Interesting if somewhat painful to watch interview with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on India’s CNN/IBN Live. The interviewer comes off as, ‘why don’t you love India no more?’ Mahinda is quite willing to say India comes first, presumably because China doesn’t give a shit. A lot of their questions are the same old hot air, which is probably why SL is doing business with China. Because they do business.
The headline they use is China came in only after India refused: Sri Lanka, but the overall effect is that Suhasini Haidar projects India as a sorta jilted lover which I really don’t think they are.
Personally I think the questions are kinda lame. It’s the same old stuff (nepotism, devolution, war crimes) and the same answers. Hardly researched and hardly interesting. I personally don’t think those are the most important issues to Indian/Sri Lankan relations, but even so, they’re framed in an generic way that elicits nothing unique or interesting from Mahinda. The interviewer is literally reading the first page of Google News and getting the same couched, uncomfortable answers. Mahinda is clearly uncomfortable in English and doesn’t come off well here, but the interviewer doesn’t help. My main experience is awkward. Also his pants are too tight. Sarong better.
Hat tip Colombo Telegraph
Ha.. ha..ha
Indi you wrote “Also his[ Rajapaksa’s] pants are too tight. Sarong better.”
Is this like the oldest excuse for the fat guys? :)
One of the most boring interviews. It looks like the whole interview was poorly structured and not very well prepared. The president has even forgotten when the war was over.
@Kumar, yeah, what did he say, “when was the war over.. 19… 20 … 20… nought 9, uh”.
I honestly blame the reporter. She was trying to ask provocative questions but having done no research to follow up. In that case you should either not provoke and do an interview you’re both comfortable with, or research and do it properly.
Yep…totally agreed.. I like this…. “errrr ….. twenty ……… naught nine ????” ” :-)