Damintha Gunasekera

Researcher / Activist / Citizen (Views shared are my own)

[Derek J. Grossman @DerekJGrossman]

Here in Colombo, I'm consistently hearing that Sri Lanka just wants to be left alone and seeks to avoid aligning with China, India, or the US. The problem more than anything is the island's geography, as it sits astride commercial and naval transit lines in the Indian Ocean, and thus is attractive to all three powers.

[Daniel Alphonsus @danielalphonsus]

Surely the aviation minister knows how to charter a flight.

[Daniel Alphonsus @danielalphonsus]

It’s Vietjet, a private carrier, creating the connectivity. Not tax-payer funded Sri Lankan.

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

@Nandanahett @HarshadeSilvaMP There’s literally a Ministry and Depts under it, RDA and UDA for that purpose.

[Rehan Jayawickreme @RehanJayawick]

How pathetic and ungrateful is it that @EranWick is asked to resign from @sjbsrilanka when he has already stepped down from the Working Committee? He is acting in the country’s interest, yet you push him out.

Always tone deaf. Forever in the opposition.

#lka

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

@RehanJayawick So the thing is that it wasn’t even a hacker, it was pure incompetence. It wasn’t one payment but multiple payments transferred to a wrong account.

[Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ @shanaka86]

A bankrupt island nation of 22 million people just taught every great power on Earth a lesson in leverage.

Sri Lanka’s President Dissanayake stood before cameras on 6 March and said: “We are neutral but also humanitarian. Sri Lanka is a free and non-aligned nation. We do not favour any country. We treat every human being equally, whether Iranian, American, or Israeli. We jealously guard our non-aligned policy while ensuring that humanitarian values and the saving of lives remain our top priority.”

Then he granted free one-month humanitarian visas to all 236 Iranian sailors, the 32 survivors pulled from the wreckage of the IRIS Dena and 204 crew evacuated from the disabled IRIS Bushehr. He described sheltering them as “the most courageous and humanitarian course of action a state can take.”

The United States, which sank the Dena using USS Charlotte (SSN-766), a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine firing Mk 48 heavyweight torpedoes 19 to 44 nautical miles off Galle, is pressuring Colombo through a State Department cable to retain the sailors under conditions favourable to American intelligence access. Washington wants the 32 survivors who witnessed classified US submarine engagement tactics.

China, which holds Hambantota port under a 99-year lease 90 kilometres from the sinking site, says nothing publicly. The debt speaks for itself.

India, which hosted the Dena at its MILAN 2026 exercise weeks before the ship was sunk by India’s closest strategic partner, has not uttered a single word about any of it.

Iran is broadcasting the rescue footage across every state media channel. Eighty-seven dead sailors and a neutral nation that refused American demands.

And Sri Lanka, sovereign-defaulted in 2022, currently under IMF conditionality, owing billions to Beijing through Belt and Road, dependent on Indian goodwill for regional security, and sitting at the intersection of every great-power pressure line in the Indian Ocean, chose international law.

UNCLOS Article 98 required the rescue. Geneva Convention II Article 17 required the internment. Hague Convention XIII prohibited allowing the sailors to re-enter combat. Sri Lanka followed every obligation to the letter. Uruguay did the same during the Falklands. Switzerland did the same throughout World War II. The law is unambiguous. The politics are not.

This is the same Sri Lanka that founded the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. That hosted the fifth NAM summit in 1976. That proposed the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace in 1971 and got the UN to adopt it. And that is now pursuing BRICS partner status under India’s 2026 chairmanship, with Prime Minister Amarasuriya calling membership “strategically appealing” on 6 March, the same week her government was sheltering Iranian sailors against American objections.

Every major power assumed Sri Lanka would fold. Washington assumed economic leverage would force compliance. Beijing assumed debt would ensure silence. Delhi assumed proximity would guarantee deference. Tehran assumed sympathy would guarantee solidarity.

Instead, Colombo followed the law, issued the visas, sheltered the sailors, and told every great power exactly the same thing: we are neutral, we are humanitarian, and we do not take sides.

The weakest economy in the Indian Ocean just demonstrated the strongest foreign policy.

Full analysis for paid subscribers.

https://t.co/eMrt5qYYst

[Prad Navaratnam @prad_nava]

“Over the same period, Sports Ministers, Sri Lanka Cricket Presidents, head coaches, and captains have all changed, yet the CEO position has remained untouched.”

https://t.co/fZQbsVNX4H

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

@nuuuwan @VraieB Far fetched but nice try

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

Unfortunate loss of lives due to lack of information and readiness. #lka Govt needs to be held accountable. https://t.co/NilmpF7J9H

[Chaminda Dias @chami9539]

This is Dimutu Lakshan. Listen to what he has to say and I share this with his permission.

This is not about blame… it's about a system that failed because it didn't recognise the threat in time, didn't understand the danger, and had no mechanism to react appropriately.

Black Swan events are rare, but after the tsunami we put measures in place so we would never be caught off guard again. We need that same mindset now.

This has nothing to do with anyone's feelings or political loyalties or making the government look bad. It's about learning, adapting, and doing better.

#SriLanka
#AccountabilityProjectLK
#SystemChangeLK

[RB.Ratnasiri @Rat_na12]

Vote in an L board government

Get L board results

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

3/3
No more excuses.
Same accountability we demanded from past Govts must hit NPP now — HARD. They lied out of their teeth to win the election, but this is yet another perfect example of their immaturity to govern.

Hold #NPP government fully accountable TODAY. #Ditwah

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

🧵1/3
We toppled past Govts for Easter attack & Econ crisis.

Now: 300+ dead, billions destroyed — NPP was warned but did ZERO. No prior evacuations. Vegetables TRIPLED, fish doubled amid supply shortages— all because they ignored & did NOTHING.

#HoldNPPAccountable #Ditwah

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

2/3
Now they appoint a “Rebuilding Sri Lanka Committee” stuffed with their private-sector cronies who’ll profit millions while victims sleep in school halls.

This is the “system change” we fought for in 2022?

#HoldNPPAccountable #Ditwah #SystemChangeOrSameCorruption

[Sarah Kellapatha @saararrr]

Whenever Sri Lanka is plunged into a crisis, it’s the collective efforts of citizens that ensure that issues are mitigated as opposed to its successive govts. Severe flooding occurs every year with lives lost & so much damage with no preparation being done for the following year.

[Damintha Gunasekera @Damintha5]

@yudhesha @HarshadeSilvaMP @sjbsrilanka @sajithpremadasa Hey you’re misled, SJB is not planning nor part of this protest… it is organized by some other parties. Opposition doesn’t always mean SJB.

[Yudhanjaya Wijeratne @yudhanjaya]

After some deliberation, I'm pulling out of 1 of 2 #lka govt-tech AI works I'm involved in: the national language data + speech project. Government holds AI conferences and people go on stage to make promises, but those people aren't building shit.

[Vishmi Jurangpathy @vishmijpathy]

The system change 5.6 million voters wished for has finally come true🙏🏼

1. Right to information - Rejected

2. Article 14(1)(a) of the Sri Lankan Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, enabling journalists to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas.