It was a Monday like no other in the history of Sri Lanka, as ceremonial convoy after convoy of cars bearing heads of state and government, foreign ministers, and their delegations made their way from different parts of the city to the sparkling new Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo 07. Having been opened a few years earlier, the halls of the BMICH was to see history being created. With the dawn of 16th August 1976, preparations which had been ongoing for years were now reaching the ultimate moment of implementation as world leaders had been arriving over the preceding weekend and were now heading to the venue of the fifth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. This was to be the largest gathering of world leaders in the country, and remains so to date, fifty years later. Eighty-six member states were represented at the senior most level, along with nine observer nations, auguring well for Sri Lanka’s positioning on the world stage.
With many arriving in their personal planes, the airport at Katunayake took on significance as each leader was welcomed, dignitaries were present to greet them, national anthems were played, and honour guards were accorded. The arrival ceremonies at the airport had been coordinated by the Chief of Protocol, Manel Abeysekera, who had to ensure the precision of flight times, anthems, flags, and readiness to deal with any eventuality. It was an era bereft of mobiles which could have eased communication, yet the ceremonies were executed well owing to the precision with which they have been planned.
The visiting leaders were received by the first President of Sri Lanka, William Gopallawa and Prime Minister Sirimavo R. D. Bandaranaike, who knew most of the leaders personally. They were counterparts with whom she had engaged extensively at other summits, and multilateral fora such as the United Nations and Commonwealth, and also at the bilateral level with visits exchanged regularly. This was the fifth Summit of the Movement, and she had been present at the first one in September 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia; the second in October 1964 in Cairo, United Arab Republic as the country was then known; the third in September 1970 in Lusaka, Zambia, when she returned to power, and the fourth in September 1973 in Algiers, Algeria.
This Summit would see Mrs Bandaranaike reaching the pinnacle of her political journey. The ensuing years would see elections and her party’s defeat, her loss of civic rights, and divisions within her party. It would take another seventeen years for her party to gain momentum, and for her to return as Prime Minister in a government led by her daughter. Hence it can be deduced that the Colombo Summit of 1976 was a momentous occasion for her. It was also a global endorsement of Sri Lanka and the opportunity for the country to take her place among leading nations of the global south.
From becoming the world’s first woman Prime Minister when the party she was heading, formed a government in July 1960, to now hosting the Non-Aligned Movement, 1976 would go down in history as her most rewarding year from a foreign policy perspective. While much is debated on varied aspects of her domestic policy, it was her foreign policy for which she is still remembered, and endorsed, as much effort was made to continue the policy of her husband, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, who was assassinated in 1959 just three years into his term, while serving as the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon.
Herself the eldest child in her family, she had learnt leadership at an early stage as her parents both worked. Thereafter upon marriage to S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, a young Miss Ratwatte stepped further into the political arena as her husband was a Member of the Board of Ministers who had been appointed in 1936 and would function till 1947. His portfolio of Local Government required extensive travel in the island, and even overseas, when he would be frequently accompanied by his wife. His assassination, the swearing-in of Dr W. Dahanayake, the election of March 1960, and her subsequent acceptance to lead the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the July 1960 General Election propelled her higher up the political ladder, making her globally renowned. From a relatively shy bride of 24, to be sworn in as the world’s first woman prime minister two decades later, Sirimavo Bandaranaike took to national and international politics with relative ease.
The team she built up and engaged with comprised senior civil servants and diplomats, whose advice she sought and relied on. Their support and her charisma guaranteed a winning formula that ensured her remarkable success in the foreign policy arena, and gave Sri Lanka much recognition on the world stage. These officials were able to caution when they feared a misstep and their opinion was taken into consideration. Whilst the final decision was that of the political leadership, the members of this senior group of the bureaucracy, whose counsel the Prime Minister relied on, were able to place options on the table for due consideration.
Many of them were gathered around her as she welcomed the visiting dignitaries on that August morning. Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who had arrived earlier at the BMICH, from her private residence on Rosmead Place, was at the main entrance. She was surrounded by her senior officials, including Dr Vernon L. B. Mendis, who was serving as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in London, and had been brought to Colombo to be the Secretary General of Movement at the Colombo Summit. Alongside him were Mr M. D. D. Peiris, Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Mr W. T. Jayasinghe, the Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence, as well as many others. Much emphasis was placed on her political colleagues and party members, yet it was the group of civil servants who were considered the closest, and on whom she could rely.
As the summit commenced, Sirimavo Bandaranaike received a standing ovation as she climbed the steps of the stage in the main hall. She took the country to an all-time high as the leader of a grouping that was the third force in a world that was bitterly divided owing to the Cold War. This was a moment she had been waiting for, as counterparts from the developing world, traveled from all continents to Colombo, having accepted the invitation, to support the Movement and its goals.
Aside from the personalities, protocol and pageantry, the summit achieved results. The grouping had grown from twenty-five in 1961, to forty-seven in 1964, fifty-three in 1970, seventy-five in 1973, and had reached eighty-six in 1976. Bringing together such a large membership, its richness lay in the diversity of economic, social and political systems. The summit would see the commitment of member states to collective political and economic objectives, which would remain fundamental in their policy formulation. They would also identify an Action Plan for a plethora of global activities.
Of importance was that the grouping was a collective voice, expressing concern at times, cautioning at others, yet consistently calling for a peaceful and just world. At the Colombo Summit, member states, in their Political Declaration, ‘recalled that at the Lusaka Summit, Non-Aligned nations paid special attention to the situation in the Indian Ocean and called upon all States to consider and respect the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace from which great Power rivalries and competition as well as bases conceived in the context of such rivalries and competition be excluded.’ NAM possessed the strength and capacity to highlight collective issues, and call for international action.
The Economic Declaration reiterated the need for the establishment of the ‘New International Economic Order’ and stressed that ‘the elimination of foreign aggression, foreign occupation, racial discrimination, apartheid, imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism and all other forms of dependence and subjugation, interference in internal affairs, domination and exploitation are crucial to the economics of Non-Alignment.’ Definitive action was taken on raw material and the financing of buffer stocks; on trade and the need for multination marketing enterprises; on monetary and financial cooperation; on industrialization, among others.
The Action Plan further allocated responsibility to Member States in specific areas as they were tasked with coordinating activities. Sri Lanka was identified as a coordinating country in the areas of Financial and Monetary Cooperation, Food and Agriculture, Employment and Human Resources Development, as well as Research and Information Systems. Thirty-two resolutions were drafted, debated and passed during the Colombo Summit, with twenty focused on political affairs and the other twelve giving emphasis to economic relations.
Fifty years later, while the concept of non-alignment has been referred to in countless speeches in the Sri Lanka and overseas, reflection and review of its meaning in the 21st century is timely. Much has changed internationally, in the global south, and in Sri Lanka’s own neighbourhood, yet what remains paramount, then as it is now, is the need to identify clear national interests, and strategize in order to ensure the best results for the country.
Whilst leaders collectively cautioned against the use of the Indian Ocean for great Power rivalry and competition, fifty years later there is only silence, as countries have weakened the Movement through their individual actions, and are left isolated. While specific threats were identified as being detrimental to the economics of the Non-Alignment then, a grim reality unfolds half a century later, where collective action is unheard of, and unity against injustice is completely absent.
While leaders of the past endeavoured to formulate and implement policy that was relevant for those times, it is now critical to refocus on short range, middle range and long range goals. Whilst numerous factors influence and determine the foreign policy of a country, wherein some are static and others are in a state of continuous change, it is paramount to review, restructure, reach out and be ready for any eventuality.
Sri Lanka has had many firsts. The NAM Summit of 1976 was the first to be held in Asia, and was yet another first for Sri Lanka. Half a century later, it is opportune to reflect on how many other firsts we could achieve as a nation, hopefully in a positive sense, or have our quota of firsts been expended, and is our heyday now confined to the past?
Sri Lanka needs, and yet often lacks, a strategic Foreign Policy in engaging with the international community. Non-alignment as a concept has been yoked with neutrality, indicating a lack of understanding of both, and the inability to decipher the nuances embedded in such concepts. Sri Lanka is not, and has not been a neutral country, but it has, at times been non-aligned. In recent decades, silence has been interpreted as neutrality, when in fact it has been ignorance or ill-conceived policies that have led to the misinterpretation of Sri Lanka’s stance. This has been to the detriment of the island nation and generated much confusion and concern.
Opportunities for growth and prosperity have been found in abundance in the post-independence period. While some have been grabbed, many have been lost. With heightened uncertainty in the world, it is prudent for the incumbent leadership to realise the relevance of a strategic Foreign Policy for a secure Sri Lanka. From promoting a positive image of the country, to meaningfully contributing on the world stage and ensuring that Foreign Policy benefits the country and its people, every anniversary and passing year is yet another opportune moment.
Whether it will be grabbed or lost remains conjecture, but what is understood is that Sri Lanka has potential, given the path the country has traversed, and the policies that have been formulated and implemented. From the lessons learnt thus far, it is evident that a strategic Foreign Policy was the need of the hour in the past, and remains so to date, if successful engagement is to be achieved in the international arena.
