Enlightened approach to foreign
policy
There were some
interesting exchanges between the government and the Opposition
in Parliament over the past couple of days in relation to Sri
Lanka's foreign policy and matters stemming from it, which would
have helped to clarify some of the bases of this country's
external policy. Essentially, the state's position was that Sri
Lanka could not be dictated to by any big powers on these
issues.
While the exchanges in Parliament were important, a
pronouncement by Minister Basil Rajapaksa to the media recently
to the effect that Sri Lanka would continue to pursue a policy
of 'friendship towards all, and enmity towards none', is equally
significant. Whereas, the average observer would expect this
country to be 'daggers drawn' with the West and those countries
which voted against it on the US-sponsored resolution against
this country at the UNHRC in March, no such destructive course
would be taken by this country, the public was told by Minister
Rajapaksa. Sri Lanka would continue to engage the totality of
the world on the most amicable terms, we are told.
This is a most enlightened approach to the conduct of our
foreign policy which merits closer examination. Given that the
essential base of this country's foreign policy is
Non-alignment, this is the most advisable course to follow in
matters on the external relations front. Interestingly, proof of
this came at the recent 'Sri Lanka Expo 2012' trade fair in
Colombo. On this occasion, business groups from all over the
world converged on Sri Lanka, including those from the US, UK
and even sections of the Tamil Diaspora. The Sri Lankan
authorities received them with the utmost cordiality and
interacted with them meaningfully with a view to promoting
business links and cooperation.
Therefore, these are just a couple of occasions where the
fundamental bases of Sri Lanka's foreign policy have been thrown
into glowing relief. Rather than opt foolishly for strained
relations with the international community, this country would
continue with its policy of Non-alignment and the benefits which
would accrue to Sri Lanka from this far-thinking policy would be
numerous.
In fact, Sri Lanka lost the vote in Geneva only by a whisker
and this event too proves the benefits of being Non-aligned in
the foreign relations sphere. In other words, the policy of
Non-alignment helped Sri Lanka in earning and keeping allies,
far and wide.
It is little realized that foreign and domestic policies are
symbiotically linked and that the two spheres are
mutually-reinforcing. The complementarity of the two policy
fields could be ascertained when it is realized that national
reconciliation is a top priority for the government. It is
forging ahead with the task of bringing unity and togetherness
among all our communities and this policy should have a similar
policy trajectory in our handling of foreign relations. The
policy of forging all our communities and social groups into a
single polity or nation ought to be reflected in our foreign
policy formulation and implementation and this is what is taking
place.
All these and more 'positives' would not have been possible
if Sri Lanka had diluted or abandoned its cornerstone of
Non-alignment. It is Sri Lanka's enduring adherence to
Non-alignment over the years which is enabling it to manage
knotty questions on the foreign relations front.
It would have been quite counter-productive if Sri Lanka had
opted for an isolationist policy, following the recent
developments in Geneva. On the contrary, it will continue with
the policy of building bridges to the world and of strengthening
them. It would not follow from this premise that Sri Lanka would
in any way cease from asserting its sovereign rights as an
independent country.
The corollary of the policy of Non-alignment is the principle
of the sovereign equality of states. This will continue to be a
prime consideration with the state. Sovereign equality is the
basis of self-respect and this would not be forgotten by Sri
Lanka. |