( March 25, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) No doubt how we fought in Geneva is even now being probed, dissected and evaluated. There are lessons aplenty to take from the multiple failures in our diplomacy, least of which is that parochial politics do not work in the international arena.
If there was anything we learnt from the Geneva 2012 debacle, it was the importance of having the right people at the right place to do a proper job. But like the proverbial goldfish with a 5-second memory span, we commit the same blunder 12 months on, then go into a hissy fit when things don’t work in our favour and cry foul at the manner the West and its friends are treating us.
The government needs to do some serious introspection about how and why things went so horribly wrong in Geneva the second time round as well and wonder why one time allies voted either for the resolution against the Sri Lankan Government or simply stayed mum.
For, the Geneva vote wasn’t simply about accountability failures of the Sri Lankan Government, but also about diplomatic failures. To a certain extent it was also about blinkered gestures, like rejecting outright the amended version of the original draft resolution and requesting for a vote, knowing full well come crunch time, Sri Lanka might have to admit it has to learn a thing or two about maintaining friendship.
In this context, how useful were the spate of missives addressed to Foreign Ministers of Human Rights Council member-countries, by External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris, in the 11th hour, deeming the resolution endeavour ‘disproportionate attention to Sri Lanka’s situation’ and seeking the understanding and the support of HRC member States at the vote on the resolution.
The US made known its intention to submit a resolution against the Sri Lankan Government months before the 22nd session got underway. How long did it take for Sri Lanka to wake up to the realty things might not go its way, when it knew full well the manner in which it fulfilled its obligations under the 2012 resolution left much to be desired, and the Western world had not been overly happy with its conduct on numerous counts, least of all the manner in which it ousted the Chief Justice.
Sri Lanka’s obdurate stance, one believes, was taken to appease the extreme elements, driven to such extremes by its own mythical fantasies and falsehoods. It is precisely in this context the subject matter of seminar on ‘Foreign Policy’, held barely 24 hours before the Geneva vote, with Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Tamara Kunanayagam, H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, John Goonaratne and Karu Jayasuriya, former diplomats as speakers, had great relevance to the current ‘crisis’ Sri Lanka is confronted with.
Highlighted by the speakers were both past examples of diplomatic ‘victories’ achieved by saner political minds backed by a more intelligent and capable officialdom and the sheer inadequacy in the make-up of Sri Lanka’s support teams in Geneva.
It is a given winning strategy when, confronted with adversity and danger, one sends his best troops to battle it out. The current ruling fraternity is so submerged in unsophisticated politicking and believing its own half-truths and falsehoods, that it missed the obvious.
The decision-makers in government sacrificed talent for mediocrity, the extraordinary for the ordinary, competence for comfort and in the end, governance for politics. The spectacle played out in Geneva on Thursday and even before, assumed heated proportions in the crowded halls of Tamil Nadu and distorted the true character of a people.
Portraying a devilish countenance of venom and revenge, it painted a false and modern picture of an ancient culture on an artificial canvass of slogan-mongering and politicking. Unfortunately, the good name of a civilized nation was tarred and tarnished, while a set of mediocre diplomats was sent while the extraordinarily talented ones languished at home. The Minister of Plantations planted himself in Geneva while the Minister of Foreign Affairs sat at home writing letters.
A great tragicomedy was played out in Geneva, while the people of Sri Lanka were led willy-nilly by the noose of their own making.
- Ceylon Today Editorial
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