US elections and the impact on Sri Lanka

By Charnika Imbulana

The US presidential election will have an impact on Sri Lanka whatever the outcome, and there’s much that would depend on Government to Government relations, but it is business and civil society that have a crucial role to play in ensuring US-SL relations are strengthened the way Sri Lanka wants, said Joel Rubin, President of Washington Strategy Group, an international affairs strategic advisory firm, Senior Director for Congressional Affairs for Transnational Strategy Group, and a contender for Maryland-8 Democratic primary.

Speaking at the AMCHAM luncheon meeting held at the Hilton Blue on Thursday, titled ‘US elections and its impact on Sri Lanka,’ Rubin gave a detailed description of the profiles of the two presidential nominees of the Democratic and Republic parties, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, respectively. He outlined the policies of both the parties regarding foreign policy briefly and spoke of the personalities that would direct such policy should they be elected president.

“There is deep anxiety in the US regarding the changing political culture in the country. The strategic shift is a significant point,” he stressed. “Deep scepticism and anxiety is felt across party lines as well as in the financial and media sectors. This would reflect on the country’s image, naturally globally too.” 

He described this year’s presidential as the one that has generated much interest and division alike like never before amongst the people of the United States.

Having opened the floor to questions and answers, D.S. Rose, the Chief Executive Officer of Garment Services Group Ltd., a British national living in Sri Lanka, articulated how well democracy had been demonstrated by the recent political revolution in Sri Lanka, referring to the silent yet effective change that was brought about politically in Sri Lanka on 8 January at the presidential election, raised the question of the US Government requiring to look more into the trade and investment interests of Sri Lanka, and emphasised that Sri Lanka deserves far more assistance. 

“The story in Sri Lanka is not well known in Washington,” he said. “But it should be made known as it is a remarkable achievement.” He added: “The window is open for opportunity and this is where communications in proper perspective from both sides would help.”

Daily FT posed a question to Rubin on Clinton’s controversial comment made following her visit to Tamil Nadu in year 2009 and asked his views on same and what was required to be done about such misinformation and why such information was not clarified from both sides before making comments. 

Explaining the episode, the Daily FT pointed out that Sri Lanka lodged a “ note of protest”” to the US Embassy in Colombo, complaining about Clinton’s suggestion that Sri Lankan security forces used rape as a weapon of war against Tamil LTTE rebels.

“We vehemently reject and condemn the irresponsible statement made by US State Secretary Hillary Clinton,” the country’s Defence Spokesman was quoted as saying in a State newspaper.  

It was further pointed out that a column in the new Indian Express in September last year by Editorial Director Prabhu states that the recently-released controversial emails of US presidential candidate Clinton reveal that Sri Lanka’s strong reaction to the then Secretary of State Clinton’s 2009 remarks over use of rape as an instrument of war unleashed an intense internal debate, which ultimately led to a partial retraction.

It reads: “On Sep 30, 2009, Clinton said at the UNSC that rape had been ‘used as a tactic of war before in Bosnia, Burma and Sri Lanka and elsewhere’. This had led to a big outcry in Lanka, with an official protest being lodged. The retraction came in the context of the victory that the Sri Lankan Army achieved in its decade-long civil war against the Tigers with general international consensus that Colombo should be given space for its national reconciliation process.”

“The Sri Lanka Government had lodged its protest on October 2. From the released emails of Clinton, it is clear there was an intense internal debate on how the response should be released and who it should be released by,” the report adds.

Rubin said he did not know the details but such had happened due to miscommunication too and that having good clear communications was important.

He also added that at times when such errors occur in statements, clarifications were required and through such clarifications the correct situation would eventually be conveyed.