Ram Manikkalingam
Ram Manikkalingam has a notable and varied history in conflict resolution and international diplomacy, including serving as an advisor to former President Kumaratunga to help broker peace in Sri Lanka. In 2014, Manikkalingam was deeply involved in negotiating the Basque separatist group ETA’s disarmament as senior spokesperson for the International Verification Commission. He is also a founding director of the Dialogue Advisory Group (DAG), an Amsterdam-based nonprofit organization designed to facilitate political dialogue in areas of civil unrest. Manikkalingam recently published Tamil Tigers: Dialogue, Terrorism and Nationalism, an eyewitness account and expert exploration of the bloody civil war that engulfed the island of Sri Lanka for nearly three decades.