Commonwealth must honour its own commitments
Photo courtesy The choice of Sri Lanka as a venue for CHOGM 2013 has always remained controversial. But now that most member countries have agreed to go ahead and participate in the…
Diplomacy
How will India facilitate a credible and independent investigation in Sri Lanka
Image credit PTI, via IANS While domestic politics took centre stage in Delhi this past March with the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) pulling out of the ruling coalition, far away from the…
A former Ambassador speaks out: Interview with Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
In his first interview for public television in Sri Lanka upon his return to the country after his stint as Ambassador to France and UNESCO in Paris, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka talked about…
Interview with Alistair Burt on Sri Lanka
The BBC’s Charles Haviland interviewed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Minister Alistair Burt on 1st February 2013, during an official visit to Sri Lanka which saw the Minister…
In conversation with Shashi Tharoor: India, literature, politics and South Asia
Having moderated a session with Shashi Tharoor earlier this year at the Galle Literary Festival, we met up again in Colombo last week to talk about the writer-politician’s new book, and his…
The Geneva Debacle of March 2012: The lessons not learnt
Photo courtesy Vikalpa The outcome in Geneva last year (March 2011) of the voting on Sri Lanka’s conduct of the war and related human rights record was very clearly in favour of…
In conversation with Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu: The resolution in Geneva and its discontents
Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, the institutional anchor of , break the limbs of. Though Sri Lanka’s foreign minister distanced himself from these remarks,…
The Geneva II debacle
Photo courtesy Vikalpa, from protest against US resolution in Colombo, 27 February 2012 The US-sponsored resolution at the UNHRC had to be defeated. It was not. 24 in favour, 15 against, 8…
Geneva 2012: The signs missed, lessons unlearnt
Photo courtesy JDS Let’s learn the right lessons from the Geneva outcome, not the wrong ones. It is not the case that a small country such as Sri Lanka cannot fight a…
THE BIG LIE ABOUT THE US RESOLUTION
Image from The Nation It is almost a crime to lie to the people and mislead them on a matter of vital national interest. When it is committed by politicians it is…
The Geopolitical Matrix of Sri Lanka’s Conflict
Image courtesy South Asia Monitor I am appreciative of the fact that this is a seminar on geopolitics. I think geopolitics has been underestimated; perhaps overestimated earlier and then there was a…
Once more into the breach
Milan Kundera[1] Tony Judt.[2] His Excellency Dr Dayan Jayatilleka has been good enough to respond to my critique of his position with regard to the merits of the current government of Sri…
THE NORWEGIAN STUDY: A CRITIQUE
The Norwegian (NORAD) commissioned study , is useful and good, but analytically flawed at its very core. It is useful because it shows us how the ‘liberal peace’ discourse goes and how…
Authoritative Ethical Realist Reads Rajapaksa’s Role
The Pope with Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith Though my political approval of and personal liking for Mahinda Rajapaksa, (certainly in relation to his competitors and immediate predecessors) are shared by nine out of ten…
A Kunanayakam by any other name?
Mercenaries with misplaced consciences appear to be leading Sri Lanka’s latest band of apologists. Seldom does a hired hand leave such a damning trail as does Tamara Kunanayakam, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Sri…
