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| Sunday, 26 September 2004 |
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Sri Lanka foreign policy since 1994 by Prof. A. Sivarajah, Department of Political Science, University of Peradeniya (Continued from last week) Political and economic changes in Sri Lanka since 1994 and the foreign policy of Sri Lanka During the 1994 general election campaign the People's Alliance (PA) headed by Chandrika Kumaratunga promised "a new society, free from corruption and... promised to tone down the hardships caused by the economy to the poorer section of the population and to end the north-east war by finding out a political solution". Highlights of PA's manifesto were as follows: (i) The abolition of the Executive Presidential System which has been the bane of the country since 1978 (ii) It proposed the setting up of a Constitutional Council and a Human Rights Commission (iii) The PA manifesto declared that an ethnic problem exists and it needs an urgent solution. (iv) The PA has spelt out its economic policy as that of market economy with special subsidies program to safeguard the poorest section of society. (v) All low income families will be given a special allowance, not exceeding Rs. 2000.00 a month. (vi) The National Programme for eradication of poverty (vii) Vigorous implementation of genuine and adequate devolution of power In the 1994 general election the PA won 105 seats out of 225 in the parliament and formed a government with the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress which won seven seats and the up-country People's front. Chandrika Kumaratunga was sworn in as Prime Minister on August 17, 1994. Assumption In terms of the Presidential Election Act No. 15 of 1981 the Commissioner of Elections had gazetted on September 18th 1994 that a Presidential Election would be held on November 9th 1994. In the Presidential Election held on 9th November 1994 the Prime Minister Chandrika won by 65.2% votes, as S. Piyasena and Pramand observed "with the assumption of the office of the President of Sri Lanka by Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on November 13, and that of the prime minister of the country by Sirimavo Bandaranaike on November 14, 1994 the island politics has achieved something unprecedented in the entire world." Few days after Chandrika assumed Premiership, Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had said that if India was able to have a lady Prime Minister most of the problems between India and Pakistan would be solved, "In the sphere of foreign affairs too, Chandrika, has so far given good account herself. Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a review of activities carried out during the period 1994-1998 has observed that "In the realm of Foreign Relations the period under review has been a dramatic transformation, giving Sri Lanka a new dignity. According to the report the P.A. Government has succeeded in the following areas: (i) Correcting the imbalances that had earlier plagued Sri Lanka's foreign relations (ii) Restoring relations with many countries which had hitherto suffered through neglect (iii) The acceptance by the international community of the sincerity of purpose displayed by President Kumaratunga in trying to resolve the ethnic problems. (iv) The changed attitude of her government towards the promotion and protection of human rights (v) PA administration's ongoing efforts abroad at building investor confidence and promoting Sri Lanka as a gateway to South Asia." The coming into power of the People's alliance government under the leadership of Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga in August 1994 generated much hope and expectation of peace in Sri Lanka. The attempt to negotiate peace was made through correspondence between the parties and direct negotiations. There were four rounds of direct talks each lasting one or two days. As a first step, the government announced within two weeks of assuming power relaxation of economic embargo in the North. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) responded by releasing some ten policemen from their custody. A four-member Government delegation arrived in Jaffna to engage in two days of negotiations with the LTTE on 13-14 October 1994. The talks centered on immediate problems faced by the people in war-torn areas. The government's approach to the talk appeared to be that while taking confidence building measures, simultaneously political talks should also be progressed. However the LTTE's was a two stage approach: the first stage of the talks should concentrate on the resolution of the problems faced by the people and only after that the second stage would begin. Many months passed without any results. The peace talks which started with a ceasefire ended when the LTTE attacked Sri Lanka's navy ships. For a peaceful negotiated settlement of the ethnic conflict President Chandrika needed the support of international community especially the neighbouring countries. Therefore she initiated a foreign policy, which was not only more friendly with the neighbours but also with other countries. Regional political changes since 1994 and Sri Lanka's foreign policy The P.A. government attached the greatest importance to strengthening relations with Sri Lanka's neighbours and in playing a lead role in fostering greater regional cooperation through SAARC. Prominent In Sri Lanka foreign policy since 1994 Asia occupied a prominent place. In this context friendly and close relations with immediate neighbours assumed importance. The formation of the South Asian Association for Regional cooperation and its activities gave impetus to Sri Lanka's foreign policy. Since assuming office. President Chandrika's first state visits have been to two South Asian States, India and Bangladesh. When President Chandrika officially visited India and Bangladesh she was given a warm welcome both in India and Bangladesh. As Sunday Island reported "She no doubt left a good impression behind especially the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka was asked to leave as the anti-Indian stand adopted by her predecessors had resulted in strained relations between the two nations." During her visit to India she stressed the need to strengthen bi-lateral relations. She was also successful when an agreement was reached on the part of India to rectify the trade imbalance which was unfavourable to Sri Lanka. Although her visit to Bangladesh was brief and few rounds of talk with the leaders they were fruitful. When Chandrika met Indian Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda at his official residence, an assurance was given by him that India fully supports the Sri Lankan President's policies on the ethnic issue in general, and tackling the separatist LTTE group in Sri Lanka. President Chandrika also visited Pakistan to attend the golden jubilee independence celebrations and said that Pakistan has always been to Sri Lanka a loyal and steadfast friend. President Chandrika's visit to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan marked a return by Sri Lanka to a pragmatic and systematic foreign policy. This indicated the foreign policy priorities of the P.A. government, "the new emphasis on South Asia being given by the People's Alliance Government is, to some degree at least the logical outcome of the P.A's option for a negotiated political settlement of the internal ethnic war. During a meeting with President Chandrika at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing) on 22-04-1996 Chinese President Jiong Zemin hailed Chandrika for the efforts taken by her to solve Sri Lanka ethnic problem and added that she had very graciously showed him how they could further develop friendly relations. President Chandrika on a four days official visit to Japan in April 1996 said that Sri Lanka was well placed to attract foreign investment from Japan and elsewhere. The significance of this occasions was that it took place under the auspices of two of the most important actors engaged in supporting the economic development of Sri Lanka vis-a-vis World Bank and Japan. On 30th December 1998 Chandrika visited New Delhi and Indian prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee jointly laid the foundation stone for a new Sri Lankan pilgrims' rest. Speaking on the occasion Indian Prime Minister described the relations between the two countries as excellent. During the period of President Chandrika's Presidency Sri Lanka's bilateral relations with countries of South East Asia, Far East and South Pacific have grown steadily. Regional "The several visits undertaken by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar to a number of countries of these regions during the period under review are illustrative of this fact". During this period the Minister of Foreign affairs undertook several visits to countries of the Far East, South East Asian region: China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Myanmar and Japan. During most of these visits, Minister Kadirgamar signed a number of agreements and MOUS on investment promotion, economic and technical cooperation, joint ventures, etc. At the regional level Sri Lanka has been an active member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and contributed to its success. In addition Sri Lanka has been a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), Also in 1995 a new regional cooperation between four countries was agreed known as (BIST-EC): Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. To be continued |
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