Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

16 June  2020

Chinese Influence in Lankan Politics

It is now election time in Sri Lanka and as per Natural Justice – the propaganda has been strongly controlled by reign of Covid19. That to my mind, is the best and most reliable way one can make the connection between cause and effect of China’s influence in Lanka through one’s belief. Belief never lies.

In his Colombo Gazette  article ‘Buddhism, the Dhamma and politics; ‘All People Matter’, Raj Gonsalkorale quotes:

[Question posed to Venerable Mahinda as noted in ancient Sel Lipi, “Ven Sir, what would you say about the spread of Buddhism you brought to Sri Lanka from India? Venerable Mahinda’s response, “It has spread, but had not rooted”.]

The parallel of that in elections is Democracy has spread but has not rooted. Likewise, Chinese money in Lanka has spread but not rooted. The spread is indicated as follows:

[In June 2018 The New York Times reported that President Rajapaksa, during the 2015 presidential campaign and elections received large payments from the Chinese port construction fund that flowed directly into campaign aides and activities. Rajapaksa had agreed to Chinese terms and was seen as an important ally in China's efforts to tilt influence away from India in South Asia. The payments were confirmed by documents and cash checks detailed in a government investigation seen by The New York Times.

 During the final months of the election, the ambassador of China to Sri Lanka had lobbied voters, "even caddies at Colombo’s premier golf course", to support Rajapaksa over the opposition, which was threatening to tear up economic agreements with the Chinese government.

With the election coming around,  large payments started to flow toward the president's circle. Affiliates of Rajapaksa's campaign received at least $7.6 million that was dispensed from China Harbor's account at Standard Chartered Bank. A sum around $3.7 million was distributed in checks with 10 days to go before polls opened: $678,000 to print campaign T-shirts and other promotional material and $297,000 to buy supporters gifts, including women's saris. $38,000 was paid to a popular Buddhist monk who was supporting the Rajapaksa campaign, while two checks totaling $1.7 million were delivered by volunteers to Temple Trees. A sub-account controlled by China Harbor, named "HPDP Phase 2," shorthand for Hambantota Port Development Project was where most of the payments came from.

Rajapaksa responded in the Colombo Telegraph by calling the article "part of a political mudslinging campaign". In July 2018 Joint Chinese-Sri Lankan company Colombo International Container Terminals Limited (CICT) confirmed paying nearly 20 million Sri Lankan rupees as a donation to the Pushpa Rajapaksa Foundation, a private fund meant to build houses for the poor. Pushpa Rajapaksa is Mahinda Rajapaksa's sister in law, wife of Basil Rajapaksa, who was also his economic development minister. CICT did not say how the money was used.] Wikipedia

True believers in Lanka would already have the wisdom they need to have about Lankan governance. The above would confirm or oppose that wisdom to the extent one believes in the medium. There are no rights or wrongs but seniority taken as per the common medium – which is Lanka in this instance.

Raj continues as follows:

[In the backdrop of the worldwide campaign ‘Black Lives Matter’, it is perhaps timely for Sri Lankans to look inwards and ask the question whether we are all equals, and treat everyone as equals not just constitutionally, but in spirit, behaviour and attitudes. The campaign slogan, if we were to have one, from a Sri Lankan context could be ‘All People Matter’, and to examine with honesty whether this is so in our complex and diverse society. It appears to the onlooker that one of the most powerful tools available to make this happen, religious beliefs and the religious institutions, have divided rather than unified our complex nation. Whether this is so or not is a discussion that must be had.]
 

Even though we may not see it or know it, the death of a black person apparently  caused by a White Policeman was also caused by Covid19 pandemic which Americans knew through experience was beyond the control of their government. This automatically results in serious drop in self-confidence of those who in their mind were protected by the government. Their parallel in Sri Lanka are the Armed Forces. The high rate of Navy infections relative to civilians confirms this. ‘All People Matter’ is for those of common culture. Now that Ethnic problems in Sri Lanka have become Ethnic genes All people refers to Raj’s group.

Public knowledge of a problem    facilitates wider world to add its own belief and thus empower the group in need. The ethnic problem has now become global problem to the global minded Sri Lankan. To those who claimed Sinhala only or its opposition Tamil only – the problem has mutated into ‘sin’.

As per published figures, the virus attacked 1905 persons in Sri Lanka and caused 11 deaths. Relatively speaking Australia reports 7335 cases and 102 deaths respectively. Both are higher than Lanka’s rates.  Whether we shrink or expand what happened or use it to find the root cause – is as per our mind. Recently, someone who was seeing me after a long time, said that I had put on weight. After some time when he started talking about his lung ailments I said that even though he was slim and I was not – my heath was better than his. His mind was falsely elevated due to his own looks whereas mine was with my reality. Sri Lanka is the parallel of this slim person  whilst Australia is my parallel – in dealing with the virus that was beyond our direct control. Australian government tried to profit from it by finding ‘fault’ with China and weakened our protection on the basis of sovereignty. To have that protection we need to know that the virus began and ended here. Once taken to world level – it becomes relative. This resulted in demotion of the government by the People – including through the vandalism through ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.

Gender based difference in form – confirms that Diversity is part of creation. Raj says in this regard:

[It appears to the onlooker that one of the most powerful tools available to make this happen, religious beliefs and the religious institutions, have divided rather than unified our complex nation. Whether this is so or not is a discussion that must be had]

To the ‘onlooker’ man is different from woman. But a believer in creation would respect that attractive diversity at the level of independence of enjoyment and produce a higher common being as the common heir of that attractive independent diversity. In terms of Lanka, the independence of another religion is an essential component to produce ‘Common Lankan’.

Raj as a Sinhala Buddhist must know that there is in his community – fear of India’s Hindu majority. This is due to using apparent majority power in Lanka where Buddhists outnumber any other religious group. The parallel in Tamils happened when Muslims were alienated by the Tamil Tigers. When someone to whom we are indebted dies within us – we inherit their negative energies. Memorials raise the value of their positives and promote inheritance of positive energies. Emphasis on the physical beyond our belief becomes negative. Thus Buddhism Foremost became negative in Sri Lankan politics and bankrupted the government through spreading beyond the rooting. In Northern Province, Mr Wigneswaran who spread Tamil Tigers and is now asking the People for money to finance election activities. This confirms that he is way out of his circle of belief and has no moral authority to claim ‘Genocide’. As a Tamil he needs to know that money divides and belief unites.