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Image: Map indicating locations of Russia and Sri Lanka. CC BY-SA 4.0

Sri Lanka-Russia Relations: Epitome of Unfeigned Diplomacy

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) — Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) gained its independence in 1948, but it was only on 19 February 1957 that Mr S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, then Prime Minister of Ceylon established diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union (now Russia)—a superpower at the time, and today a global power.

It is natural for Russia (the world’s largest country with two-thirds of its territory in Asia) to have a foreign policy with economically pragmatic and geo-strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region—including Sri Lanka.

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 13 February 2022

Photo: A general view of the UN Security Council. Credit: UN

India Trapped on A Tightrope in Big Power Games

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *

This article was issued by WION and DNA, and is being re-published with the writer's permission.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — India’s diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing this week was another balancing act of a piece with its position on Ukraine in the UN Security Council meeting last week. In both cases, the Government of India made a virtue of not taking a stand by appearing to take a stand.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; THE WORLD; South Asia; 12 February 2022

Photo: The U.S. Mai Lai napalm chemical attacks on Vietnamese women and children is just one example of human rights violations by the U.S. and Britain. Credit: Greenlane.com

West’s Double Standards on Human Rights Undermines UN Human Rights Council

Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira

COLOMBO (IDN) — The United States, Britain, Canada and a few other Western so-called champions of human rights will press their unreasonable demand at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) next month to initiate an international probe into alleged human rights violations in the last phase of the separatist war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorists 13 years ago.

The 49th Regular Sessions of the UNHRC are due to begin on February 25, 2022.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 12 February 2022

24 Experts Outline Plan for Defusing Russia-NATO Crisis

Arms Control Is Key to the Solution

By Daryl G. Kimball and Oliver Meier

Daryl G. Kimball is the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. Olivier Meier is a Senior Researcher at the Berlin office of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH).

WASHINGTON, D.C. | HAMBURG (IDN) — A senior group of American, European, and Russian security experts warn that: “The tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and NATO create the potential for a disastrous war that can and must be avoided through serious and deft diplomacy.”

: UN Bureau; Nuclear Weapoms; 11 February 2022

Photo: Michail Gorbachev discussing German unification with Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Helmut Kohl in Russia, July 15, 1990. Declassified documents show security assurances against NATO expansion to Soviet leaders, among others from James Baker, George H. W. Bush, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Helmut Kohl, and the President of France, and the Prime Minister of Britain. Photo credit: Bundesbildstelle / Presseund Informationsamt der Bundesregierung.

Understanding Russia

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) — Both Russia's President, Vladimir Putin and its Foreign Secretary, Sergey Laverov, have repeatedly stated that Russia does not intend to invade Ukraine. Logic also tells us that if they had wished to do so, they would have done it long ago. The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is a western invention.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 February 2022

Photo: Women travel long distances to get water in a single pump in Batugade, Bobonaro, Timor Leste. Credit: Annamarie Reyes

Timor Leste: Oil Revenue Fails to Address Child Stunting

By Annamarie Reyes

DILI, Timor Leste (IDN) — The world’s newest democracy of Timor Leste is currently confronting a surge of omicron cases after being one of the safest countries from Covid. But as it continues to manage the pandemic fairly well, the story is quite the opposite when it comes to the problem of child stunting.

The issue continues to haunt Timor Leste decades after gaining independence, with a rate of 53-57% of child stunting among its under 5-year-old children.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 11 February 2022

Photo: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed in April 2021 to continue to work together, in cooperation with Ukrainian authorities, towards safe and cost-effective solutions to decommission the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and manage radioactive waste in the Exclusion Zone. Photo: M. Klingenboeck/IAEA

If You Want to Deter a Military Invasion, Should You Go Nuclear?

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — North Korea, whose economy has been severely undermined by rigid sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the United States, in retaliation for its active nuclear weapons program, has long justified its growing military arsenal on sheer political and ideological grounds.

The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the ouster of Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi, were perhaps facilitated by one fact: none of these countries either had nuclear weapons or had given up developing them.

: Thalif Deen; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 10 February 2022

Photo: Paddy field in Polonnaruwa. Credit: L.G. Piyarathna

Sri Lanka: Government’s Badly Planned Organic Farming Policy Upsets Rice Farmers

By R.M.Samanmalee Swarnalatha

POLLONNARUWA, Sri Lanka (IDN) — Sri Lankan government’s badly planned organic farming policy that has banned the use of chemical fertilizer in farms has upset farmers in this rice-growing heartland and a political stronghold of the ruling coalition. The policy has also drawn criticism from agricultural experts, who warn that Sri Lanka’s food security is at stake.

Chairman of Minneriya Integrated Farmer Organization, Anil Gunawardhna argues that the government organic fertilizer program is an utter failure because it was announced without any proper program and work plan to achieve its aims.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 09 February 2022

Photo: Peace protest at the White House. Credit: iacenter.org

Diplomacy for Ukraine Is Spelled M-i-n-s-k

A Memo to Congress

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies

NEW YORK (IDN) — While the Biden administration is sending more troops and weapons to inflame the Ukraine conflict and Congress is pouring more fuel on the fire, the American people are on a totally different track.

A December 2021 poll found that a plurality of Americans in both political parties prefer to resolve differences over Ukraine through diplomacy. Another December poll found that a plurality of Americans (48 per cent) would oppose going to war with Russia should it invade Ukraine, with only 27 per cent favouring U.S. military involvement.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 February 2022

The Sad Story of Western Wrongs to Russia

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Are the West's chickens coming home to roost? If the Western powers had gambled 2% of NATO's budget and met the Soviet Union's economic needs in President Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost era there would have been a much less de-stabilising transition and today, there would have been a recognisable democracy.