{"id":128395,"date":"2014-07-27T15:54:23","date_gmt":"2014-07-27T10:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=128395"},"modified":"2014-08-07T11:35:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-07T06:05:48","slug":"throw-the-look-africa-policy-into-the-waste-paper-basket-and-adopt-a-look-west-policy-instead-st-editorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/throw-the-look-africa-policy-into-the-waste-paper-basket-and-adopt-a-look-west-policy-instead-st-editorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Throw The ‘Look Africa’ Policy Into The Waste Paper Basket And Adopt A ‘Look West’ Policy Instead \u2013 ST Editorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite the uproar made by some of the leaders of the government, the recent expansion of the scope of the Commission on Disappearances the Rajapaksa regime has given the message that not only has it capitulated to international pressure, but that it will be forced to act only when there is international pressure, the Editorial of today\u2019s Sunday Times \u2013 a prominent weekly English newspaper in Sri Lanka \u2013 remarks.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>

Sinha Ratnatunga – Editor Sunday Times<\/p><\/div>\n

Today\u2019s editorial titled \u2018Losing the Diplomatic War\u2019 it has been pointed out that the Rajapksa regime misled by its foreign policy pundits, has ignored the good old saying \u2018a stitch in time saves nine\u2019 in responding to mounting allegations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law violations during the final phases of the war.<\/p>\n

Recalling the foreign policy blunders, the Editorial notes<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The first court martial of the former Army Commander<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The deceptive inquiry by the military on allegations of \u2018war crimes\u2019<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prolonged delay in setting up the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Delay in implementing its recommendations despite the mechanism giving the Government an early window of opportunity have not boded well with Sri Lanka\u2019s image.<\/p>\n

The Editorial further notes that there is much to do in mending fences with the West \u2013 an area that has been completely abandoned by the External Affairs Ministry under the Rajapaksa regime, pointing out that even through back channel initiatives, it would take steadfast efforts for a long period for mend relations with the White House and Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government will have to set its priorities right in the first place. For instance, the insane \u2018Look Africa\u2019 foreign policy must be just thrown into the WPB and a more useful \u2018Look West\u2019 approach adopted, surely,\u201d the piece notes pointing out Sri Lanka and its people have much more in common with the West than with Africa.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, it asserts that if Sri Lanka is to succeed in this modern world, it cannot afford to shun the West or be shunned by it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":44929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,6969,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","category-popular-stories","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nThrow The 'Look Africa' Policy Into The Waste Paper Basket And Adopt A 'Look West' Policy Instead \u2013 ST Editorial - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/throw-the-look-africa-policy-into-the-waste-paper-basket-and-adopt-a-look-west-policy-instead-st-editorial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Throw The 'Look Africa' Policy Into The Waste Paper Basket And Adopt A 'Look West' Policy Instead \u2013 ST Editorial - 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