10-30-2018, 10:51 PM
*** 31-Oct-18 World View -- Sri Lanka constitutional crisis represents opportunity for China
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Sri Lanka constitutional crisis represents opportunity for China
****
![[Image: g181030b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g181030b.jpg)
Sri Lankan police and special forces stand guard next to a poster of the newly appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa (Reuters)
Mahinda Rajapaksa, a close ally of China and former president of Sri
Lanka until he was defeated in a 2015 election, may be making a
comeback as prime minister.
Last week, in a vitriolic political dispute, Sri Lanka's current
president decided to fire the current prime minister, and appoint
Rajapaksa to be the new prime minister.
Note:
- President is Maithripala Sirisena,
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
- Fired prime minister is Ranil Wickremesinghe,
United National Party (UNP)
- Appointed prime minister is Mahinda Rajapaksa
The fired prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has refused to leave
the prime minister's residence, and hundreds of supporters gathered
outside.
Meanwhile, Rajapaksa has moved into the prime minister's office,
and is starting to appoint a cabinet. So there are currently
two prime ministers.
The president, Maithripala Sirisena, claims that he has the right to
fire the prime minister and appoint a new one. His opponents say that
it's unconstitutional, and that only the parliament can fire a prime
minister, and so the parliament should be called into session to
decide who is prime minister.
Sirisena responded by announcing that the Parliament will remain
closed until mid-November. This will give him to time to make sure
that the members of parliament are aligned behind his decision.
However, the speaker of the parliament said: "We need to solve this
through parliament. If we try to solve this in the streets it will
lead to a major bloodbath."
Wickremesinghe posted a defiant statement on Monday:
<QUOTE>"As the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, I call upon all
parties to assemble in parliament to regain our country's peace,
stability, and to vehemently defend the fundamental rights of our
citizens. My expectation is that the Speaker [of Parliament] will
exercise his constitutional rights and summon parliament within
the next 2 days.
We ask the Honorable Speaker to summon Parliament urgently- only
through the parliamentary system can we can save our country from
this unfortunate and dangerous situation. Let us forget our
political differences and rally to re-establish democracy in our
country."<END QUOTE>
The reference to a "dangerous situation" is made because there's
already been violence, including one person killed.
On Saturday, a pro-Wickremesinghe minister was confronted by a crowd
of supporters of the president. The minister's bodyguard opened fire
on the crowd, killing one person and wounding two others. This
followed the storming of two state-owned television stations by mobs
of Rajapaksa supporters. Guardian (London) and NPR and Guardian
****
**** Mahinda Rajapaksa's return to power will be welcomed by China
****
President Sirisena and fired prime minister Wickremesinghe have had a
number of disagreements, especially because Wickremesinghe is
"pro-India," while Sirisena is "pro-China."
In a bizarre manifestation of this difference, in mid-October Sirisena
publicly accused India's intelligence services of plotting his
assassination. However, he spoke to India's prime minister Narendra
Modi on the phone the next day. Afterwards, Sirisena stated that the
mischievous and malafide reports were utterly baseless and false, and
seemed intended to create misunderstanding between the two leaders as
well as damage the cordial relations between the two friendly
neighbors.
Rajapaksa became president of Sri Lanka in 2005, but was defeated in
the presidential election by Sirisena in 2015. The two men had
maintained cordial relations, so in that sense it wasn't a surprise
that Sirisena decided to bring Rajapaksa back to power by appointing
him prime minister after firing Wickremesinghe.
However, there's a great deal of hostility and violence in Sri Lanka
related to the 30-year civil war between the governing ethnic
Sinhalese, who are Buddhist, and the minority ethnic Tamils, who are
Muslim. This was actually the first generational crisis war to reach
a climax in this century. This civil war climaxed in May 2009.
As in the case of all generational crisis
wars, especially when they're civil wars, the war was extremely brutal
and blood, with atrocities committed on both sides. Mahinda Rajapaksa
was president during the last years of that war, and he's been
personally charged with war crimes.
There have been sporadic surges in violence since then. Since 2014,
there have been numerous hate crime attacks by Buddhists on Muslims,
including arson at Muslim-owned businesses and petrol-bomb attacks on
mosques. The attacks are being blamed on a radical nationalist
Buddhist organization, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS - Forces of Buddhist
Power).
Another important legacy of Rajapaksa's presidency is that he made Sri
Lanka the poster child and the first country to become victim to
China's "Debt Trap Diplomacy." The Seaport of Hambantota, a Chinese
infrastructure project in Sri Lanka, was funded with a loan from
China, with almost all the labor performed by Chinese workers, and all
parts and services imported from China, so that the loan money never
benefited Sri Lanka's industries. Rajapaksa agreed to China's demands
for exhorbitant loan repayment terms. Sri Lanka was unable to repay
the loan, and in December of last year, Sri Lanka was forced to give
the seaport away to China. So now Sri Lanka has a large seaport owned
by China, and a large Chinese enclave with hundreds of Chinese
families, with no benefit to itself and to its own people.
What's more important is that the seaport is at a strategic location
in the Indian Ocean, and is one of China's "String of Pearls"
seaports, and is considered a major security threat to India.
Rajapaksa's return to power means that China will play a dominant role
in Sri Lanka's politics and development. India Today and Foreign Policy and Diplomat
Related Articles:
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena,
Sri Lanka Freedom Party, SLFP,
Ranil Wickremesinghe, United National Party, UNP,
Mahinda Rajapaksa, China, India, Hambantota port,
Bodu Bala Sena, Forces of Buddhist Power, BBS
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Sri Lanka constitutional crisis represents opportunity for China
- Mahinda Rajapaksa's return to power will be welcomed by China
****
**** Sri Lanka constitutional crisis represents opportunity for China
****
Sri Lankan police and special forces stand guard next to a poster of the newly appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa (Reuters)
Mahinda Rajapaksa, a close ally of China and former president of Sri
Lanka until he was defeated in a 2015 election, may be making a
comeback as prime minister.
Last week, in a vitriolic political dispute, Sri Lanka's current
president decided to fire the current prime minister, and appoint
Rajapaksa to be the new prime minister.
Note:
- President is Maithripala Sirisena,
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
- Fired prime minister is Ranil Wickremesinghe,
United National Party (UNP)
- Appointed prime minister is Mahinda Rajapaksa
The fired prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has refused to leave
the prime minister's residence, and hundreds of supporters gathered
outside.
Meanwhile, Rajapaksa has moved into the prime minister's office,
and is starting to appoint a cabinet. So there are currently
two prime ministers.
The president, Maithripala Sirisena, claims that he has the right to
fire the prime minister and appoint a new one. His opponents say that
it's unconstitutional, and that only the parliament can fire a prime
minister, and so the parliament should be called into session to
decide who is prime minister.
Sirisena responded by announcing that the Parliament will remain
closed until mid-November. This will give him to time to make sure
that the members of parliament are aligned behind his decision.
However, the speaker of the parliament said: "We need to solve this
through parliament. If we try to solve this in the streets it will
lead to a major bloodbath."
Wickremesinghe posted a defiant statement on Monday:
<QUOTE>"As the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, I call upon all
parties to assemble in parliament to regain our country's peace,
stability, and to vehemently defend the fundamental rights of our
citizens. My expectation is that the Speaker [of Parliament] will
exercise his constitutional rights and summon parliament within
the next 2 days.
We ask the Honorable Speaker to summon Parliament urgently- only
through the parliamentary system can we can save our country from
this unfortunate and dangerous situation. Let us forget our
political differences and rally to re-establish democracy in our
country."<END QUOTE>
The reference to a "dangerous situation" is made because there's
already been violence, including one person killed.
On Saturday, a pro-Wickremesinghe minister was confronted by a crowd
of supporters of the president. The minister's bodyguard opened fire
on the crowd, killing one person and wounding two others. This
followed the storming of two state-owned television stations by mobs
of Rajapaksa supporters. Guardian (London) and NPR and Guardian
****
**** Mahinda Rajapaksa's return to power will be welcomed by China
****
President Sirisena and fired prime minister Wickremesinghe have had a
number of disagreements, especially because Wickremesinghe is
"pro-India," while Sirisena is "pro-China."
In a bizarre manifestation of this difference, in mid-October Sirisena
publicly accused India's intelligence services of plotting his
assassination. However, he spoke to India's prime minister Narendra
Modi on the phone the next day. Afterwards, Sirisena stated that the
mischievous and malafide reports were utterly baseless and false, and
seemed intended to create misunderstanding between the two leaders as
well as damage the cordial relations between the two friendly
neighbors.
Rajapaksa became president of Sri Lanka in 2005, but was defeated in
the presidential election by Sirisena in 2015. The two men had
maintained cordial relations, so in that sense it wasn't a surprise
that Sirisena decided to bring Rajapaksa back to power by appointing
him prime minister after firing Wickremesinghe.
However, there's a great deal of hostility and violence in Sri Lanka
related to the 30-year civil war between the governing ethnic
Sinhalese, who are Buddhist, and the minority ethnic Tamils, who are
Muslim. This was actually the first generational crisis war to reach
a climax in this century. This civil war climaxed in May 2009.
As in the case of all generational crisis
wars, especially when they're civil wars, the war was extremely brutal
and blood, with atrocities committed on both sides. Mahinda Rajapaksa
was president during the last years of that war, and he's been
personally charged with war crimes.
There have been sporadic surges in violence since then. Since 2014,
there have been numerous hate crime attacks by Buddhists on Muslims,
including arson at Muslim-owned businesses and petrol-bomb attacks on
mosques. The attacks are being blamed on a radical nationalist
Buddhist organization, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS - Forces of Buddhist
Power).
Another important legacy of Rajapaksa's presidency is that he made Sri
Lanka the poster child and the first country to become victim to
China's "Debt Trap Diplomacy." The Seaport of Hambantota, a Chinese
infrastructure project in Sri Lanka, was funded with a loan from
China, with almost all the labor performed by Chinese workers, and all
parts and services imported from China, so that the loan money never
benefited Sri Lanka's industries. Rajapaksa agreed to China's demands
for exhorbitant loan repayment terms. Sri Lanka was unable to repay
the loan, and in December of last year, Sri Lanka was forced to give
the seaport away to China. So now Sri Lanka has a large seaport owned
by China, and a large Chinese enclave with hundreds of Chinese
families, with no benefit to itself and to its own people.
What's more important is that the seaport is at a strategic location
in the Indian Ocean, and is one of China's "String of Pearls"
seaports, and is considered a major security threat to India.
Rajapaksa's return to power means that China will play a dominant role
in Sri Lanka's politics and development. India Today and Foreign Policy and Diplomat
Related Articles:
- Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after Buddhist-Muslim violence (07-Mar-2018)
- China takes control of strategic Hambantota seaport in Sri Lanka, raising concerns in India (11-Dec-2017)
- Sri Lanka targets radical nationalist Buddhists in Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) (12-Jun-2017)
- Report: Sri Lankan government repeatedly torturing and raping Tamils (14-Jan-2016)
- Tamil Tigers surrender, ending the Sri Lanka crisis civil war (17-May-2009)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena,
Sri Lanka Freedom Party, SLFP,
Ranil Wickremesinghe, United National Party, UNP,
Mahinda Rajapaksa, China, India, Hambantota port,
Bodu Bala Sena, Forces of Buddhist Power, BBS
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
