Towards Good Governance
MAR 05 2016
"First of all, if objection, as the Prime Minister correctly points out, is out of order considering the (as yet) non-existence of an agreement, then defense is as silly. Now as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and one who has told us that the thrust of foreign policy as far as this government is concerned is 'economic diplomacy,' De Silva certain should be privy to what's being discussed. However, if free and fair discussion is important, then you can't have some people tossing stones from behind a wall at others who are by definition unarmed. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva responding to those who have expressed various concerns about ECTA has affirmed his Prime Minister's position.
However, he has thought fit to comment on possible content. De Silva chose to focus on the issue of whether or not Indian IT professionals could open up businesses in Sri Lanka and thereby post a threat to local IT professionals." This was a comment made by a disappointed journalist and it appears to be fair. However the debate is not on facts and figures given but on the theory of development.
Access to large markets
Ranil indicates that development is the main issue and wants to attract investors and get access to large markets. It is true that "We cannot have a situation where on the one hand the government talks of a democratic climate of discussion and consensus building while it keeps deals with foreign governments under cover."
However there cannot be problem with an agreement with India. In Latin-America all countries enhance their agreements with each other and build up solidarity to face the pressure of global capitalisms dominated by Anglo-Saxon countries. So did Arab speaking countries.
African countries got together to build a solidarity and a common security. Under enormous difficulty they try to get together to resolve common problems. Malay speaking people too have their own solidarity agreement. So why not we, people in Indian subcontinent or Jambudeepa, get together and seek to face the challenges of global capitalism. Leaders of all these groups: India, China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa have got together to take upon independent position in international controversy.
All these countries in BRICS arrangement are relatively new nations formed after 1848 and several of them are some kind of superpowers now. But compared to Anglo-Saxon cultural estimates, none of the BRICS countries even could claim to be 'shining'; but on all counts India is dull. It is a struggling nation. Sri Lanka is certainly not 'shining', this is true, but if we are not beggarly, that shows why we want to get together to fight for the due share in the global system.
China, but is another story; Related, but different because it is trying to build a group in East Asia, probably including Burma and Thailand. All these groups and BRICS itself will have to work within global capitalism managed by IMF, WB and WTO. That is why China when indicated came to help debt problem of USA and UK. India's debt is not owned by China, unlike the debts of the USA and UK, but India is not doing great either.
As 2008 crisis shown no body is doing well, all bourgeois are working carefully. Of course there's history; a history of India over 3000 years meddling in the affairs of Lanka. At the time of Bronze Age, Dravidian megalithic couture came to Lanka with the support of Mohendajro civilization. Ravenna, Vibeesana, led a civilization of Dravidian.
Socio-political changes
There's the whole story of the Buddha from India intervening in Lanka three times to make massive socio-political changes, here. Then Bengali people came with Vijaya and started the Sinhala community. Asoka the great sends a delegation and made Lankan Buddhist in a short time. Last but not least, Indian Wadiga royalty came and developed the last kingdom of Lanka and Kirti Sri Rajasinghe re-started Buddhist civilization in Lanka. Of course recently India supported terrorism with arms, money and training (before the idea backfired). Then there's the Indo-Lanka Agreement. That's important and relevant because it was thrust down Sri Lanka's throat. No discussion. No entertainment of query. The then government submitted meekly. All that came because Tamils were ill-treated and problem spilled over to India too.
Ranil Wickremesinghe's involvement in Tamil national problem is remarkable. He is the only liberal leader that we Marxist could work together against chauvinists. He was fearless and forthright to sign; more openly demonstrated on February 22, 2002, when he signed the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. It is amusing that some people still argue that the CFA was the catalyst for the split in the LTTE (Karuna-Faction breaking away) and on the basis of this claim that Ranil paved the way for the defeat of the LTTE. But he did not expect any thing, but actual peace and saving from the disaster of the war.
He failed but his attempt is written in the minds of all minority communities. Only the half-blind and diehard loyalist of Mahinda would indulge in an insane kind of reductionism, to hate him for such heroic step.
ECTA is not an agreement like the Indo-Lanka Accord or the CFA, of course, but there cannot be any secrecy of the affair and everything should be done to alleviate doubts about claims of benefits to Lanka.
What we know is that over 3000 years we are tied to India; has been Lanka's elder brother; both revolution and reaction came together to our countries. Royalty, colonialism, liberation, liberalism, and Marxism came to our countries together. To be fair, this ECTA thing might do us a whole lot of good, but keeping it hush and worse, attacking with chauvinist poison is bad.
Ranil indicates that development is the main issue and wants to attract investors and get access to large markets. It is true that "We cannot have a situation where on the one hand the government talks of a democratic climate of discussion and consensus building while it keeps deals with foreign governments under cover."
However there cannot be problem with an agreement with India. In Latin-America all countries enhance their agreements with each other and build up solidarity to face the pressure of global capitalisms dominated by Anglo-Saxon countries. So did Arab speaking countries.African countries got together to build a solidarity and a common security. Under enormous difficulty they try to get together to resolve common problems. Malay speaking people too have their own solidarity agreement. So why not we, people in Indian subcontinent or Jambudeepa, get together and seek to face the challenges of global capitalism. Leaders of all these groups: India, China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa have got together to take upon independent position in international controversy.
All these countries in BRICS arrangement are relatively new nations formed after 1848 and several of them are some kind of superpowers now. But compared to Anglo-Saxon cultural estimates, none of the BRICS countries even could claim to be 'shining'; but on all counts India is dull. It is a struggling nation. Sri Lanka is certainly not 'shining', this is true, but if we are not beggarly, that shows why we want to get together to fight for the due share in the global system.
China, but is another story; Related, but different because it is trying to build a group in East Asia, probably including Burma and Thailand. All these groups and BRICS itself will have to work within global capitalism managed by IMF, WB and WTO. That is why China when indicated came to help debt problem of USA and UK. India's debt is not owned by China, unlike the debts of the USA and UK, but India is not doing great either.
As 2008 crisis shown no body is doing well, all bourgeois are working carefully. Of course there's history; a history of India over 3000 years meddling in the affairs of Lanka. At the time of Bronze Age, Dravidian megalithic couture came to Lanka with the support of Mohendajro civilization. Ravenna, Vibeesana, led a civilization of Dravidian.
Socio-political changes
There's the whole story of the Buddha from India intervening in Lanka three times to make massive socio-political changes, here. Then Bengali people came with Vijaya and started the Sinhala community. Asoka the great sends a delegation and made Lankan Buddhist in a short time. Last but not least, Indian Wadiga royalty came and developed the last kingdom of Lanka and Kirti Sri Rajasinghe re-started Buddhist civilization in Lanka. Of course recently India supported terrorism with arms, money and training (before the idea backfired). Then there's the Indo-Lanka Agreement. That's important and relevant because it was thrust down Sri Lanka's throat. No discussion. No entertainment of query. The then government submitted meekly. All that came because Tamils were ill-treated and problem spilled over to India too.
Ranil Wickremesinghe's involvement in Tamil national problem is remarkable. He is the only liberal leader that we Marxist could work together against chauvinists. He was fearless and forthright to sign; more openly demonstrated on February 22, 2002, when he signed the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. It is amusing that some people still argue that the CFA was the catalyst for the split in the LTTE (Karuna-Faction breaking away) and on the basis of this claim that Ranil paved the way for the defeat of the LTTE. But he did not expect any thing, but actual peace and saving from the disaster of the war.
He failed but his attempt is written in the minds of all minority communities. Only the half-blind and diehard loyalist of Mahinda would indulge in an insane kind of reductionism, to hate him for such heroic step.
ECTA is not an agreement like the Indo-Lanka Accord or the CFA, of course, but there cannot be any secrecy of the affair and everything should be done to alleviate doubts about claims of benefits to Lanka.
What we know is that over 3000 years we are tied to India; has been Lanka's elder brother; both revolution and reaction came together to our countries. Royalty, colonialism, liberation, liberalism, and Marxism came to our countries together. To be fair, this ECTA thing might do us a whole lot of good, but keeping it hush and worse, attacking with chauvinist poison is bad.
