| Upul Joseph Fernando
( May 22, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Even before Sri Lanka gained independence, the country drew a certain amount of disapprobation from the US and the West due mainly to the Leftist political leaders and their adherence to theoretical political systems that were shunned in those countries.
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With President Rajapaksa coming into power in 2005, China-Sri Lanka relations took a quantum leap to a much higher level than before. China's help for the 2009 ultimate war victory was a most crucial factor. Thus China got closer to the heart of the people of this country.
Incurring India's displeasure was the result of J.R. Jayewardene's short-sighted policies and arrogant demeanour in his interaction with that country. During the 1977 elections, JR and his bandwagon went round the country throwing insults and casting aspersions on Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay, who were family friends of the then Prime Minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike. His ire stemmed from the fact that Indira Gandhi was acting as a protective shield for Mrs. Bandaranaike and her various undemocratic actions during that period.
When JR came to power defeating Mrs. Bandaranaike, India pursued a covert external policy, which was seriously detrimental to Sri Lanka's interests. It had started arming and training LTTE terrorists on its soil, giving rise to a highly vociferous agitation against India within the government ranks. Later, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) used the anti-India sentiments spawned by the then United National Party (UNP) Government, to agitate against the Indo-Lanka Accord.
A true friend
In those days, China had commanded a certain amount of respect from the common people of this country. Many regarded China as a true friend, when the country was in need. It does not mean that China kept a clean record of non-interference in Sri Lankan affairs. The 1960-65 Dudley Senanayake Government entertained certain suspicions about the role played by the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, especially due to its close affinity with Ven. Henpitagedera Gnanasiha Thera, who was a well-known sympathizer of the SLFP. The UNP even visualized a Chinese hand behind the 1966 coup attempt and therefore bi-lateral relations between China and Sri Lanka during that time were not at their best.
When Mrs. Bandaranaike regained power in 1970, the picture changed somewhat to one of friendly and easy-going relationship; at least in the beginning. Later, when the government was confronted with an insurgency in 1971, a certain amount of suspicion fell on China due to some unexplainable circumstances, which were noted then. The following extract from Shelton U. Kodikara's book Foreign Policy of Sri Lanka will elucidate this matter further.
"The traditional Bandaranaike policy of close friendship with China was resumed with special emphasis excepting for a brief interlude during the height of the April insurrection of 1971 in Sri Lanka, when Chinese complicity in the insurrection was suspected. Suspicion of a possible Chinese role in the insurgency centred on a mysterious Chinese ship carrying arms consigned to Tanzania, which was in the Colombo Harbour at the time of the commencement of insurgent attacks and when China became the only major power, which failed to respond to the Sri Lanka Government's appeal for military assistance, the ship itself sailing away while the appeal to China for such assistance was under consideration in Beijing.
The insurgency had drawn its intellectual stimulus from a variety of Marxist sources, among its ideological forebears being Mao Tse Tung, Kim II Sung and Che Guevara. The Sri Lanka Government ordered the closure of the North Korean Embassy on the ground that some of its activities had given strength and support to the insurrectionists, while the erstwhile leader of the pro-Beijing Communist Party was taken into custody. Meanwhile, four Indian frigates joined Sri Lanka patrol boats in a search for mysterious Chinese ship, which had disappeared. Sino-Sri Lanka relations were restored to normalcy only after Mrs. Bandaranaike broadcast to the nation, late in April, that foreign powers were not involved in the insurgency, and after Chou En-lai himself wrote to her stating that 'friendship between China and Sri Lanka is in the fundamental interest of the two peoples and can stand tests,' and that 'the Chinese Government and people highly treasure the friendship between our two countries.'
The letter also commended the Sri Lanka Government in having brought under control a handful of persons who style themselves Guevarists, and into whose ranks foreign spies (have) sneaked. The letter was accompanied by an interest-free, long-term loan of Rs 150 million."
The 1977 Government of J.R. Jayewardene, unlike that of Dudley's, had the foresight to rekindle friendly relations with China, which stood in good stead when war started with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), post 1983. Subsequently, the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government, which came into power in 1994 continued to maintain good relations with China and obtained substantial help from it for the war effort. Over the years as a result of its unstinted assistance to Sri Lanka, China developed a good name among the local populace.
China gaining ground
With President Rajapaksa coming into power in 2005, China-Sri Lanka relations took a quantum leap to a much higher level than before. China's help for the 2009 ultimate war victory was a most crucial factor. Thus China got closer to the heart of the people of this country. Be that as it may, a change of attitude among the people is increasingly gaining ground from recent times, a precursor of perhaps the parting of ways. Disenchantment started to seep into the minds of the people insidiously due to unsatisfactory results so far of the Hambantota Harbour and Mattala International Airport, which were built with massive Chinese loans. The Opposition has also drummed into the minds of the people that it is not only the heavy losses incurred from the projects that add more burdens on them, but that they will have to also undergo further economic hardships in time to come, when these loans and interests will have to be paid, invariably by taxing the common man who is unbearably taxed even now.
The failure of the Norochcholai Power Plant has contributed in no small measure to the people's disappointment with Chinese projects. They were expecting much-needed relief to them from high electricity charges, when the Norochcholai Power Project was commissioned. Instead, the people were slammed with an unbearable electricity tariff hike by the government; Norochcholai breakdowns being a main contributory factor. Now people lament instead of paying less for electricity, they have to pay more. Norochcholai has dashed their hopes.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank earned notoriety among people for causing economic hardships to the poor by supplying bigger and bigger loans to the country for least productive and unnecessary projects. Exim Bank of China, which had provided loans to finance a host of unproductive and economically unviable projects, is now drawing the ire and condemnation of the people. Worse still, Left-leaning workers who are invariably pro-Chinese seem to be getting disillusioned as they think that China is protecting an undemocratic government, which draws international condemnation for its acts of commission and omission. Presumably, it is now slowly dawning on the people that China, after all is not the true friend of the people they thought it to be.
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