Tag Archives: Mahinda Rajapaksa

For now, ethnic tensions appear to be on hold. The common foe is the Rajapaksa family, as protesters demand that the president and prime minister step down.

The gloomy short-term economic forecast is bound to test the strength of Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition. In managing painful economic reforms, the government’s hard work is only beginning.

Sri Lanka’s position is indicative of an emerging new Indo-Pacific order, where regional countries seek to remain strategically neutral while selectively engaging with the major powers in order to serve their own interests.

The full extent of India’s involvement in the Sri Lankan elections in January 2015 and again in August 2015 remains unclear, but there is little doubt that New Delhi was at least able to unite Tamil groups against Rajapaksa, no doubt lubricated with plenty of money.

Whatever uncertainties lay ahead, most Sri Lankans would agree that one of the most heartening aspects of the election was its remarkably peaceful character compared to previous polls.

Sri Lanka’s surprising election result will have complex effects on the India-China-Sri Lanka strategic triangle.

Post-war reality in Sri Lanka is still connected deeply to the war period, with the large-scale presence of the security forces in the north and east and surveillance machinery continuing to have a negative impact on life in all parts of the country.