AKD's neutral, not nonaligned, stance at UNGA

In his maiden speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Dissanayaka touched on topics including global poverty, the debt burden of developing nations, the drug menace and organised crime.

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He also expressed concern over the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.

Dissanayake also demanded the release of hostages by all parties to the conflict. He was obviously referring to hostages taken by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the lead-up to Israel’s genocidal attacks in Palestine’s Gaza Strip. Though he emphasised that strong international pressure needed to be applied to halt the continuing violence and killings, our president failed to even identify the perpetrator of the killings.

Unfortunately, our president did not make mention of the atrocities Israel continues committing against the Palestinians. It was these vile actions which led ‘Hamas’ (an armed Palestinian political movement in the Gaza Strip) to attack illegal Israeli settlements on October 7, 2023.