The Impact of the No-Confidence Motion: A Round-Up
On April 4, the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister was defeated after a marathon 12 hour Parliamentary debate, with 122 MPs voting against the motion, and 76 voting in favour, while…
Year: 2018
After the NCM: Thinking about positive possibilities
Photo courtesy The outcome of the voting at the conclusion of parliamentary debate yesterday on the No Confidence Motion in the Prime Minister has three immediate and readily visible political consequences. Firstly,…
The Fall of the No-Confidence Motion Against the Prime Minister
It was fairly clear even before yesterday’s debate that the Prime Minister would not easily be defeated on the no-confidence motion, given the configuration of party representation in the current Parliament. The…
Clearing the minefields of Northern Sri Lanka: A task for survivors
Nine years after the end of the war, Sri Lanka is still working to address residual traces of conflict that linger in varying forms across the island, and concentrated in the Northern…
The No Confidence Motion (NCM) and its Political Stakes
Is there a low – cost way out from the present crisis boiling within the Maithripala Sirisena- Ranil Wickremasinghe administration? During the past few days, a number of well -wishers of the…
A question of confidence in Yahapaalanaya – The unfinished mandate
Hard on the heels of the local government elections, the Joint Opposition (JO) emboldened by the unexpectedly robust performance of their nascent political party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP), popularly known…
The Origin of Others
Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) wrote of the mirror-stage in the development of a human being when, unlike with animals, it realises that the image seen in the mirror is she, herself. The German…
Racism in Education, Religion and Neoliberalism: Empowering the anti-minority extremists?
Image courtesy The highly-educated and hyper-religious Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is consistently failing to apply inclusive, just, and peaceful approaches to resolving the country’s violent inter-communal clashes. The unfolding narrative…
Reform Resistance in Sri Lankan Politics
Featured image courtesy ada.lk One serious political question that emerges from Sri Lanka’s current political impasse is the following: why has a reformist democratic regime, with domestic popular support as well as…
Opening our Minds to Thrive with our Neighbours
We can feel diminished by the tragic events that happened in Sri Lanka when our neighbours were targeted in the anti-Muslim riots or we can consider it an opportunity for everyone to…
UPDATE: Flip-flopping on Accountability – A Timeline
Featured image courtesy ada.lk On March 21, 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tilak Marapana flagged the operationalisation of the Office on Missing Persons, the use of the Right to Information Act,…
Crippling civic organising, mobilising and resistance through Draft Amendment to the Act on NGOs
On February 20, 2018, the Cabinet decided to publish the repressive Draft Act to Amend the Voluntary Social Service Organizations (Registration and Supervision) Act no. 31 of 1980 (LDO 32/2011) to a gazette and…
The Reality of Sirisara Uyana: Redefining apartment living in Colombo
On March 15, 2018 (Thursday) at around 7.45 pm, a fire broke out inside a fifth floor apartment at the Sirisara Uyana complex in Dematagoda. Sirisara Uyana is one of the high-rises…
Through the Scorched Frames: The aftermath in Welekade
It happened on the morning of March 7, almost two days after the initial attacks in the Theldeniya and Digana areas. The elderly woman I first spoke to said that a Sinhalese…
My Brother, the Other
In the aftermath of further ethno-religious violence in Sri Lanka, stories are shared and explanations attempted, with each person trying to make sense of what is happening around them. People dwell on…
