Foreign Ministry Vs Defence Ministry

Is Foreign Ministry under siege of Defence Ministry?

By Rajasingham Jayadevan

(June 20, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka remains exposed over its confusing and uncoordinated international relations with international governments. It is widely reported that Sri Lanka’s foreign relations have moved towards the evil states that give scant regard to human rights and democracy. These evil states have become the bedfellows of Sri Lanka for it to procure arms and raise funds to defeat the LTTE and to extend its oppressive policy to further marginalise the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka has become a lame duck operation to manage the crisis facing Sri Lanka in the international arena. The Defence Ministry spearheaded by the President’s brother Gotabaya Rajapakse has amazed unquestionable power and authority in deciding the foreign policy. He has carved out a section of the counties to extend his agenda to prop up his war against the LTTE and the conduct against the minorities.

The countries such as China, Pakistan, Burma, Iran, Libya and few other evil states have come under the ambit of the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Ministry headed by Rohitha Bogollogama is only providing lip service to give a bloomy image of Sri Lanka whilst facing the strenuous pressure from the Defence Ministry which has the unquestionable support of the President on foreign affairs.

As far as the Defence Ministry is concerned, it has totally written off the western countries, as they are considered as irritants and difficult to manage due to issues that they raise on several conduct matters. The President too is satisfied with the Defence Ministry dealings with the evil states that give unquestionable support to Sri Lanka to extent its war agenda. It is evident that the Defence Ministry has taken the uncompromising stand against the west with the backing of the evil states.

The Sri Lankan government would not have won the war with the LTTE, without the support of its evil states and also the West. In a TV interview recently, the Foreign Minister identified the countries in the west that has given unquestionable support to curtail the activities of the LTTE in the Tamil diaspora. It is not only these governments, very many international human rights and international non-governmental organisations too have played their part to pressurise the LTTE on serious human rights issues.

According to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakese, India was kept informed about Sri Lanka’s relationship with the evil states and had its support to carryon with the war agenda. His statement has not been contested by India so far. If this is how the war was conducted, it is in fact a diplomatic and major political coup for India. By remotely dealing with Sri Lanka under its watchful eyes, India was able to finish off the LTTE that it wanted annihilated without any cost or sacrifice of its soldiers. What emerges of India’s stand on Sri Lanka post defeat of the LTTE is still to be defined and cannot be expected to be an open cheque book policy for ever for the evil states to peddle over Sri Lanka.

Since exposure of Sri Lanka’s aggressive military policy with the backing of the evil states, the President has avoided travelling to the west. His brother Gotabaya Rajapakse has overshadowed the Foreign Ministry in his visits and dealings with the evil states where major deals were signed to take forward the war effort.

The Foreign Ministry got a slap on its face from the Defence Ministry when it approved the visit of the Canadian parliamentarian and the former federal Prime Minister Bob Rae to Sri Lanka. He was given a visa by the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canada. But on his arrival in Colombo, the Canadian Parliamentarian was met by Gotabaya Rajapakse’s intelligence men and was denied entry into the country and was boarded onto a return flight to Canada. This cuff is a humiliating experience for the Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogama, all his deputies and staff attached to his ministry. The Foreign Ministry is maintaining dumfounded silence over the public humiliation by the Defence Ministry.

The Foreign Ministry is making tireless effort to win over the hearts and minds of the West and even the Tamil Diaspora in favour of Sri Lanka. But it is hindered in many ways, as it is unable to overstep the powerful Gotabaya Rajapakse and his Defence Ministry. The Defence Ministry is the influential body that is controlling the entire affairs of Sri Lanka. No government ministry could sidestep or overstep its authority.

Having defeated the LTTE on the grounds, the Defence Ministry is extending its next agenda to weaken the Tamil Diaspora. Since its outright victory against the LTTE, it is having a tab on all the Tamils visiting Sri Lanka. Visiting Tamils are being questioned and detained indefinitely to establish whether they are involved in the demonstrations in the west to pressurise the Sri Lankan government to stop the war or in any way involved with the LTTE.

The present governance in Sri Lanka is exactly a transformation of the LTTE’s administrative methodology that played a part in its recent downfall. Uncontrolled and over zealous approach of one department to interfere in the other’s affairs contributed towards bringing down the LTTE. Veerakathy Manivannan alias Castro undermined the work of the intelligence head Shanmugaligam Sivashanker well known as Pottu Amman and this is a lesson that Sri Lanka is practicing at present.

It is claimed that some of the senior diplomatic engagements to Sri Lanka foreign missions are heavy political appointments and are said to be backed by the Defence Ministry. These officials are claimed to be supporting the Defence Ministry than the directions of the Foreign Ministry.

-Sri Lanka Guardian