Editorial-February 3, 2014,
Sri Lanka celebrates its 66th Independence Day today. The British left in 1948, but has the country been able to throw off the colonial yoke yet? If the answer is in the affirmative then the question is whether British Prime Minister David Cameron would have behaved the way he did last November here if this country had been truly independent and sovereign. His hubris and callousness unbecoming of a head of state would not have stemmed from anything other than a misplaced belief that he was visiting a British dominion and, therefore, free to act according to his whims and fancies. (But, during his visit to China, he was put in his place!)
The government tells us that we are a sovereign state and no one will be allowed to dictate to it. Politicians may bellow such rhetoric for public consumption, but reality is otherwise. Even mid-level envoys of western governments throw their weight about when they land here; they even issue diktats to the government, meddling as they do with internal affairs of this country. We have seen quite a few of them during the last few months.
Charles de Gaulle it was who famously said if a country was to be truly independent it had to have the nuclear bomb—"No country without an atom bomb could properly consider itself independent." No truer words have ever been spoken about a nation’s independence and sovereignty!
For countries sans both military might and economic prowess, independence is a mere annual ritual. It is not being argued that Sri Lanka has been without any achievements all these years. What needs to be appreciated most is its resilience as a functional democracy—however flawed it may be—in spite of bloody conflicts which plagued it for the most part of the post-Independence era. This cannot be said of other trouble-torn, highly militarised nations in the developing world. Its socio-economic indicators also remain relatively satisfactory. But, it would have been able to achieve much more in terms of development if its focus had been on economic growth rather than power politics.
Opportunities that presented themselves after the conclusion of the war were sadly squandered. Instead of making a concerted effort to pave the way for national reconciliation, accomplish the formidable tasks such as reconstruction and rehabilitation and forge ahead as a nation, those responsible for defeating terrorism sadly fell out and started jousting for power. The rest is history.
Sri Lanka’s Independence Day is followed by the annual Geneva UNHRC summit where the worst war criminals responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of civilians masquerade as human rights crusaders and castigate others to further their geo-strategic interests and shore up their crumbling images as world powers. They also turn to soft targets and make beasts of the chase of smaller nations to stage diplomatic fox hunts in a bid to show off their power. However, this is something to be expected in a world where principles are conspicuous by their absence and might is right whether one likes it or not.
The government seems preoccupied with Geneva. Its concern is understandable given the realignment of hostile forces in the international arena. It, no doubt, ought to do everything in its power to defeat anti-Sri Lankan resolutions. But, that task requires a multi-pronged strategy whose success hinges on the government’s willingness and ability to get its act together on the domestic front. Improving its human rights record as well as implementing the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations—not to mention developing the economy to make the country less dependent on foreign aid—is half the battle.
