Stand Up Against Extremism
Image courtesy NBC News Africa these days has been battling with EBOLA, a severe, infectious, often fatal disease in humans and primates with no apparent cure in sight. Many have been dying…
Year: 2014
International Human Rights: Dispelling the Myths
Photo courtesy JDS A Talk given at the Colombo Club, August 2014 Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. I do so with trepidation since speaking to captains of…
UN Investigators for Sri Lanka, Show Your Work!
Photo by Lakruwan Wanniarachchi, AFP/Getty Image via Al Jazeera If the U.N. wants to promote reconciliation in Sri Lanka, it has to show its work. U.N. investigators should use tools and methods…
The Spectre of Evictions and Land Grabs in Colombo
Photo by Abdul-Halik Azeez courtesy The Picture Press There is a new energy to the beautification and development of urban areas in Colombo with a surge in construction, reconstruction and opening up…
The conflict between Israel and Gaza: Silence of UN and US led world
Photography via Slate On again and off again ceasefires, rocket launches, bombings and killings involving Israel and Gaza dominate television news at this time. When the indirect talks between the two sides…
Remembering 1994: Violence interrupted, democracy restored
Photo courtesy Club Madrid May 2014 marked the fifth anniversary of the brutal end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, amidst massive human rights violations by rival armies that killed thousands of civilians….
Asylum seekers & refugees in Sri Lanka: rubbish to throw out or persons to take care of?
Photo courtesy When asylum seekers come to Sri Lanka, I feel proud to be a Sri Lankan. Because they have thought we, Sri Lankans, would show our love, care and concern for…
Prioritising Truth in Post-War Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy Daily Maverick Ariel Dorfman, ‘Death and the Maiden’ The Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman poses these questions in his play Death and the Maiden after witnessing massive human rights violations in…
Bishop of Mannar’s letter to Presidential Commission on Missing Persons
Photo courtesy Tamilnet. Download this letter from here. It can also be viewed online – Page 1 and Page 2. ### The Chairman and Commissioners, Presidential Commission on Missing Persons Dear Commissioners,…
Is Sri Lanka sinking in to an abyss of racism and apartheid?
Photo by Shilpa Samaratunge Two months since the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) inspired anti Muslim attack in Aluthgama took place causing scores of damage, destruction and death to the livelihood, properties and…
When press releases become propaganda
How the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2014 was reported in Sri Lankan media reads as a cautionary tale when dealing with press releases. The report was brought to my…
Slums, shanties or stories?
Image courtesy Sharni Jayawardena and Tarika Wickremeratne, Walkabout: Slave Island An article titled A slum and shanties free Colombo by 2020 recently published on the infamous defence.lk site notes that, “Our effort…
Verifying user generated content online: Rough guides in Tamil, Sinhala and English
Photo by Thyagi Ruwanpathirana The poor mainstream media coverage of the anti-Muslim riots in Aluthgama in June 2014 was a vacuum filled, in large-part, by content published in real-time and for weeks…
A blow-by-blow commentary of the mob attack on families of disappeared
Image courtesy . More photos on her Twitter feed as well as from Marisa de Silva. 3.15pm: On the 4th of August a private sharing of experiences session organized by civil society inside the Centre…
Where have all the young men gone?
All photos by the author. See full set of photos here. Snippets from hearings of the Presidential Commission to investigate into complaints regarding missing persons Sathurukondan, 09/09/1990 Q: A: An eerie silence…
