A welcome visit

If there is one diplomat that is popular with all Sri Lankans he should unmistakably be Yasushi Akashi, a frequent and a most welcome visitor to this country. It is not out of place here to state that this suave and cherubic figure has made a favourable impression in the hearts and minds of all patriotic Sri Lankans.

This is because he has held himself with great aplomb as a diplomat unlike some of the Western envoys who frequently descend here attempting to tell Sri Lanka how to conduct its business. This roving Ambassador from Japan has right through been circumspect and understanding of the dynamics of the conflict in Sri Lanka.

On Friday, he made his 17th visit to Sri Lanka and this at a time of a dramatic unfolding of events in the country relating to its three decades old war. And like all other visits he has held his counsel and not deigned to dictate to the Government as to the course it should pursue. His visit therefore, was bound to have had a calming effect after the flurry of visits here undertaken by Western diplomats trying to force their own recipes down our throats on how to address the conflict.

Not for him to urge the Government for a ceasefire or a temporary pause to permit the civilians to escape. This, as a true diplomat, he realises is not within his remit. Especially at a time global terrorism is on an ascendency. Even when a reporter asked Akashi if he was aware of heavy armed attacks in the No Fire Zone, the reply was that he did not know where the firing was coming from.

Unlike his Western compatriots he did not rely on unsubstantiated reports or swayed by the current Westerly winds hostile to Sri Lanka. He could afford to be assertive with what Japan being the largest aid giver to Sri Lanka.

Nor did he make sweeping statements about the condition of IDPs after visiting these centres during his visit. Commenting on the Transitional Centres he said “ they could be better but for the sudden influx of several thousands within two weeks”.

He obviously did not see conditions akin to concentration camps. Implicit in his statement was the fact that the Government has done its utmost under the conditions obtained. He also commended the good coordination and cooperation between the Government Departments and officials and the UN, UNHCR, UNICEF and other relief agencies.

Essentially a Peace Envoy, Akashi was also pleased with the great store laid by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on a political solution as against a military one whereby all the people of the country could live together in friendship and harmony.

But the coup d’ grace was delivered when he said that Japan did not agree with the view of other members of the Co-chairs that economic assistance should be linked to success in the peace process.

It has been the practice of Western Governments to use the aid bludgeon on the Sri Lanka Government to fall in line with their recipes for the resolution of the on going conflict. To the eternal credit of President Rajapaksa, he has been one leader who firmly stood up to this challenge and asked these countries where to get off.

Perhaps it is this resistance that have rankled the West who are now trying every trick in the book to derail the successful military victory and throw a lifeline to the LTTE.

True, conditions of peace is the ideal backdrop for any aid to be successfully utilized. Hence an insistence by donor nations for a negotiated settlement to the conflict. But today, what we see is an insidious attempt by certain powers to reverse the victories achieved on the war front and to make the country a hostage to Western agendas. The suggestion that the LTTE leadership surrenders to a third party is one such ploy.

Beside, being the convenor of the Co-chairs, Japan and Akashi in particular is not unaware of the tortuous journey the so called peace process underwent with the LTTE, finally springing on an Interim Self Government Authority (ISGA) on the then UNP Government as a fait accompli.

Therefore, it is not without reason that the Japanese peace envoy has not prevailed on the Government to let go of the military offensive. He only said he expressed hope that the Government will remain faithful to its policy of restrain and zero casualty of civilians. There was no talk of a pause in the military operations or a ceasefire. This is in sharp contrast to the Milibands and the Kouchners whose real intentions are transparent.

Perhaps being an Asian Akashi empathises with the position of the Sri Lankan Government. Japan had been one of the few countries who had blocked sanctions and even strictures from being delivered against Sri Lanka at international forums in the past.

Hopefully, this attitude of the world’s second largest economic power would rub off on those western busybodies who never tire of lecturing and hectoring to Sri Lanka on human rights and above all how to conduct our own affairs.

The people of Sri Lanka would forever be grateful to Japan for her stance.

Akashi has always held himself with dignity and deportment and is perhaps the only foreign diplomat who is welcomed with open arms by the people of this country. No doubt his current visit and stand on Government’s position would have further helped cement this bond.