Editorial

A presidential statement at a Thaipongal ceremony in Jaffna last week has made waves in the south, many perplexed by what exactly the message was that he was trying to convey.

On plain listening, it seemed to target those whom he said were aiming to fan the communal flames using pilgrims from the south to the north, meaning Buddhists, to sow ‘harvest hatred’. Waving his finger as he is wont to do when stressing a point, either in Parliament or outside, he stressed he would never allow racism to raise its ugly head again.

“Why,” he asked, “do these pilgrims pass all the Buddhist places of worship in the south to perform religious observances in the north – if not in hatred?” It was an astounding remark to make unless he had some definitive prima facie information – which if he did have, making it public would have helped clarify his point. He added that he has asked the intelligence services to investigate all of this as well. Otherwise, whether he was basing his comment on some political advice was not clear.

In the absence of it all, it has led to questions about the motive for the statement, also raising the question if, correspondingly, it would apply to Sri Lankan citizens from the north who make regular pilgrimages to the south, as far as the Hambantota district – and if this is the antithesis to the government’s call for communal amity by dividing the north and south by an artificial border.

The use – or abuse – of religious extremism can be a deadly cocktail, and clearly there is a need to keep it in check. External elements are capable of exploiting religion and communal tensions towards their own ends, as is public knowledge. These can be done overtly or covertly, as in cases like the Easter Sunday attacks of 2019, through the internet.

The recent incident in Trincomalee where Buddhist monks were arrested for violating a coast conservation law almost erupted into a racial issue in the multi-ethnic district. While all are equal before the law, the over-enthusiasm of the police has now resulted in a clash with the Attorney General – something that has spread into a tussle between the two law enforcement agencies. This week’s demonstration and counter-demonstration at Hulftsdorp for and against the Attorney General received a strong missive from the Bar Association about the rule of law in this country.

The government’s silence was deafening, making the AG take sides, compromising his independence.

From the early days in office, the Government’s displeasure with the Attorney General’s office has been made public, and they floated the idea of an Independent Prosecutor’s Office, which even received traction with foreign governments, which felt there was little progress in human rights prosecutions.

They better think again about their stance if they can see what is behind the Government’s move.

The Global South was right

As the President was making waves in Jaffna with his speech, the US President was making tidal waves with his own version of the global order and turning himself into an ‘unnatural disaster’ for the world in the process.

He doubled down on his threat to take over “a block of ice”, as he called Greenland, making insulting and unpresidential comments to all his European allies and the US-Europe alliance itself. European leaders, whom he condescendingly treats like, well, dirt, must surely be thinking, ‘With friends like this…we may be better off with erstwhile foes like China and even the Global South.’

The US President had already set the stage for the crash of the much-acclaimed Davos Economic Forum with his steady onslaught on the current international system – the unilateral incursion into Venezuela, threats to take over Canada, belittling NATO, arbitrary tariffs and finally the unthinkable – a bid to acquire Greenland.

The Canadian Prime Minister, who is just next door to the US, is clearly shivering more than he should be in the winter cold of the Swiss Alps, where past enthusiasm for global economic cooperation, trust and partnership has been replaced by the present malaise over the imminent demise of the so-called ‘rules-based world order’, to which he delivered the requiem.

His speech hit the headlines for announcing the end of the US-led postwar hegemony, the “rupture” between the US and Europe, and the way forward for the ‘Middle Powers’ in a future international system. Clearly, Canada and its Western allies in the Global North are looking for survival in a world after Pax Americana.

“In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for favour or combine to create a third path with impact,” the Canadian PM told Davos. His description of Europe’s current predicament is hauntingly reminiscent of another transition in the global system: the post-colonial moment which gave rise to the Third World and the Non-Aligned Movement, antecedents of the Global South.

He conceded the North’s own complicity in the rhetorical shield of the ‘rules-based order’ as a value-coated cover to impose the will of the powerful states, under which he says countries like Canada prospered for decades. Canada’s recent actions showing scant respect for the sovereignty of Sri Lanka and India by supporting separatist groups like the LTTE and the Khalistanis for vote-base politics are a textbook case. He adds that they knew this order was “partially false”.

That is what the Global South has long been complaining of. The South had declared the Emperor naked many decades earlier – the selective, politicised double standards of this order fell on deaf ears. A new reality has set in for those who cynically benefitted from the old world order to their advantage.

There is no better contemporary example than the lack of accountability for the tragedy of Gaza – and the recent events in Venezuela.

Ironically, it is only now that the Global North, especially Europe, rediscovers the value and mutual respect embedded in the principles of sovereignty, self-determination and the sovereign equality of states – central to Global South thinking since its inception.

The US President is making Europe dance with his decision-making, depending on which side of the bed he gets off in the morning.

‘For whom the bells toll, it tolls for thee.’ Though not explicitly stated in those terms, let Davos 2026 be the year where the Global North recognises the worldview of the Global South, the Non-Aligned Movement of yesteryear, as the grizzly bear and the horned dragon watch smiling from their respective capitals.