Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s commentary on Chinese financial assistance to Sri Lanka, titled ‘Chinese Financial Assistance: Preference or Compulsion for Sri Lanka?’ was published by ‘IAPS Dialogue’ on May 17, 2017.
Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s article on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sri Lanka visit, titled ‘Modi’s Sri Lanka Visit: More Symbolism than Substance’ was published in South Asian Voices on May 9, 2017.
Since the fall of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, there has been an apparent foreign policy shift in Sri Lanka. There is a growing view that the new National Unity Government (NUG), which came to power in January 2015 with Maithripala Sirisena as President, has shown its proclivities towards India and the US and moved away from China, especially under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s article on Maldives, titled ‘An unholy alliance of politics and radical Islam in Maldives’ got published in the October 2015 edition of Aakrosh - Asian Journal on Terrorism and internal Conflicts.
It was almost certain that the United National Front for Good Governance coalition would outperform the United People’s Freedom Alliance in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections.
If the Sinhala opposition parties, the Tamil TNA, and the Muslim parties support the common candidate, there is a possibility that they may be able to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa. But will these political forces come together?
There is no one nationalist Sri Lankan view. Among the Sinhalas, there are also the liberals who are quite realistic about their assessments and would argue that there may be a change in leadership in India, but the cornerstone of India’s policy vis-à-vis Sri Lanka will remain the same. The Tamils, on the other hand, are unanimous in their view that India can and should play a major role in bringing meaningful political reconciliation to the country.
There is a view in Lanka that CHOGM did more harm than good and many, in fact, are questioning the wisdom of the government to host the meet. However, the pro-government media is defiant with editorials strongly denouncing the threat of international investigation as interference of Sri Lanka’s internal affairs and it is expected to galvanize popular support for Rajapaksa.
V.Prabhakaran, the man who took up arms at the age of 17 and led one of the world's most ruthless terrorist organisations to realise the dream of the Tamil Eelam, died in the final battle with the Sri Lankan forces in May 2009, leaving behind Tamils who are a disillusioned and demoralised ‘nation’. The end of the war established the writ of the Sri Lankan state and re-established Sinhala hegemony. S. Murari, in his book The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior, depicts the Prabhakaran era in the history of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict in an objective manner.
Rajapaksa Seeking a Third Term as President: Not a Cake Walk Anymore!
If the Sinhala opposition parties, the Tamil TNA, and the Muslim parties support the common candidate, there is a possibility that they may be able to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa. But will these political forces come together?