Biswal’s Visit In Retrospect: A Window On Big Power-Small Power Relations

By Bandu de Silva –August 29, 2015

Bandu de Silva

I am glad that a plethora of views, much more than I expected, has already been expressed on my quick observations on the first day events ofBiswal’s visit to Sri Lanka this time. I thank all who have contributed to the discussion including the one’s who tried to re-educate me [like Spark] who said: “It is fellows like you who have been an absolute zero, just rumbling absolute rubbish, over issues that one is ignorant or rather have a twisted understanding of it to satisfy ones own mind set”; and the one who reminded me that “Biswal was received by Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the Sheik of Abu Dabhi received Secretary John Kerry. That is to say, other countries too set aside Protocol ” and principles when receiving visitors from both the “lower drawer” and “upper drawer” (I am indebted to Rajan Philips for tis terminology).

Yes, I may be ignorant of how all other countries conduct themselves in receiving visiting dignitaries from other lands but I do have some experience of how other countries responded negatively to requests from our own Ministers to calls on Prime Ministers or their counterparts during their visits to those countries which I brought to bear in discussing Biswal’s first visit here. I could understand the negative responses received from other countries to requests from our Ministers when these visits had nothing to do with our own country’s official programmes or with bi-lateral matters with the country visited. These were typically “Tikak godawela yanna awa” type situations of our village folk and also not without a relationship to massive travelling claims preferred on behalf of the Ministers involved.                      Read More