong>! In such influential \u2018modernisation literature\u2019, corruption was treated as an \u2018utterly normal & beneficial<\/strong>\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Then after 1989, organizations like TI emerged after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union, with the word \u2018corruption<\/em>\u2019 increasingly used by multilateral agencies & NGOs (to be honest, FGO<\/em> \u2013 foreign government organizations). Corruption now meant \u2018bribery, extortion, & embezzlement\u2019 only by public officials, rather that the \u2018normal\u2019 practices of MNCs: \u2018transfer mispricing, trade misinvoicing, accounting irregularities, financial mismanagement, & tax avoidance\u2019. The idea that TNCs\/MNCs were corrupt \u2018completely vanished in this theory\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018They lobbied the governments of France & Germany to stop<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the policy of what, in Germany, is called Schmiergeld<\/em><\/strong> (bribe money<\/strong>);<\/p>\n\n\n\n

these countries not only allowed bribes to be paid in foreign jurisdictions,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

but then permitted companies to deduct these payments from tax obligations<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong>\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(see ee Focus<\/em><\/strong>, Capitalism wields Corruption)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In 1992, under US government pressure, the UNCTC was integrated into UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD)<\/strong>.<\/strong> In 1995, in place of the UNCTC\u2019s TNC Code of Conduct, Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index<\/em> (CPI). Now, corruption became a disease, and the answer was \u2018more privatisation & less government oversight<\/strong>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The accounting world <\/strong>then \u2018developed a new form of theft\u2019 called \u2018sustainability reporting\u2019, part of the new methods by \u2018tax magicians\u2019 (lawyers, accountants, etc) to hide money from tax authorities and legalise corruption. This \u2018<\/strong>greenwashing<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong> allows accounting firms to disclose \u2018environmental, social & governance (ESG) factors\u2019, to discount their taxable income, while making false or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or investment. Accounting practices are not obligated to produce or follow a proper environmental assessment, nor are they concerned about the displacement of residents<\/strong> from an area of operation, degradation of ecosystems, misuse of agricultural land<\/strong>, consumption\u2026and for ee<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 to ensure no investment in modern industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     If ee<\/em><\/strong> readers examine our weekly news compendium (Section D) \u2013 mostly trash produced by a corrupt (sorry, we mean corporate<\/em>) media, especially the ee Agriculture<\/em><\/strong> section \u2013 one cannot miss (headlines in \u2018green\u2019 ink) their disproportionate emphasis on such \u2018greenwashing\u2019, not just to whitewash MNCs like Unilever & Ceylon Tobacco & CIC-ICI, who are primarily responsible for the degradation of the environment. Their job is to prevent the emergence of other modern industrial societies. In a country, where offices, both private & public, are afraid to answer their phones, they are claiming that digitalization will reduce or eliminate corruption! Another fantasy. All it will do is centralize power in even fewer hands, familied or not. It is a law of capitalism!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Having encoiled governments, willingly or otherwise, in debt traps, the US state is signaling it will ignite chaos in Sri Lanka if the country does not submit to their imperialist agenda. Meanwhile, India is on alert for a regime-change operation, with the opposition leader (improved Italian) Rahul Gandhi in Washington, calling for US intervention in India! And then there\u2019s Punjab, Manipur, Tamilnadu? In Sri Lanka, Eelam and East Arabistan? Let us see what the President AKD\u2019s visit to India will bring. Himalayan enlightenment, perhaps? Is it all we can do? Let us see\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contents:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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USA Takes More Steps to Destabilize Sri Lanka & India<\/a><\/blockquote>