by Anura Guruge
on January 6, 2022
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WOW! That is scary. Just sounds bad & wrong. If you know you history three regimes that had a similar requirement immediately come to kind: Nazi Germany, apartheid-era South Africa and, of course, pre-1960 United States! But, that is NOT an excuse.
Not exactly sure the exact extent or enforceability of this new law. Appears that it ONLY applies to Sri Lankans who want to marry a foreigner on Sri Lankan soil. If they are getting married abroad it would not appear to apply. But, does that mean that that marriage is NOT VALID in Sri Lanka? That got me thinking about the whole issue of the validity of marriages across countries. I had always kind of assumed that it was a universal norm — that each & every country accepted the validity of a marriage performed in another country. If anybody should know or care you would think it would be I. [I am not going to muddy the waters by talking about by marriage status when I came to the U.S., in 1985, from the U.K. I was legally married at the time. And I am married in the U.S. though I am not a U.S. citizen. Is my U.S. marriage recognized in the U.K. I think so. Is it recognized in Sri Lanka? Kind of moot because I am NOT Sri Lankan.]
Interesting. But scary. I was shocked when I saw the news.
As I just said, I am NOT a Sri Lankan. I renounced my Sri Lankan citizenship in 1983. That was 39 years ago. Dual citizenship was not permitted in those days, & I would NOT have wanted dual citizenship anyway.
Well another blot against the reputation of a country that has the distinction of being the FIRST to democratically elect a female head of state.
