The vested interests behind the Sri Lankan
regime
WE ARE sickeningly familiar
with the arrogant, cruel statements of Sri Lankan prime minister,
Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his cronies. They dismiss any criticism of their
brutal war against Tamil-speaking people and the horrific aftermath of
mass internment camps, militarised zones and a clampdown on media
freedoms and democratic rights. But how can Rajapaksa & Company get away
with it?
The reality is that Sri Lanka
is in demand. One of the reasons that quiet, diplomatic appeals to
establishment governments and political parties have practically no
impact is that all of these governments have their fingers in the Sri
Lankan pie. They want a piece of the action. So, they cannot be too
critical for fear of being frozen out of lucrative economic and
strategic deals. The only time British and other governments act in the
interests of workers and poor people is when they are put under massive
pressure.
The major regional powers,
China and India, are jostling for position in the Indian Ocean, where
the US administration also has strategic economic and military
interests. There can be no doubt that the provision of weapons by the
Chinese regime, streaming into Sri Lanka from 2007, played a big part in
the defeat of the LTTE. China increased its bilateral aid fivefold in a
year to $1bn in 2008 to become Sri Lanka’s biggest donor. In return, it
has been awarded the project to develop the important deep-sea port of
Hambantota. This fits with China’s ‘string of pearls’ policy, whereby it
seeks to control the Indian Ocean seaway, which carries nearly half of
all global seaborne trade.
The Indian government opened
up unlimited military credit for Sri Lanka. It also extended naval and
intelligence cooperation and other support. The Malaysian operator,
Dialog Telecom, is moving in to profit out of the war-ravaged north and
east.
Australia has pledged $1bn,
its representatives say, to help with Tamil resettlement. But one of the
main concerns of the Australian government is to stop Tamil refugees
leaving Sri Lanka for Australia. This money will go to Rajapaksa’s
administration and will be used to control Tamil-speaking people. Aid
should be in the hands of those it is intended to help. It should be
administered by elected representatives accountable to the communities
they serve.
As for the western powers,
they are playing a particularly hypocritical role. At one time or
another they have all issued statements mildly critical of the Rajapaska
regime. But trade and military links are more important to these powers
than the rights of workers and poor people.
The US, for example, uses Sri
Lankan ports as naval bases. The US is the only country with a veto in
the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Yet, in July, the US abstained in
the vote to agree a $2.8bn loan. If the US administration really cared
about the Tamil-speaking people it could have stopped the money going
through. The IMF loan is supposed to go towards the post-war
‘reconstruction effort’. One of the developments under way is for a
string of luxury hotels along the east coast near Nilaveli – luxury
hotels for the rich, prison camps with open sewers for the
Tamil-speaking people.
Meanwhile, the British
government – having supplied military equipment to Sri Lanka throughout
the war – turns its back on the hundreds of thousands in the camps. It,
too, is more worried about contracts for British companies, including
military goods. So Des Browne, Britain’s special envoy to Sri Lanka,
said: "We take the view that it is safe to return people, including
Tamils, to Sri Lanka". This was said in connection with the Tamil boat
people stranded off the coast of Indonesia who have been refused entry
into Australia. These powers stick together when they see it is in their
own vested interests – and humanitarian concerns are quickly dropped.
Rajapaksa seems able to act
with impunity. Last year, John Holmes, UN undersecretary general for
humanitarian affairs, was accused of being in the pay of the LTTE after
he stated the simple fact that Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous
places in the world for aid workers. The UN Children’s Fund
communications chief was ordered to leave Sri Lanka after he raised the
plight of children caught up in the conflict. Sadly, it matters little
how well-meaning many in agencies such as the United Nations are, there
is, in reality, little they can do when blocked by the major powers.
On top of this, the clampdown
on reporting in Sri Lanka continues. Around 20 journalists have been
murdered there over the last few years. Lawyers taking up sensitive
cases have been threatened, public meetings cannot be held without
advance government permission, and emergency regulations remain in
place, including wide-ranging powers of search, arrest and seizure of
property. Individuals can be arrested and held in unacknowledged
detention for up to 18 months.
But the promise by Rajapaksa
to the Sinhalese workers and poor that the declared end of the war will
bring some kind of peace dividend is a rotten lie. Military spending in
Sri Lanka swallows 5% of gross domestic product – one of the largest in
the world. The regular army is five times bigger than it was in the late
1980s – now 200,000 strong, larger than the British (with three times
the population) and Israeli armed forces. The Sri Lankan regime plans
further increases to 300,000 – more troops than France, Japan or
Germany.
Having crushed the Tamil
Tigers, the Sri Lankan government has set up militarised zones
throughout the north and east. It now occupies that area and will
proceed to subjugate a whole people. This humanitarian catastrophe for
Tamil-speaking people will also prove to be a massive financial drain.
The living standards of all working class and poor people will be driven
down even further. In time, this will lead to increasing resistance from
Sinhalese workers. The oppression and poverty will also provide fertile
ground for a new generation of Tamils raised on bitterness and hatred.
The Rajapaksa regime is not
in the interests of the workers and poor in Sri Lanka, including the
Sinhalese majority. It is a defender of the rich and powerful, aiming to
keep itself in power as long as possible. That is why Tamil Solidarity
supports united struggle by and in the interests of the working class
and poor against this vicious regime, regardless of ethnic or religious
background.
Manny Thain
