Factum Perspectives – Page 14

Factum Perspective: Yohani, Menike Mage Hithe and Sri Lanka’s long road in Cultural Diplomacy

Regional GeopoliticsOctober 2, 20212KViews 1Like 0Comments

By Asoka Handagama Yohani and Satheeshan's rendition of Menike Mage Hithe goes viral Yohani De Silva’s cover of Menika Mage Hithe has gone viral, putting little known Sri Lanka on the map among pop music fans around the globe. Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Priyanka Chopra are all praise for the song. Famous…

Factum Perspective: X- Press Pearl Fire – Has the Polluter Paid Sri Lanka yet?

Maritime SecuritySeptember 29, 20211KViews 1Like 0Comments

By Lakmali Manamperi x-Press Pearl burning off the coast of Colombo The X-Press Pearl fire; the worst-ever marine disaster to occur in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters is being swept under the carpet with the rise of the health emergency in the country. Environmental rights activists have consistently shed light on the issue to seek compensation for…

Factum Perspective: Why are foreign exchange reserves important for an economy?

Health and Economic Cooperation, International DevelopmentSeptember 19, 20212KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr R.H. S. Samaratunga Discussions about Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have made headlines in the past few months. What are foreign currency reserves and how does a country benefit from maintaining good forex reserves? Forex reserves areforeign-currency deposits held by country’s central banks and/or monetary authorities. It also includes gold reserves, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and International Monetary…

Factum Perspective: Emotional intelligence in strategic policy articulation

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsSeptember 13, 20212KViews 0Likes 0Comments

J R Jayewardene and the Treat of Peace for Japan By Karu Paranawithana Caption – J.R. Jayawardene addresses the San Francisco Conference September post-1951 is an important month in Japan-Sri Lanka relations. Why? On 6 September this year (2021) Japan celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace with Japan, an outcome…

Factum Perspective: Myanmar declares war against own military

Peace and ConflictSeptember 7, 20211KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr Ranga Kalansooriya The D-Day announcement by the Acting-President of Myanmar’s underground National Unity Government (NUG) Duwa Lashi La today, September 7 officially declared a protracted civil war in the Southeast Asian nation. The development is expected to take the shape of a nation-wide hide-and-seek guerilla warfare over the coming years. The head…

Factum Perspective: Travel Bubble amid vaccine politics the only way out for tourism

Health and Economic CooperationSeptember 5, 2021922Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Vipula Wanigasekera Sri Lanka tourism revenue has slumped from US $4.4 billion at the peak to almost nothing in 2020. Among the other worst hit foreign exchange earners were foreign remittance, apparel, and tea exports. A senior hotelier representing Sri Lanka’s tourism power brand Jetwing, claims losses of over Rs 2.5 billion in…

Factum Perspective: The Responsibility to Protect during a global pandemic

Health and Economic CooperationAugust 29, 20211KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Sarasi Paranamanna The contentious principle of Right to Protect (R2P), was utilized by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) most sanctimoniously in their intervention in Libya. Whether the principle was used as a result of opportunistic humanitarianism or was in a pragmatic sense is a debate for another day. But in the backdrop…

Factum Perspective: Two Super Power Scripts Ruining Asian Democracy

Peace and ConflictAugust 22, 20212KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr Ranga Kalansooriya Mullah Baradar of Taliban tipped to become the Supreme Spiritual Leader of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Six months ago, the people of Myanmar took to the streets of Yangon against its military junta that toppled a democratically elected government and jailed an elected leader - Aung Saan Suu Kyi. Now,…

Factum Perspective: Kadirgamar strategically infused professionalism into the Foreign Service

Regional GeopoliticsAugust 15, 20211KViews 1Like 0Comments

By Seevali The Government of Sri Lanka is planning to bring in professionals into the Foreign Service from various fields, mainly from some selected corporate entities. The last project carried out during the tenure of late Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister in the 90s, under President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga aimed to achieve…

Factum Perspective: China’s Communist and ‘The Industrial Party’

Regional GeopoliticsAugust 8, 20212KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Rathindra Kuruwita Many assume that the Chinese Community Party (CCP) combs the country’s social media platforms in search of critical content with the intention of putting people under house arrest. And of course, sometimes bloggers and message board theorists do get placed in house arrest; however, more often the CCP does this to know…

Factum Perspective: China upping people-to-people diplomacy in Sri Lanka

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific PolicyAugust 1, 20212KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Omar Rajarathnam China is a rising public diplomacy power. With infinite money to project its image, it deploys West-based social media platforms to amplify people-to-people ties in democracies world over including Sri Lanka. Reciprocity is a key aspect of diplomacy, but not in this case because in China access to social media platforms hailing…

Factum Perspective: New Afghanistan: Democracy, not Empire is the answer

Regional GeopoliticsJuly 25, 20211KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Adnan Rehmat from Islamabad and Omar Rajarathnam from Colombo Not all military interventions in modern times have happy endings, but the climax currently playing out in Afghanistan has an unprecedented twist. The country is at imminent risk of undoing its state-building gains of the last twenty years as a representative polity aligned with the…