Understanding geopolitical reality

Is there an attempt by the West to accuse Sri Lankan State and the Armed Forces of genocide, mass scale human rights violations and bring its leaders before a War Crimes Tribunal? Or is all talk of such an attempt false, inaccurate?

On the other hand, the US State Department, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Involuntary and Arbitrary Killings Philip Alston all did speak about such violations and such genocide. Not that they had any substantive proof. Nevertheless they did talk.

There was also an attempt to accuse Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council though a resolution to that effect was voted down by an overwhelming majority.

Attempts were also made to bring a resolution in the UN Security Council, though they did not succeed. Numerous leaders of Western countries have made incriminating statements against Sri Lanka. The Western media went all out to castigate our country.

In the light of the above the only answer that could be given to the question raised at the beginning of this comment is ‘yes’.

The next question that comes up is what are you going to do about it? This is a question that should be answered by all those who contest the Presidential poll. This is not a question of one’s attitude to the incumbent President or the incumbent Government.

The last question can also be paraphrased as “Are you against this attempt or do you sympathise with it?” Whether one is a patriot or a betrayer is decided by the answer given to this paraphrased question.

There is only one way any self-respecting nation could react to such attempts. That is to resist such attempts.

Unfortunately, there are individuals and political groupings that want Sri Lanka to surrender. For example, the NDF candidate is on record as saying that if he comes to power he would assist in any external investigation on these accusations of genocide by handing over those responsible for investigations.

These accusations are being brought by parties that were unhappy about the defeat of terrorism, especially the way the war ended. It is not only certain individuals but the conduct of the country in the entire war that would be investigated by such an international tribunal.

Such an investigation would be an affront to the sovereignty of the country. It is an attempt to intervene in the internal affairs of the country. It must be remembered that these same forces tried earlier to use the infamous R2P strategy to intervene.

It should also be remembered that R2P strategy was attempted with the help of a local Fifth Column that was very much active then. The same Fifth Column is active again and has hitched itself with the electoral campaign of the New Democratic Front candidate. This makes the threat to the country’s sovereignty much more formidable and real. It is not an imaginary threat, as some would want to believe.

Unfortunately some, including learned University dons argue that the threat emanates from the wrong foreign policy of the Government which has read the geopolitical reality wrong. These advocates preach submission to Western authority as a way out. The reality, they say, is that the West is omnipotent and one could defy their authority only at one’s own risk.

Sadly, they have read the reality wrong. The United States is in a way capable of enforcing its diktat as before for the world is changing. Just as the bipolar world has given way to the uni-polar world the latter is now giving way to a multi-polar world. New powers, including those in Asia are on the horizon. Already in the economic sphere the G7 has given way to G20. In politics too the Washington Consensus is losing its grip on the Third World Nations.

Sri Lanka has read this new geopolitical reality correct and has made it the basis of its foreign policy. That is why the development of close relations with emerging powerful nations is correct. It has also been vindicated as for example at the UNHCR when the West failed to bully Sri Lanka.