By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham
It was not unexpected that Donald Trump would take arbitrary decisions after coming to power again as the President of the United States.
The orders issued by Trump on 20 January immediately after he was sworn in and the decisions made by his administration over the past month have demonstrated once again that withdrawal from international commitments has become a defining feature of his foreign policy.
The Trump administration decided to suspend US foreign aid following its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and Paris Agreement on climate change.
‘A viper’s nest’
In an executive order on 20 January, Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of foreign aid, saying: “The US foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases [are] antithetical to American values. They serve to destabilise world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.”
He further cited a lack of effectiveness and ideological contradictions at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has served as a framework for US global aid for more than six decades, as one of the main reasons for his decision. Steps are also being taken to shut down the agency and merge it with the State Department.
Although US Government agencies inherently aim to protect US global hegemony and strategic interests, USAID, which was described as a key tool to promote America’s soft power around the world, provides billions of dollars in aid each year to countries and organisations. The Trump administration’s decision to cut off foreign aid is going to disrupt established global aid structures and have dire consequences for millions who rely on US assistance for survival.
The head of the US Government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the world’s wealthiest man Elon Musk, went so far as to label USAID a viper’s nest of radical Left Marxists who hated America. Describing USAID as a “criminal organisation” without presenting any evidence, Musk said: “It’s time for that organisation to die.” At the same time, President Trump said that USAID was being run by a gang of terrorists and that they were expelling them.
Enter Namal and Wimal
While countries around the world and international organisations are strongly condemning these decisions of the Trump administration, two politicians in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa and National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa, a hardline Sinhalese nationalist, are supporting the American President, making strange comments and acting like his fans.
Demanding the appointment of a parliamentary select committee to investigate the funding of USAID in Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa has praised Trump’s policy of “non-interference in the affairs of other countries” and urged transparency in the funding of US taxpayers’ money.
Rajapaksa seems to have been impressed by Trump’s claim that USAID funds have been used to foment uprisings against governments abroad. It is understandable that Trump, who is hated by the world, is being eulogised by Rajapaksa, who has been claiming that there was a foreign conspiracy behind the popular uprising that ousted his family from power.
Meanwhile, Weerawansa, who has been a fierce critic of the US, has no qualm in praising President Trump for ‘exposing USAID’s misdeeds’. In a social media post, he said: “Many thanks to the American President for exposing the crises created by USAID money in various countries including Sri Lanka through George Soros. Moreover, I also urge you to expose the ambassadors who provided diplomatic support to that chaos.”
The strange thing here is that Rajapaksa and Weerawansa have found Trump to be an American President who does not interfere in the affairs of foreign countries. It is ridiculous that even after knowing well that Trump has said that the US was going to own the island of Greenland, which belongs to Denmark; that he was going to expel the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip in the Middle East and bring that valley under the control of the US; and that he wants to make Canada the 51st state of the US, these two Sri Lankan politicians are praising him for his ‘non-interference policy.’
Hating the ‘other’
Rajapaksa and Weerawansa appear to be supporting the Trump administration’s assault on USAID because of their hatred of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
They have already accused NGOs that receive foreign aid of being behind the popular uprising that toppled the Rajapaksas three years ago. They are exploiting the Trump administration’s action against USAID to resuscitate their vicious campaign against NGOs and think tanks in Sri Lanka.
Weerawansa rabidly criticised even humanitarian assistance provided by local and foreign NGOs to affected people in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe during the civil war as support for Tamil terrorism and separatism. Politicians like him stood at the forefront of the campaign against NGOs that advocated a political, not military, solution to the ethnic problem.
There is a similarity between them and Trump. Both sides hate the ‘others.’ That is why they’re lured towards him. Insularity often stems from contempt, and the kind now being exhibited by the US President and his administration is admired by politicians like Rajapaksa and Weerawansa.
Those who have raised the battle cry against NGOs and civil society organisations are unwilling to accept even the barest minimum of legitimate political aspirations of minority communities in Sri Lanka. Today, such people find satisfaction in praising an American President whose policies on minority communities and migrants in his country are roundly condemned the world over.
Before emphasising the importance of transparency in the foreign allocation of the American people’s tax money, Rajapaksa should have taken a moment to reflect on the transparency in the spending of his own countrymen’s tax money during his family’s rule.
The fallout
USAID’s suspension of aid has hit NGOs the hardest. Although it cannot be said that all such organisations work with transparency and honesty, it is unfortunate that the organisations that actually carry out useful projects for the benefit of communities are affected by the Trump administration’s arbitrary decision.
In an article titled ‘USAID and NGOs under siege,’ National Peace Council of Sri Lanka Executive Director Dr. Jehan Perera noted that while the survival of a large number of people in regions of the world where US aid played an important role in alleviating suffering in situations of starvation and war was under threat, USAID aid suspension in Sri Lanka was in the news for a completely different reason.
“The present situation is a very difficult one for NGOs in Sri Lanka and worldwide. USAID was the biggest donor agency by far, and the sudden suspension of its funds has meant that many NGOs have had to retrench staff, stop much of their work, and some have even closed down.
“This has enabled politicians in Sri Lanka who played leading roles in previous governments, but are now under investigation for misdeeds associated with their periods of governance, to divert attention from themselves.
“These former leaders of government are alleging that they were forced out of office prematurely due to the machination of NGOs that had been funded by USAID and not because of the misgovernance and corruption they were accused of,” Dr. Perera added.
Government Spokesman and Minister of Health and Mass Media Nalinda Jayatissa said that the sudden suspension of USAID aid meant Sri Lanka would have to look for alternatives to receive aid. It is said that since its inception, USAID has provided more than $ 2 billion (about Rs. 72,000 crore) in assistance to Sri Lanka.
It is noteworthy that USAID was established in 1961 by Democratic President John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War with the aim of better coordinating foreign assistance, a key platform of US foreign policy in countering Soviet influence. (The writer is a senior journalist based in Colombo) Courtesy- The Sunday Morning
Post a Comment