Ceylon is swinging sharply left, and frail, fidgety Premier Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, 58, seems unwilling or unableor bothto stop it. This week, as Ceylon marks the tenth anniversary of its independence from Britain, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Rountree is flying out to check for himself reports that the Indian Ocean island off the southeast coast of India is well on the way to becoming another Syria.
Twenty-two months ago, "Banda" led a coalition of socialists to power in the land of star sapphires, tea terraces, umbrella-shaped shrines, and...