Sri Lanka and India seek to strengthen economic ties despite human rights concerns

by Viruben
Nov 5, 2021


Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda, met with India's Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi on Tuesday where they discussed strengthening economic cooperation.

During his visit, Moragoda presented a copy of his policy road map which has been criticised for falling silent on issues affecting Eelam Tamils. The High Commissioner is a noted critique of the provincial councils deriding the system as “superfluous, expensive, divisive,” and “fraught with inefficiency”. 

Moragoda's visit comes in advance of the provincial council elections which are set to happen after a constitution and electoral system are brought in place. The move to have these elections after these reforms have alarmed Tamil politicians on the island who have maintained the need to respect the right of Tamils to self-determination.

Last month India's Foreign Secretary, Shri Harsha Vardhan Shringla, visited Jaffna where he claimed that India was committed "to protecting the rights of Tamils through full implementation of the 13th amendment".

The visit between the High Commissioner and Minister also takes place as those in Tamil Nadu have taken to protest abuses by the Sri Lankan Navy against their fishermen. 

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Amaran - Problematic propaganda

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The patriotic military films of Tamil cinema had taken a back seat for a while. The subject matter is now seldom a prominent theme of a film, instead lurking in the shadows peeking through such as via the heroes in the works of Nelson Dilipkumar. The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

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Official trailer for film below.

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(b) Leverage their influence to ensure Israel ceases its policies and practices negatively affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories;  

(c) Halt all offensive arms transfers, including weapons, explosives, guns and/or ammunition, to Israel;

(d) Hold nationals, including those with dual Israeli citizenship, involved in settler violence or violations in Gaza, accountable for violations of international law;  

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