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| Edited By: Amit Bansal |Source: |Updated: May 14, 2022, 04:21 PM IST
He is no ordinary politician. He was appointed as deputy minister for foreign affairs at an age of 28 years and ever since then been active in the politics of Sri Lanka. Not only this, he was Minister of Education at 30, Minister of Industries at 40 as well as Science & Technology and also leader of the house. At a young age of 44, he became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1993 and since then been the Prime Minister Four times. A career politician for over 45 years, Ranil Wickremesinghe is now in the driving seat again but at a crucial time when the economy of Sri Lanka is almost collapsed and long dynasty rule has shaken the country. There are two questions in front of Indian Community. First is can Ranil bring back the glory of Sri Lanka and second is how will it affect Indian Interests.
Soon after taking over, Wickremesinghe conveyed that under his premiership, Indo-Sri Lankan relations will improve. He also mentioned that he not only want a closer relationship with India but also thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the assistance provided to his country. That is indeed the need of the hour because India is the only immediate neighbour of Sri Lanka and has been an integral part of Indian culture, religion, social structure, Language, and ethnicity. Both the countries have been close to each other for a long time however, there has been a significant change of scenario in past years ever since Rajapaksa family came to power. During this time, Chinese Influence over Sri Lanka and autocratic rule of Rajapaksa family resulted in the present-day situation in the Island Country and we hope that Mr Wickremesinghe understands it well. The upcoming chapter of Indo- Sri Lankan relationship will depend upon several factors. It is now pertinent upon Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe to prove himself on these issues so that the relationship can prosper.
Tamil Issue- Sri Lankan Fear and Ethnic Reconciliation promised in 2009
Sri Lanka always had a fear in its governance and that is towards the Tamil issue. Over the years, some of the leaders of India and its southernmost state Tamil Nadu have openly been advocating for the Tamil Rights which were ignored. This resulted in a three decade long asymmetric war in Sri Lanka which culminated after the annihilation of the major Tamil rebel group LTTE in 2009. Even till date, Sri Lanka always carries the fear of Tamil resurgence supported from India and their concern needs to be addressed. One of the solutions is promised Ethnic Reconciliation. Soon after the Tamil conflict was forcefully suppressed by then Rajapaksa government, an Ethnic reconciliation to settle the sentiments of minority Tamil community were promised. However, the same did not proceed as expected. Mahinda Rajapaksa was not interested and hence the process did not advance at all during his time. When his regime changed in 2015, the new president Maithripala Sirisena did not give it a priority and due to lack of political will, the issue kept on hanging till Rajapaksa took over the reins of the country once again and since then it is lying in cold box. In order to gain trust of India and their Tamil population, Mr Wickremesinghe has to take steps in this direction too and initiate the process immediately.
Presidential system of governance
Sri Lanka has a presidential form of governance and majority of the powers are controlled by the President of the country. While Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned as the country’s PM, key powers are still in the hands of his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa who is the president now. It is a matter of debate as what all powers will be consolidated into Mr Wickremesinghe and if the presidential system of governance will prevail or not. Since Rajapaksa government has been influenced by China to a large extent, future of Indo- Sri Lankan relations will also depend on this factor. Although Gotabaya Rajapaksa has promised to make changes in the governance but we need to take it with a pinch of salt and wait for actual execution till things actually come into the force.
READ | New Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe calls on Indian envoy Gopal Baglay, here’s why
Chinese Influence and Indian concerns
The influence of China in Sri Lanka has increased in a major way in the past decade or so. Sri Lanka has emerged as an important partner of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) being part of its Maritime Silk Road (MSR). This has serious implications for India’s security. China invested heavily in Sri Lanka & Sri Lanka now owes China US$ 8 billion which has become a major part of its debt & reason for its economic collapse. After the US$ 1.6 billion Hambantota port was given on a lease of 99 years & Colombo Port City project is given away, Indian interests are hampered in all scenarios. The inclination of Sri Lankan government especially of Rajapaksa family towards China was not unusual. An investigative article in The New York Times published on 25 June 2018 titled “How China Got Sri Lanka to Cough up a Port” by Maria Abi-Habib gave details as to how China helped Rajapaksa win the elections. The investigation report gave the details of China Harbour’s (Hambantota Port) bank account, which “dispensed” at least US$ 7.6 million to the affiliates of Rajapaksa. This included cheques to buy gifts (Saris for supporters), Print Material and payment of USD 38,000 to a prominent Buddhist Monk who later issued statements in the favour of Rajapaksa.
Indo-Sri Lankan relations will largely depend upon how the new government reacts to their Chinese counterparts. Indian interests have been hammered badly in past decade and New Delhi would not want the same to be repeated once again especially when they are making all possible efforts to dissolve the current economic situation in the land of Ravana and Vibishana.
Trade relations
Since India is the only immediate neighbour to Sri Lanka, our trade relations take precedence over any other country. Incidentally, Colombo Port is the only trans-shipment hub for India and hence the importance of the trade relations become furthermore important. Trade relations took a hit in recent years when due to the Chinese influence, dragon became the biggest trade partner and had a lion’s share in the imports of the country. Indian interests were pushed back while the dynasty government of Rajapaksa family continued getting benefitted. India recently announced a USD 2 billion credit line to Sri Lanka in the time of crisis and now it is the time when Sri Lankan government should reciprocate. One of the milestones can be the planned East Container Terminal (ECT) at Colombo Port where Japan, India and Sri Lanka are collaborating towards Sri Lanka’s economic growth.
Terror footprints & role of Pakistan
One of the most prominent reasons of Sri Lanka’s economic collapse has been the terrorism particularly the Easter Bombings where nine members of a local Muslim radical outfit - the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) – carried out blasts in three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Day (21 April 2019), killing 253 people and injuring over 500. India played a vital role in passing the information to Sri Lanka 12 days in advance however the ruling government including Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe who was prime minister at that time ignored it resulting in the catastrophe. Not only this, after the blasts, President Maithripala Sirisena was called to Beijing to attend joint China-Sri Lanka Security conference instead of looking at the warnings of India, US, UK & several other countries about possible Islamic State threat. The blasts were claimed by Islamic State having roots in Pakistan, a fact which was ignored blatantly while Sri Lanka went ahead with signing an intelligence sharing agreement with Beijing.
India has been in the forefront of anti-terrorism initiatives and experts across the world loud our efforts in this direction. While Terrorism is a common problem of Sri Lanka as well as India, the island country should have come to India instead of ignoring us and going in the lap of China. Nevertheless, the current economic situation gives an opportunity to Mr Wickremesinghe to take the first step towards establishing a joint security protocol towards anti-terrorism initiatives with India.
Ranil Wickremesinghe has a rough pitch to play. He has more challenges than any of the Prime Ministers in the past and he has to not only recover the country from the current economic crisis but also to project Sri Lanka in good books of the world. Next few months are crucial when he is going to finalise the primary directives of his government and selects his team. Hope the sufferings of Sri Lankan people should come to an end.
