Editorial

31st Ma y 1998

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Highway to disaster

It's boom, boom, boom

Highway to disaster

The International Monetary Fund Chief has stated the obvious - that 'crony capitalism' is the major factor behind Asia's current economic crisis.

IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus has said that "under the nice facade of market economics, there was a high degree of inappropriate government intervention, including lending based on personal connections."

Sri Lanka has escaped the currency crisis that has hit Asian tiger economies such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and even Singapore and Japan.

Sri Lanka escaped not-so much because of prudent economic planning, but because we are not in the economic big league.

Mr. Camdessus' comments are relevant to Sri Lanka coming as they do in the backdrop of the AirLanka-Emirates agreement. He says "When the structure of ownership is not transparent.... when too many ad hoc decisions are taken" etc.... "serious imbalances and deadly inefficiencies can build up."

If this government can keep the Emirates deal side by side with Mr. Camdessus comments it will see for itself whether it too is going on the highway to disaster and with their eyes open.

Trying to steam-roll their way arguing that the UNP did the same thing, so why are you blaming us. The PA is making a big show of the pledges in Paris of US $780m. as some kind of "overwhelming confidence" the world community has in Sri Lanka's management of the economy.

The difference is that this is, basically aid as opposed to private investment and the government need not kid itself in kidding the public that crony capitalism does not exist here, that transparency works, that no ad hoc decisions are taken in the management of the economy.

The UNP has now made complaints to the Bribery and Corruption Commission, but the Commission is not operative nor is any other mechanism available to probe corruption independently.

All we hear is the same old song - you guys did it; so what's wrong in we guys doing it.

It's boom, boom, boom

The West, specially the US got a thumb on its nose for threatening Pakistan with sanctions and the like if it dared to join the Nuke Club.

Pakistan went ahead and did just what they were asked not to do. And for the Indians their honeymoon in joining the nuke Club is over. Pakistan is also a Nuclear power now.

As for Sri Lanka we have had to do some tight rope-walking after India exploded five nuclear bombs.

The record has been finally set straight in Beijing, after the faux pas in welcoming India's bomb, Sri Lanka stands for "comprehensive global disarmament as the only viable means of dispelling the globally shared apprehension that the possession of nuclear weapons by some imperils the prospects of security of all"

While we in Sri Lanka might be happy that South Asia has virtually asked the World Policemen to go to hell, at the same time South Asia has now become one Nuclear Zone. With China, India and Pakistan and very soon possibly Iran, Iraq and Israel, it seems all the talk of Non-proliferation and disarmament in august world assemblies means little. National self-interest and politics come first, still. We are not living in a global village yet.

The hypocrisy of diplomacy insists that might-is right, but might is not always necessarily right and that is the eternal truth.

Political Column

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