“COUNTRIES THAT WERE TO VOTE FOR SRI LANKA VOTED WITH U.S., DUE TO INDIA”

Q. Why was Sri Lanka unable to obtain enough support to defeat the United States sponsored resolution? I think the public should know that one matter that the international community and the.....

FACING THE MUSIC

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad faces a tough call, halt the violence and begin dialogue for a political transition or face the consequences. These entailing UN sanctions and/or a military intervention may not have been spelt out but these could well materialise if Assad continues to defy the international call.

SHAKE-UP TIME FOR SRI LANKA

Chennai, 25 March 2012 It was not victory at Geneva for Sri Lanka, yes. Thankfully, it is not thumbing of the chest either, in Colombo. Instead, it should be shake-up time for the Government and polity. They should understand the nuances of diplomatic existence, survival and self-assertion,

Friends and foes at the UNHRC vote

Cuba wanted to address the legitimacy and credibility of the work of the Council and would ask co-sponsors whether it would not be possible to delay action on the resolution until the September session. Three years ago, President Obama said he would close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre but that had not been done. It would seem that this could be an arena for possible confrontation. Cuba asked co-sponsors to postpone the resolution, thereby a

“the Government of SL will spare no effort to safeguard its’ sovereignty”

Many in this Council would agree that Sri Lanka has been a role model of, consistently and unambiguously, engaging with everyone in the Council; not just on this occasion but over the years. This engagement has been voluntary and was not restricted to a period in the aftermath of the conflict, but occurred even during the height of the long-drawn-out armed conflict, against one of the worst manifestations of terrorism. 

Colombo needs to change, Geneva or no Geneva

By M.R.Narayan Swamy That the United States has no moral right to talk about human rights does not take away the urgent need to discuss the issues at the heart of the final resolution now in the making in Geneva. Irrespective of how it is voted at the Human Rights Council meeting on Friday, what needs to be debated is whether it will make a difference to the situation now prevailing in Sri Lanka. In all probability, it will not.

A wake up call for Colombo

The passage of the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka is proof that the international community disapproves of the manner in which the Rajapaksa government is addressing the fallout of its Armageddon moment of mid-May 2009. The resolution, backed by India, asks Sri Lanka credibly to investigate allegations of rights violations in the course of its war against the LTTE.

Geneva: forewarned, but not forearmed

‘Strategic foresight’ is what it is termed in English, though the French who invented it in the ’50s, call it ‘strategic prospective’. Strategic analysis and anticipation – not to be confused with ‘security’-- are major aspects...

Too little too late in Geneva

Losing in Geneva partly caused by our own undoing makes it imperative now to stand firm in safeguarding our sovereignty and protecting Sri Lanka from foreign interventions. 

The silver lining on the dark Geneva cloud

The resolution in Geneva must be understood in the spirit in which it was presented. The key sponsors of the resolution are all long standing friends of our country and many of them in addition to being important economic 

Where did we go wrong?

When the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 ending nearly three decades of brutal terror, I - alongside millions of my fellow citizens - was elated. 

Russia's Syria snub

Moscow seems to be on the edges with Damascus. The blunt words from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Syria is making 'a lot of mistakes' are worth pondering. 

IRAQ BLEEDS AGAIN

Terror revisits Iraq. The series of blasts that rocked the war-ridden Arab country from Karbala to Kirkuk is a serious point of concern. Though the country has witnessed terror of highest magnitude, this episode is more bothering because it seems to carry some hidden regional and international dimensions.

GENEVA BYTALKS ON SRI LANKA

GENEVA - A side event where panelist after panelist berated Sri Lanka for allegedly violating human rights with a culture of impunity drew strong retort from some members of the audience here, leading to heated arguments on Monday evening.

UNHRC: SRI LANKA GOING TO THE BATTLE SANS NEIGHBOUR’S SUPPORT

As the day for the vote on the United States (US)-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka drawing closer, the Sri Lankan diplomatic delegation in Geneva are in a dilemma after a number of Middle- East and Latin American countries deciding to vote against Lanka or abstain from voting.

INDIAN VOTE AT UNHRC WON'T CHANGE SL-INDIA RELATIONS

Q:What do you think are India's reasons for the United States Sponsored resolution and against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council Sessions? The first reason is the political situation within India; the Congress party is no longer in a strong position.

US resolution: did Sri Lanka bring it on herself?

The United States led resolution to be tabled at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has caused a stir among Sri Lankans in the country and those domiciled abroad. It has also served as a facilitator in drawing the attention of all stakeholders of the international community towards the Island.

Sri Lanka: Understanding the UNHRC vote

Not since the 'anti-Tamil pogrom' has Sri Lanka rocked the Indian Parliament as of now on the upcoming UNHRC vote. As irony would have it, the Indian communists are on the side of the US, possibly for the first time ever, that too on affairs of international relations. The Tamil Nadu State Congress leadership has also gone with the prevailing regional political sentiments, publicly urging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a position i

Gunfight in Damascus

With gunfights on the rise in the Syrian capital, the civil war is imploding disproportionately.  Reports of door-to-door fighting and the rebels consolidating their positions in the thickly populated urban areas, in Damascus and in other major cities, are more than enough to unnerve prospects of peace and reconciliation. Moreover, the government's stance that it is busy fighting an invisible enemy in the form of infiltrators and terror

Balachandran’s death and the unmourned killings

The islanders have never been known for holding grudges or instigating unrest. Had we wanted to aggravate situations by exhibiting visuals of those who were killed and wounded brutally by the LTTE, the army and the Information Department archives would be in possession of a better collection of such material. Yet, those who walked down the hard path of war would rather lick their wounds in seclusion than let the remnants of a gruesome past pour s

Losing hearts and minds

The prompt apologies expressed by the United States government over the recent killing of 16 Afghan civilians, including several children, by an American soldier may have damped down protests, but they will not subdue the anger and bitterness millions of Afghans feel over the war's rising civilian death toll, which the United Nations put at over 3,000 in 2011 alone. There is simmering resentment over repeated episodes of other kinds in which

THE BARCELONA CONSENSUS

With the economic crises in USA and the world economy and policy failures, the Barcelona development Agenda was formulated in 2004. As against the Washington Consensus which believed in the market mechanism in total, the Barcelona Consensus emphasized a balance of market and government economic roles. It also emphasized on an increased role for sustainability and equity in governance. Economists such as Jeffry Sachs and Joseph Stiglitz led the wa

The cry of the evicted Northern Muslims

Muslims together with all communities have been battered during the war, as well as in the post-war period. Issues of this minority community have long been on the back burner. No relief seems in sight for these individuals, as pointed out by the 18 Muslm MPs, their hope of resettling in their homeland the Northern Province, may still be a distant pipe-dream. This is due to the tacit selection criteria by the Indian High Commission for the select

The day before, the day after

It is often said that the US, while launching military/humanitarian missions elsewhere plans meticulously for entry and a long haul but seldom provides for victory and the day after, whatever the result of its enterprise. With the UNHRC vote in Geneva acquiring the qualities of a war of unprecedented diplomatic proportions for Sri Lanka, it is unclear if Colombo has planned not only for the day after, but also for the day before.

\Your Voice..

Well done UN. Araliya Watch Such provisions are necessary to ensure that the Sri Lanka Govt. which subjects all people, be it from the North, South, West or East; or Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims; to intimidation, suppression, injustice and discrimination, changes its attitudes in governance.

Medical professionals protest for selfish gains: Sirisena

We have been talking about a National Medicinal Drug Policy for about 40 years now. However it has not been implemented, over the past year I have been concentrating on putting in place the institutions necessary to implement the National Drug Policy. By this time the Legal Draftsman’s Department has finished work on the National Medicinal Drug Quality Monitoring Committee and within the next three months I think it can be presented to Parl

US RESOLUTION CRITICISES, SURGES BEYOND LLRC

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 an act of unconscionable opportunism. When it is perpetrated by so-called intellectuals...

Punishing a whistleblower

The United Nations special rapporteur on torture has just submitted his findings on Washington's prolonged and controversial detention of WikiLeaks hero Bradley Manning. Simply put, he has concluded that the punitive...

The role of education in promoting national reconciliation

The critical role of education in promoting reconciliation came into focus at a timely and stimulating conference convened by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) on Tuesday. 

India, Sri Lanka and the UNHRC

'The Centre will consider the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka and the overall relationship between India and its island-neighbour while formulating its stand on the US-backed resolution against Sri Lanka in the UNHRC,'' The Hindu quoted External Affais Minister S M Krishna as telling newsmen at the Chennai Airport, en route to Singapore. In this context, the newspaper had this to add on what Krishna said in this regard: ''Th