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| Sunday, 20 February 2005 |
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Humanitarian dimension in US foreign policy to the fore Today's visit by former US Presidents George Bush (Snr.) and Bill Clinton signals the strengthening of the humanitarian dimension of the US presence in Asia says Dayan Jayetilleke in an interview with Lynn Ockersz.
Q: What is the significance of the visit to Sri Lanka today of former US Presidents, George Bush (Snr) and Bill Clinton? A: Sri Lanka is greatly privileged to host former US Presidents George Bush (Snr) and Bill Clinton on their visit to our country. They are tasked by the US President to visit the tsunami-hit regions of Asia and raise funds and support for us. As is well-known, three former US Presidents (Jimmy Carter, George Bush (Snr.) and Bill Clinton) visited the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington on learning of the tsunami tragedy and signed our Condolence Book there. They also made a joint appeal for tsunami relief for the affected countries. In particular, the project to assist us is spearheaded by the visiting former Presidents, George Bush (Snr.) and Bill Clinton. Former President Bill Clinton wears another hat at the moment which is also beneficial to us and must be welcomed. He has been designated UN Special Envoy on Tsunami Relief by the UN Secretary General. In that capacity he will be engaged with us, beyond this initial visit. Clinton's new role also affords us an opportunity in the larger arena of peace-making and conflict resolution. It is very much in the interests of Sri Lanka to persuade Clinton to expand his current role and engage actively in the search for a negotiated peace in our country. Simply put, we must strive to enlist him as mediator in our conflict and cartographer of a road map to peace. All in all, this visit of the two former US Presidents is an expression of the humanitarian aspect of the American people and society. The US has stepped up to the plate and helped us greatly in the aftermath of the tsunami. We must take this opportunity to express our thanks. Q: Does this visit signify a shift or variation in US foreign policy towards South Asia in general and Sri Lanka in particular? A: US involvement with the outside world in general contains positive and negative points. Most Lankans, rightly, supported the US on the issue of Afghanistan and just as rightly criticised it on the issue of Iraq. However, it must be stressed that the US is a close friend and ally of Sri Lanka, standing foursquare by us on the issue of Tiger terrorism. America has provided valuable assistance to the Lankan military in terms of equipment and training. Quite apart from the military/strategic aspect of the US presence in the world, with its positive and negative consequences, there is a powerful humanitarian American impulse as well. This we witnessed in the untiring efforts made by the US Marines in the tsunami-hit areas of Sri Lanka and Indonesia. This visit, therefore, signals a strengthening of the American humanitarian engagement with Asia or correctly it signals the strengthening of the humanitarian dimension of the US presence in Asia. Overall, there is an Asian consensus that America's strategic presence in our part of the world is a good thing, specially in the context of the common fact of terror. Though the visit by George Bush (Snr) and Bill Clinton has absolutely no security dimension, it is highly symbolic of stepped-up US engagement with Asia, including South Asia. This is beneficial to Lanka. While the world is unipolar and that is not a good thing, Asia is multipolar, which is a good thing. The US, India and China are the centres of power and influence in Asia. This provides an opportunity for Sri Lanka to avoid total dependence on any one of them while striving actively to make ourselves a point of convergence and intersection in the interest of all three powers who are our valued friends and allies. Q: Couldn't Sri Lanka be seen in some quarters as departing from the basic parameters of its traditional foreign policy? A: Tsunami, not only washed away structures, but I believe it has shifted the structural constraints of our thinking. We have benefited from an enormous outpouring of global sympathy and active solidarity. Our relations with the world have changed and changed for the better. Just as there are those who are irresponsibly seeking to restore houses within the 100 meter limit, there are also those who are seeking to restore our old thinking and our old relations with the world, within the pre 26/12 (Tsunami) limit. They are even attempting to embroil us in a confrontation with the UN. However radical they may sound, such elements are profoundly retrogressive and backward. Dayan Jayetilleke is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Colombo University. |
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