It has been a week of mixed messaging from Washington on Sri Lanka. In Geneva on Wednesday, the United States as a leading member of the Core Group, successfully led a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for war crimes and called for an end to impunity on the island. But in Colombo the very next day, the US gifted the military responsible for those very war crimes a brand new aircraft, whilst pledging to build closer ties. These seemingly hypocritical actions are not new.

Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Dissanayake has been in power for less than a week but already has brought about a range of changes. From his appointment of Harini Amarasuriya as prime minister to his rapid stripping down on unnecessary government expenditure and pledge to stamp out corruption, many on the island have been pleasantly surprised by his seemingly progressive early moves. But it has not all been positive for the newly crowned president. For the Tamil people, the few steps he has taken so far have been disappointing.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has officially been appointed Sri Lanka’s next president. It marks a remarkable turnaround for a party that staged two violent insurrections against the Sri Lankan state. Indeed, it was a result that left many observers around the world somewhat taken aback by the direction Sri Lanka may be heading in. For those on the island, however, this is not a surprise.