{"id":120794,"date":"2014-03-02T00:01:25","date_gmt":"2014-03-01T18:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=120794"},"modified":"2014-03-08T20:40:43","modified_gmt":"2014-03-08T15:10:43","slug":"geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/","title":{"rendered":"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Malinda Seneviratne<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Malinda<\/a>

Malinda Seneviratne<\/p><\/div>\n

To plan for year, they say, you have to plant rice.\u00a0 To plan for a decade you have to plant trees and to plan for a century, you have to teach the people. I believe that\u2019s a Chinese saying.\u00a0 Politicians think of the next election while statesmen think of the next generation.\u00a0 That\u2019s common knowledge across time and space.\u00a0 In Sri Lanka whatever is planned it is marked from one session of the UNHRC<\/span><\/a> to the next, especially the ones in Geneva.<\/p>\n

\u2018Geneva Talk\u2019 begins in December. It is followed by drivel from Channel 4<\/span><\/a> and partners in the crimes of mischief.\u00a0 Amnesty International<\/span><\/a> and Human Rights Watch chips in.\u00a0 One can count on statements from the USA, UK and Canada.\u00a0 Then there\u2019s Navi Pillai drawing from sources that have drawn from sources that have cited sources that quote unreliable \u2018witnesses\u2019.\u00a0 It\u2019s annual.\u00a0 We also have agitation on the part of the Government, some chest-beating \u2018bring it on\u2019 cries, some appeasing moves and brave-fronting.<\/p>\n

But what is a country that staggers from one outcome-known confab to the next if not a country that does not plan for its longer tomorrows?\u00a0 What is really funny in this business is that people advocate one strategy or another as though getting through Geneva without a scratch is going to determine for now and forever the future of this country. Obviously such advocates have short memories and short-term focus.\u00a0 This country has had its ups and downs, golden as well as shameful moments. It has suffered 500 years of subjugation where insult and humiliation went hand in hand with cultural erasure and genocide.\u00a0 It has known down-days but have had the civilizational legs to stand up with dignity. Unbowed.<\/p>\n

Geneva, though, we are told is all about getting our perspective on India right.\u00a0 Right!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s India?\u00a0 Well, the last we heard, Tamil Nadu and the Central Government can\u2019t decide who has the last word on justice.\u00a0 The last we heard the union is festering at its seams and we are not talking about Telangana only.\u00a0 India is a country that owes its existence to the British and we can only conclude that it is everlasting gratitude to that colonial master that has made that country retain the colonial name.\u00a0 There were of course moment in history when vast swathes came under one ruler, but that only affirms that territorial integrity has always been the harvest of yielding to conqueror.\u00a0 In short, it is a country waiting to fall apart, sooner or later. \u00a0\u00a0Indeed, it can be offered that India\u2019s problem with a solid, unitary neighboring state, is a reflection of its own national angst about the future of its own territorial integrity.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the logic of putting all our Geneva eggs in an Indian basket?\u00a0 And what does this Indian basket consist of if not a) submitting to Indian hegemony, b) confirming by legislative writ the lines that seek to turn chauvinistic and separatist myth into inalienable fact (we are talking the 13th<\/sup> Amendment<\/span><\/a> here, by the way) and c) unending inter-ethnic wars well into the future.<\/p>\n

The argument though is that all of it is better than a US-led \u2018independent inquiry\u2019 into alleged war crimes. Well, when did the US ever need an excuse to invade a country, bomb it into the Middle Ages and such (all in the name of democracy, peace and \u2018in the best interest of the people\u2019 \u2013 doesn\u2019t the sanctimony nauseate?) and even evict entire populations if it serves \u2018US interests\u2019?\u00a0\u00a0 India, however, some believe will stop the USA from bullying Sri Lanka.\u00a0 What that means is this: if Sri Lanka picks India as its chosen bully, then the USA will back off.\u00a0 Masochistic, what?<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka has not got its house in order.\u00a0 This is correct.\u00a0 Sri Lanka has been badly remiss in certain matters and areas, it is pointed out, quite correctly.\u00a0 On the other hand, these \u2018wrongs\u2019 are pretty benign aren\u2019t they, compared to the malignancies that countries like the USA and India have spawned both within and without their national borders?<\/p>\n

Geneva has its uses for both regime and its detractors.\u00a0 Geneva is everyone\u2019s leverage to secure benefit to political vision.\u00a0 Geneva is a moment in time, not a city or an assembly.\u00a0 Perhaps Sri Lanka\u2019s biggest problem is that it has looked at Geneva for so long that Geneva appears bigger than Sri Lanka and the likes of Navi Pillay seem bigger than the Sri Lankan citizenry.\u00a0 The same can be said of Delhi and the likes of Jayalalithaa and Manmohan Singh.<\/p>\n

It is time for the wider sweep of gaze, across regions and beyond moment.\u00a0 Let us not get carried away, either way, by Geneva.\u00a0 More importantly, let us not let \u2018Geneva\u2019 blind us to the machinations of those who have a stake in bringing Sri Lanka under the Indian heel, one way or another.<\/p>\n

*Malinda Seneviratne is the Chief Editor of \u2018The Nation\u2019\u00a0and his articles can be found at\u00a0www.malindawords.blogspot.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":105560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nGeneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-01T18:31:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-08T15:10:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"130\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"135\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/\",\"name\":\"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-01T18:31:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-08T15:10:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg\",\"width\":\"130\",\"height\":\"135\",\"caption\":\"Malinda Seneviratne\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2014-03-01T18:31:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-03-08T15:10:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":130,"height":135,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/","name":"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg","datePublished":"2014-03-01T18:31:25+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-08T15:10:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg","width":"130","height":"135","caption":"Malinda Seneviratne"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/geneva-is-a-distraction-sri-lanka-can-do-without\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Geneva Is A Distraction Sri Lanka Can Do Without"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Malinda-Seneviratne-150x150.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120794"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121252,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120794\/revisions\/121252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}