Needed: An Agenda for Reform on Groundviews
Whilst it is not clear as to whether we would be voting in both the presidential and general elections on the same day, it is clear that we will be voting in…
Advocacy
Finally, disabled friendly buildings in Sri Lanka!
As reported in State media, on 14th October 2009, the Supreme Court ordered that public buildings to be constructed in the future should be easily accessible to disabled persons. The Court further…
The HOPE in Sri Lanka after war
“Where is the hope?” is a question that the writer encountered quite a few times when she asked people to pose with the HOPE board. The culture of impunity prevalent in post-war…
Salute to Tissaranee, Sara and Jehan
As I scanned the Sunday newspapers today, I saw the ‘wanted’ faces of Sara and Jehan and the bold article by Tissaranee who are but a few brave patriots in our country…
A travesty of justice: The sentencing of J.S. Tissainayagam
first highlighted the case of J.S. Tissainayagam last year, noting that, Salient points of Tissa’s case point to a larger and more chilling deterioration of media freedom in Sri Lanka under the…
Critiquing the President’s victory speech: Evidence of a majoritarian mindset?
Authors note: The following is the text of a talk before a forum on minority rights organized by the CPA in July. It should, ideally, have been edited for publication. But, given…
English language is the need of the hour
At a recent discussion on; “Free schooling in Sri Lanka- A successful model then but a myth now?”, the subject of English language education in Sri Lanka came up for discussion once…
Belching smoke in Colombo
This sadly is not an unusual sight in Colombo. Despite well-known problems arising from industrial and vehicular emissions and the Central Environment Authority’s Vehicle Emission Testing Programme, we see a number of…
The farcical ‘National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’ in Sri Lanka
Exactly a year ago today, a week before the Royal-Thomian, the journalist J.S. Tissainayagam went into the TID to enquire after his friends who had been taken in for questioning the previous…
For a quieter Colombo – Ban the bus horns!
Close your eyes and imagine a horn free Colombo – no loud ‘fog horns’ from all those buses – bliss !!.  As I sit here in a café in the centre of…
Corruption in Sri Lanka: Interview with J.C. Weliamuna
J.C. Weliamuna is the Executive Director of Transparency International in Sri Lanka and an Attorney-at-Law. He and his family were lucky to escape with their lives after two grenades were thrown into…
Interview with Kumaravadivel Guruparan, a Sri Lankan Youth Activist
Interview with K. Guruparan, a well known Sri Lankan Youth Activist. Guru is a student at the Faculty of Law University of Colombo and the Founder of the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament…
Emergency Rule, GSP+, Human Rights and Governance in Sri Lanka
An interview on Emergency Rule, GSP+, Human Rights and Democracy in Sri Lanka conducted with Asanga Welikala, author of and, writing as Publius, one of the best read political and constitutional commentators…
Education, Citizenship and Development
Siri Hettige Professor of Sociology University of Colombo Education is recognized the world over as a means of achieving wider social and economic objectives. Modern education systems are designed in such a…
Women and politics in Sri Lanka: The challenges to meaningful participation
In an earlier article on titled ‘Half a Democracy‘,  the author referred to the virtual absence of women in political institutions in Sri Lanka, and their resultant inability to define politics and…
