Suren Raghavan
In the recent past, once again, the conceptual debate of a (direct) international intervention in the ethnic conflict of Sri Lanka has emerged with some raciness. What began with the international campaign by AI1 during the Cricket World Cup season has advanced to a translucent rationalization by advocates like Gareth Evans2 and the last addition, a haunting episode around the interview of John Holmes the UN under secretary for human rights?3 Disparate reactions have filled the political air. There are at least four manifestations.
1. The nationalists in the south have damned the thought as another ‘jathyanthra kumantranayak’ while their northern counterparts have espoused it.
2. The GOSL, led by its flagrant defence secretary and the uncouth members of the cabinet have camouflaged the state with the ‘sovereignty’ uniform and named Holmes- a terrorist.
3. The Peace Industry responded with hybridized abstractions (depending on their proximities to the conflicting protagonists)
4. The civilians (of both sides of the dived), like in many other issues had the tiniest attention amidst their fight for survival.
This article is a brief reflection on the imagination of an (direct) international intervention in Sri Lanka. Please download the article in full here.
The writer is a researcher at University of Ottawa and could be reached via [email protected]