ART, BEAUTY, PAIN AND HEALING
### When Sanjana Hattotuwa asked me to give the keynote today on the topic “Beyond Violence and War- Imagining a Just Peace” and to center that topic around the question of art,…
Year: 2015
Parliamentary Elections and the Political Emancipation of Sri Lanka
As, in private life, the distinction is made between what a man thinks of himself and says, and that which he really is and does, so, all the more, must the phrases…
Resurrecting a Supremacist
Photo from If there is a man in this country, apart from Mahinda Rajapaksa, with a conscience more impervious to ethical and moral considerations, a conscience so thickly armour plated that it…
THE VISION THING: WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY ARE WE VOTING FOR?
Photo AP Photo/Sujeewa Kumar via The phrase ‘regime-change’ is often used to describe the dramatic result of the presidential election on 8th January 2015, both in the sense of a democratic change of…
Statement on 25th Anniversary of Mass Killings, Disappearances and Displacement Carried Out in Batticaloa in 1990
Photo by Kannan Arunasalam, Twenty five years ago, Batticaloa district experienced some of the most brutal violence of Sri Lanka’s long ethnic conflict, with a series of mass killings, large scale disappearances,…
Citizens should decide carefully after weighing the pros and cons
The Parliamentary election is getting closer. The submission of nominations has been completed. Voters look on with surprise at the antics of some candidates. Some people are confused due to views expressed…
Watch this space: Framing the past, untying the future
Photo by Tehani Ariyaratne’s ‘Sanctuary’, part of exhibition ‘Watch this space: Framing the past, untying the future’ – an exhibition featuring Sri Lankan art and work from the Artraker “Art of Peace”…
Open Letter to President on the conduct of Sir Desmond de Silva
04th August, 2015 His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka Your Excellency, We the undersigned members of Sri Lankan civil society write to you pursuant to credible information made available to…
News that matters: Groundviews and Twistilled
After months of planning, development and close collaboration, is pleased to announce that it is now live on Twistilled. Featured as one of Twistilled’s key communities on its homepage, check out and…
General Election 2015 Pre Election Opinion Poll – Top Line Report
Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives conducted an island wide pre election opinion poll with the objective of identifying Sri Lankan voter perceptions and attitudes on…
Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot become Prime Minister
The question whether ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa is eligible to be appointed to the Prime Minister’s post if he has the support of a majority of members in Parliament following the August 17…
Ruminations after Colombo Pride: Why Queer Interest Litigation is Public Interest Litigation
Photo courtesy SALGBT Network Part I Exactly a month ago from today, the US Supreme Court’s holding, in seemed to give cause for celebration to many individuals, most of whom expressed solidarity…
Peace and Reconciliation: A Way Forward
Photo via I have enjoyed and appreciated the documents you have sent me and am happy to speak to you on Peace and Reconciliation – Way Forward. Up till the time of…
Targeting Lanka: Playing Ball with Tamil Extremism 2008-14
The emergence and sharpening of Tamil nationalism from the 1940s to the 1980s is a complex tale which cannot be easily summarized in a few strokes. It is a tale of Sinhala…
The Freak Show Returns
Image courtesy The UPFA’s election campaign is based on Four Ignoble Lies: Sri Lanka and all true-born Lankans are suffering; the reason for this suffering is the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa on…
