{"id":62197,"date":"2017-01-09T22:09:29","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T04:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=62197"},"modified":"2017-01-11T16:10:44","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T23:10:44","slug":"yahapalana-and-the-united-states-of-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/01\/09\/yahapalana-and-the-united-states-of-america\/","title":{"rendered":"YAHAPALANA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PART 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA\u00a0 PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

The United States of America was interested in \u00a0developing a close relationship with Sri Lanka from the time Sri Lanka got independence. By 1948 the US had replaced Britain as the dominant power in Asia and needed military and communication bases in Asia. In 1951 Ceylon\u00a0 signed an\u00a0 agreement with the US to relay Voice of America (VOA) programmes over Radio Ceylon, which was then a popular radio station\u00a0 heard all over India.\u00a0 In return Radio Ceylon would get modern, new broadcasting equipment.\u00a0 VOA used the facility to broadcast to all of Asia, including Central Asia. \u00a0\u00a0In the 1950s, the US Information Centre distributed free to select homes, an anti-Communist magazine \u2018Free World\u2019 which featured Southeast Asia. It said that Communism was bad and America was good. It had\u00a0\u00a0 colored photographs,\u00a0\u00a0 which I used to cut out.<\/p>\n

The US has never been interested in helping Sri Lanka to stand on its own feet. US objected to the 1956 Rubber-Rice pact with China and promptly cut off aid to Sri Lanka, under its rule of not giving aid to countries that sold strategic materials to Communist countries. USA also made France, Italy and Japan withhold their supply of sulphur fungicide, badly needed by Sri Lanka’s rubber plantations.\u00a0 US had earlier turned down a request from Ceylon for a 50 million dollar aid, \u00a0for \u00a0a high price for rubber and a \u00a0low price for rice.\u00a0 J.R.Jaywardene, known as Yankee Dickie\u201d, supported the US viewpoint and strongly opposed the Rubber-Rice \u00a0Pact.<\/p>\n

USA supported Tamil separatism. Izeth Hussein recalls that on the day of India\u2019s air drop in 1987, US Ambassador James Spain\u00a0\u00a0 had sought a meeting with the Foreign minister as he had to convey an urgent message from his government. India was going to suggest something and Sri Lanka should not over react. That \u2018something\u2019 was the Indo-Lanka Agreement. A third party was definitely involved in this matter, said Hussein. After the document was signed, Ambassador Spain had handed over a letter to Rajeev Gandhi, obviously a congratulatory and goodwill message from Reagan. Clearly the contents of the agreement were already known to the US government, concluded Hussein.<\/p>\n

US\u00a0 wanted the LTTE to win the Eelam war. \u00a0\u2018We were hounded and intimidated by the US to stop the war against the LTTE,\u2019 said Godage. According to a report filed by Times Online, the US military has used satellites to spy on Sri Lanka during the final stages of Eelam War IV. US sought to justify its action on the ground that it was looking for evidence of war crimes in view of the impending UN Human Rights Council session on Sri Lanka. US ambassador Blake tried to take Prabhakaran out through an operation by the US Marines based in Hawaii.<\/p>\n

If the LTTE had succeeded, critics observe, US would have gained control of two thirds of Sri Lanka coast line, enabling them to secure Persian Gulf energy resources to Japan, interfere with the flow of resources to China, interfere with free trade in the Indian ocean, and undermine stability in India by provoking Tamil and Hindu sentiments in Tamilnadu.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s strategic location in the Indian Ocean \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0was known to the western powers for centuries, but the \u00a0issue was not openly discussed\u00a0 in Sri Lanka\u00a0 and the\u00a0 general public was not told of it. The intelligentsia knew \u00a0that Trincomalee harbor could comfortably hold the 7th Fleet\u00a0 of the US Navy, but the possibility of America actually doing so was glossed over. America\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 was not in a hurry to capture Sri Lanka either. US was mainly interested in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and South East Asia in the 20th<\/sup> century .\u00a0\u00a0 Five of the seven US security alliances were with Asia-Pacific partners.\u00a0 US also had some form of defense pact with sixty nine countries. Those countries accounted for around 75% of the world economy. Sri Lanka was not one of them.<\/p>\n

Things changed with the rise of China. The Indian Ocean was a part of China\u2019s new Maritime Silk Route. \u00a0The Indian Ocean became vitally important and Sri Lanka’s strategic position in the Indian Ocean also went up in value and urgency.\u00a0 US Senate was told \u2018Sri Lanka is strategically located at the nexus of maritime trading routes connecting Europe and the Middle East to China and the rest of Asia. All of China\u2019s and Japan\u2019s energy resource from the Persian Gulf transits Sri Lanka and the island has the potential to control or impede the free flow these resources to China. Half the world\u2019s container traffic also passes through Sri Lanka and the island has the potential to block this as well.\u00a0 In view of strategic importance of Sri Lanka to the US, an alliance should be maintained with Sri Lanka.\u00a0 US foreign policy should be recast for the purpose.\u2019 Sri Lanka could also be used to further US interests in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

It was observed in 2014 that\u2018If Sri Lanka has this same stability for the next five years then it will be difficult to\u00a0\u00a0 achieve US ambitions.\u00a0 A weaker Sri Lanka is easy to dominate\u2019. \u00a0President Mahinda Rajapakse was not prepared to give in to the US. He had refused to bow down to US pressure to stop the war on LTTE. \u00a0Also he had established links with China \u00a0\u00a0and was\u00a0\u00a0 planning a big military deal with Russia, which had offered a credit line for arms, ammunition, helicopters and land mine clearing. Rajapakse was becoming a serious obstacle to US interests in the Indian Ocean region.\u00a0 He had to go.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rajapakse gave them the opportunity by calling for elections in 2015.<\/p>\n

Once the Yahapalana regime was in place, USA moved very fast to indicate that the US was now in control. John Kerry, Secretary of State, arrived in May 2015. US Assistant secretary for south Asian\u00a0\u00a0 affairs, Nisha Biswal, visited in July, August and December 2015. US Assistant Secretary for Democracy and Human rights, Tom Malinowski (July 2015) and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon (December, 2015) also visited.\u00a0 In November, 2016, we were told that<\/em> Obama had planned to visit in May 2016.<\/p>\n

Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, visited in November 2015. She said USA was deeply committed to supporting Sri Lanka\u2019s efforts at peace, reconciliation and accountability.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She feels a strong sense of responsibility towards the beleaguered people of all communities of Sri Lanka. She considered Neelan Thiruchelvam her friend. She said that Mahinda Rajapakse, when President, had brusquely brushed aside her overtures to initiate a meaningful dialogue. Gotabhaya and Basil Rajapakse had been even worse. They had been brazenly unpleasant.<\/p>\n

US was advised to follow a subtle and a sophisticated approach, since the political game had changed in Sri Lanka.\u00a0 US should figure out how \u2018not to lose Sri Lanka \u2018said one observer. US should adopt a less confrontational approach, \u00a0it is best to go carefully with Sri Lanka, \u00a0the formulas which were used in the past 20 years were no longer applicable, advisers said.<\/p>\n

The US is therefore funding a number of carefully selected projects in Sri Lanka. There is a special focus on youth.\u00a0 Since 2010 USA had provided nearly LKR 135 million in its annual Youth Empowerment grants programmes and had funded over 100 programs.\u00a0 In 2016, US gave Sri Lanka an unprecedented USD 13 million \u00a0to 8 civil society organizations, for a three year \u2018Strengthening accountability and good governance project\u2019 (SDGAP).\u00a0 This was to support innovative small scale projects to nurture civil society groups helping Sri Lanka youth. They included leadership training and \u2018advancing the rights of marginalized communities\u2019.\u00a0 The project was to be administered by a private US company, Development Alternative Inc. SDGAP was new to Sri Lanka , but it has been\u00a0 implemented in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia and\u00a0 Mongolia.<\/p>\n

USAID\u2019s STAIR (Short term assistance to improve public financial management reform project\u201d) had a three day training programme in AGs department. STAIR specializes in working with government agencies to increase transparency, reduce\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 corruption, effective and efficient in delivery of public services.<\/p>\n

US said that given Sri Lanka\u2019s strategic location, it is in America\u2019s interest to increase military collaboration and cooperation with Sri Lanka. US intended to expand military leadership discussions, increase naval engagement and focus on defense institution building. The first US Sri Lanka operational level bilateral defense dialogue took place in August 2016. The purpose was to develop a programme of bilateral training and exercises for the next three years. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit engaged in a Theatre security Cooperation (TSC) project with the Sri Lankan Navy\u2019s newly formed marine force, In Trincomalee in November 2016. India observed that US Marines are now training Sri Lanka Special Forces. The US-Sri Lanka defence partnership seems to be at an all time high.<\/p>\n

The Head of the US Pacific Command Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr. attended the Sri Lanka Navy\u2019s Galle Dialogue 2016\u201d.\u00a0 He said USA and India had sent low ranking officers to the first Galle Dialogue. The People\u2019s Republic of China had been represented by a high level delegation. \u00a0It was different now. \u2018The Indian Ocean matters to USA, Sri Lanka matters to the US and I believe that US matters to Sri Lanka.\u2019 Sri Lanka could help to complete the defense ring around the Indian Ocean. The Yahapalana government also said that it was the duty of the Sri Lanka navy to protect the entire Indian Ocean region without limiting its operation to the exclusive economic zone of Sri Lanka.\u00a0 That will help Sri Lanka be an economic hub in the Indian Ocean region.<\/p>\n

Our navy cannot even protect us from the Indian fishermen, observed Tissa Vitharana. If Sri Lanka navy is to carry out this huge responsibility, then US ships will have to be berthed in Sri Lanka.\u00a0 The US 7th fleet will come to Trincomalee.\u00a0\u00a0 The US has its eye on Trincomalee harbor,\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0it is planning to set up a US base there and was making Sri Lanka military vacate strategically important locations, said observers. The Yahapalana government also was ready to hand over Trincomalee port to them.\u00a0 Soon the US 7th<\/sup> fleet will be in our waters, said another analyst. These growing military ties with the US are not in the interest of Sri Lanka, Vitharana said. If military cooperation of this nature continues, and an American military base\u00a0\u00a0 is set up in Sri Lanka \u00a0\u00a0, Sri Lanka would become a US puppet like the Philippines.<\/p>\n

The US 7th fleet is now\u00a0\u00a0 quietly arriving in Sri Lanka.\u00a0 Its flagship, USS Blue Ridge<\/em> arrived in March 2016 with over 900 sailors. President Sirisena visited the ship and was received with a US navy military guard. The emphasis was to be on public relations. The marines (sailors) would paint walls, repair furniture, build playground equipment and serve food to the needy at a community centre.\u00a0\u00a0 The US 7th<\/sup> fleet band would perform free at Viharamahadevi park and elsewhere, and the performance will include a join performance with the Sri Lanka navy band.<\/p>\n

USS New Orleans<\/em> visited\u00a0\u00a0 in July 2016. US war ship USS Frank Cable<\/em>, a submarine tender vessel visited in August 2016. It does maintenance and support for US Navy submarines in the 5th<\/sup> and 7 fleets. Its sailors were to volunteer at an animal shelter. The US navy Poseidon<\/em> aircraft, an advanced US maritime patrol aircraft, left Mattala in December 2016 after a week of consultation and expert exchange with Sri Lanka military personnel. The assistance mission of the US Pacific commands\u00a0\u00a0 Operation Pacific Angels\u201d,<\/em> held a week long assistance programme in Jaffna in August 2016. They provided general medical care for approximately 4000 people and renovated six schools.<\/p>\n

There is considerable anti-USA feeling in Sri Lanka. A NGO attitude survey done\u00a0\u00a0 in the year 2004, found that the Sri Lanka respondents were suspicious of America. America was searching for a centre to block China, they said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It would be a mistake for Sri Lanka to rely too much on USA, said Neville de Silva. Other countries that sought Washington assistance found that they were invaded and occupied.<\/p>\n

There is a considerable amount of anti USA comments in the local mass media. America always creates problems in any country it involves itself in, said one commentator.\u00a0 USA has been directly and indirectly involved in\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 coups, invasions, regime changes from Iran in 1953 onwards, he added. USA supported\u00a0\u00a0 dictators like Pinochet, Marcos, Suharto, Somoza, Pol pot. Saddam Hussein was initially a CIA agent. Osama Bin Laden was initially nurtured by the US and had financial interests in the US. The US was the world\u2019s worst offender when it came to human rights, the media continued. Look at the enormous number of persons the US army had killed in its wars. The chemical Agent Orange in Vietnam resulted in severely disabled children. \u2018Island\u2019 <\/em>editorial said \u2018If the US solves its own problems without being a problem to other countries, it will help solve most of the problems the world is facing\u2019.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA\u00a0 PIERIS The United States of America was interested in \u00a0developing a close relationship with Sri Lanka from the time Sri Lanka got independence. By 1948 the US had replaced Britain as the dominant power in Asia and needed military and communication bases in Asia. In 1951 Ceylon\u00a0 signed an\u00a0 agreement with the US to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62197","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\/62197","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=62197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62197\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}