Place

Sri Lanka

Not who you're looking for? Others named Sri Lanka: island country in South Asia

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Overview

Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, southeast of the Indian subcontinent, in a strategic location near major sea lanes. The nation has a total area of 65,610 square kilometres (25,330 sq mi), with 64,630 square kilometres (24,950 sq mi) of land and 980 square kilometres (380 sq mi) of water. Its coastline is 1,340 kilometres (830 mi) long. The main island of Sri Lanka has an area of 64, 058 km2; it is the twenty-fifth largest island in the world by area. Dozens of offshore islands account for the remaining 1552 km2 area. The largest offshore island, Jaffna Island is separated by Chundikulam lagoon and Mannar Island, is linked to Adam's Bridge, a land connection to the Indian mainland, which is now mostly submerged with only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above sea level. According to temple records, this natural causeway was formerly whole, but was breached by a violent storm in 1480. The formation is also known as Rama's Bridge, as according to Hindu mythology, it was constructed during the rule of Lord Rama.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“We have been a country where people just came in and went out. And that was a very, very healthy way of running our tourism. So this is new to Sri Lanka. So we are anxious to see how it works.”
— Hiran Cooray, chairman of a highly successful Sri Lankan luxury chain, Jetwing Hotels, quoted on BBC News, "Sri Lanka visas: Tourist industry concerned", October 10, 2011.
“As far as tourists are concerned they have various destinations they can choose for their holiday. No tourist will come to a country where violence is taking place.”
— Seenivasagham Kaliselvam, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, quoted on BBC News, "Shadow hangs over Sri Lanka tourism", February 17, 2006.
“I can sing about songs with gunshots in the background because I heard them. It's almost like my music has been a way to smoke out the hatred that's been bubbling underneath what's going on in Sri Lanka. If there's 300,000 people who are trapped and they're dying, it should be talked about, it should be brought to the table, and I don't see anything wrong in sticking up for 300,000 dying people.”
— M.I.A., Video Interview to TIME (2009).
“Every day for the last 30 years people were dying... so we have stopped it, we will take our time and we will investigate into 30 years of war,”
— Mahinda Rajapaksa, quoted in BBC News, "Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa defiant on rights row", November 16, 2013.
“I had a choice at this summit to stay away and allow President Rajapaksa to set the agenda he wanted or to go and shape the agenda by advancing our interests with our Commonwealth partners. I chose to go, to stand up for our values and do all I could to advance them. That was, I believe, the right decision for the Commonwealth, Sri Lanka and for Britain.”
— Champika Ranawaka, quoted on BBC News, "David Cameron 'breached protocol' in Sri Lanka", November 19, 2013.
“… he (Ambassador Rapp) listened to eyewitness accounts about serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including those that occurred at the end of the war. In that context the government of the United States encourages the government of Sri Lanka to seek the truth through independent and credible investigations, and where relevant, have prosecutions.”
— The United States of America's Embassy in Sri Lanka, quoted on Eurasia News, "Sri Lanka: The Heat Is On Colombo In Run Up To Geneva – Analysis", February 10, 2014.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

On IJR

No public IJR answers mention Sri Lanka yet. As people ask about it and share their answers, they'll appear here.

Not who you're looking for? Others named Sri Lanka: island country in South Asia

Notable quotes

“We have been a country where people just came in and went out. And that was a very, very healthy way of running our tourism. So this is new to Sri Lanka. So we are anxious to see how it works.”
— Hiran Cooray, chairman of a highly successful Sri Lankan luxury chain, Jetwing Hotels, quoted on BBC News, "Sri Lanka visas: Tourist industry concerned", October 10, 2011.
“As far as tourists are concerned they have various destinations they can choose for their holiday. No tourist will come to a country where violence is taking place.”
— Seenivasagham Kaliselvam, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, quoted on BBC News, "Shadow hangs over Sri Lanka tourism", February 17, 2006.
“I can sing about songs with gunshots in the background because I heard them. It's almost like my music has been a way to smoke out the hatred that's been bubbling underneath what's going on in Sri Lanka. If there's 300,000 people who are trapped and they're dying, it should be talked about, it should be brought to the table, and I don't see anything wrong in sticking up for 300,000 dying people.”
— M.I.A., Video Interview to TIME (2009).
“Every day for the last 30 years people were dying... so we have stopped it, we will take our time and we will investigate into 30 years of war,”
— Mahinda Rajapaksa, quoted in BBC News, "Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa defiant on rights row", November 16, 2013.
“I had a choice at this summit to stay away and allow President Rajapaksa to set the agenda he wanted or to go and shape the agenda by advancing our interests with our Commonwealth partners. I chose to go, to stand up for our values and do all I could to advance them. That was, I believe, the right decision for the Commonwealth, Sri Lanka and for Britain.”
— Champika Ranawaka, quoted on BBC News, "David Cameron 'breached protocol' in Sri Lanka", November 19, 2013.
“… he (Ambassador Rapp) listened to eyewitness accounts about serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including those that occurred at the end of the war. In that context the government of the United States encourages the government of Sri Lanka to seek the truth through independent and credible investigations, and where relevant, have prosecutions.”
— The United States of America's Embassy in Sri Lanka, quoted on Eurasia News, "Sri Lanka: The Heat Is On Colombo In Run Up To Geneva – Analysis", February 10, 2014.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Overview

Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, southeast of the Indian subcontinent, in a strategic location near major sea lanes. The nation has a total area of 65,610 square kilometres (25,330 sq mi), with 64,630 square kilometres (24,950 sq mi) of land and 980 square kilometres (380 sq mi) of water. Its coastline is 1,340 kilometres (830 mi) long. The main island of Sri Lanka has an area of 64, 058 km2; it is the twenty-fifth largest island in the world by area. Dozens of offshore islands account for the remaining 1552 km2 area. The largest offshore island, Jaffna Island is separated by Chundikulam lagoon and Mannar Island, is linked to Adam's Bridge, a land connection to the Indian mainland, which is now mostly submerged with only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above sea level. According to temple records, this natural causeway was formerly whole, but was breached by a violent storm in 1480. The formation is also known as Rama's Bridge, as according to Hindu mythology, it was constructed during the rule of Lord Rama.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).