A Venerated Teacher, Author and Scholar
In my tribute to her last week, I noted that Sumitra Peries belonged to a generation which also saw Mahagama Sekara, Gamini Fonseka, Madawala S. Ratnayake, Premasiri Khemadasa, Gunadasa Amarasekara and Siri…
Author: Uditha Devapriya
Sumitra Peries: Her Real Contribution
Sumitra Peries’s 90th birthday would have been on March 24. When she passed away in January 2023, she had not quite turned 88. By that time she had reached and passed the…
On the US Foreign Assistance Pause
US President Donald Trump has ordered a 90 day pause on all foreign assistance and aid programmes, with a few exceptions. The pause is supposedly for the US government to take an…
The Burden of Expectations
France 24 Compared to the excesses of the good governance regime and the Gotabaya Rajapaksa raj that followed it, the omissions of this government seem trivial and innocent. The NPP is now…
Gaza as a Moral Compass – and a Strategic Blunder
The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has pledged solidarity with Gaza and Palestine. In this the National People’s Power (NPP) party differs little from other political outfits in the country, which…
The Erasure of the Palestinian
During the final stages of the 30 year war in Sri Lanka there was a perception held by the West and its allies, and reiterated like a mantra ever since, that it…
After Rafah
When CBS News’s Ed O’Keefe asked White House spokesman John Kirby how many more charred corpses it would take for the US President to change his policy on Israel, Kirby’s reply was…
Four Takeaways from the UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza
The recent UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza from which the US, not surprisingly, abstained marks a crossroads in the history of Israel and the future of Palestine….
Donald Lu’s Comeback Story
More than a year after he visited Sri Lanka, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu went on record calling Sri Lanka the…
Vaishnavee: Sumitra Peries’ Feminist Swansong
The French Embassy screened Vaishnavee at the National Film Corporation, the last in a series of cultural items commemorating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between France and Sri Lanka. The finale…
Understanding Kissinger
For 30 years if not more, Henry Kissinger, who died this week aged 100, shaped the course of US foreign policy and in one sense defined global politics. A Nobel Prize Laureate…
The Parliament and the Question of Sovereignty
Conversations lay down the foundation for consensus; they provoke discussion and enable debate. One Text Initiative’s (OTI) session on strengthening parliamentary fiscal sovereignty through the Committee System opened such a debate and…
From the River to the Sea: Sri Lanka and Palestine
Sri Lankans are overwhelmingly standing with Palestine and with much of the Global South, which voted for a recent UN resolution, introduced by Russia, condemning Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip. There…
Reflections on the Israel-Hamas War
Israel’s Western allies, the US in particular, believe that any investigation into Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip will “exacerbate tensions” and “undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution.” I…
The President Versus the Hegemonic West
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has a way with interviewers, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. Be it a local or a foreigner, his distaste or contempt for them comes out. His…