Give Full Force and Effect to the Separation of Powers & Unity in Diversity
Photo courtesy On the 19th day of May 2009, with the end of the military conflict that had divided the country for over thirty years, Sri Lanka entered a new era. The…
International Relations
Reflections on the US Presidential Elections
Photo courtesy BBC The outcome of the United States Presidential elections is too close to call. Yet, three presidential debates reinforced the perception among informed voters that Mitt Romney is both a…
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…
LONG READ | Beyond History, Against the Present: Preliminary Thoughts on Re-imagining ‘South Asia
Original graphic from In my mind, delivering a keynote address in a conference that has as its theme the stated objective of ‘connecting South Asia and dynamics of art and culture in…
Why I stand by our cartoon
Updated, 16 September, 6.30pm: It was brought to the attention of some hours ago that despite what Mr. Jayasuriya notes below (coupled with the fact that as we flag at the end…
Re-imagining Lakshman Kadirgamar in Contemporary Sri Lanka: A Different Reading
From 2003, Lakshman Kadirgamar addressing a press conference with the Mahinda Rajapaksa (before he was President) and Sarath Amunugama are also seen. Photo via Tamilnet.com Ever since his brutal assassination in 2005,…
Small arms and ammunitions imports into Sri Lanka from 1992-2010: A latent hypocrisy?
Google has just released an interesting visualisation of the global small arms and ammunitions trade (works best in Google Chrome). For those with older browsers, a screencast of the visualisation can be…
American Foreign Policy and the HRC Resolution on Sri Lanka
Image courtesy Onlanka News The Obama administration did fight to get a seat on the Human Rights Council (HRC) in 2009; something that George W. Bush probably did not even contemplate. And,…
The political meaning of the retreat in London
Image courtesy ITV News DBS Jeyaraj[1] DBS Jeyaraj is not a representative of the Tamil diaspora that has set out to wage war against the government of Sri Lanka. He is a…
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…
Reflections on Sri Lanka’s Post-Geneva Irrationality
Photo courtesy ISHARA S.KODIKARA, AFP/Getty Images via Chicago Tribune News One can understand to a certain extent the angst of some Sri Lankans over the injury caused to national pride by the ‘Geneva…
The questions unanswered by Ass. Sec. Robert Blake: Mapping US engagement in and concerns over Sri Lanka (UPDATED)
Image courtesy Colombo Page From around 5pm to 5.30pm today, Ass. Sec. Blake took questions from those on Twitter in South and Central Asia. Ass. Sec. Blake is the Assistant Secretary, South…
Ask Ass. Sec. Robert Blake a question on Sri Lanka over Twitter
Image courtesy Colombo Page Robert Blake is the Assistant Secretary, South And Central Asian Affairs at the US State Department and former Ambassador to Sri Lanka. The man likes cricket and our…
Whose Arms Will Embrace You? The United States and the Beijing Consensus
China’s President Hu Jintao shakes hands with Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sanya, Hainan province, April 10, 2008. Image by Reuters, courtesy Transcurrents. The United States is increasingly playing a game of…
Restoring Government in Sri Lanka
Image courtesy Transcurrents If Sri Lanka is fast becoming a state in the eyes of the world, it has nothing to do with the recent UNHRC Resolution. The writing has long been…
