{"id":92921,"date":"2019-09-12T23:07:09","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T05:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=92921"},"modified":"2019-09-11T22:46:17","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T05:46:17","slug":"can-gota-steer-foreign-diplomacy-like-mrs-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/09\/12\/can-gota-steer-foreign-diplomacy-like-mrs-b\/","title":{"rendered":"Can GOTA steer foreign diplomacy like Mrs. B"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

To\nanswer that question, it is essential to first know how successful Mrs. B was\nin her foreign diplomacy and a comparison of the periods and scenarios during\nher rule and that which Gotabaya is likely to inherit. Mrs. Sirimavo\nBandaranaike became the world\u2019s first female prime minister and held power from\n1960-65 and 1970-77. She was not only the PM but the Minister of Defense and\nExternal Affairs too. This aligns to the recent policy declarations made by Mr.\nGotabaya Rajapakse. Sri Lanka had the best period of foreign diplomacy under\nMrs.B \u2013 countries of the world still fondly remember Sri Lanka because of the\nrelations Mrs.B nurtured while keeping national interest uncompromised. These\nare ingredients the nations looks forward to in a Gotabaya Rajapakse\npresidency!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs.B & Non-Aligned Nations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principle concept\nof the non-aligned nations was that \u2013 nations may be small & militarily\nweak but they too have a role to play in world politics. Non-involvement was\nreplaced with non-alignment alongside engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1961 Belgrade<\/strong>: Movement of Non-Aligned Countries Summit wherein, Sri Lanka became one\nof 25 founding nations of the Non-Aligned Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1976 Colombo: Non-Aligned Summit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Vernon Mendis\nappointed Secretary General of the Conference<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Manel Abeysekera\nin charge of protocol <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Held in the BMICH gifted\nto Sri Lanka by China in 1973<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. B Chairperson of NAM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outcome of that was\nher ability to balance relations with both India-China \/India-Pakistan and\nmaintain a neutrality during the regional wars and even playing role of\nmediator. Her skillful use of personal diplomacy was seen in the manner she\nnegotiated bilateral agreements while also securing foreign aid. All this she\ndid while securing the national interests of the country and not an inch did\nshe compromise Sri Lanka\u2019s national interests. Nationalizing petroleum\ndistribution, tea & rubber did not go too well with western governments but\nshe went ahead nonetheless. Whether LTTE & JVP are the gifts she received\nfor her nationalism is something to seriously think about. TNT\/Prabakaran\nemerged the same year Mrs.B made Ceylon a Republic. JVP <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is this ability\nthat has etched her place in history. She proudly stood and was proudly\nwelcomed among the other greats of the time \u2013 Tito, Jawahalal Nehru, Fidel\nCastro, Sukarno, Nkrumah and Nasser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is far more\nfondly remembered by even her advisories than those who have willingly\ncompromised the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. B did all this\nas a virtual novice to politics. She was driven into politics following her\nhusband\u2019s ghastly assassination in 1959. The situation is not the same for\nGotabaya Rajapakse. He has been very much involved in politics serving in a\nformidable role as Defense Secretary outshining all his predecessors and being\nthe guiding light behind the war victory. Post-conflict his administrative\nacumen was shown in turning Colombo to one of Asia\u2019s finest cities. Both took\nto their roles as a duck to water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petty politics has\nbeen the downfall of Sri Lanka\u2019s progress. Non-aligned policies failed as a\nresult of the UNP leadership taking a pro-West policy and successive UNP\ngovernments have continued to adopt same strategy inadvertently distancing\nthemselves from good relationships within the Asian region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs.B & India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in first\nrealizing the potential advantage of Sri Lanka\u2019s geopolitical positioning that\nany leadership can adopt strategies to protect and enhance Sri Lanka\u2019s\ngeopolitical advantage while meeting the aspirations of countries seeking\nrelations with Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only did Mrs.B strengthen\nSir Lanka\u2019s geopolitical advantage but struck cordial ties with the Nehru\nfamily as well as other political counterparts. She ensured that they treated\nher on par with them and not given any inferior role. What is noteworthy and\npoignant is that she did not shirk an inch of Sri Lanka\u2019s national interest and\nshe appointed the cream to be her nominees \u2013 Shirley Amerasinghe was High\nCommissioner to New Delhi. When the Indians were stalling during the\nSrima-Shastri repatriation pact, all she said was that she would leave Delhi\nunless the agreement was ready for signature and that was that. (In October\n1964 \u2013 525,000 persons of Indian origin were repatriated to India while 300,000\nwere granted Sri Lankan citizenship). This is the type of leadership the nation\nlooks forward to in Gotabaya Rajapakse <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: In 1974 of the\nremaining 150,000, she agreed to grant 75,000 Sri Lankan citizenship &\n75,000 Indian citizenship but the UNP for vote bank politics decided to grant\nall 150,000 Sri Lankan citizenship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another fete of Mrs B\nis the resolution of the maritime boundary between India & Sri Lanka\nresulting in Kachativu being declared Sri Lanka\u2019s as a result of research &\nguidance of Foreign Secretary W T Jayasinghe and Legal Advisor Christopher\nPinto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Ranil\nWickremasinghe government severing ties with China, Gotabaya Rajapakse will\nfind himself in no different a position Mrs.B faced during the Sino-India war\nof 1962. For Mrs.B the animosity between India & China meant that it would\naffect Asian solidarity and she organized a Colombo Conference to mitigate\n& mediate. Fast forward with 21st<\/sup> century being Asia\u2019s century\nand the rising power houses of India & China showing growing tensions,\nGotabaya Rajapakse too finds himself in a similar position. Just as Mrs.B\nthought rightly, advisors of Mr Rajapakse must also look at the larger picture\nof the need to mediate to stabilize Asia.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs.B & China<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka began\npost-independence diplomatic relations with China in 1957 under rule of SWRD\nBandaranaike though for centuries Sri Lanka has had ties with China previously.\nThe aid received by Sri Lanka from China during Mrs.B\u2019s tenure came as soft\nterm aid for development. BMICH stands as a monumental gift from China to Sri\nLanka. She was much saddened when Premier Zhou En Lai could not attend the\nopening in 1973 due to cancer to which he succumbed in 1976 but China\u2019s respect\nwas shown by sending one of China\u2019s 10 Marshalls who led the Chinese\nRevolution. Many of Sri Lanka\u2019s proud monuments are pinnacles of Sri\nLanka-China relations \u2013 Hambantota Port, Nelum Pokuna, Supreme Court Complex,\nNorocholai coal power plant, Lotus Tower to name a few. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With US pivot to\nAsia, renaming of United\nStates Pacific Command (USPACOM) to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on 30 May 2018, increasing US military and\nnon-military presence in Asia, pressures to sign MCC, SOFA & ACSA – the\nIndian Ocean has become a volatile zone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. B\nfailed to make the Indian Ocean a zone of peace engraved in her NAM Summit in\nLusaka in 1970 as a strategy to prevent power rivalries and her response to the\nexpulsion of the indigenous natives by Britain to occupy Diego Garcia as a US\nbase. Noteworthy is the manner that a UN Resolution was proposed by Sri Lanka signed\nby NAM countries but abstained by US-UK & France. Resolution 2832 (1971)\ndeclared the Indian Ocean a Zone of Peace and it would be poignant for the\nGotabaya Rajapakse team to see the relevance of this declaration in the present\ncontext of power rivalries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the\nViyathmaga Convention, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapakse clearly indicated that there has\nto be a synergy in National Security Policy and National Economic Policy &\nNation\u2019s Foreign Policy. Undoubtedly so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs.B etched her\nplace in economic diplomacy among the Group of 77 at a time when the UN\nConference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) was formed her nominee Dr.\nGamini Corea went on to serve as its Secretary General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr.\nRajapakse can take a leaf from Mrs.B \u2013 foreign policy under Mrs.B was the best\nperiod Sri Lanka can proudly recall. Sri Lanka was respected by both West &\nEast. The West in particular respected her steadfastness and resolve despite\nbeing a small nation. She steered foreign policy by ensuring a professional\nforeign service. Career diplomats were those patriotic and who put the country\nfirst. She appointed some of the best and respected personnel to head missions.\nShe made it a point to read every diplomatic dispatch sent to her and ensured\neach had a personal comment and this is the type of direct involvement Mr.\nRajapakse should follow. President Premadasa was also one to follow up on every\ninstruction given and that ensured no lethargy or delay in carrying out orders\ngiven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UNP\nderogated her as \u2018kusi-amma\u2019 but her tenure remains the golden age of\ndiplomatic engagement and foreign policy successes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Gotabaya Rajapakse need not follow anyone\u2019s footsteps but in looking back to take a leaf or two out of any success story \u2013 he surely has to look at Mrs. B\u2019s foreign policy and diplomatic relations for no government before or after has succeeded to outmatch what she achieved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To answer that question, it is essential to first know how successful Mrs. B was in her foreign diplomacy and a comparison of the periods and scenarios during her rule and that which Gotabaya is likely to inherit. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world\u2019s first female prime minister and held power from 1960-65 and 1970-77. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92921","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\/1498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92921\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}