Shenali Waduge

The premise that there are no permanent friends but permanent interests should be remembered by all politicians in dealing with powerful nations whose aspirations has & will always be the desire to build its own empire, advance their strategic interests and secure natural resources for their needs. So when politicians of smaller nations suddenly become ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-friendsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of these empires or agents in these client states, at times leading separatist movements on behalf of these powerful nations, they must never forget that they will be seated in the positions that have been set up for them only as long as these powerful nations desire. Riots in Egypt, coup in Tunisia, separating Sudan become a perfect example & serves as a good lesson for political leaders who feel that they will always remain poodles of these powerful nations forever.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We all know how successful the colonial strategy was during ancient times. Together with the policy of divide & rule, colonial powers were able to tap natural resources of countries & make their own nations into power houses. Similar endeavors are taking place on a different context. The US has never been shy to voice its stance. The key interests for US ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-interventionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is OIL. The oil lobbies in the US play a significant role in determining US policies especially foreign policy. The key word to advance western interests globally remains with ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democracyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Whenever, countries face internal problems the quick response has always been that these countries need to place more emphasis towards ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democracy, freedom of speech, human rights etcƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.60% of the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s governments are supposedly ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democraticƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, yet how secure their living conditions are remain another matter.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Middle East will always remain of great importance on account of its oil, ability to secure military bases for US. The invasion on Iraq was justified on three pretexts ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the war on terror declared after 9/11, 2001 with Saddam Hussein presented as an accomplice of Osama bin Laden, then it was the infamous threat of weapons of mass destruction again untruths created by the US & UK governments & supported by the UN and when countries began to realize these falsehoods the next best option was to go to third wherein the US promised a democratic model, an example to the entire Middle East. For those who clamored and shouted for the ouster of Saddam must be wondering what tragedy has prevailed for Iraq ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 1m loss of life, destruction to ancient artifacts, far more division than post 2001. The ambition to spread ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democratic valuesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ across the Middle East & Asia has worked out well for western empire buildersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.the key words to watch out for ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-free markets, human rights, freedom of speech & of course democracy. But how would they explain how their ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-alliesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ function in their respective states? Saudi Arabia, Jordan & Egypt have remained the long time ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-friends of the USƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, the backdrop to what has happened in Egypt given the US backing for its leadership all these years does wonder what merited the change of heart & immediately beckons other ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-friendsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to please take a lesson from this. They need to know the same fate is likely to occur to them.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Most of these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-agentsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of the West end up rollicking in corruption, draining the country of its wealth, feeling that they will be eternally protected by these western forces but sooner than later they will find out in an embarrassing manner as Mubarak has now found out. Thus, not only have they been embarrassed by their offshore friend the entire nation looks upon them with contempt. As a leader there can be no other embarrassment than to be ridiculed by oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own people. The irony here is most politicians local or global care little about what public feels about them once they come into power as feelings are very diverse & public opinion is often controlled by media and advisors often end up hiding what the people actually think of them.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In viewing the issues of the Middle East, we cannot forget the US interest vis a vis Israel, for actions taken by US in the Middle East will at all times cover the interests of US-Israel relations. Yet, the key question remains is it US manipulating Israel or the other way round? So we come to the extent of the influence the Jews (Jewish lobby) have and we all know how powerful this lobby is in the US (the US annually gives Israel USD3billion)! Do we notice tensions rise in Obama-Israeli relations at most there is a significant difference to Israeli-Bush relationship?

Be that as it may, there is also the entry of another giant & the rise of China, taking over from the Soviet Union. China depends enormously on energy imports while it has hardly any oil. With the economic needs of these larger nations quite obvious, it is clearly visible how the US imposes itself upon regions backed by their allies (Japan also dependent on oil imports)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Corporate globalization is more powerful than we can fathom. They are solely responsible for allowing development to occur in one part of the world using the resources of the rest of the world. It is poignant to demand why democracy & its off-shoots, negotiations, conflict-resolution have not found solutions to conflicts that are over 50 years old ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Palestinian & Kashmir conflicts. As for US, what can it say of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-equalityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in the manner they treat prisoners at Gauntanomo Bay, Abu-Gharaib & even the manner they profile religious & ethnic minorities.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Nevertheless, the ideological warfare in creating ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democraticƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ nations will continue & will be the norm of how western dictates will fashion its foreign policy statements. Therefore, whether it is Hillary or any other, we should be ready to entertain these statements & be prepared for such. Nations whose leaders have been western agents & who now feel that their of no use to their interests will soon be surprised to see what happened in Egypt, Sudan or Tunisia.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tunisia was considered ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-a model of stabilityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in Africa despite government corruption, rising unemployment, rising food prices and crackdown on ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-free speechƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. A simple incident was enough to help set off a wave of unrest. (a vegetable vendor set himself on fire after his unlicensed vegetable cart was taken by police). Setting oneself on fire doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t equate to similar unrests as some others found out in other nations expecting similar uprising! Nevertheless, the case of Egypt looks a replica despite the fact that the Egyptian government is far more stable than in Tunisia.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What we need to comprehend from the issues taking place globally, is that as long as nations continue to put profits over people, siphoning precious resources & diminishing the status of sovereignty of that nation, the world will witness more resentment, rage, violence & moreover enable nations with vested interests to eagle down & ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-interveneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. The world is caught up in a vicious circle ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” there is western hegemony leading to militant resistance in nations that oppose western hegemony while in some nations these militants function under orders of superior powers. Thousands of funds that could be spent on providing water, schooling, eliminating poverty becomes instead used for military spending which invariably translates to the rule of corporate power-houses globally. We have seen how these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-interestsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ end up toppling governments, installing own stooges and when these stooges have lost credibility amongst the masses they end up deposing them through staged revolts to bring in another stooge, if that fails they would ensure that somehow their will prevails. Those who support these foreign influencers do so on the premise that whoever takes over the mantle of power will end up being corrupt but they forget that they become a leader essentially not to drain the country but to lead the country to a better position socially, economically & politically,

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The bottom-line is that anything can happen, anywhere & anytime. Underlying this truth is that there are many forces working underground to ensure these carpe diems occur when they see fit. Sri Lanka should seriously take note, its leaders irrespective of being in government or opposition need to remember at all times that their loyalties must at all times rest with their motherland, how can they preach patriotism otherwise? Though we celebrated 63 years of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-independenceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ essentially Sri Lanka has become independent only these last 2 years or have we? This question is best answered by our politicians in their assurance to us that they have not mortgaged the country & its people to foreign interests. We can understand & even empathize with the difficulties that must prevail not knowing the type of external influence the country & its leaders are likely to be subjected to, however, as leaders it becomes imperative that they use their political acumen to sail these external political pressures & political onslaughts.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What the people of any developing country look for from their leaders is the fulfillment of some very basic needsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦a road they could travel to school, go to work in, a healthcare system that would provide basic nursing & healthcare facilities, price of essential goods to be controlled by the state so that the basic essentials needed for them to survive could be purchasedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦is these so hard for governments to give & it begs to question why some roads, healthcare, schools remain in appaling conditions and why the government cannot at least control the prices of essential goods! ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the Buddhist teachings at least a lesson is there for all these leaders ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” everything in moderation, please!!!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Let us sincerely not hope Sri Lanka falls into or gets entrapped again and we must at all times ensure that Sri Lanka protects itself from all ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-external forcesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and if homegrown solutions are what will provide us answers the references to being able to do so with ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-external influenceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ must stop. It is these irrational statements that end up confusing our way forward. We now have a golden opportunity before us let us not jeopardize this at any cost. At heart what we do not want is for any of our politicians to face what has happened to Mubarak, nor do we want our country to fall into the abyss as has happened to all the countries that these external forces have ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-intervenedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka must remain in word & ways a sovereign nation.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Shenali Waduge