When Ranil became President and was striving to secure approval for the first IMF tranche, the head of the U.S. CIA secretly visited Sri Lanka. After meeting with him, Ranil instructed the intelligence services to brief the CIA chief on the situation in the country. The heads of the intelligence agencies explained that there was a possibility of the JVP, a left-wing party, coming to power at the next national election. They must have done so at Ranil’s request. Ranil probably believed that if he alarmed the CIA chief with the prospect of the JVP coming to power, the United States would help him win.
“Wijeweera was a CIA agent…”
When the Communist Party’s official newspaper, Aththa, published this headline in the 1970s, Ranil was serving as Deputy Foreign Minister in J.R. Jayewardene’s government.
The Communist Party and the Lanka Sama Samaja Party accused Wijeweera of being a CIA agent during the 1971 insurrection. They claimed that Wijeweera launched the rebellion at the CIA’s behest to overthrow Sri Lanka’s first democratically elected left-wing coalition government.
Even during Wijeweera’s uprising against the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, not only the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party, but also Vijaya Kumaratunga’s Mahajana Party, claimed that the CIA could not tolerate the intervention of Soviet-aligned India and had entrusted Wijeweera with the task of sabotaging the agreement.
Whether there was any truth to these claims or not, Wijeweera publicly opposed American imperialism. He attracted young people to the 1971 insurrection by invoking Che Guevara. At the time, Che Guevara was the JVP’s revolutionary icon.
After being released from prison, Wijeweera invoked Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to attract young people to his second revolution. In his speeches, he spoke of a revolution modelled on Khomeini’s uprising against the Shah’s pro-American government.
Although Wijeweera’s revolutions failed, the JVP governs Sri Lanka today. Recently, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was reportedly killed in U.S. and Israeli attacks. His funeral was held with great ceremony. Sri Lanka’s JVP-led government was represented at the funeral by the Deputy Speaker.
Recently, the Emir of Qatar passed away. Qatar is widely regarded as one of the most pro-American countries in the Middle East. Prime Minister Harini represented Sri Lanka at the Emir’s funeral.
“Is the JVP that afraid of America?”
There is no reason for it to be. This is the longest period Sri Lanka has gone without a U.S. Ambassador. Yet Sri Lanka has no problem, and neither does the United States. The reason is that America no longer has anything to fear from Sri Lanka.
“Does that mean America approves of the JVP government?”
The United States closely watched Sri Lanka when the Rajapaksas were in power. The main reason was that the Rajapaksas were aligned with China and had become partners in an anti-American geopolitical bloc. The United States did not welcome this. That is why Mahinda publicly said after his defeat in 2015 that foreign powers had brought about his downfall.
The United States had a strong interest in defeating Mahinda in 2015. Its biggest obstacle was Ranil because he could not win elections, and he had weakened the pro-American UNP. At that point, the JVP came to America’s aid. By not fielding its own presidential candidate, the JVP played a major role in the Rajapaksas’ defeat in 2015. It travelled across the country, campaigning from stage to stage against the Rajapaksas while indirectly helping the opposition’s common candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, secure victory.
“So, was it surprising that America aligned itself with the JVP in 2024?”
No. In fact, it was Mangala who built the bridge between the JVP and the United States. It was Mangala who persuaded the JVP not to field a candidate in the 2015 presidential election.
After Anura became President, the United States put him to the test. The first test was whether he would lift the ban imposed by Ranil on Chinese research vessels entering Sri Lankan waters. Despite pressure from China, Anura did not remove the ban. He passed the test.
The next test came during the Iran war. Anura’s government did not condemn the attacks on Iran. He passed the second test as well.
Now, Sergio, the U.S. Ambassador to India and President Trump’s special envoy for South Asia, including Sri Lanka, is a friend of Anura. When Sergio visited Sri Lanka, he toured the Port of Colombo, climbed the cranes, and observed the Indian Ocean from within the port, recognising that Sri Lanka occupies an indispensable strategic position in the United States’ security interests in the Indian Ocean.
“Seventy-five percent of the world’s oil passes close to Sri Lanka’s southern coast. About half of the world’s container traffic travels along Sri Lanka’s sea lanes. Sri Lanka is a strategic location vital not only to the global economy but also to America’s security…”
These were the remarks made by Kapoor, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee following his recent visit to Sri Lanka.
The truth is that America’s renewed interest in Sri Lanka has grown with the Iran war. Previously, its primary focus was on countering China’s influence. However, in the context of the conflict in the Middle East, the United States now views Sri Lanka as a strategic security asset in the Indian Ocean.
For this reason, America does not want to antagonize Anura. It is no longer particularly concerned with issues such as democracy, human rights, or media freedom in Sri Lanka.
Thus, would Anura have sent only the Deputy Speaker to Iran’s funeral while sending Prime Minister Harini to the Emir of Qatar’s funeral?
