No need for travel advisories

Sri Lanka was made to undergo many humiliations and indignities during its three decades long ethnic conflict by the bulk of the western nations which was purposely intended to sully its image on the international stage.

Many were the ruses and strategies devised to isolate the country internationally. She was not only hauled before the coals by the so called international community over alleged human rights violations but was also singled out for special treatment in the dispensing of aid and other facilities which in the normal course of events she would have been entitled to.

All these were done with the sinister motive of painting a bleak picture of the country so as to attribute pariah status to her.

By this means all that the West wanted was to get the country to dance to its own tune particularly in relation to the prosecution of the war. This sinister motive was finally laid bare during the final stages of the war when there was an indecent haste by roving Ambassadors and other busybodies from the West to halt the operations and throw a lifeline to the LTTE.

That these designs of the Western nations were thwarted by the single minded determination of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is only too well-known to need elaboration. Suffice it to say that all the plans and strategies they devised to get Sri Lanka toe the line was defeated with the LTTE dealt a mortal blow.

One of the instruments used by the Western countries to isolate Sri Lanka were the Travel Advisories urging their citizens give the country a wide berth. True, these travel advisories may have been issued with the interest of their citizens at heart.

But the swiftness, nay, the indecent hurry these were issued even when not warranted showed to any independent observer that Sri Lanka was singled out for special treatment. By this what was intended was to deal an economic blow to the country by targeting its tourist industry.

It was no coincidence that these moves were invariably followed by credit freezes and other ‘hold backs’ subtly applied - all designed to bring about an economic crash. Through this means what they hoped was to peg back the country’s war against terrorism so it could work out its sinister agenda to divide the country.

Now it is up to these western countries to prove that their love for their own countrymen were genuine when they asked them not to visit Sri Lanka in the aftermath of a bomb attack. For, the travel advisories are now redundant. Now is the time to call their bluff.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador for Brussels Dr. Ravinatha Ariyasinghe has already called on Governments of the EU member states to facilitate change of perception on Sri Lanka through an early revision of Travel Advisories, taking into account the significantly changed security situation in Sri Lanka.

Inaugurating a Lankan investment forum in Brussels he noted that with the ending of the 30 year conflict the main impediment to Sri Lanka reaching its full potential had been removed.

He also pinpointed the potential for investments by the opening up of the North and the East for development after decades. It is not just tourism that suffered by these travel advisories but they also drove away prospective investors to the country.

The plot by the West against Sri Lanka was certainly multi-faceted. But like the President said in his victory speech, now that he has rallied all his people together there is also need to cultivate the outside world.

He was certainly offering an Olive branch to all. The President obviously is keen to start on a new slate. A massive task now lie before our Foreign Ambassadors to market the new Sri Lanka that has just been unravelled.

There is an urgent need to rekindle hopes for investments that may have come our way but for the bombs that were exploding in our midst. In this respect, persons like Ambassador Ariyasinghe who is an articulate diplomat can do much by clearing the air so that the world would once again look our way.

True, we have a lot of ground to cover yet before the country would be an inviting prospect for investors. There is a need to rebuild damaged infrastructure and also the once bloodied landscape in the North which will be the focus that beckons investors in the future.

Happily, work on the rebuilding process is being carried out apace under the competent supervision of MP Basil Rajapaksa. At the same time there is an urgent need to set the ball rolling overseas to canvass the potential of a wholly new and resurgent Sri Lanka.

This is the time that our foreign Ambassadors and Envoys should pull up their socks and get down to a serious job of work to sell the new product.