{"id":52444,"date":"2016-02-29T12:06:36","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T18:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=52444"},"modified":"2016-02-28T16:55:13","modified_gmt":"2016-02-28T23:55:13","slug":"ecta-hush-hush-a-typical-unpranil-preference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/02\/29\/ecta-hush-hush-a-typical-unpranil-preference\/","title":{"rendered":"ECTA hush-hush a typical UNP\/Ranil preference?"},"content":{"rendered":"

MALINDA SENEVIRATN\u200bE<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

“And there\u2019s history.\u00a0 A history of India meddling in the affairs of Sri Lanka.\u00a0 There\u2019s the whole story of supporting terrorism with arms, money and training (before the idea backfired).\u00a0 Then there\u2019s the Indo-Lanka Agreement.\u00a0 That\u2019s important and relevant because it was thrust down Sri Lanka\u2019s throat. No discussion.\u00a0\u00a0 No entertainment of query.\u00a0 The then government submitted meekly.\u00a0The people had to pay a heavy price.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s involvement in that hush-hush affair was damning. \u00a0He presented the bill in part <\/em>to Parliament. \u00a0His preference for the hush-hush was more openly demonstrated on February 22, 2002, when he signed the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the terrorist leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.But what is so wrong (and so relevant in these ECTA-talking times) is the hush-hush nature in which the CFA was signed”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was spot on when chided those who are raising a hue and cry about the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) with India.\u00a0\u00a0 His point was simple: how can you object to something that does not exist?\u00a0 Correct.\u00a0 There\u2019s no ETCA.\u00a0 Yet.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the catch.\u00a0 Yet.\u00a0 And it works both ways.\u00a0 The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva responding to those who have expressed various concerns about ECTA has affirmed his Prime Minister\u2019s position.\u00a0 However, he has thought fit to comment on possible content.\u00a0 De Silva chose to focus on the issue of whether or not Indian IT professionals could open up businesses in Sri Lanka and thereby post a threat to local IT professionals.\u00a0 He points out that three of the four modes of the international service trade are already in operation in Sri Lanka but that the fourth, \u2018the presence of a natural person\u2019 is not under discussion.<\/p>\n

All good.\u00a0 But all beside the point. And this holds for all the lovely ‘don’t-worry’ statements coming from Government spokespersons on matters relating to trade and other relations between India and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

First of all, if objection, as the Prime Minister correctly points out, is out of order considering the (as yet) non-existence of an agreement, then defense is as silly.\u00a0 Now as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and one who has told us that the thrust of foreign policy as far as this government is concerned is \u2018economic diplomacy,\u2019 De Silva certain should be privy to what\u2019s being discussed.\u00a0 However, if free and fair discussion is important, then you can\u2019t have some people tossing stones from behind a wall at others who are by definition unarmed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the secrecy of the whole thing that is of immense concern.\u00a0 As of now, it\u2019s all hush-hush.\u00a0 We cannot have a situation where on the one hand the government talks of a democratic climate of discussion and consensus building while it keeps deals with foreign governments under cover.\u00a0 We were told, after all, that the Rajapaksa-past of mega-deals behind closed-doors was buried once and for all.\u00a0 We would love to believe that it was not all empty rhetoric for purposes of securing political power, despite the cynicism that this government has invited due to many acts of omission and commission.<\/p>\n

The other problem is the fact that this is an agreement with India.\u00a0 India, a relatively new nation that came into being only in 1858 courtesy the Government of India Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. C. 106), is essentially a nation-wannabe political entity that poses off as a superpower-wannabe one.\u00a0 India claims to be \u2018shining\u2019, but on all counts India is dull.\u00a0 It is a struggling nation.\u00a0 Sri Lanka is certainly not \u2018shining\u2019, this is true, but if we are beggarly, it is silly to thrust hand out at a fellow mendicant.<\/p>\n

Yes, the option is China, but that\u2019s another story.\u00a0 Related, but different. Suffice to say that for all the anti-Rajapaksa noises made by India, the USA, UK and other \u2018big countries\u2019 on account of the previous regime\u2019s alleged China-leanings, some of them would sink if not for China.\u00a0 India\u2019s debt is not owned by China, unlike the debts of the USA and UK, but India is not doing great either.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s history.\u00a0 A history of India meddling in the affairs of Sri Lanka.\u00a0 There\u2019s the whole story of supporting terrorism with arms, money and training (before the idea backfired).\u00a0 Then there\u2019s the Indo-Lanka Agreement.\u00a0 That\u2019s important and relevant because it was thrust down Sri Lanka\u2019s throat. No discussion.\u00a0\u00a0 No entertainment of query.\u00a0 The then government submitted meekly.\u00a0 The people had to pay a heavy price.<\/p>\n

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s involvement in that hush-hush affair was damning. \u00a0He presented the bill in part <\/em><\/strong>to Parliament. \u00a0His preference for the hush-hush was more openly demonstrated on February 22, 2002, when he signed the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the terrorist leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. It is amusing that some people still argue that the CFA was the catalyst for the split in the LTTE (Karuna-Faction breaking away) \u00a0and on the basis of this claim that Ranil paved the way for the defeat of the LTTE. \u00a0Only the half-blind and diehard loyalist would indulge in that kind of reductionism. \u00a0What ensued was not amusing. \u00a0The LTTE regrouped, recruited, re-trained and re-armed. \u00a0The people had to pay for Ranil’s ‘innocence’ (let’s be kind here).<\/p>\n

But what is so wrong (and so relevant in these ECTA-talking times) is the hush-hush nature in which the CFA was signed. \u00a0Ranil’s cabinet hadn’t seen the document. \u00a0The then President hadn’t seen it. \u00a0It was not ‘up for discussion’. \u00a0Its constitutionality was not raised. \u00a0It was hush-hush.<\/p>\n

ECTA is not an agreement like the Indo-Lanka Accord or the CFA of course, but the secrecy of the affair does nothing to alleviate doubts about claims about benefits to Sri Lanka.\u00a0\u00a0 What we know is that India hasn\u2019t been Sri Lanka\u2019s best friend.\u00a0 We saw India\u2019s \u2018friendship\u2019 in the eighties.\u00a0 We saw India\u2019s \u2018friendship\u2019 at the UNHRC sessions.\u00a0 India offers aid, but it has always come with a price tag.\u00a0 And it\u2019s paltry compared to what the country has received from China and Japan.\u00a0 Of course, bilateral agreements are not about love but about business, this we know.\u00a0 However, when there are conditions that clearly seek to tinker with constitution, it\u2019s even more difficult to digest.\u00a0 India is like that.\u00a0 Give a little, take a lot; build a few kilometers of road, build a few houses, and expect us to go overboard with gratitude.\u00a0 Take China out of the equation, replace with India, and it will take India centuries to help us \u2018develop\u2019.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister knows what the last secret deal with India cost us.\u00a0 To be fair, this ECTA thing might do us a whole lot of good, but keeping it hush and worse, getting the likes of De Silva to offer convoluted defense, is bad.<\/p>\n

The other pertinent issue is the history of such hush-hush agreements.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Prime Minister could sort it all out by saying something on the following lines.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry.\u00a0 Once the draft is ready, we will put it before the people for scrutiny. \u00a0\u00a0Let the criticism be comprehensive.\u00a0 Let the discussions be lengthy.\u00a0 A quick signing will not take place.\u00a0 We will be transparent.\u00a0 We will be patient.\u00a0 We will in thought, word and action, affirm all the principles of good governance.\u00a0 There is no ECTA, but there could be.\u00a0 However, we are open to the possibility that we may err and as such we might never have an ECTA or its equivalent.\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/malindawords.blogspot.co.uk\/2016\/02\/ecta-hush-hush-typical-unpranil.html<\/a><\/p>\n

To unsubscribe from my mailing list, please send an email to : kamal.rajapakse@sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MALINDA SENEVIRATN\u200bE “And there\u2019s history.\u00a0 A history of India meddling in the affairs of Sri Lanka.\u00a0 There\u2019s the whole story of supporting terrorism with arms, money and training (before the idea backfired).\u00a0 Then there\u2019s the Indo-Lanka Agreement.\u00a0 That\u2019s important and relevant because it was thrust down Sri Lanka\u2019s throat. No discussion.\u00a0\u00a0 No entertainment of query.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-malinda-seneviratne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52444","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=52444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}