Geneva and SL’s ‘great’ resource grab
View(s):So the US-backed resolution on Sri Lanka in Geneva went through with a majority of 12 votes, up from a similar Geneva resolution in 2012.
This was not unexpected not for anything else but a poor foreign policy strategy in recent times. The Government has rejected the resolution and will have its own ways of saying its victory for Sri Lanka because 13 countries voted for us and eight, including Malaysia (which was expected to support the resolution), abstained. Another plus point, the Government is most likely to talk about, is that Muslim states – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait opposed the resolution contrary to expectations in some quarters that it would have gone the other way as a protest against an ongoing hate campaign against Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community.
Sri Lanka’s ‘big’ brother, India voted against Sri Lanka and urged Colombo to hold, as promised the Northern Provincial Council election and more progress on reconciliation and accountability issues.
This stance saw protestors on Friday distributing leaflets in Colombo and Maharagama urging Sri Lankans to boycott Indian goods especially Maruti-Alto cars.
The boycott-goods campaign against India could intensify in coming weeks, on top of what political analysts have dubbed as an ongoing ‘hate’ campaign against the Muslims.
As a counter-action, a Muslim group on Thursday called for a shut-down of Muslim enterprises and offices in Pettah tomorrow (Monday) in what it called a ‘peaceful’ protest against the ‘hate’ campaign. The Muslim Rights Organisation (MRO) also expressed dismay that the government was silent on ‘the spreading of anti-Muslim sentiment” by hardline elements including groups like the Bodu Bala Sena (BSS). This could result in further clashes which the Government needs to take more seriously. This is compared to the total inaction being displayed so far by simply allowing the wound to fester, an accusation that is resonating across the political spectrum.
The economic fallout from the latest Geneva vote is expected to be more severe than in the past with countries trading with Sri Lanka taking a harder look at relations particularly garment exports (US and Europe are main buyers). Muslim states have backed Sri Lanka but any intensification of the ‘hate’ campaign could impact on migrant labour jobs (over a million Sri Lankans work in West Asia) and oil, in which Colombo is totally dependent on that region.
On Wednesday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the parent body of 57 member countries, expressed concern over the escalating ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka affecting the Muslims.
In terms of other trade, India one is the biggest source market for tourism and one hopes this market won’t be affected.
Another equally worrying development is insidious attempts by hardline groups to intrude into the marketplace; demanding and succeeding in the removal of the Halal label. While the debate over the use or non-use of the Halal label is over, the overall situation hasn’t eased and further inroads into the marketplace by these groups is most likely to happen. Already protests are being made against Ethanol imports.
State inaction against unlawful elements coupled with a string of bad and indecisive decisions like the 2011 acquisition of so-called, loss-making private companies and the latest ban on the sale of private land to foreigners are bad for investment promoion.
Inconsistent policies have been the bane of the Government. Little wonder then that Sri Lanka’s post-war draw of foreign investments has been miniscule compared to Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and even Bangladesh.
The increasingly acquisition of resources through extended presidential power is another problem in Sri Lanka that impacts on economic fundamentals and investment promotion.
Dayan Jayatillake, political scientist and former diplomat, spoke of the cartelization of resources and power which has a debilitating and dysfunctional impact on the economy.
The BSS intrusion in the marketplace over the Halal issue was completely irrational, and based on non economic reasons and ethno religious fanaticism, he said.
The former diplomat, part of a panel discussion in Colombo (see story on previous page), said he has always been sympathetic towards President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “The problem is not MR but R—plural (the Rajapaksas’) and its proliferation,” he said. The Rajapaksa power base now extends to 400 people compared to some 200, about 2-3 years back, according to political analysts.
Some economists argue that the economy won’t collapse despite daunting problems like uncompetitive exports whose share of GDP has fallen over the years, tax revenue collection among the lowest in Asia and burgeoning foreign reserves made largely on borrowed cash, not earned cash.
But the chinks are showing in the armour and recent political events in Sri Lanka are likely to precipitate a crisis worst than what is being seen. It is imperative that the government must act swiftly to nip the hate campaign and other communal-charged developments seen in posters on Colombo walls.
Sri Lanka cannot afford another pogrom or a post 1956 era where its political leadership was controlled by hardline elements.
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