A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, July 18, 2017
If You Love Peace!
Do you remember the two darkest rather cruelest days in the modern history of mankind; August 6 and August 9, 1945 when at the order of American President Harry S. Truman the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which killed at least 129,000 people and left countless injured.
( July 17, 2017, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) Internationally,
the friends of today might be foes of tomorrow and enemies of yesterday
might be friends of today. There is nothing like true-love in
relationship between two countries because this relationship revolves
only around interests and benefits and nothing else. At international
level, the other name of friendship and love is ‘necessity’ and the
basic ingredients which make the relationship everlasting are
forgiveness, forbearance and tolerance.
Do you remember the two darkest rather cruelest days in the modern
history of mankind; August 6 and August 9, 1945 when at the order of
American President Harry S. Truman the United States dropped nuclear
weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which killed at
least 129,000 people and left countless injured. Various reports on the
incidents say, “Within the first two to four months following the
bombings, the acute effects of the atomic bombings had killed 90,000 to
146,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000 to 80,000 in Nagasaki; roughly
half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day. During the
following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation
sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition.”
But astonishingly today the United States is Japan’s closest ally and
Japan relies on the U.S. for its national security to a high degree. The
two countries have very strong and close economic ties and stand side
by side at every crucial juncture. Today the United States and Japan
have firm and very active political, economic and military
relationships.
The United States considers Japan to be one of its closest allies and
partners. It is said that Japan is one of the most pro-American nations
in the world. This all shows that Japan has turned a blind eye to the
nuclear bombing incident in its own larger interest. In other words we
may say that Japan is acting upon that famous saying, ‘love me love my
dog’. Same is the case with Russia and the Soviet states which once used
to constitute the USSR.
Internationally there is no bond of ‘true love’ among the countries and
the nations. All depends upon needs and requirements. Sometimes, we, the
people of Pakistan are also misguided by the false notion of
‘inter-nations true love’ but sooner or later, facts and circumstances
bring us back to the world of bitter realities. Be it the Arab Kingdom,
Iran, Turkey, UK or USA and even China, all our relationship with them
revolves around a system of mutual needs and requirements. Practically
there is no rule of ‘do good, have good’ when we analyze relationship
between two countries.
If it were the practical rule, Afghanistan would have been the closest friend of Pakistan and certainly the most obliged one. Let us cast a look at Pak-US relationship in the same context. Even a blind man can understand the reality that Pakistan and USA are so much needed and required by each other that they could never be at logger’s head even if they desire. In other words this Pak-US marvelous ‘friendship’ could never be broken unless until US’ dream of sustaining its position as World’s only Super Power is alive. For some people in Pakistan this news could give birth to some apprehensions that Trump administration is planning to harden its approach towards Pakistan.
If it were the practical rule, Afghanistan would have been the closest friend of Pakistan and certainly the most obliged one. Let us cast a look at Pak-US relationship in the same context. Even a blind man can understand the reality that Pakistan and USA are so much needed and required by each other that they could never be at logger’s head even if they desire. In other words this Pak-US marvelous ‘friendship’ could never be broken unless until US’ dream of sustaining its position as World’s only Super Power is alive. For some people in Pakistan this news could give birth to some apprehensions that Trump administration is planning to harden its approach towards Pakistan.
The Reuters has recently published a detailed report on the issue.
According to the report the Trump administration intends to expand U.S.
drone strikes, redirect or withhold some aid to Pakistan and perhaps
eventually downgrade Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally. The aim
and objective of this shift is to crack down on so-called
Pakistan-based militants who are allegedly launching attacks in
neighboring Afghanistan. Commenting upon the report, Abid Saeed,
Pakistan’s press minister in US said, “Singling out Pakistan and pinning
the entire blame on Pakistan for the situation in Afghanistan is
neither fair nor accurate, nor is it borne out by the ground realities.”
Abid Saeed is very true in his analysis; stamping Afghanistan as an
innocent country and branding Pakistan as a rogue country is neither
fair nor accurate and certainly not true to the ground realities. Such
actions of the Trump administration would do nothing but widen the
distances between US and Pakistan temporarily. It seems that Mr. Trump
in his heat and haste has forgotten that Pakistan continues to occupy a
strategic position in the United States’ interests in Central and South
Asia and is extensively engaged in vital social, economic, scientific
and military relations with Pakistan.
Moreover the US is one of Pakistan’s largest donors of foreign
assistance and after China, the second-largest supplier of military
equipment to Pakistan. In case the US withholds some aid to Pakistan and
tries to downgrade Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally, it would
cause a severe damage to US’ own interests in the region. As far as the
matter of drone attacks is concerned, there is no difference between
drone-attacks and suicide-bombing; both kill a lot of innocent ones
along with a few targeted ones. The faces behind suicide-bombing and
drone attacks are widely hated particularly by the relatives of the
innocent ones. Surely, the Trump administration is as sincere in making
the world terrorism-free as that of Obama. Hatred against US would
simply mar the US’ efforts against terrorism.