The Divide

President’s visit to Katchatheevu: To have gone or not to have gone?

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently visited Katchatheevu following remarks by Tamil Nadu politician and actor Vijay about the island. Commenting on the visit, an opinion piece published in the privately-owned Sinhala newspaper Sathi Aga Aruna referred to it as a “strategic display”, while an editorial of its Tamil-language sister newspaper Thamilan referred to it as a “media stunt”.