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Sri Lanka brimming with promise

Sri Lanka is profiled in the latest issue of the French independent review La Lettre Diplomatique (The Diplomatic Letter): “Sri Lanka, Future Hub of the Indian Ocean Rim?”

La Lettre Diplomatique was founded in 1988. The review carries interviews of key actors in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Its articles present the insights and prognoses of experts who keep close watch on the fast-changing geopolitical and strategic landscape, and carefully analyze the stakes of globalization. The report on Sri Lanka carries an interview of Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka on questions of reconciliation, autonomy, development plan in conflict areas, economic growth and maritime security.

The full interview:

Continued from yesterday

T.D.L.: In light of its participation in the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), what approach does Sri Lanka advocate for battling piracy and ensuring maritime security? Could heightened naval cooperation be another way to strengthen Franco-Sri Lankan ties?

Dr. D.J.: Sri Lanka is very active in its stance. Its contribution to maritime security has been recognized by militaries all over the world. Recently joint exercises were held in Sri Lanka’s harbour bases, together with units from US and Asian countries.

It is the consequence of the real challenge raised by the Sea Tigers. It was probably the best-organised irregular navy that you can call a pirate navy.

The Sri Lankan Navy had to develop tactics to obliterate them. To tell you how serious this was, the leader of the ‘Black Sea Tigers’ didn’t hesitate to boast about the superiority of their tactics compared to Al-qaeda’s one, during an interview on a BBC World Today programme.

So the navies of the world, including French, have all had warm relations with our Navy and they recognize the value of our capabilities. Recently, the Sri Lanka Navy held its symposium on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its founding, which was attended by navies from all over the world.

Concerning cooperation with France, I hope it will be intensified in maritime security issues. Sri Lanka is completely open to it and I think it would be mutually valuable.

T.D.L.: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding in 2010. Could you outline this group’s regional cooperation priorities, on the eve of the summit set for the Maldives in November 2011?

Dr D.J.: SAARC is an underperforming regional organization, if you consider South Asia’s tremendous potential. For Sri Lanka, priorities of regional integration would be economic, but also counter terrorism and people-to-people soft power exchanges. Economic because it makes absolute sense if we take the process already ongoing in the Far East. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a wonderful example, and there are many other organizations.

Foreign ministers and heads of delegations from the Non-Aligned Movement countries pose for a photo in front of the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade. Pic. courtesy: Google

In South Asia, the process of regional integration has been slow because of the asymmetries between India and its neighbours. This cooperation should be accelerated. There is much that we can learn from European Union, but more especially from ASEAN. However, we have been working on closer cooperation on terrorism and there was an acceleration of SAARC’s legislation on this theme.

One other thing that seems to be moving further is people to people interaction. We can envisage a common civil society space for the region. For instance, a regional university is going to be launched soon in India. For its part, Sri Lanka has been very open to a common space to facilitate exchanges at every level: students, journalists and artists.

SAARC is a common civilizational area. So if we cannot fast track economic integration, maybe we can do it in some other way, to harness the talents in this region.

I think the leaders and the elites of SAARC are beginning to realize that if South Asia does not operate as a regional space, each one of us would be looking more to East Asia.

That has begun to happen, also on the part of India, which has a ‘look East’ policy. But I think there is an alternative because of the IT revolution. The growing interactivity among the youth of the region produces a kind of pressure from below in society.

We also have to take into account that there are problems more pressing than before, like climate change or management of natural resources (for instance water). But I don’t see SAARC backsliding.

The only challenge is whether we will catch up with our potential, as in the case of Sri Lanka. Former Pakistani Finance Minister and former Vice-President of the World Bank Javed Burki used to say two important things. First that an economic take-off for each of us in South Asia would occur with regional integration.

Second, to actualize that potential, South Asia has to be ready to leave the past behind.

Our societies and public opinions tend to be dominated by the past. But if we can move to a mentality that is looking to the future, then we will be able to actualize the tremendous potential of South Asia.

T.D.L.: Afghanistan has been a member of SAARC since 2007. Are you concerned about the withdrawal of NATO troops from that country, and its impact on the region? What role could SAARC play in this process?

Dr. D.J.: About Afghanistan, let me tell you what General Petraeus told me when I met him during the Academic Diplomatic seminar in Singapore. I pointed out that when the United States was planning to withdraw from Vietnam, the then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger conceptualized and implemented a full architecture of the problem, which included a détente with the Soviet Union and the dramatic opening to China.

Though of course this strategy did not fully succeed, it still was a very cerebral and very practical strategy.

Today, to succeed in a withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States needs the cooperation of a number of stake holders in this crisis: Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran and India. Of these stake holders, India is the only one to have a successful partnership with United States.

Every one of the other relationships has its ups and downs, and some of them have real problems, such as Iran. Thus, the United States does not have a comparable foreign policy architecture as for Vietnam, in which stakeholders would have an incentive to connect themselves to find a constructive solution and thus facilitate the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Furthermore, the withdrawal itself implies other effects. For the Taliban, it means that they only have to hold on for longer.

The withdrawal could be projected as yet another victory for fundamentalist Islamism. This will have a demonstration effect everywhere in the world. But, of course, the United States cannot stay there indefinitely either. So it is really caught in a strategic dilemma.

SAARC will certainly feel the impact of whatever happens in Afghanistan, not only because it is a member, but because there are obvious reasons. It could have a possible blow back on Pakistan and also in Indo-Pakistani relations. At the moment, SAARC has not been engaged by United States as SAARC, in order to discuss this. Perhaps it should engage SAARC, at least in the discussion on the future of Afghanistan.

T.D.L.: Sri Lanka has been very active on the international diplomatic stage, for instance by becoming a ‘dialogue partner’ in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Would your country like to become a full-fledged member of the SCO?

Dr. D.J.: Sri Lanka is a founding member of the Non Aligned Movement, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in Belgrade in September 2011. The aim of the NAM has been to work towards a more multi-polar world order. Our country continues to work towards this goal, particularly through organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which was not so long ago the Shanghai 5 and we value the BRIC group, which became the BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa.

Now there are so many people interested in participating in the SCO at various levels. India is maybe more engaged, as an observer member.

This is a process that Sri Lanka welcomes. I cannot tell you whether we should upgrade our level of participation, but I would say that there is a real convergence in terms of strategic perspectives, as SCO has identified terrorism, extremism and separatism as major threats.

T.D.L.: Your country took over the presidency of the G-15 group from Iran, and will host the developing countries’ next summit in 2012. What do you see as the greatest security stakes at this time, especially with regard to nuclear nonproliferation?

Dr. D.J.: I was also Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the conference on disarmament. I think that on the issue of nuclear proliferation, there is an asymmetry of perception that has to be bridged.

The West is very concerned about the issue of nonproliferation; to the point it wishes this issue is almost a ‘stand alone’ issue. But for many developing countries, but also midlevel powers, the so-called new pivotal powers, the issue of non proliferation has to be linked with the issue of general nuclear disarmament. And some initiatives have been taken in this direction by President Obama. That means establishing a co-operation between United States and Russia. But perhaps for political reasons, this momentum was now slowed. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a real breakthrough without a new global security architecture which is more balanced. What won’t work, or could have very dangerous consequences, is any kind of unilateral military moves by any power in any region.

T.D.L.: The launch the water plant’s modernization in Kantale in April 2011 shows the potential of cooperation between Sri Lanka and France. Taking into account the recent reactivation of the France-Sri Lanka Business Council, in which other areas the ties between the two countries synergies could be intensify?

Dr. D.J.: In October 2011, the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs, Pr G.L. Peiris had a meeting in Paris with his counterpart Alain Juppé and also others personalities. They have discussed the full spectrum of Sri Lanka’s relations with France.

Yes we value both the France-Sri Lanka Business Council but also its counterpart Sri Lanka-France Business Council, based in Colombo. We hope to intensify our cooperation and our commercial exchanges because the possibilities are quiet attractive.

This is true not only in terms of economics but also in terms of culture and intellectual interaction. There is a lot that we can learn from France. There is a paradox because my generation and the generation of my parents grew with a much greater understanding of France’s intellectual contribution. We were very familiar with Truffaut,

Tavernier or French actors like Alain Delon. I grew up at a time Andre Malraux visited Sri Lanka on its way to the East and in a cultural atmosphere when France was very important in every aspect. In my last book, I included a chapter on a debate between two of the greatest French intellectuals Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. But, despite globalization the youngest generation in Sri Lanka is less aware about French culture.

The reason is that the profile of France has now been channeled through the European Union. In the past, there was also a specific commitment of France to countries like Sri Lanka through French teachers in schools and universities. Now it is much less. I want to try to change that.

I want to do everything possible to raise quality of interaction between our two societies not only our two states. Sri Lanka has always been open and I invite my friends here in France to step in.

Concluded

 

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