October 21, 2024 — October 27, 2024 | Vol. 14, #42 | ISSN — 2386-1827
Photo credits: Newsi.lk
Analysis
On October 23, the U.S. Embassy issued a travel advisory warning of a potential threat of an attack in the Arugam Bay area. This was soon followed by similar advisories from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and other embassies.
Sinhala media commentary across print, TV and social media related to the travel advisory warning reflected suspicion toward the U.S., acrimony towards Israelis and general concern over foreign business operations.
1. Suspicion towards the U.S.
The U.S. travel advisory was viewed with suspicion by the Sinhala media which interpreted it as an attempt to undermine the newly elected NPP government, which is considered to have ‘left-leaning’ economic policies (TMA Vol.14, #38), whereas the U.S. is considered to favour policies that are ‘right-leaning’. This commentary – both explicitly and implicitly – reflected an underlying assumption in the Sinhala media that the U.S. government issued such a warning in order to ‘undermine’ the new government.
2. Acrimony towards long-term Israeli tourists
The commentary around travel warnings also, ironically, seems to have sparked negative sentiments towards the long-term Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka. The negativity drew on two pre-existing sentiments.
Sympathy for Palestine: Sri Lanka has a longstanding pro-Palestine stance, formally recognising Palestine as a state in 1988 and supporting its elevation to Non-Member Observer State at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1990.
This popular sentiment is reflected in the actions of political leaders as well. In recent years, Sri Lankan leaders have continued to express solidarity with Palestine. Former President Maithripala Sirisena affirmed this stance in his speech at the 73rd session of the UNGA in 2018, while Mahinda Rajapaksa founded the Sri Lanka Society for Solidarity with Palestine. In 2024, Ranil Wickremesinghe raised public contributions for the Gaza Children’s Fund, further highlighting Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Palestinian cause (TMA Vol.13, #39).
Antipathy towards Israel: Israel is predominantly viewed in the Sinhala media as an ‘aggressor’ disregarding Palestinian sovereignty. It is seen to be backed by Western countries such as the U.S., UK, and Germany. Links between Israeli intelligence and the Sri Lankan security apparatus have been highlighted in the suppression of public confrontations of people with the state in Sri Lanka (TMA Vol.13, #41). This has also reinforced suspicions of Israeli and Western-aligned involvement with the Sri Lankan state in the past, as working against the interest of the Sri Lankan people.
3. General concern over foreign business operations
There is growing concern over the increase of long-term foreign tourists in Sri Lanka, especially from the Israeli, Russian and Ukrainian communities – all from conflict-ridden countries – and the Chinese nationals who engage in business ventures and tourism activities – allegedly bypassing local laws and regulations. The displeasure with such activities came out in some of the rhetoric used in the Sinhala media. For instance, Sunday Lankadeepa criticised these groups for non-compliance with local laws, labelling them as ‘foreign colonies’. The view that these groups operate ‘above the law’ has further fuelled this discontent, with Israeli nationals facing additional scrutiny due to the travel advisory that resulted from perceived risks to that community.
Additionally, privately-owned Sunday Mawbima – when reporting on the Arugam Bay incident – conflated the Israeli and Jewish communities, and portrayed the Jewish community as having a ‘strange’ culture and behaviour.