Is Bribery A Fact of Life in Sri Lanka?
Is bribery a fact of life in Sri Lanka? The following video captures perceptions on bribery and corruption across five cities, and in English, Sinhala and Tamil. The issue of corruption has…
Year: 2018
Remembering To Rebuild
Another July has passed. A month filled with dark associations, thanks to “Black July”, a month that only escalated events leading to a three-decade war and a whole host of other ill…
Asma: One Strong Story – Well Said
Many knew Asma Jahangir for her brilliance, and for the celebration of diversity that she always was. She was a beacon of hope as a dogged defender of human rights and a…
The Legality and Legitimacy of Presidential Term Limits: A Response to Dr Nihal Jayawickrama
There has recently been a flurry of comment and speculation about whether, due to a technical flaw in the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution (2015), former President Rajapaksa may actually be eligible…
Religion, authority and reason: A Reflection
Image courtesy Al Jazeera Religion and authority Three recent pronouncements caught the attention of the media and dominated conversations. Advisors to President Trump quoted the Bible in defence of the separation of…
Hidden Costs: The Impact of Foreign Debt on Sri Lankan Citizens
It is estimated that Sri Lanka’s debt servicing cost will be USD 4.2 billion next year. From 2000 to 2009, Sri Lanka’s foreign debt doubled, from USD 9 billion in 2000 to…
Kofi Annan’s Achievement
CANBERRA – Kofi Annan deserves to be remembered as a near-exemplary United Nations secretary-general (SG). Great chief executives need a guiding vision for the exercise of authority, and all the more so…
Behind Bars
On August 13, 20 female inmates climbed onto the roof of Welikada Prison and began a protest. There were various reasons attributed to the prisoner’s motivations, many of which are outlined in…
Politics in Make-believe Realities
Politicians everywhere are amnesiacs, to various degrees. The condition probably comes with the territory, a necessary facilitator for such in stock-in-trade as lies and hypocrisy. But total amnesia, forgetting everything one has…
The Agony and Ecstasy of a Pogrom: July 1983
Two Survivors Not all Tamils in Sri Lanka are Tamils. A few who have been born and bred in the South-Western parts of the island have been de-Tamilicised. They know very little…
MMDA: Who is blocking reform of this discriminatory law?
Sri Lanka’s Muslim women are being denied family and other rights available to other women under this country’s constitution. The government committee set up nine years ago to reform the out-dated and…
#StrikeSL – Railway Union Action Frustrates Commuters
Fort Railway Station was eerily quiet on August 9. The ticket-counters and the Station Master’s office were empty and unstaffed. There was a heavy police presence at the station, but none of…
Deep Impact: Emmerson’s Report Reveals Lasting Legacy of PTA
On July 23, former UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, Ben Emmerson released a report following on from his visit to Sri Lanka in 2017. Emmerson pulled no punches in…
A Forgotten Community: Remembering Black July
Writer S Karunakaran reflects on Black July from the perspective of a marginalised and often forgotten community – the Malaiyagha Tamils – and specifically those who tried to resettle in the North…
The Impact of Violence: Remembering Black July
“When we talk of the 1983 unrest, the word ‘riot’ is used very often,” M Mayuran of the Mass Movement for Social Justice says. “But that word is quite complicated. A riot…