Post-war situation in Northern Sri Lanka & Prospects for Reconciliation
Changes since the end of the war: 30 months after the end of war, more people travel between the once off limits North[i] and the South and many of the travel restrictions…
Month: November 2011
A Supreme Court & Government that erode investor confidence in Sri Lanka?
### One can understand President Obama’s urgency. His legislative programme has been delayed by a divided Congress, his approval ratings have fallen and next year is election year. Hence his new slogan…
Equilibrhythm: How home-grown music is giving Colombo some much needed harmony
Our serendipitous isle is blessed with the gift of rhythm and a rare few who understand it so infinitely that they create music that transcends simplistic notions like preference and prejudice. This…
Importance of psychosocial interventions in post conflict Sri Lanka
### The war ended in May 2009 saw over 280,000 people being displaced for about one to two years largely in IDP camps before returning to their original villages in north and…
What You Didn’t Know About The Vanni And Were Too Afraid To Ask
Prologue This is the continuing story of Gajaman Nona, an accomplished Sinhala poet, who was born in 1758. Emerging from a time capsule, GN finds herself in year 2011. The lady, who…
How The Well-born Have Been Failing To Ennoble Our National Character
Democracies are unabashedly commercial and practical. This is probably as it should be. It is futile to demand that creative curiosity be the hallmark of democracies, or to imagine that the modern…
The Story of a Drunken Tamil Man’s Diary
Assume, like me, you are one of those expatriate Sri Lankans, living far away from home, often feeling the remorse of a guilty thief. You took a lot from there, particularly in…
Pawns of Peace: Evaluation of Norwegian Peace Efforts in Sri Lanka
Norwegian peace efforts in Sri Lanka have been the subject of heated debate and controversy, ever since they became public in December 1999. This debate has spawned many different stories about Norway’s…
The Islamic Republic of Sri Lanka
Photo by Daniel Munoz/Reuters via ABC Last weekend I received a call from a friend who was understandably outraged. On the way to her estate to join her husband who had been working…
Ari of Sarvodaya: Conscience of a Bruised Nation
When Dr A T Ariyaratne, founder and president of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka, turned 80 years on 5 November 2011, felicitations poured in from all over the world. This…
Women Left Behind: Truth Commissioning in Sri Lanka
A mother displaying the photographs of his sons which are missing during the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) session in Trincomalee, December, 3-5, 2010. Photo courtesy Centre for Human Rights [i]…
The State Defense and City Development Ministry: From Utopia to Dystopia
Photo from RNW Security and development are primarily responsibilities of the state. Our cities need visionary leaders and disciplined citizens. We should also appreciate the efforts of our leaders who are trying…
A Fisherman Testifies
I learned from Sri Lanka to go overboard, to flounder in the deep ocean while Navy sailors beat me with sticks, and cut my nets, and round me up as the country’s…
Web censorship in Sri Lanka: Documenting a growing trend
Over the weekend, a press release issued by the Director General of the Department of Government Information noted that all ‘websites carrying any content relating to Sri Lanka or the people of…
State Capitalism: Revitalising under performing businesses the Mussolini way
The factory of Sevanagala Sugar Industries Limited. Government supporters have stormed and occupied the factory earmarked for nationalisation under a controversial law. PHOTO/ THE ISLAND via Haveeru Online The media these few…
