Cash strapped Lanka between a rock and a hard place

One are the days when Lankan leaders were able to hold their heads high and take principled stands on men and masters.

- 

In the field of foreign relations, ours was always principled. One cannot forget the late J.R. Jayawardene standing up for defeated Japan in the aftermath of World War II at the 1951 Japan Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco.

As part of her election campaign, Ms. Sirima Bandaranaike promised to close down the Israel embassy in Sri Lanka in support of the Palestinian cause. Once Bandaranaike was elected to power, the Israel embassy was closed despite several threats by lobbies in the United Kingdom to boycott 'CeylonTea'.

In 1979, the Sri Lankan cricket team refused to play its match against Israel in the 15-nation qualifying competition in the 2nd Prudential World Cricket Competition in England because of continuing Israeli Human Rights violations in Palestine.

But those principles are now 'events' of the past. Whilst paying lip-service to issues of justice, it appears the legacy of our country's recent bankruptcy has taken toll as far as principles are concerned.

At the ongoing sessions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) most countries used the session to condemn the ongoing genocide being committed on the Palestinian people by the state of Israel. Even Israel's closest supporters with the exception of the US blamed it for the genocide and other war crimes committed on Palestinians.