Colombo, Jaffna, Media and Communications, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Trincomalee

“There is a right way and a wrong way to use violence”: Interview with Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

“There will be times when organised violence has to be exercised as a last resort. People will resist with violence. States will use violence against various foes. But there is a right way and a wrong way to use violence.”

Watch Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka‘s first video interview, conducted over Skype, after presenting his credentials as Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland on 6th June 2007.

Topics discussed in our interview ranged from future scenarios arising from the capture of Killinochchi last week and media freedom to international relations and the timbre of democratic governance in Sri Lanka today. You can download the video in full here.

Noting that Dayan is open to and regularly engages with comments very critical of his writing and worldview on Groundviews, I allowed Dayan to respond at length to each of my questions without any interruption. Readers are encouraged to engage with Dayan’s comments through questions and comments of their own.