| Editorial | ||||
 |
||||
Dramatic
change in strategic alliances And nothing can be truer as we watch developments across the Palk Straits. The visit of US President George W. Bush II to India and Pakistan, the latter a country, let us not forget, the US had relegated to 'pariah' status for going nuclear. As if that was not enough, they had given the fallen Pakistan a kick up their butt after incumbent President Pervez Musharraf took over the reins in a swift military coup ousting then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Today, however, both these 'pariah states' have become the 'darlings' of the US, and Mr. Sharif is languishing in exile somewhere in Saudi Arabia, all but forgotten by his great defenders. The transition from pariah to darling is all about strategic interests, not morality. And it is the business of the US to see that the business of the US thrives at any given moment. In India they have found a burgeoning market for their products and an ally against equally burgeoning China while in Pakistan they have an ally in the fight against terrorists who have sworn to destroy the US. Ironically, while we saw footage of India's Prime Minister warmly greeting the US President, one could only reflect on the years when the political and bureaucratic Brahmins in New Delhi's portals of power applied pressure on the Colombo Government about VOA (Voice of America) broadcasts; the closure of the Israeli-Interest and the Trincomalee oil tank farms not to be given to any US company, all of which later led to a controversial Indo-Lanka Agreement of 1987. But then -- that was prior to the assassination of their Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. One is forced to try and suppress a cynical smirk about the high fallutin' rhetoric of yesteryear and the events of this week. And so it is in Sri Lanka's own relations with foreign countries. There have been swings and turns, especially in our relations vis-à-vis the West, once referred to as the 'rapacious West', but whom we cannot do without now. Our relationship with India itself has had its ups and downs. But what of the countries that have been firm friends, especially in our most trying and testing moments of the past quarter century -- Pakistan and China. It is good to see that the new President of the Republic has chosen to visit Pakistan in the coming weeks. After his rushed trip to pay homage to India last December which was a fruitless one to say the least in the context of the timing, poor planning and the results achieved, one would hope that this time round -- the visit will be better co-ordinated and planned and we will know what we are going to talk about. Simply taking a plane-load of hangers-on (for the host government to foot much of the bill) will not help. Next, hopefully, the President will visit Beijing -- another emerging nation of Asia, both economically and politically -- a nation that has solidly backed consecutive Sri Lankan governments. But there is one outstanding issue that needs to be taken up with the Beijing Government, that of permitting the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet to Sri Lanka as a pilgrim. The
Dalai Lama has been a sensitive political issue for the Beijing
Administration ever since the annexure of Tibet as part of China. The
argument of at least one Buddhist monk-MP -- that the Dalai Lama
is a Mahayana monk and therefore has no reason to visit this Theravada
Buddhist country, is nothing short of astounding. The less said
about it, the better. We could recall Shakespeare's words, 'The friends thou hast; and their adoption tried; grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel'. Yet, Sri Lanka has always been in the forefront of Buddhist nations, and to get entangled in world politics which as we pointed out earlier is always subject to change -- and abandon its long-established role as a nation in the vanguard of Buddhism -- are a sad reflection on today's leadership and its skewered reasoning. If Sri Lanka wants to proclaim itself as a custodian of the Buddha Dhamma, it is incomprehensible for the government to prevent this acknowledged world Buddhist personality and leader from visiting the country by not issuing him a visa. It behoves the Governments both in Colombo and in Beijing to re-think this issue, and resolve it amicably. And what better time than now - as we prepare to celebrate 2550th Buddha Jayanthi. |
||||
ADVERTISING
OFFICE
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT No.
47, W.A.D. Ramanayake Mawatha, Colombo 2, Sri Lanka.
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
