{"id":95035,"date":"2019-11-10T23:53:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-11T05:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95035"},"modified":"2019-11-10T16:46:44","modified_gmt":"2019-11-10T23:46:44","slug":"empowerment-or-entrapment-the-millennium-challenge-corporation-compact-and-the-message-of-the-fasting-monk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/10\/empowerment-or-entrapment-the-millennium-challenge-corporation-compact-and-the-message-of-the-fasting-monk\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowerment or Entrapment? The Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact and the Message of the Fasting Monk"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The Ministry of Finance published an announcement on the treasury.gov.lk<\/a> website on November 1, 2019\nto the effect that the \u2018MCC agreement drafted with the consent of AG will be\npresented in parliament\u2019. The self-explanatory first paragraph mentions what\nthe Millennium Challenge Corporation means and what projects it is going to\nexecute in Sri Lanka:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United\nStates Foreign Aid Agency established by the United States Congress in 2004,\napplying a new philosophy towards foreign aid. It provides time limited grants\nand assistance to developing countries that meet rigorous standard (sic) for good\ngovernance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights. On the\nrequest of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), the MCC undertook a constraints\nto economic growth analysis\u201d in year 2016. MCC and the GOSL subsequently\ndecided to focus on the land and transport sectors, which were identified as\nbinding constraints to growth. The constraints analysis concluded that traffic\ncongestion in the Colombo Metropolitan Region, poor transport connectivity\nbetween Provinces, and weakness in land administration constrain economic\ngrowth. Accordingly, the MCC agreed to grant USD 480 million for financing the\nabove projects.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short middle paragraphs explain that the final discussions\nwere conducted in October 2018 between the MCC and some Cabinet-approved\ngovernment officials from the relevant ministries, the legal aspect of the\nwhole process being okayed by the Attorney General. The final paragraph\nruns: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Compact Agreement and the\nProgram Implementation Agreement will be submitted to and enacted by Parliament\nof Sri Lanka once it is signed and before its entry into force and will be\npublished in the Government Gazette before submitted to Parliament\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gives us the impression that\ndiscussion in Parliament will just be a formality and that the MPs and the\ngeneral public are going to be presented with a fait accompli with no chance to\nrefuse it if not acceptable. There is a strong element of unexplained hurry,\nsecrecy, and surprise (for no date is given in this announcement for presenting\nthe draft agreement in parliament). It is extremely intriguing why an\ninternational agreement with such grave implications as we now know for Sri\nLanka\u2019s future should be rushed by the worst and the most corrupt government\nSri Lanka has ever had since independence, struggling in its deathbed for its\nlast gasp.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contents of the 84 page draft agreement released on the same\nday (November 1, 2019) by the Ministry of Finance under the title: \n\u2018Millennium Challenge Compact between the United States of America acting\nthrough the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Democratic Socialist\nRepublic of Sri Lanka acting through the Ministry of Finance\u2019 imply elements of\nan entrapment rather than features of a plan for empowerment which is its\nostensible purpose and promise. For example, terms stipulated relating to\nTermination, Suspension, or Expiration as spelt out in Articles 5, 6 and 7\/pp.\n10-14 are highly unfavourable to Sri Lanka. One is left with the impression\nthat America\u2019s interests have received more attention from the architects of\nthe \u2018aid\u2019 project than those of its unequal partner that supposedly needs help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lankans have been undergoing untold suffering over the past\nseventy years in their legitimate struggle to stand on their own feet as an\nindependent nation after the ravages of four and a half centuries of Western\ncolonial domination. Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean that the whole\npost-independence period has been totally wasted because of the relaxed but\nstill strong stranglehold of colonialism, now metamorphosed as neoliberal\nglobalization. We have made some significant  headway in terms of national\nindependence, education, economic development, and other parameters of nation\nbuilding, but it falls far short of what might have been actually achieved but\nfor such perennial issues as racist minority politics and the lingering\ncolonial impact on governance. From 1948 to date, undue external influence has\npersisted over key aspects of Sri Lanka\u2019s sovereignty and national identity\nincluding governance, economy, inter-communal unity, national security,\ninternational relations, and the country\u2019s image abroad.This unwelcome foreign\nsway over local affairs has been in the form of sometimes unsolicited\nintervention in these matters, which today has further degenerated into brazen\ninterference. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact is the latest\nand the worst instance of this neocolonial aggression from the point of view of\nwell informed patriotic citizens including Buddhist monks and the clergy of\nother religions, who would never politicize vital national issues. The proposed\n\u2018Compact\u2019 between the mighty USA and the tiny Sri Lanka, which came within\nhours of being signed into law in secrecy has just been pipped at the post by a\nsudden surge of public awareness of and just opposition to the treacherous\nscheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s geopolitical importance for the two global superpowers\nAmerica and China, and for the dominant  regional power India, has always\nmeant trouble for the Sri Lankan people. The faintly resurrected Tamil\nseparatist problem and the emergent threat to the traditionally existing\nreligious harmony posed by the recent advent of a large number of small foreign\nfunded Christian and Muslim extremist groups (outside the pale of mainstream\nChristian and Muslim communities) are probably being exploited by the powers\nthat be to  destabilize the country in pursuit of their strategic\ngeopolitical ends in the region.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success achieved in political, economic, and national security\nterms by the previous government in the years 2005 – 2014 was apparently not to\nthe liking of Sri Lanka\u2019s American \u2018well-wishers\u2019. The achievements of those\nyears demonstrated that Sri Lankans, when united, can independently exploit the\ncountry\u2019s rich natural and human resources without having to enslave themselves\nonce again to other nations, whose ancestors plundered their country before. But\nforeign intervention put paid to that short spell of fast post-war recovery.\nConsequent to five years of Yahapalanaya, Sri Lanka\u2019s survival as a sovereign\nnation is hanging in the balance.This is most unfortunate. The external forces\nand their local lackeys that reversed the gains of 2009 are behind the MCC,\npursuing the same agenda, with even more determination. Worrisome foreign\ninvolvement in its affairs is the biggest problem that the country is facing at\nthe moment. However, encouragingly enough, the clear frontrunner in the\npresidential race has already repeatedly assured the people that, if elected,\nhe will never compromise national security or surrender the country\u2019s\nindependence to any other country however powerful it may be.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ven. Ududumbara Kashyapa Thera, an educated young monk staged\na  fast-unto-death against the signing of the MCC agreement in a hurried\nhush-hush illegitimate manner with only two weeks to go before the presidential\nelection. Ven. Kashyapa is the Chief Incumbent of the Vipassana Meditation\nCentre, Colombo. He is not an aged Mahanayake Thera, but among ordinary\nBuddhists, he is venerated as a virtuous monk; he is not a politician or a\nsupporter of any presidential candidate. He was only trying to apply pressure\non the powers that be stop the great harm that he believed was about to befall\nthe Country, the Nation, that is, all Sri Lankans, and the nonviolent,\nnon-sectarian, inclusive and generously accommodating traditional Buddhist\ncultural foundation, which is the lynchpin of the peaceful coexistence of\ndiverse communities and religions in the beautiful Island of Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both the principal presidential contenders sent messengers to him\neach assuring him that the matter would be resolved in a manner not detrimental\nto the country after the election is over, and appealed to him to give up the\nfast. But he refused to do so, repeating his original demand that either the\npresident or the prime minister give him a written pledge that the MCC\nAgreement would not be pushed through and made irrevocable before November 16,\nthe day of the presidential election. The monk gave up his fast on the prime\nminister meeting this demand. In his letter, prime minister Ranil\nWickremasinghe assured the monk that the MCC compact will not be signed before\nthe presidential election, and that the matter will be pursued only after\nconsulting all stakeholders and after parliamentary discussion of the draft\nbill. Ven. Kashyapa ended the fast because, he said, he achieved his purpose\n(i.e. preventing the compact from being rushed through before November 16). But\nhe expressed scepticism of the pm\u2019s words: \u2018I don\u2019t believe any of this\u2019, and\nhe warned that if any program is attempted that is harmful to the nation, the\nmonks will come forward against it in a larger and more organized scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Finance minister Mangala Samaraweera scoffed at the fasting\nVen. Kashyapa, in a Twitter post, calling him a stooge of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa,\nwho ate Lemon Puff  (biscuits) in secret during his fast. The monk\ncommented that he did not care for people who responded to his hunger-strike in\nperverted ways. However, the finance ministry sent the monk a copy of the MCC\ndocument after he had ended the fast. The monk said that pages 12 to 14 had\nbeen deleted (the same mentioned above in this article containing controversial\nclauses – rrw), but he said  he had already studied the MCC Compact draft\nin full before he sat down for the fast. Ven. Kashyapa describes the MCC\nagreement as a tragedy, but a tragedy that it is avoidable. To keep these\nmenacing meddling powers the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and the minorities\nliving with them in peace and equality must unite in brotherhood, the monk\nadmonishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clearest, the most prompt, and the most credible response to\nthe monk\u2019s fasting came from the leading candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. During\na massive rally at Harispattuwa near Kandy on November 5, the day the monk\nstarted his fast-unto-death, having got news about the fasting monk, GR assured\nthat he will not allow any agreement with a foreign country that was inimical\nto Sri Lanka. This was before he sent the fasting monk a letter begging him to\nend the fast. In the letter, he promised that all agreements entered into by\nthe current government after the declaration of the presidential election will\nbe reviewed subject to the demands of national security, sovereignty,\nindependence, and the broad national interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Ven. Kashyapa points out that it has become clearly evident\nover the past years, particularly in the past five years, that Buddhism that\nempowers the people morally and intellectually is being obstructed in various\nways. The land in the designated economic corridor is going to be sold, in his\nopinion, at the ridiculously low price of 180 rupees per perch. Sri Lankans need\nnot succumb to the enslaving schemes of foreign powers. The country has the\nnecessary natural resources and quality human resources.  The outspoken\nmonk finally said he performed his historical obligation of helping the country\nout in adversity through his moral power as a Buddhist monk, and that his work\nended there for the moment; he will offer the same assistance in the future if\nneed be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cabinet of ministers approved the Millennium Challenge\nCorporation Compact, but it may be assumed that not even the MPs had seen the\noriginal draft, and if they had, they might not have been shown the authentic\nversion in Sinhala or Tamil. It looks like that not all of them know enough\nEnglish to understand the document in terms of its real implications for the\nNation. This sort of thing should not be allowed to happen to the most\npeaceful, nonviolent, kindhearted ordinary people of Sri Lanka, cultured and\nhumanized under the influence of the compassionate teachings of the Buddha. It\nis the responsibility of the civilized world to look into why there is so much\npublic opposition across the country, irrespective of distinctions of\nethnicity, religion, language, etc., among the communities, to this so-called\nCompact that was said to be on the verge of being signed without the knowledge\nand approval of the Sovereign People of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala\u00a0 The Ministry of Finance published an announcement on the treasury.gov.lk website on November 1, 2019 to the effect that the \u2018MCC agreement drafted with the consent of AG will be presented in parliament\u2019. The self-explanatory first paragraph mentions what the Millennium Challenge Corporation means and what projects it is going to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rohana-r-wasala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95035","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=95035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}