RANIL W TURNS TO JAPAN AS CREDITORS SEEK ANSWERS
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF
In the month of September in 1951 exactly 72 years ago, Junius Richard Jayawardene (JRJ), then Finance Minister of Ceylon made a ground breaking speech at San Francisco Summit which was convened to decide on the future destiny of Japan in post-WW 11 backdrop. Quoting Lord Buddha’s teachings from Dhammapada ‘hatred ceases not by hatred but by love’, he articulated vociferously in support of Japan and denounced the claim for any reparation. This speech made out of true compassion touched the hearts of millions of Japanese who still venerate JRJ as a hero. When he won a landslide victory at the 1977 general Elections, the then government of Japan offered any gift of JRJ’s wish. Honoring JRJ’s aspiration more in favor of national interests, the fully fledged 1001 bed Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital came into being by the generosity of Japanese people. It still stands tall in the administrative capital of Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura-Kotte as a symbol of Japan- Sri Lanka friendship. Incidentally, JRJ’s nephew Ranil Wickramasinghe is the incumbent Executive President of Sri Lanka. He will soon undertake an official visit to Japan in a bid to revive Japanese funded projects which were either shelved or abandoned during the regime of now deposed former president Gotabhaya Rajapakse (GR).
CAN RW BE EQUAL TO THE TASK?
GR was a novice president with no prior experience in local politics before ascending to the top seat in the country. He unleashed a series of blunders at the very beginning of his reign and shelving of Japanese funded projects was certainly one of them. For the reasons best known to him or his siblings in power, 13 Japanese funded projects including the enthusiastic Light Railway Transit project were dumped. Instead, he opted to build an elevated extension to Katunayake Expressway linking New Kelani Bridge and the satellite township of Malabe. At the time of abandonment, the Light Train Transit Project was just about to commence construction. If this project has materialized, Sri Lankans would be experiencing a novel mode of travel by 2024. But, it was not to be and neither GR’s alternative project saw the light of the day. His abrupt actions indeed strained the relationship between Japan and Sri Lanka beyond foreseeable recovery. RW is now undertaking this visit in the backdrop of a strained relationship between two countries. Although he is to make this official visit under the guise of attending the state funeral of slain former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe, he would certainly go there with a hidden agenda. Sri Lankans are eagerly awaiting to see whether RW could turn the tables in two countries’ perilous relationship.
JAPAN: AN IMPORTANT PARTNER IN DEVELOPMENT IN SRI LANKA
Japan accounts for Sri Lanka’s 14 % of total aid inflow through multilateral and bilateral channels. No doubt that Japan is a major international creditor to Sri Lanka. It is a noteworthy factor that Japan has extended emergency humanitarian grants recently in two phases to the total value of US$ 6.5 mn in the present economic crisis too. This grant was disbursed through the World Food Program, UNICEF and ICRC. This donation was to address the emergencies in food, nutrition, health and sanitation which became grave issues as a result of the current economic crisis. The President has apparently realized that it was very important to sustain this relationship with Japan at all costs. Sri Lanka’s President’s visit to Japan evolves at a very crucial time as Sri Lanka is battling its worst economic crisis in the post-independence era. On the other hand, RW did not have many options during this visit. Basically, he has to rely on his relationship with the former president JRJ and his own public relations skills. As reported in the media, he goes there well prepared even to discuss two new development projects namely Colombo Port West Container Terminal project and the LNG Power Plant project apart from the other shelved Japanese funded projects for revival. Moreover, President RW’s foreign policy is different. He is more aligned to western powers than India or China. This is a stark contrast to the foreign policy adopted by Rajapakses which sometimes dragged Sri Lanka into the middle of controversies and cold confrontations in the Indian Ocean region.
MANAGING OTHER BUSINESSES AS WELL
President Ranil Wickremasinghe is also scheduled to attend the 55th Annual General Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila on 29th September 2022. RW is attending this meeting in the capacity of Finance Minister of Sri Lanka. He expects to initiate a dialog with the President of ADB to solicit more assistance to salvage the country from the present economic abyss. President RW has an enormous task before him from all fronts. Every Sri Lankan is looking puzzled or convinced in a highly polarized scenario whether he could deliver goods. RW seems to be firing all salvos to put the house in order at present. Barely, he has 2 ½ years to perform, failing which he would be sent to the political wilderness along with his party United National Party in 2025. Interestingly, RW would make it a point to meet the new Philippine’s President Bongbong Marcos during his impending visit to the Philippines. Irony is that Bongbong Marcos’ father Ferdinand Marcos was ousted by mass protests of the people for amassing wealth through illegal means and widespread corruption. These unceasing waves of protests led to the taking of the presidential palace. Eventually, he died in exile. The situation that prevailed in the Philippines in 1986 resembled the situation which Sri Lankans had from March to July this year. People of Sri Lanka ousted a president for the first time in its contemporary history and sent him to exile. Irony is that infamous dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ son became the president just 36 years after, singing praises on his now demised father and citing his two regimes in late seventies and eighties as the most prosperous era of his country. And people believed him because he dealt with a different generation now. This piece of history reminds us of Irish statesman Edmund Burke who quoted, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it’. Will history repeat in Sri Lanka too?
