On Mike Pompeo’s Sri Lanka Visit

It looks like U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Sri Lanka later this month. From a human rights and governance perspective, this is probably terrible news.

Since Maithripala Sirisena came to power, a lot of senior U.S. officials have visited the island nation. The flurry of visits that occurred on Barack Obama’s watch discouraged important and urgently needed reforms. If Pompeo fails to prioritize human rights, his visit will be yet another missed opportunity.

In the wake of the Easter bombings, look for counterterrorism, national security and related matters to be front and center.