Sampanthan's call for diplomatic intervention
By Dr. D.CHANDRARATNA-November 25, 2018, 10:04 pm
We are surprised by the Opposition Leader's invitation to the international community to intervene in the domestic legal dispute in Sri Lanka. It is not in keeping with the dignity of the office of the Leader of the Opposition to extend such invitations, for any number of reasons that is understood in the new world order as best practice in international relations. He ought to know better that there are institutions, commissions and treaties, along with customs and state practice, concerning the inalienable and inviolable rights of all members of the international community. Although the unfolding of events in Colombo may be distasteful to all, the principle at stake is legality of the actions of the President, which matter will be decided by the Apex court in a civilized manner.
The situation in Colombo is strictly a domestic issue and we are dismayed by the extension of invitations to the so-called international community to settle the matter in favour of, not the country, but just one party. Why cannot Mr. Sampanthan and others have patience to wait until the court gives the verdict? If in the event the President was right, it is Mr. Sampanthan and Co who must bear some of the responsibility in trying to subvert the sovereignty of people, reposed in the Presidency through a hurriedly concocted 19A, pushed through a 'guided Parliament' adding a clause at the committee stage to override public concerns.
Although it is unlikely that any self-respecting member of the international community (the West) will do anything other than cause Sri Lanka some diplomatic embarrassment, and that again is if the current PM has his way to go for an early election. The one fact that is abundantly clear lies beyond the shores of this tiny island nation. It has nothing to do with good governance or democracy, but is related to the US bid to loosen the China’s grip on Asian nations. The opposition to the One Belt, One Road strategy is considered by the West as a ploy by the Chinese government to make inroads militarily under the guise of development aid.
The Leader of the Opposition is the third citizen in our democracy and his invitation to outsiders does not bode well for a non-aligned nation like ours. The superpowers behave always in keeping with their ideological and security assessments. International intervention in the past has always come dressed in legality. When countries intervened in the past they solicited invitations to bypass international laws. It will be of interest to our readers to know that the Soviets intervened in Czechoslovakia under the Brezhnev doctrine for fraternal military assistance to save their socialist system. President Lyndon Johnson invaded Dominica, because he was invited to save the American system of democracy. Those were the times that any invitation from an apparatchik for their kind of ideology was good enough to go in. These are unlikely in the modern age, yet Mr. Sampanthan must be careful not to deride the accepted principles of modern international practice.
I do sympathize with the Leader of the Opposition for the predicament that he is in, having entered into a coalition government in the hope of winning policy outcomes for his community. But before sectional advantages there are basic rights and minimum standards that all population groups must have through development projects. We must go for national priorities first, before group interests are met. That needs changing our institutions of governance and work towards enhancing the capacity of the institutions of governance to suit many pressures coming from globalization, technology, public expectations and changes to prevailing political values and beliefs. These are of paramount importance to avoid the kind of imbroglio that we are mired in. Inviting foreign diplomatic pressure can only put the national agenda further behind.
