Sri Lanka: How Chinese ‘interference in internal affairs’ provoked Tamil MP’s ire

The recent outburst of a Tamil parliamentarian over China’s interference in what he says is ‘internal affairs of Sri Lanka’ can have long-term consequences if Beijing persists with its current policy and its embassy in Colombo keeps issuing statements on what is only an ‘internal matter’ of the host-nation. In doing so, three-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam has threatened a ‘Go home, China’ protest on the lines of the successful ‘ GotaGoHome’ mass-struggle that forced then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and then quit office. This is the first time that any political leader in the country has made such a charge against China, though Beijing’s continual involvement in white elephant projects like Hambantota, Lotus Tower, Colombo Port City and a long list of expressways across the country is acknowledged as among the causes for Sri Lanka’s continuing economic crisis. The 32-year-old first-time MP from eastern Batticaloa district has denied that India was behind him, given his ethnicity, pointing out how he had also opposed Indian projects as he felt they were not in Sri Lanka’s long-term interests. White elephant projects As a nation, as Shanakiyan pointed out, China is the single-largest creditor of Sri Lanka, followed by India and Japan. Much of Sri Lanka’s external credit, adding up to $51 billion, is still institutional loans. At the height of the forex crisis earlier this year, which culminated in what still remains a larger economic plight, India as a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘ Neighbourhood First’ initiative, pumped in funds, food, medicine and other essentials, all totalling $3.8 billion. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has repeatedly pointed out, how India was the ‘ only nation’ to help when help was needed the most. The West has dubbed Chinese assistance a ‘ debt-trap’ and pointed out how many of China’s Third World debtors were facing a similar plight. The more modest argument could be that they are all ‘ white elephant projects’, projects whose benefits do not justify the costs to the local population and government even when they are flashy. In this background, Shanakiyan asked Parliament, “What have the Chinese done in this country? If you look at the Hambantota Port, China has taken it over. Tell me a single investment that the Chinese have made in this country, where Sri Lankan people have been given employment (besides labour). There’s not a single industry.” The reference was to the Chinese-built Hambantota Port, built during the erstwhile Rajapaksa the regime and over which they later got a 99-year lease, under the successor regime (2015-19), when the present president, Ranil Wickremesinghe was prime minister. Shanakiyan attributed his threat to the perceived Chinese delay in debt restructuring, which according to reports, has been holding back the much-needed financing from multilateral institutions like IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). China is a $20 trillion economy, and if it is a ‘true friend’ as claimed, Beijing should either write off Sri Lanka’s $7.7 billion debt or at least help restructure it early Shanakiyan told Parliament. The debt comprised $3 billion to China Development Bank and $ 4.4 billion to Chinese EXIM Bank, he claimed. “If China is truly Sri Lanka’s friend… offering nine million litres of diesel or half a million kilos of rice isn’t help,” said Shanakiyan, speaking in Sinhala, which is the language of the 75-per cent majority ethnicity in the 22-m population. Born to a Tamil father and Sinhala mother, and brought up in bi-lingual, he is tri-lingual, including English and also a powerful speaker in all three. A one-time member of the Rajapaksas-centric SLFP/SLPP, he is a first-time MP under the TNA banner, which he joined some years back. Parliamentary privilege Taking strong exception to the Chinese Embassy’s response to his original comments, Shanakiyan told Parliament that it was a “very serious matter that the Chinese Embassy’s Twitter handle is commenting on matters relating to this country’s sovereignty. In this House, when I speak, I am speaking on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka. I have the privilege to speak in this House. I am not speaking on behalf of any embassy or any other country per se. But the Chinese Embassy repeatedly tagging me on Twitter is a serious concern that pertains to this country’s sovereignty… If you want a Twitter war, Chinese Embassy page, I am ready for a Twitter war…” ‘Encouraging IMF’ The Chinese Embassy in Colombo was prompt to respond to Shanakiyan. Tinged with usual sarcasm when it takes on critics in Sri Lanka, the embassy began a series of tweets, thus: “Sorry Mr MP, your understanding is incorrect and incomplete. China is the biggest supporter of Sri Lanka in fighting COVID-19 and livelihood relief, including in your district Batticaloa. China is also the first responder to Sri Lanka’s financial crisis since its default in April.” The tweet reiterated that “ as a major shareholder of IMF, China has been encouraging IMF and other international financial institutes to promptly support Sri Lanka. China actively participated in all the creditors’ meetings of Sri Lanka, and China is not the only or the largest creditor of the island”. Chinese claims to helping Sri Lanka fight the Covid pandemic as much is contestable, as India had flown test kits, medicines, and also shipped oxygen, to face massive shortages, on Colombo’s request and otherwise, too. Apart from Hambantota, equally controversial Colombo Port City, and unoccupied, ‘white elephant’ structures such as the international airport in Mattala and Lotus Tower in the capital. However, China began well, by funding the Norochcholai coal plant, the best investment the country has made since the Mahaweli irrigation projects of the 1980s, as per a report from Sri Lanka’s Auditor-General. It was either an enticement, or those so-called good intentions stopped there. In the overall context, China gave Sri Lanka, ‘several monetary instability loans’ from the 1980s, leading to a spiralling forex shortage, to ease which the government printed more currency, under what became a ‘flexible inflation target’, otherwise known as ‘bridging finance’. Such loans were not tied to growth-creating reforms unlike the ‘budget support’ loans given by the World Bank and ADB. No Indian influence In an interview-based report in Colombo daily, The Morning, Shanakiyan denied social media suggestions that India was behind his anti-China tirade. “It wouldn’t matter whether it is the US, Australia, or the UK. if there is something detrimental to this country, my party and I will stand up against it,” he was quoted as saying. If anything, he had criticised India too, Shanakiyan recalled, “ when an Indian company was given a 15-year tax holiday for an IT firm”, as it would kill the IT industry in Colombo. Shanakiyan also denied aspersions that the TNA had suddenly begun to criticise China. “This is not something that the TNA has started all of a sudden. If you take the Hansard (Parliament’s records), during the building of the Port City and all these dud investments the Chinese brought in, the TNA has often been the only party critical of the same,” he said. “When there were s ea-cucumber farms in Kilinochchi, our senior MP Sritharan went to the extent of saying that the Chinese are not welcome in the North and East, as they have never taken the Tamil people into consideration,” he said. The parliamentarian also pointed out how he had also “ raised my voice regarding the Port City and the Hambantota Port take-over…when the Tamil language was neglected in the Port City sign-boards…” He was referring to Chinese replacing Tamil in the normal practice of tri-lingual name-boards, including Sinhala and English, in the Port City, which the Chinese Embassy rectified (only) after he had raised the issue. Like other TNA leaders, Shanakiyan was candid about their equations with India. The assumption that they were attacking China at India’s instance is “ very natural, because India has always been very sympathetic towards the interests of the Tamil people…India has always been a friend to us, the Tamil people especially. But having said that, this (TNA leaders’ criticism of China and his recent call) has nothing to do with India,” he said. However, former minister and Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) economist-parliamentarian, Dr Harsha de Silva told Parliament, that “ we should not take a position such as to say somebody will lead a ‘China Go Home’ (campaign). We have to work with all countries. I don’t think we should be so hars. let us work out a solution”. From among Tamil politicians, Praviinaa Sashikala Raviraj, the daughter of N Raviraj, who was slain during the years of ethnic war, shared similar views. She tweeted that Shanakiyan’s was a ‘detrimental move’, and asked: “What if China wakes up tomorrow and demands the loans they have given. We are bankrupt.” The writer is a Chennai-based policy analyst and political commentator. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.