hindu,  Sun Mar  7 13:01:00 EST 2010

    Visiting Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao on Sunday inaugurated the India-Sri Lanka Centre for English Language Training (SLICELT) at a ceremony in Peradeniya, near Kandy.

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- The Academic

We were sister countries when the two sisters (Mrs B & Mrs G) ruled us.

Then came the naughty brother JR (who loved his uncle Sam more) and in India Mrs G had a sex-change and started acting big brother.

After Mrs G was knocked out, her son Rajiv took over, and became grandson to JR and we had a seeya-munubura (grandpa-grandson) relationship.

Preme came on and we had no relationship at all.

Now, suddenly, we are sister countries again. Of course, China is eyeing the little sister. "Watch out", says big sister, "he is a big bad serial rapist. Don't take his chocolates. They are drugged!"


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"I do not suffer from Autism, but I do suffer from the way you treat me." -Tyler Durdin

The little sister has proved that she could enjoy eating chocolates and be happy with the big sister at the same time. When those happen Uncle Sam & his clan (the bullies) start smarting with red eyes. They offer tuition classes to the little sister on how to behave.

Whilst the West is interfering for their own reasons, India & China both engaging in the development process in SL.


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MAC1

MR said India is our relative.

what's really going on behind the scene?

is it a 'sweet war' instead of cold war?

Negombo wrote:

MR said India is our relative.
what's really going on behind the scene?
is it a 'sweet war' instead of cold war?

I think what has changed is the (previous) Cold War mentality. With energy becoming a pivotal factor in the world, the strategic picture in South Asia has changed completely. Instead of only two players, there are many more now. Like it or not, SL has become an important location. MUCH more than before.

>> Proximus: "SL has become an important location. MUCH more than before."

I would maintain that SL has always been an important location (as I've said before on this forum). It's just that we've never exploited it due to extremely poor governance (unlike less-well placed dumps like Dubai and Singapore that have).

In fact India has appreciated this more than SL. This is why in the late 1970s, Indira protested when JR toyed with the idea of letting the US use Trinco as a base; when JR refused Indira, she let TN be a safe haven and training ground for the LTTE in the hope that they could destabilize and preoccupy SL for a while. India succeeded beyond their wildest dreams (although Indira lost her son to the LTTE, but when you play with fire, you should expect to get burnt).

The success comes not only with the LTTE. It perhaps needed a violence-prone dictatorial chap like MR to forcibly remove the LTTE. And by glorifying MR and perpetuating his violence-prone agenda (now it is us who are playing with fire), SL has comfortably eased into another unstable period in which it is unlikely that SL will develop independently and India can dictate. Which is great for India.

crow wrote:

... it is unlikely that SL will develop independently and India can dictate. Which is great for India.

First sentiment I agree 100%

Other two, not so much

Of late, SL has proved she can walk a fine line between competing interests and come out of the experience with little adverse affects from her former masters who, due to various reasons ahave been rendered relatively impotent compared to their previous exalted positions of power and might.

India can "suggest" or "recommend" - I think she gave up the ability to "dictate" to SL some time ago !! - and such suggestions / recommendations will be warmly received in Colombo
 
IMO, as far as this administration is around I think this trend will continue - to the advantage of SL

When the other side comes back, if SL tilts back toward a rapidly-diminishing West - it will be to her disadvantage. By then the West-East balance will have shifted so much in favor of East that maybe even the traditional supporters will have to think twice

crow wrote:

The success comes not only with the LTTE. It perhaps needed a violence-prone dictatorial chap like MR to forcibly remove the LTTE. And by glorifying MR and perpetuating his violence-prone agenda (now it is us who are playing with fire), SL has comfortably eased into another unstable period in which it is unlikely that SL will develop independently and India can dictate. Which is great for India.

Story time.

A Sri Lankan Minister of Infrustructure Development went to one of the european nations to meet his counterpart. European Minister invited the SL Minister to his house for tea. Sri Lankan Minister stunned by the beautiful mansion asked his foreign counterpart, how he afforded such a mansion. European Minister took the SL Minister to a window and showed a beautiful brigde across his house and said, that is how i built this house. With a grin on his face, SL Minister returned to Sri Lanka and in few years invited that same European Minister to visit him at his place. After seeing the magnificent house the SL Min had built, of course the European Minister asked how he did that. Sri Lankan Minister took him to the window and pointed his hand to the direction of the river and asked, do you see that bridge? European Minister all confused said, no there is no bridge. Sri Lankan Minister smiled and said that is how i built this house.

The point of the story. Corruption will be always there, the question to ask is has the bridge been built?

Sri Lanka does not need to be unstable if people use little bit of smart to realize answer to the above question.


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Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way! - Proximus
"I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways" - Michael Jackson

The region seems to need many local
trapeze artistes and jugglers ( in leadership and bureaucratic levels )

Solace is; times have changed and times
are continually changing.


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*I am not the only one*

Whilst the West is interfering for their own reasons, India & China both engaging in the development process in SL.

Indo-Lanka relations ‘model, unique, and time-tested’ - Nirupama Rao

Quote:

Indian Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao She said that India and Sri Lanka were “sister countries”, which shared a “model, unique, and time-tested” relationship.

Quote:

Pointing out with appreciation that Sri Lanka has very high human development indicators she said that there was much for India to learn from Sri Lanka. “Hence, in this sense, relationship between India and Sri Lanka was one of “give and take,”

engaging in the development process in SL

Quote:

Inaugurating the Sri Lanka- India Centre for English Language Training (SLICELT) was inaugurated at a ceremony in Peradeniya, Ms Rao said that India was happy to be involved in an initiative that aimed at developing “tools of empowerment”

Quote:

India was interested in a more intensive economic cooperation that led to a development of a balanced relationship between the two countries

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MAC1

>> the West is interfering for their own reasons

Of course. All countries have their own agendas, whether it's East or West. IMHO, I think it is possible to work with most of the West much of the time without getting antagonistic, but one needs some diplomacy, tact, negotiation, compromise, words that in SL are considered wimpy or filthy. However it's true that the economic emphasis in the world is shifting eastward and that it's good to develop relations with countries like India which can also be dealt with reasonably using the above traits. China though, is a very different kettle of fish. Forget the West, there are few countries in the world that are as interested in furthering their own agenda, whatever it takes, whoever they have to deal with, than China. And the broadening presence of China in SL, unless controlled carefully, may not necessarily be a good thing.

crow wrote:

>> the West is interfering for their own reasons

Of course. All countries have their own agendas, whether it's East or West. IMHO, I think it is possible to work with most of the West much of the time without getting antagonistic, but one needs some diplomacy, tact, negotiation, compromise, words that in SL are considered wimpy or filthy. However it's true that the economic emphasis in the world is shifting eastward and that it's good to develop relations with countries like India which can also be dealt with reasonably using the above traits. China though, is a very different kettle of fish. Forget the West, there are few countries in the world that are as interested in furthering their own agenda, whatever it takes, whoever they have to deal with, than China. And the broadening presence of China in SL, unless controlled carefully, may not necessarily be a good thing.

IMHO, SL uses good amount of diplomacy, tact, negotiation and compromise (i think compromise is done as much as possible not entirely to the satisfaction of the west), however I agree we need to improve those skills.


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Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way! - Proximus
"I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways" - Michael Jackson

crow wrote:

Forget the West, there are few countries in the world that are as interested in furthering their own agenda, whatever it takes, whoever they have to deal with, than China. And the broadening presence of China in SL, unless controlled carefully, may not necessarily be a good thing.

But why should we forget the West ? Every country is interested in furthering it's own agenda. The West has been doing it with impunity since the 1500's and I suggest they too, are more interested in maintaining and furthering their interests than ever before. Especially in view of what's happening in the Eastern economies.

With reference to China, the difference IMO is that they do it with no apologies, up front and with no vacuous BS attached. If they see a place where they feel the need to be, they don't try to topple it's government with some "democratic color revolution", they don't invade it on some pretext or the other, they don't try to raise issues of morality, no punitive acts .. Instead, they go in, invest in the place and create goodwill for themselves which appears to be paying back huge dividends all over the world

If  they are dealing with "unsavoury regimes"., the West has been quite happy to deal with, continually prop-up (and even install) some pretty unsavoury regimes themselves.

Was this the background song in Nirupama's visit ?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK_vbm98zbE&feature=youtube_gdata


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*I am not the only one*

Rather than a big sister-little sister relationship, India prefers a madame-girl relationship.