Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, has met with the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Tanja Gonggrijp, and Ambassador of Turkey, R. Demet Sekercioglu, this past week to discuss areas of assistance including tourism, archaeology, and responding to the coronavirus.

This meeting comes as the Netherlands offers increased medial support to Sri Lanka, in terms of 12 Benchtop Centrifuges. Despite concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights abuses and militarisation of civil society; discussions between the three countries highlighted areas of cooperation going beyond responding to the pandemic.

Tourism

Since the end of the armed conflict, Sri Lanka’s military has intensified its occupation of the Tamil homeland and has set up and continue to run several civilian businesses in the region, including holiday resorts for tourists. This has undermined the local economy.

Read more here: Sri Lankan Army Commander and accused war criminal speaks at tourism summit

Archaeology

Concerns have been raised by the establishment of an all-Sinhala Presidential Task Force, which has been accused of furthering the “state-sponsored colonisation” of the Tamil homeland.

Read more here: Sri Lankan Presidential Task Forces are “grounded in Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist ethos” and signal deepening militarisation – PEARL

COVID-19

Sri Lanka’s response to the coronavirus has been widely panned due to its military-led approach. With accused war criminal, and head of the Sri Lankan army, Shavendra Silva leading the response.

Read more here: ‘Sri Lanka’s militarised COVID-19 response raises some very serious human rights concerns’ – ITJP