Sovereignty as a prime issue

While it is now abundantly clear that Sri Lanka is being discriminated against by those powers and their supporters who exercise a decisive influence over international political developments, it should be equally evident that there would be no let-up either, in the foreseeable future, in these attempts at bringing pressure on this country to do the bidding of these powers possessed of exceptional political, economic and military muscle. The confrontation is bound to continue.

Sri Lanka exercised her sovereign right to keep herself intact as an undivided, independent and united state and she chose to do this her way, although in a perfectly legitimate manner, and by doing so, she has provoked the ire of those powers who preside over the current global political order. Essentially, this is the backdrop to attempts being currently made at the UNHRC to hold Sri Lanka accountable on matters that would not stand up to rational scrutiny.

In the current confrontation which the West has foisted on Sri Lanka, what is most noticeable is that Sri Lanka, under President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has chosen to ignore the dictates of those sections of the West which are virtually seeking to have the developing world under their strangling control. Basically, some Western powers wanted this country to go slow in the offensive against the Tigers at the closing stages of the conflict in particular, which demand no self-respecting country could yield to, and this is proving a crucial factor in the current attempts by the West at victimizing Sri Lanka. This country, very rightly, has said ‘No’ to these attempts at robbing her of her sovereign rights and this, indeed, is the way to go.

Sri Lanka is currently very resourcefully going about the task of winning world opinion in her favour in this confrontation but she would do well to bear in mind that values which the world is believed to be adhering to in the conduct of inter-state relations are most often than not observed in the breach by the international community. Rather than abide strongly by any ideals which are seen as sacrosanct, quite a few states take their essential interests, and these are very often selfish ones, as their bases of international conduct. Accordingly, it would be realistic to see international politics as generally anarchic and given to disorder and turmoil, rather than being driven always by altruistic and humane considerations or by values which are selflessly shared.

That said, this reading of international relations should not be misunderstood as meaning that disorder and anarchy are endemic in the international system. This is far from the truth because mankind has achieved a tremendous amount of good over the past few decades, particularly under the auspices of the United Nations system. But there is no denying that, as a general rule, individual states and power blocs do not usually compromise their most vital interests for what is considered the common good unless they are motivated by the vision of sacrificing individual interests for the collective good of humanity. This calls for principled and value-based politics which is what mankind needs to continually strive for, the temptation to consider one’s individual interests notwithstanding.

But if we take our minds back to the past, there have been periods when a coming together of like minds and hearts was possible. One such moment in history was when the Non-aligned Movement was formed. Another momentous occasion was when the Group of 77 and SAARC were established. The Western and Eastern power blocs had to be countered in the initial years of the Cold War and NAM was, rightly, seen as the answer. The movement helped in neutralizing to a degree, Western self interest in particular.

The US-led resolution against Sri Lanka should remind the developing world of the need to act on the basis of its collective interests; in consideration of values the Third World shares. The big powers would not stop at anything when their interests are at stake. So, it would be idealistic to expect them to be considerate about developing countries, such as, Sri Lanka. Only a strong coming together of the developing countries could hamper these powers which are attempting to ride rough shod over the less powerful of the world.