OPINIONS

Whither moral values and principles?

Sri Lanka's Premier is unwilling or unable to tackle the rampant corruption in his government that has spread to his inner circle, protests
The Sunday Leader in its latest editorial

Sri Lanka's Premier is unwilling or unable to tackle the rampant corruption in his government that has spread to his inner circle, protests The Sunday Leader in its latest editorial

"Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them, volleyed and thundered..."

Lord Alfred Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade must ring in Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's ears (assuming, that is, that they read Tennyson at Royal College) as he surveys the political landscape that is unfolding before him. As Wickremesinghe is fast beginning to discover, it ain't all roses being Prime Minister.

To Wickremesinghe's right are the members of his own party, for the most part as corrupt and unscrupulous a bunch of scoundrels as can be found. Except for a handful of Honest Johns, most of them are up to one or more rackets to enrich themselves at the expense of the citizenry at large. There is a four-letter word that has come to personify Wickremesinghe's government, barely 18 months in office: deal.

Hand in glove with businessmen of all complexions, the UNF has settled in to rake it in, and big time too. Week after week we have exposed ministers caught red handed, up to all manner of mischief. Wickremesinghe does not even look into these, let alone at least reprimand the culprits. In voting in the UNF, the nation has fallen among thieves.

We do not for a moment claim that the Kumaratunga administration of 1994-2001 was any better; after all, we went on record by labelling that regime the most corrupt in our nation's history. But the UNF, with its squeaky clean leader, was supposed to change all that.

The nation hoped that seven years of naked and continuous abuse would have been sufficient for the greens to see the light. They have not, and it is there for all to see. Ministers raking it in hand over fist, not a cop in sight, and the Bribery Com-mission crippled, to everyone's delight.

The problem is: ministers can't make money unless they have willing accomplices among the top rungs of the public service. And given the power and patronage ministers wield, the public service has little choice other than to aid them in their quest for spoils, picking up the crumbs as they go along.

The result has been that the public service has lost all respect for the government. A ready symptom of the disease that among themselves, public servants often refer to the Prime Minister as "Ranil," while referring to the President as "H.E." Such is the contempt into which the government has come, just a year and a half into its term.

Be that as it may, Wickremesinghe appears neither able nor willing to do anything about the hooligans running amok in his party. Apart from making fast bucks by the million, UNF politicians have hardly been an example to the public. The recent pistol shooting by a UNF MP at a wedding, for example, was dismissed even without a disciplinary inquiry.

Then again, ministers threatening and interfering with the police have only been smiled upon. There are even credible stories of one senior minister being a cocaine addict.

The moral code at the UNP's party headquarters, Sirikotha, appears to be not a lot better than that in Welikada Prison. And there is evidence that the rot has spread right into the hitherto squeaky clean inner circle of the Prime Minister himself.

Public repugnance of these excesses will likely be the downfall of the UNF, a reality of which the Prime Minister has taken cognizance of only by burying his head deep in the sand. It is not uncommon to see at cocktail parties these days heated arguments as to which ministers are not corrupt, with protagonists counting them off on their fingers one by one, and seldom having to shift to the other hand.

As if that were not bad enough, the opposition too, has hardly been the blessing it might have been. While last week's coffin fiasco was seen by many as being as good a piece of theatrics as could be found under the circumstances, this does bring seriously into question the comfort the LTTE is likely to draw from the Sinhala notion of democracy. Is this the democracy we sacrificed 60,000 lives to protect?

While amateur theatrics might be all very good, it has to be said that the opposition is hardly earning its keep (remember that it too lives off the taxpayer). Given the rampant corruption that bedevils the UNF, it is sad that the opposition has chosen to dwell purely on the government's peace agenda. This is the least controversial portion of the government's strategy.

What the opposition could do to their enduring benefit is to expose the government's manifold misdeeds and scams. The people need to know these, and it is time someone started bringing the petty thieves in the UNF to book.

Mahinda Rajapakse would also do well to appoint a shadow cabinet, so as to turn the heat up even more on the government. The shadow cabinet could dog each minister remorselessly, making sure he or she does not step out of line. This is also a good way to get his MPs to think about the issues that face the various sectors in Sri Lanka and assess just how well or badly the government is performing.

Sri Lanka is at a watershed. Both prosperity and peace are within our grasp, and this is in large measure due to Wickremesinghe's foresight and cunning. But more and more people are worrying that the Prime Minister is losing his wits. He ushered in the peace process by means of extensive backstage negotiations with the LTTE.

It is worrying that the negotiating process has now moved not just to the front of the stage but into the public arena. It is inconceivable that the Tigers will negotiate sincerely in the glare of international publicity. Sadly, it is their frustration with Wickremesinghe's slowness to act that is jeopardising the peace process. In opposition, they saw him not just as a dove but also as a man of courage and daring. Nowadays, Wickremesinghe shows no symptoms of either, shackled no doubt due to fear of what the President might do if he acts true to his convictions and deliver on the promises made; an interim administration for the north east, just to name one.

We urge then, with all the emphasis at our command, that Ranil Wickremesinghe shows the nation clearly that he is in charge, that he does have some moral values and principles (there is little evidence of either given his devil-may-care attitude to his ministers' excesses), and that he has not lost his spunk.

Never has Sri Lanka needed good governance more, and to let this opportunity pass unutilised would be a tragedy indeed. For Wickremesinghe, this is the Battle of Balaclava: crooked ministers to the right of him, the power hungry PA to the left of him, and the LTTE in front of him. His not to reason why; his but to do, and hopefully, not die. After all, he's the only real hope we've got.

China and India: high stakes for US

Where does the United States fit in a changing landscape of Sino-Indian relations asks Robert Radtke in the International Herald Tribune.

The visit of the Indian prime minister to China this week is the first in almost a decade, and the high mark of a trend toward deepening Chinese-Indian relations, which has been largely overlooked by policymakers and pundits. As the rapprochement unfolds, the United States should be watching carefully.

China and India have a lot to discuss - regional security, border issues, economic ties, the war on terrorism and the future of Asia - and the stakes of each of these areas for U.S. national interest is enormous. How China and India resolve them will have profound effects on Asia's strategic landscape and America's place in it.

When India conducted its nuclear tests in 1998 it identified China, not Pakistan, as the biggest threat to its security. India noted with alarm China's undisputed economic power and its growing strategic influence throughout Asia. China's continued support of Pakistan heightened the perception in New Delhi of a potential security threat from China. This dynamic continues to drive Sino-Indian relations five years on.

One of the agreements likely to be signed during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit regards the long-standing India-China border dispute. The Chinese have signaled that they want to find a "fair and reasonable" solution to a problem they see as being left over from the history of colonialism in the region. Fingering colonialism gives China and India political cover to craft a pragmatic solution and remove a major stumbling block to deep engagement.

This could provide a historic opening for trade. China has long regarded India as a large potential market for Chinese goods, and also has a deep interest and respect for India's high-tech prowess. But Indians see China as predatory in trade, and look with worry at China's robust growth rates, fearing getting left behind. Currently the two economies are more competitive than cooperative, but that could change as reforms in China take hold.

One of Vajpayee's tasks will be to open an office for the Confederation of Indian Industries, India's premier business group, in Shanghai. This is a signal that India intends to engage China and that the Indian business community sees China as an opportunity. Sino-Indian trade volume is up 70 percent in the period January to April 2003. India is poised to become a major player in China's economic development: American firms take note.

India and China also have a common security agenda regarding the war on terrorism. India has long been vexed by cross-border terrorism in Kashmir, and China has its own problems in its western regions with nascent Islamic extremist groups. Both India and China have signed on to the broader goals of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, particularly as it affects them domestically. They both have complicated and long relationships with Pakistan, the nest in which a large number of terrorists hatch.

The United States should watch to see if China begins to distance itself from Pakistan, since it has a lot more to gain now from a relationship with India than it does with Pakistan.

Where does the United States fit in this changing landscape of Sino-Indian relations and Asia's future? Neither India nor China wants an Asia dominated by the United States. Both see themselves as great powers fallen on bad times centuries ago, but well on their way back to reclaiming their rightful places as preeminent nations. If they settle their differences and deepen cooperation and engagement they can perhaps establish a multipolar world in which U.S. power in Asia is moderated - a stated goal of both countries.

Since Richard Nixon's visit to China, a triangular relationship among the United States, Japan and China has played an important role in the maintenance of peace and stability in Asia. Perhaps the Vajpayee visit to Beijing foreshadows a new kind of triangular stability with China, the United States and India at the three corners.

Given U.S. economic and military might today, this is a long-term project, but China and India think in terms of generations, not quarterly results. The United States needs to pay attention and adjust to emerging shifts in Asian alliances, lest it play hare to the Sino-Indian tortoise.

The writer is a vice president of the Asia Society. These are his personal views.