Don’t sell my Mother: Are Portuguese-Dutch-British being replaced by India-China-US?
Have we learnt lessons? Don Juan Dharmapala not only baptized himself but even gifted Lanka to the Portuguese. Rajasinghe II learnt a bitter lesson when he thought the Dutch was better than the Portuguese – ඉගුරැදීමිරිස්ගත්තාවාගේ. The British learnt from both predecessors and took over the entire island, not stopping there they rolled out an education system that cloned brown versions of the white who at independence, sought dominion status instead of full independence. None thought it prudent to even ask the British why a Kandyan Convention signed between Sinhale Nation & the British would result in the British giving ‘independence’ to ‘Ceylon’ (a name that did not exist in 1815) instead of Sinhale nation in 1948. We have certainly been off-guard and too trusting and not placing our interests and our priorities in dealing with external parties. We seem to be repeating the same mistakes even 72 years after independence & 48 years after becoming a fully independent Republic. Where & why are we repeatedly doing the same mistake?
We may be living in the 21stcentury and the world may be boasting of advanced technology but what good is any technology at the peril of humanity where values, customs, traditions and good will are hardly to be seen even in homes. Can today’s engineers even conceptually match the great irrigation works and magnificent rock artefacts built by our ancestors none of whom went to school or held a degree? Did ancient civilizations have lawyers, NGOs, INGOs or even UN and proportionately were there crimes then of the nature that exist now? With all these treaties, conventions, tribunals and resolutions – shouldn’t we expect a better society? Do we have such?
In an international body that declares all are equal no matter the size of the country, where is that equality when select countries are given veto powers and these are the very countries manufacturing & distributing arms & making the world not only unsafe but the cause for frictions. What good are peace bodies to simply have annual sessions, conferences, issue speeches that no one listens to, yet plan how to over throw the person whose hand one shakes! Duplicity & hypocrisy today rule the world.
During colonial rule the invading forces created their own international laws for artificially created ‘countries’ which they drew taking a pen & dividing entire continents among themselves. Is Sri Lanka being divided in the same manner in 21stcentury? These created countries were plundered and pilfered and their people turned into slaves & murdered & this exercise they call ‘civilizing the uncivilized using the most uncivilized methods’. None of these crimes have been taken to the gavel because post-colonial rule, the same invaders became the architects of the new international laws drafted by them omitting to put themselves on the dock. Even now how many of their crimes are internationally reprimanded or sanctioned while they are free to sanction countries they deem as their enemy? They left with their project of pilfering and plundering former colonies unfinished and now they are back to finish that project.
International aid, grants, charity are just some of the camouflaged programs that give them the excuse to enter nations and the powers to do as they please. Print some currency, give it as a soft loan with interest has far more reaching long-term repercussions than we realize. But cash-strapped nations are compelled to accept the offers as beggars cannot be choosers. If policy makers understood the dynamics behind this game they would devise ways that the nation can become self-sufficient without too much of external assistance. Of course it inadvertently means the nation must adopt simple living, fewer luxuries and these are the areas that the elite are reluctant to forfeit for the betterment of the country & its people. These are areas that the external players use to ensure national policies always revert to external luxury supply chain.
What good is diplomacy when countries have units to destabilize other countries and adopt numerous tactics to make them bend to their will. Sri Lanka suffered 30 years of terror that shouldered insidious agendas of other nations & organizations who use the presence of terror to advance their geopolitical objectives. Having helped the terrorists when the terrorists were vanquished their next ploy was to demand why the government was slow in looking after its people. This ploy was to plug a place for themselves in Sri Lanka to continue what they could not do during the terror reign. They have mapped out our resources and assets far better than we have. Their investments and their presence is in areas where we have the treasures. The bounty they could not amass during colonial rule they have returned to do using the camouflage of investments & international diplomatic relations. Agreements are a hallmark of this quest.
During colonial times the colonial invaders had their own competition, post-colonial that competition has reached far dangerous heights and involve turning countries into military bases, creating strategic alliances etc. US-China-India are at loggerheads. If policy makers and advisors are aware of the larger picture, they would not sell to us the story that foreign investment is needed for a country to develop and justify giving out our assets and resources as the only answer. If this is the best policy decision they can take do we need them in these roles? We’ve heard this story enough. We have given up assets and resources but we have made no development. We are down to countable assets and resources. With each doling out, we are not only weakening our sovereignty & territorial integrity we are making the country vulnerable and putting the lives of our people at risk. What good is independence celebration or holding elections, if the strengths of our nation are in the hands of foreign countries & we are their slave labour?
A government is elected for only a term. A Government is only a custodian on behalf of the people. At elections, people give their vote to look after the People, the Nation & its assets. People do not vote to sell national assets or resources. Under no reason can any government use the excuse that just because they have given one nation they are duty-bound to give another nation what it demands. A government’s duty & responsibility is to the citizens not foreign citizens or foreign governments.
None of Sri Lanka’s airports, ports, harbours or any strategic areas should be given to any foreign country or company. Signing ACSA-SOFA-MCC giving ECT or any Port/Airport/Harbor should STOP & one’s given must be renegotiated.
Our island is Our Mother.
Our Mother is Not for Sale.
Our Mother is the Mother for this generation & future generations.
Our Mother must remain bountiful and beautiful for all its sons & daughters.
Don’t sell My Mother to any foreign government or companies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPVlwuyRnZE– Rathnadeepa Janma Bhoomi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYYF3cA38Ak– Sasara Wasana Thuru
Shenali D Waduge
