Sri Lanka is facing backlash on twitter because the nation decided to gift two elephants to Pakistan. Maryam, the publisher of this tweet, is a student in Delhi, and she questions the decision because Pakistan is currently finding it difficult to take care of the animals the country already has in zoos and parks. A prized African elephant died named Noor Jehan, because of this animal’s death, Sri Lanka has promised to gift one elephant to the Kahari zoo and the other elephant will be delivered to Lahore. The elephant named Noor Jehan was very sacred to Pakistan and the animals death reached global news because of allegations of neglect. The symbolism of elephants in Sri Lankan culture relates to Buddhism. Under Ashoka’s rule, Buddhism quickly became associated with elephants. “Elephants were used to represent the Buddha’ (Asesg.org) and are considered very sacred to the culture of Sri Lankans. The gifting of elephants resembles the relations of both nations, they both have the same intentions in regards to the powerful neighbor they both share, India. Both Sri Lanka and Pakistan have had their fair shares of issues with India and align in the idea of not wanting India to be a dominant power economically and militarily in South Asia. The gifting of elephants displays Sri Lanka’s appreciation and friendship with Pakistan. The interest in discussing of the gifting elephants arose because of animal rights activists and the importance of these animals.

HR:

When did we start to own these magnificent creatures God chose to put in this land 😒 we don't deserve good

— SafiyaS (@artistsafiya_s) April 24, 2023

Genuinely wondering about the logic behind this move at a time when Pakistan is also battling an economic crisis that has made it difficult for the country to care for the animals already in its zooshttps://t.co/UWKqJh2Nb5

— Maryam Azwer (@MaryamAzwer) April 24, 2023

https://twitter.com/artistsafiya_s/status/1650452976677552128?s=20

This second tweet displays the public’s sentiments regarding this decision

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/22/asia/pakistan-karachi-zoo-elephant-death-intl/index.html

https://www.prdb.pk/article/pakistan-sri-lanka-relations-a-story-of-friendship-1614

https://bnn.network/world/pakistan/sri-lanka-to-gift-two-elephants-to-pakistan-following-noor-jehans-tragic-death/

google “elephant meaning in Sri Lankan culture”

twitter

Encryption: “In the jungle, a poor lion is approached by a rabbit. The lion was too tired to kill the rabbit because it was too indebted to the Rabbit society. The rabbit offered to help the lion for their own personal gain in the jungle. The rabbit saw an opportunity to better the rabbit society in the jungle and to gain access to the coastline for more food on a different continent. White elephants had already moved and taken over the most important and profitable beach. The rabbits built a port facing the Indian ocean for economic prosperity and because of the debts the lions owed to the rabbits. Unfortunately, the leader of the lions is an idiot and accepts the offer from the Rabbit Society out of desperation. The previous head of the lions resigned because of the lack of support, and the lion fled to a neighboring jungle. If the lions do not get their society back on track, the rabbits will eventually continue to creep in and spread their influence in a jungle they do not have any business being in.”

Context: China is aiding Sri Lanka in its economic and banking crisis. The Sri Lankan flag has a lion on it, and the idiot lion resembles the current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka accepting the offers and help from China. Last year, the Sri Lankan President fled the country because of the protesting against his leadership decisions during the economic crisis. For 2023, it is the year of the rabbit, and the rabbit represents the Chinese. China has tremendous interest in gaining more access to the Indian Ocean and South Asia; they built a port in Sri Lanka because Sri Lanka could not repay debts. The Sri Lankan government and economic decisions have not been popular with Sri Lankans.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-offers-sri-lanka-debt-moratorium-promises-deal-debt-treatment-letter-2023-03-08/

“Exclusive: China promises Sri Lanka deal on debt treatment in coming months” (used this news article for the caption)

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/12/1111206275/sri-lanka-president-flees-protests

“Sri Lanka’s president flees the country”

 

HR: google photos, grammarly, linked websites, class notes

Susanna A. Kirchman

This news article explains China’s growing interest in the economic crisis Sri Lanka has been experiencing for several years. According to this article China is interesting in negotiating “a medium and long-term debt disposal plan with the country in a friendly manner, and do its best to promote Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability” (Adaderana.lk) Although this sounds very noble for China to help Sri Lanka, it has ulterior motives. In the past recent years, there has been an increase in Chinese investors along the coastline of Sri Lankan ports and beaches. Chinese investors have been facilitating in the growth of the beaches and ports in Colombo (Aljazeera). The Chinese led projects in Sri Lanka are labeled “white elephants” because they “cost a lot but has no useful purpose” (cambridge dictionary).

The loan agreement with China would give Sri Lanka a longer time to repay loans and this would “ease short-term debt pressure” (Adaderana.lk). Chinese observers blame the US interest rate increase, food security and global energy crises to cause the economic issues in Sri Lanka. China wants Western nations to take responsibility and achieve a more “fair and just” resolution.

Sri Lanka’s financial crisis has not only drawn the attention of the Chinese but also the IMF, World Bank and 20 nations chair members to discuss the global sovereign debt led by India in a virtual meeting. The discussions led to blaming China, although their has been a slow pace in finding some sort of debt relief initiative for Sri Lanka.

The Chinese, Western nations, IMF, World Bank members, and other nations are playing the blame game. China wants to assist immediately because of direct financial interests, by attempting to build large infrastructures in Columbo with the possibility of little return.

I wonder how the IMF and World Bank will react if Sri Lanka accepts the offers presented by China? Is China in the right in this situation to blame the Western nations and US?

HR: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/2/17/sri-lankas-chinese-built-port-city-stirs-white-elephant-fears (for background information), google, Cambridge dictionary, grammarly

Susanna A. Kirchman

To news source, linked below:

https://www.adaderana.lk/news/88525/china-already-offers-sri-lanka-debt-extension-foreign-ministry

On Monday, February 20th, 2023, the Sri Lankan police resisted antigovernmental protestors by firing tear gas on them. Thousands of opposition supporters, members of the Unite Peoples’ Power party and backers of Samagi Jana Balawegaya organized this protest to shout antigovernmental slogans in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The target of the protests were the government and presidential offices. These protests erupted to encourage the government to hold the upcoming as planned and to not postpone their election again. On March 9th of, 2022, the parliamentary elections were postponed because of the political and economic turmoil. From the details of the protest, does not appear to be violent but they were defying the police.

The hold-up of these elections have been blamed on the treasury for not funding the required amount to conduct voting. Many blame the government for attempting to delay the elections to maintain the majority in the parliament. Meaning the opposite party favored by the protesters would maintain the majority for a longer period because of the delayed election. Government coalitions and lawmakers state “it isn’t an appropriate time to hold elections because the country is still recovering from an economic crisis” (AP news).

The bankruptcy is becoming more apparent in Sri Lanka and the police using water cannons and tear gas has made international news.

How will India respond to this? India has been long term supporters of government reforms in Sri Lanka. Will the protestors influence the government’s decisions and maintain the timing of the elections?

https://apnews.com/article/politics-sri-lanka-colombo-e989ad0e5615b39bf6f35ae352535a4d

HR: source listed, grammarly, google

Susanna A. Kirchman

This is a tweet from the 5th President of Sri Lanka. This tweet gives hope for the efforts of continuing peace between India and Sri Lanka. Both countries share distinct cultural differences and during the Sri Lankan civil war, India gave humanitarian assistance to Sri Lankans. Many argue India did not do enough to help Sri Lanka by not supplying arms and other military equipment. India then appeared to many to take on the role of ‘Big Brother” during this war. Mahinda Rajapaksa displays proper diplomatic behavior by congratulating a much larger and wealthier country than Sri Lanka whom he hopes Sri Lanka will continue to work with. He gives hope for a better future between the two states. Securing the maritime port of Jaffna, was the biggest concern during the Sri Lankan war and India also had interests in this port. The LTTE (Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam) was trying to take control of this port after the fall of the Sri Lankan government. The Indian force were able to deter the LTTE from gaining too much power and India continued to have supervision over the war. India also possesses a high population of Tamil people.

Greetings & best wishes to PM Shri @narendramodi and the people of #India on the occasion of the #74th Republic Day of India. May the relationship between our two nations continue to grow to mutually benefit our people so that both our nations may prosper. #RepublicDayIndia 🇮🇳 🇱🇰

— Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) January 26, 2023

HR: twitter, google for websites, blogging website, grammarly spell check.

https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/sa/sa_jul00mup01.html 

Susanna A. Kirchman