Indian High Commissioner, Mr. Nirupan Sen’s sagacious advice at Nuwara Eliya ceremony to Sri Lankans who are trying to blame foreign countries for their failures found its way to a front page, Peacock Blue coloured news item, in the UFPA government’s state controlled Daily News.

‘Chairmen and senior functionaries’ discredited by the people were trying to ‘fix responsibility for their failure on the shoulders of a foreign country (India)’, the Indian envoy was quoted saying. It was a great insult to the people who had the power to control their own destiny, is what Mr. Sen appears to have said according to a garbled paragraph of the report.

Indeed, the High Commissioner is quite correct. He reminds us of what our old teachers dating back from colonial times used to say: ‘learn to paddle your own canoe’ and all that. However, in these days of globalisation, politicians find it awfully hard not to blame foreigners for their woes. Mr. Sen who was the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Colombo in the mid eighties will recall how the Gandhis – mother and son – blamed ‘the ‘foreign hand’ – meaning Uncle Sam – for destabilising India in those days. New Delhi, it will be recalled, then firmly believed that this ‘foreign hand’ was attempting to destabilise India from Sri Lanka. Those events are well remembered and going down a painful memory lane will be of no use. Mr. Sen has named no names but his references to ‘Chairmen and senior functionaries, those discredited and rejected by the people’ we presume, is about past functionaries of the last government. Even in contemporary times, politicians blaming foreign powers for interference in domestic affairs are quite common. Both India and Pakistan did it during the Cargil incidents and the nuclear explosions that followed after the incident. Most of our woes are no doubt of indigenous origin. But foreigners have made their own significant contributions. The role of India in fostering and internationalising north-east terrorism, as we said earlier, need not be recalled.

The High Commissioner’s remarks may have been inspired by allegations made by some UNPers that he was attempting to forge a coalition government under the UPFA banner. He was reported to have met CWC politicians as well as those of another party immediately after the elections. Had he merely met them but not with the idea of helping to form a government, he may have been within the limits of diplomatic protocol. But as diplomats may say it would have been a trifle impudent even to meet them so soon after elections.

However, it must be reiterated that it is indeed sagacious advice he has given us. If we cannot blame foreign powers for our problems – whether they are responsible or not – we should be going on bended-knee for their advice and they in turn should keep off our grass. Despite the protests of patriotic Sri Lankans not to internationalise this terrorist problem, our politicians wittingly and unwittingly did so. Now we have the European Union in its entirety, Canada, United States, Japan and India – all involved in our own problem. This being the situation, it is inevitable that these supposedly well meaning foreign nations – rightly or wrongly – come into quite a lot of stick from Sri Lankans of various assortments.

Since those controversial events of the eighties and the departure of the Indian troops, almost every party, apart from the LTTE, have been crying out in unison about ‘friendship with India’. Now even the LTTE after assassinating former premier Rajiv Gandhi wants friendship with India! The PA government had its Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar travelling up and down to and from New Delhi on innumerable occasions. The UNP had Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and Minister Milinda Moragoda taking the PA baton and continuing the relay.

Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar has already completed one lap under this government and is reported to be putting on his running shoes for the second lap. Apparently he made a mistake on the last occasion going there while the election was on and meeting candidates who were defeated!

Thus, foreigners cannot be blamed for mistakes that are ours. After Mr. Kadirgamar’s last visit the former Indian Foreign Minister Mr. Yashwant Singh made a very pertinent point on the constantly repeated Sri Lankan manthram: India has a role to play in Sri Lanka’s peace process’. Mr Singh has very correctly said that there must be a Southern Consensus in Sri Lanka and that Sri Lanka must specify the role expected of India.

The 4.2 billion-dollar question is: have we specified the problem?

We are all at sixes and sevens on this. Having brought in the US, Europe and Japan and made them commit $ 4.2 billion for the peace effort, where does India fit in? True, India was kept informed by one and all of the proposals being made but it is apparent that India does not want foreign powers in what she considers her backyard. Can we expect the western powers and Japan to shoulder the burden of $ 4.2 billion and sit back while India takes control?

Where is the Sri Lankan government in all this?

Who governs Sri Lanka? Sri Lankans, Indians or the westerners?