By Taylor Dibbert
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits Sri Lanka, bringing reassurances.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently visited Sri Lanka. He was accompanied by Nisha Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
Kerry and company were welcomed with open arms by the Sirisena administration and this high-level visit is the latest (and most prominent) reminder that Sri Lanka’s recent political shakeup is a genuine game changer for the Obama administration.
It was a brief stay and one could argue that Kerry may have been too hard-pressed for time to travel to the Tamil-dominated north. However, the optics of this trip may disappoint many ethnic Tamils and Muslims. (He did find time to visit a Buddhist temple just outside of Colombo.)
Among other matters, many may be left wondering about the Obama administration’s past proclamations regarding justice and ‘accountability’ for alleged wartime abuses during the end of the country’s civil war. Kerry expressed hope that Sri Lanka’s domestic accountability mechanism would adhere to international standards.
Read the full story at The Diplomat