HYPOTHESIS: IS SRI LANKA A VICTIM OF AN INTERNATIONAL PLOT?

by PROF. TISSA VITARANA

It is well known that the real rulers of the world are a few multi-billionaires, super-rich hegemonists, who control the economy of the USA, and use their financial power to decide who becomes the President of that country and forms its Government. So long as the USA remains the world’s number one economy it could control the global economy. The US dollar (USD) is still the currency of global trade. The USA can have enormous debts (an estimated USD 3 trillion to China), but this can be met by printing more USD.

This situation is threatened with extinction as China becomes the world’s number one economy and the Yuan possibly the currency of global trade. This will herald the end of the US control of the global economy and its exploitation by giant multinational corporations (MNC’s). The downfall of the US economy is being accelerated by the global crisis of capitalism, made worse by the Covid 19 pandemic.

The USA is doing everything possible to retain its glorious position. It has plotted and planned, and unfortunately Sri Lanka too is an essential part of this plan. The USA is doing everything possible to prevent the further expansion of trade led by East Asian countries like China, Vietnam and South Korea. Much of the expansion of East Asian economies led by China has been a result of the benefit of American investment and technology transfer to this region through outsourcing by American industrialists to East Asia, including China, so as to maximize their profits. The US Government is now countering this by raising the duty on imports from China. These moves have led to a trade war between the USA and China. The outcome is uncertain. In the event that the US efforts fail it may resort to the extreme level of a military war.

Both within the UN system and in international law there is recognition of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean as two separate entities. The USA, Australia and Japan belong to the Pacific Rim countries. India and Sri Lanka belong to the Indian Ocean rim countries. According to international law and UN conventions countries are entitled to have military bases on their own rim. During the time of the Sirimavo led SLFP/LSPP/CP coalition Government a resolution was moved by Sri Lanka in the UN general assembly that the Indian Ocean region should be a zone of peace, and this was passed with a big majority.

As a result USA lost its military base in Diego-Garcia and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that this be handed back to the country it belonged to, Mauritius. The USA was directed to pull out by the ICJ in the course of this year. The USA has clearly decided to make Sri Lanka its Indian Ocean military base. To enable it to do this the USA has persistently joined the two oceans and used the term Indo-Pacific Ocean. This enables the USA and its allies like Australia and Japan which are in the Pacific Ocean rim to become a part of the Indo-Pacific Ocean rim, to enable them to make Sri Lanka a US military base. Already the USA has brought in India to an alliance call the Quad made up of the USA, Australia, Japan and India. Sri Lanka too can be brought into this alliance in due course.

The 2015 Yahapalanaya (UNP) Government signed the ACSA agreement (Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement) with the USA which permitted joint military action. But fortunately it was defeated before it could sign the MCC (Millenium Challenge Corporation) and SOFA (Status of Forces) agreements. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) is grateful to the SLPP led alliance Government for not signing these agreements. The MCC agreement would facilitate the complete exploitation of the Sri Lankan economy by the US MNC’s and Sri Lanka would have become a banana republic. The SOFA agreement would have made the whole of Sri Lanka a US military base. The LSSP as a partner in the present SLPP led Government was overjoyed.

But it would appear that our joy is short lived. The Yugadanavi incident, where our assets are being sold to a US company surreptitiously, and the passing of the 20th amendment to the Constitution, which has enabled a dual American citizen to become the Finance Minister of our country, together with the crude manner in which these have been done is suggestive of a deep desire of the USA and its local allies to go ahead with the MCC and SOFA agreements through the present Government.

It is well known in political circles that during the period of the Yahapalana Government there were advisers and researchers in the political, economic and military feilds working at Temple Trees, besides a CIA officer. During the short period of SLPP led Government coming into office in October 2018 for a period of three months, Ranil Wickremesinghe though no longer the Prime Minister (having been replaced by Mahinda Rajapakse), refused to leave Temple Trees residence/office because of the presence of these American think tanks. These continued to be active until the General Election of August 2020 when Mahinda Rajapakse was installed as Prime Minister.

During their period in Temple Trees neoliberal policies were fully implemented by the Yahapalanaya Government. The national economy that had been established by the Centre-Left Government was progressively dismantled and regulated by market forces, both here and globally. This led to a flood of foreign goods specially from USA and Europe, replacing our products. Local producers had to close down or dismiss staff. The national economy targeting self-sufficiency broke down. The result was an adverse foreign trade balance leading to a steep drop in our foreign reserve.

Foreign debt soared and foreign borrowing went up. Foreign reserves which averaged around USD eight billion dropped to USD 1.5 billion. Our assets were sold at low prices to American and other foreign buyers to cover our debts. These neoliberal policies originated and were implemented by the Yahapalanaya Government in the interest of the USA and its allies at the expense of the people of our country. Fortunately President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him by Mahinda Rajapakse as PM.

These events were designed to force the Yahapalanaya Government into economic and social difficulties so that they would sign the MCC and SOFA agreements. The defeat of the Yahapalanaya Government saved Sri Lanka and its people.

The SLPP-led present Government should ensure that those disastrous American neoliberal policies, which were strongly rejected by the people, are completely eliminated. The traditional humanitarian and collective policies which were the main features of Sri Lankan culture must fully replace these neoliberal policies, doing away with the priority given to individuals getting rich at the expense of the poor. The common good and the needs of all the people should be given priority. The LSSP strongly recommends some of the lessons to be taken from the experience of the Centre-Left coalition Government with Sirimavo Bandaranaike as PM and Dr.N.M.Perera as Finance Minister during the massive crisis of 1972/73 (when oil prices increased seven times and food prices by over 10 times). Dr.N.M.perera decided to place the burden on the rich rather than on the poor.

He restored the national economy, promoting local production, both agricultural and industrial, and cut down imports strictly. He increased the tax on the super-rich to 70%, while it is still kept at 14% during the present crises. The burden is now falling on the poor and 60% of families are struggling to live below the poverty line. Some people have only one meal a day. The malnutrition rate has gone up to 18%, so that a fifth of the population will grow up as thin, stunted and mentally impoverished people. This augurs badly for the future of the Sri Lankan nation.

The cooperative movement was strengthened, both producer and consumer dealt directly with each other, so that the profiteering of the middleman was prevented. Today prices of all items, specially essentials, are soaring and the people are starving as a result. It is the prime duty of the Government to ensure that every citizen of the country, whatever his race, religion or caste may be, is adequately fed and supplied with the essentials at a reasonable price. For instance the provision of a weekly dry ration free to all who are underfed should be given priority. A national development programme should be adjusted to enable this to be done.

All loss making institutions should be run on the “Solidarity Principle”, making the employees the owners, so that they get a share of the profit in addition to their salaries. This has worked in several countries in Europe and the third world, such as Argentina and India. For instance in India TATA’s owned 63,000 hectares of tea land but claimed they were running at a loss and couldn’t pay their taxes. The Left Government of the State applied the solidarity principle and now the productivity has increased and the plantations are making big profits.

Sri Lanka and its people do not need the loans being offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while being forced to agree to observe their neoliberal conditions. These ultimately serve the interest of the American and foreign rich, but not the interest of the poor people in our country. Following the example of the LSSP leader and Finance Minister Dr.N.M.Perera, suitably adjusted to Sri Lanka’s present conditions, is the way forward.