Ranil swears by the West

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe swears by the West and turns to it for anything under the sun. This was manifest even during his brief stint as the Prime Minister from 2001 to 2004.

Wickremesinghe's Regaining Sri Lanka policy and the controversial Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with LTTE terrorists were two classic examples of his over-dependence on the West. He even abandoned his customary national top to don the European formal attire since his unsuccessful 2005 Presidential election campaign - perhaps on the advice of the foreign public relations company which handled his election campaign that came a cropper. The UNP leader was ostensibly a Western puppet and inked the controversial CFA with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, brokered by Norway. The Western facilitators of the CFA gave equal status to the terrorist outfit and a legitimate army of a sovereign state, thereby undermining the valiant Security Forces. Wickremesinghe and his UNP cohorts sang hosannas to the West and blindly embraced anything with a Western flavour.

Having suffered 29 consecutive election defeats under his tottering leadership, Wickremesinghe knows only too well that the forthcoming Uva Provincial Council election will be a do-or-die battle for him. Another election defeat would compel him to step down not only from the party leadership but also from the Opposition leader's post. Unlike on earlier occasions, this time Wickremesinghe will not be able to get away with his usual gimmicks - such as a leadership council or promising power-sharing deals with his senior party leaders.

On the last occasion he faced stiff opposition from the party rebels who demanded sweeping reforms. Not to be outdone, Wickremesinghe played his last trump card by appointing a so-called leadership council headed by Karu Jayasuriya, thus isolating former deputy leader Sajith Premadasa. However, UNP seniors have now found that the party's leadership council is a toothless tiger. Although the party leadership declared that the services of Jayasuriya and Premadasa had been secured for the Uva PC elections, this is yet another ploy to put the blame on the duo after the UNP's impending election defeat.

The UNP leader saw a bleak future for him from the day nominations closed for the Uva Provincial Council elections, scheduled for September 20. This would have induced Wickremesinghe to make a 'U' turn and criticise the appointment of the eminent panel of foreign experts to the local committee investigating disappearances.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had categorically said that the eminent panel would function only in an advisory capacity to the Presidential Commission on Missing Persons. However, Wickremesinghe said that there was no need for foreign experts to "intervene" and that a meeting, at which members of foreign diplomatic missions participated, was attacked came at a time the Government had appointed foreign experts to advise the Commission on Missing Persons.

He said that the government was seeking the intervention of foreign envoys by appointing them to the Commission on Missing Persons. It is mind-boggling that such remarks come from no less a person than Wickremesinghe who had danced to the Western melody when he was Prime Minister and approved all clauses in the CFA with the LTTE at the behest of Norway.

If Wickremesinghe is so concerned about foreign intervention, why did he give Norway a free hand to meddle in Sri Lanka's internal matters, thereby jeopardising the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity? Through the Norway-mediated CFA, the then Government headed by Wickremesinghe officially accepted the areas held by the LTTE as land governed by the terrorist outfit.

This precluded the Security Forces from entering certain areas as the CFA had demarcated that they were governed by LTTE terrorists.It is a foregone conclusion that Wickremesinghe would stoop to any level to get close to the international community, giving two hoots for the country's sovereignty. He swallows anything from the West, hook, line and sinker in keeping with his Western attire.His latest remark is a disgraceful attempt to justify the conduct of a few Colombo-based diplomats who had overstepped their mandate. The million-dollar question is why does a section of the diplomatic corps in Colombo organise events for a particular region and community.As the Government had quite rightly pointed out, a certain section of the diplomatic corps seems to be involved in a manner which lacks objectivity, in events organised for a particular region and community. This has led to volatile situations giving rise to mistrust among communities at a sensitive juncture in the country's history.A tense situation arose last week at a meeting organised by an NGO - Right to Life Human Rights Centre at the Centre for Society and Religion in Colombo, with families of disappeared persons from the North and representatives from the US, UK, France, Germany and Switzerland missions in Colombo.The families of another group of disappeared persons - Dead and Missing Person's Parents' Front, had sought access to the meeting, demanding that their grievances also be heard. But the organisers had opposed it outright. This clearly shows that the controversial NGO - Right to Life Human Rights Centre, had organised the meeting with a specific group in mind which it could exploit to give evidence before the UNHRC panel of investigators which has been rejected by Sri Lanka in toto.Thereafter, the US, UK, France, Germany, Britain and Switzerland issued statements condemning the incident and demanded that the Government enforces the rule of law.The diplomatic community should be more cautious of local sensitivities when attending events of an emotive nature.

It is deplorable that some Colombo-based diplomats had got their priorities mixed up or else they are acting on the instructions of their Governments. As we had pointed out earlier, the principal role of a diplomat is to strengthen the cordial ties between countries and strengthen mutual understanding.Regrettably, some Western diplomats in Colombo are conducting themselves in the most unbecoming manner, thereby violating all accepted diplomatic protocol.

They could never put their hidden agendas in motion without the support of local NGO goons who thrive on foreign funding.Unscrupulous diplomats and their INGOs are acutely aware that they could get anything done from local NGO heads who would descend to any level as long as their coffers are filled with INGO funds.

Perhaps, Sri Lanka is one of the few countries which has this type of NGO officials who would betray their motherland for a mess of pottage. Some Western missions and their INGO funding sources have already begun the groundwork for a regime change. With speculation of an early Presidential election, they have already begun pumping money for 'election activities'.

Their prime objective is to get rid of a leadership that does not fall in line with the West.They would have definitely supported President Rajapaksa and withdrawn all United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) investigations against Sri Lanka if he too had adopted a policy similar to Wickremesinghe and bowed down to the 'orders' of the West. President Rajapaksa is an undaunted leader who always puts the country before self. His political sagacity has helped Sri Lanka to win new friends across the globe, without being over-dependent on the West like Wickremesinghe's previous Government.

If President Rajapaksa too had become a puppet of the West, the Western countries would have campaigned for him vigorously. They would have spared no pains to retain a pro-Western leader. If President Rajapaksa heeded the advice of the West Sri Lanka would have been still grappling with monstrous LTTE terrorism.The President always maintains a tough stand when it comes to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as he is answerable only to the masses and not the so-called Western peace merchants. Sri Lanka is fortunate to have a leader of his calibre. He has not only won the hearts of the masses but also many world leaders.