{"id":120743,"date":"2014-03-01T00:03:14","date_gmt":"2014-02-28T18:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=120743"},"modified":"2014-03-09T01:59:21","modified_gmt":"2014-03-08T20:29:21","slug":"video-defence-bureaucracy-disproportionately-influencing-domestic-and-foreign-policy-in-lanka-dayan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/video-defence-bureaucracy-disproportionately-influencing-domestic-and-foreign-policy-in-lanka-dayan\/","title":{"rendered":"Video: Defence Bureaucracy Disproportionately Influencing Domestic And Foreign Policy In Lanka: Dayan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sri Lanka\u2019s foreign policy in the post-war period parallels its domestic policy as well in the post war period, where a disproportionate amount of influence on policy by the defence bureaucracy, former Ambassador to France and Geneva Dr.\u00a0Dayan Jayatillake<\/span><\/a> told Boston News.<\/p>\n

\"Secretary<\/a>

Secretary MOD Gotabaya Rajapaksa<\/p><\/div>\n

In the post war period, many public pronouncements on matters pertaining Sri Lanka\u2019s external relations made by the top defence official in the country, he said.<\/p>\n

Jayatillake said that the current Foreign Minister<\/span><\/a> was not sufficiently autonomous to articulate Sri Lanka\u2019s foreign policy in a manner that is not confined within the narrow confines of the defence bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn almost no country do you find the Foreign Ministry being dictated to or functioning as a ventriloquist dummy of the Defence bureaucracy. But in Sri Lanka this has been the case in the post-war period. And this has led to a tremendous crisis,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever did Lakshman Kadirgamar<\/span><\/a> take his cue on matters of policy from the deputy defence minister, there was no role for the ministry of defence in the formulation of foreign policy or Sri Lanka\u2019s conversations with the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n