Columns

So President Sirisena had attended a felicitation event for Sri Lanka’s legendary musician, Pandit W.D.Amaradeva.
Not only did President Sirisena quite rightly praise Pandit Amaradeva for his undoubted contribution to the world of music but joined him in singing some songs composed by Amaradeva.

It was not surprising to read Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva say the other day that economists from around the world would descend on Sri Lanka in January to tell us how to implement our own policies.

Not having heard Maithripala Sirisena sing though I have heard him on political platforms and in personal conversations with him, I have no knowledge of the president’s vocal capabilities when he breaks into song. Over the years I have heard other politicians, old and young, sing if not exactly for their supper at least during supper though I dare say some would have their future in mind when they wrapped their vocal chords round a microphone.

I have heard Ranil Wickremesinghe in his university days grapple with lyrics though I would not say that he was a budding Sinatra. Why, I have even heard Ranil’s uncle, the unforgettable (some might even say unforgiveable) Junius “Yankee Dicky” Jayewardene mutter a few lines from one of his favourite songs “La Vie En Rose” and more recently Sajith Premadasa tune his tonsils at the Stallions enclosure at the Royal-Thomian.

There appears to be some symbiotic connection (mainly wireless now) between microphones and politicians seeing how politicians like the sound of their own voices forgetting that wise saw about silence being golden. I doubt whether President Sirisena would have got his phrasing right to make a perfect duet that night but at least president and pandit sang from the same music sheet.

But could one say that President Sirisena and his major partner in governance, the UNP, sing along together in harmony without missed chords and miscuing?

Is that because they belong to different musical and political traditions? When it comes to laying the economic and foreign policy ground work they seem to be facing different directions.

Maithripala Sirisena a veteran SLFPer is well acquainted with the philosophy and the political roots of his party. When it comes to foreign policy the SLFP has faithfully adhered to a non-aligned policy especially under Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike. So the SLFP was an early child of NAM which pitted itself against colonialism and the west which it saw as its natural enemy. The west was seen determined to subjugate or sabotage the newly emergent nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Having inherited the mantle of the chairman of NAM after the UNP’s electoral victory in 1977, Junius Richard Jayewardene’s government merely paid lip service to non-alignment though its foreign minister ACS Hameed tried to cut a figure as a great exponent of Sri Lanka’s long standing policy.
JR’s healthy contempt for non-alignment was contained in a single remark he made to me during an interview at his Ward Place residence. “There are only two non-aligned countries in the world. The USA and the USSR.” A few minutes later he warned me not to write it saying “I’ll lose my job.” But that’s another story.

Though the current UNP leadership might not be that contemptuous as its former leader- probably because it sees non-alignment today as largely irrelevant- it did not prevent the UNP from committing itself to the non-aligned credo. The memorandum of understanding between the two major parties forming the national unity government mentions that they would engage in consensual governance and adopt a non-aligned foreign policy.
President Sirisena has on several occasions referred to a non-aligned foreign policy as his government’s committed stance. He reportedly told visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry that Sri Lanka followed a strict policy of non-alignment and that he would not permit relations with one country to affect another.

Yet when did we hear the UNP publicly mention non-alignment as the government’s declared policy. On the contrary we found Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera hastening to London and Washington shortly after his appointment even before he could set foot in China which has proved to be Sri Lanka’s steadfast friend, even though others might have played havoc with its financial help.

The UNP’s ‘west politik’ is understandable given that it draws its sustenance from a Colombo-centric cosmopolitan elite who has since independence found the west to be its comfort zone. Space does not permit a more detailed look at the SLFP-UNP dissonance. But suffice it to say that President Sirisena sees Sri Lanka’s future tied closely to a rising Asia and advocates greater integration among the South Asian states.

The UNP meanwhile looks to the west not only for economic and financial assistance but also for policy advice. It was therefore not surprising to read Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva say the other day that economists from around the world would descend on Sri Lanka in January to tell us how to implement our own policies.

He specifically mentioned economists from Harvard University as though the UNP has just ordered the best of caviar and champagne for the New Year. I do not blame Harsha de Silva for venerating every arrival from the west as a Zeus descending from Olympus because that is the traditional outlook of his party, never mind the fact that all these great minds could not rescue Greece-not to mention some others earlier-from its financial morass.
Is our country so bereft of expertise and experience that our greatest achievement is to invite foreigner scholars to pull us out of our own mess as though they represent a modern Aladdin’s lamp that will cure all with a single rub?

During President Sirisena’s recent visit to Thailand he invited Sri Lankans living there to return home and help the country. While he would be hard put to find ‘intellectuals’ there, during my 3 ½ years in Bangkok I came across several scholars and professionals of Sri Lankan origin, particularly at ESCAP, the largest regional arm of the UN, covering 54 countries from the Pacific to Central Asia .

One such person I often met when attending regular ESCAP meetings was Dr Ravi Ratnayake who at the time was the highly respected Chief Economist of ESCAP. Interestingly I found his CV saved in my computer and reading it to write this column I realized how true it is that some people are not respected in their own country.

It says that Ravi Ratnayake who passed out of Peradeniya University and worked at the Finance Ministry in Sri Lanka, was a professor and senior lecturer at three universities in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. Besides being chief economist he has also served UNESCAP as senior director of the Trade & Investment Division, director Poverty & Development Division on macro-economic policy and was International Consultant to the World Bank, FAO, UNDP, ADB and USAID.

My inquiries indicate that Dr Ratnayake who is also a New Zealand citizen has returned to Sri Lanka and is the secretary-general of non-profit making NGO called “Bridging the Gap Foundation of Asia” which presents a novel approach to development emphasizing good governance as the key to the creation of inclusive, sustainable and resilient Asian societies.

One wonders whether our political leaders who stumble over each other to pronounce great development goals know of this Foundation or have thought of making use of his expertise in the Asian region- that is if they have heard of him. The same might be said of Indrajit Coomaraswamy, former director of the Economic Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat and had once worked at our Central Bank, who has returned to Sri Lanka.
Will we ever rid ourselves of this servility to the west and seek the help of our own professionals.