Meet My Country: Sri Lanka, With Bhavani Fonseka and Ambika Satkunanathan

Human rights lawyer Bhavani Fonseka and human rights advocate Ambika Satkunanathan talk about their homeland Sri Lanka – the island nation just off the southeastern coast of India. Sri Lanka boasts a large, well-educated population, great economic potential, a history of democracy, and popular tourist attractions. At the same time, the country has been marred by political violence since its independence in 1948, and the current government’s stand on human rights and governance has come under the close watch of the United Nations yet again.

3:48 Background information on Sri Lanka

6:00 Bhavani and Ambika’s views on Sri Lanka, and its big brother India

10:30 The post-war situation in Sri Lanka

16:41 Sri Lanka’s government and its domestic and foreign politics

28:21 Bhavani and Ambika’s recommendations for places to visit and food to try

Your host: Denise Staubli, Program Manager, Asia Society Switzerland
Moderator: Nico Luchsinger, Executive Director Asia Society Switzerland
Speakers:
Bhavani Fonseka, Senior Researcher and Attorney at Law with the Centre for Policy Alternatives
Ambika Satkunanathan, Open Society Fellow and former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
Production: Denise Staubli

Show Notes

Watalappam – dessert made by Muslim community in Sri Lanka

Hoppers – a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine that can come in many forms

Sri Lanka’s Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour. A Critique of Promises Made and Present Trends, 2021, Report by Center for Policy Alternatives

Emblematic Cases Expose the Long Road to Justice in Sri Lanka, February 2021, by Bhavani Fonseka

The long wait for justice, August 2020, by Bhavani Fonseka

Surviving War and Victimhood: Women and Tamil Nationalism, March 2021, The Wire, by Ambika Satkunanathan

Fading Sri Lankan Hopes for Justice Rest on U.N. Rights Council, 24 February 2021, New York Times, by Ambika Satkunanathan

Is Sri Lanka's government failing to heal the nation?, February 2021, DW News, Interview with Ambika Satkunanathan

Die srilankische Diasporain der Schweiz, 2007, by Joëlle Moret, Denise Efionayi, Fabienne Stants; Bundesamt für Migration BFM

Asia Society Switzerland webcast A Closer Look at Sri Lanka with Bhavani Fonseka and Ambika Satkunanathan, May 6, 2021