Nuke issue may have denied Sirisena the Nobel peace prize

President Maithripala Sirisena, who was nominated for the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, missed out on the coveted award. But ironically, the winner of the award was the International Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons ( ICAN), which relentlessly campaigned for a UN treaty banning nuclear weapons -- a treaty which Sri Lanka voted on last July.

Still President Sirisena, perhaps wrongly advised by his nuke- loving officials, refused to sign the treaty or attend the signing ceremony when he was at the UN last month.

In Colombo, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not throw much light on the Government's volte-face on the non-signing of the UN treaty.

The spokesperson told the Sunday Times, Sri Lanka "in principle supports general and comprehensive nuclear disarmament and the signature of the treaty is under active consideration".

Would the signing have made a difference? Or even strengthened the President’s claim for the Nobel Peace Prize or perhaps entitle him to be a “runner up” or receive a “consolation prize”? It is anybody’s guess— but a consoling thought.

Surprisingly even two other decisions by the government which may have been in the right direction came far too late: An October 9 Gazette notification banning the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in Sri Lanka, and new regulations imposing sanctions on North Korea, in keeping with UN Security Council Resolutions dealing with the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

The non- signing of the nuclear treaty and the sanctions on North Korea would have most certainly placated the Trump administration. But whether it will help restore proposed US aid cuts remains to be seen.

Eventually, we may have lost out on both counts.