More often than not visiting officials, whether they are from foreign governments, multilateral organizations or INGOs proffer reams of advice on how to run this country and what we should do to be acceptable to them. Criticism of the country, particularly on human rights, is liberally made as though the moral authority to do so rests with them and them alone.
The focus of this year’s SAARC Summit was on terrorism. Economic cooperation, regional food security and the perennial issue of poverty reduction were among the economic issues that were deliberated. SAARC summits have tended to be high on rhetoric and low on achievement. Once upon a time, NATO was described as No Action Talk Only.
A widely reported reprimand by President Mahinda Rajapaksa appeared to have had little impact on the behaviour of controversial minister Mervyn Silva as was evident in Parliament last week. Barely 24 hours after the reported reprimand for assaulting a television journalist and grabbing his camera, the minister was back to what he knows best, interrupting and hurling abuse at his opponents in Parliament as a hapless Speaker W.J.M.Lokubandara did his best to rein him in.
The lamentable state of confusion regarding the state of Sri Lanka's accession to the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), reflects the general confusion of our times.
