In a few weeks, Sri Lanka marks a decade since the end of its brutal war, but its long legacy of abuses remains unaddressed. Decades of inaction, denial and silencing have contributed…
When over the weekend, senior journalist Amantha Perera sent a link to a post on Facebook asking if it was one that was popular, the answer took me into a brief study…
While the Sri Lankan State maintains a culture of secrecy cemented through legislation like the Official Secrets Act, the Right to Information Act, operationalised in early 2017, is now used by citizens,…
The beautiful Fenya of Greek decent asks me with a humble smile if I know the Sinhala word that gives meaning to ‘shame’. Having received ‘yes’ for an answer she sits on…
Do you love New Zealand, asked the extremely inebriated young white man and his companion as they suddenly blocked my path at the Octagon, a few weeks after I arrived in Dunedin….
WELLINGTON – After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, Le Monde famously proclaimed that “Today, we are all Americans.” In the wake of the horrors in Christchurch, New Zealand, we must…
On the night of January 2nd, 2006, five students were killed in Trincomalee. Shanmugarajah Gajendran, Lohitharaja Rohan, Thangathurai Sivanantha, Yogarajah Hemachandran and Manoharan Rajihar, all of them either engaged in or about…
In 2016, mapped incidents of street harassment for International Women’s Day. None of these incidents had been reported to the police. Those who contributed their stories to the map recounted experiences that remained…
On March 5, 2019, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera presented the Budget in Parliament. spoke to economists for their reactions. Here’s what we asked: W A Wijewardena – Former Deputy Governor Central Bank…
When violence spread to Digana on the 5th of March 2018, Mr. J.M Niyas suffered heavy losses. He lost his grocery store; the source of income that helped him feed and educate…
I want to thank the organizers for having invited us here today to pay tribute to this great man. I want to particularly thank Shibly Aziz’s wife Fathima. In life she was…
This essay examines failures of governance in Sri Lanka. Although discussed within the context of State Owned Enterprises (SOE), they affect many other aspects of public life. The weaknesses in the governance…
Sitting on Editor Selvaraja Rajasegar’s desk is a thick envelope containing details of elephant deaths on the railway track. The information took him over a month to receive, because he made the…
The Kompannaveediya area has seen rapid transformation over the last decade. What is being termed ‘urban development’, in the form of skyscrapers and luxury properties, has come at the cost of several…
Featured image courtesy The Star “If they harm me, it is the country they harm.” The beautification of Gotabaya Rajapaksa is on full throttle. The names of his front organisations are indicative…
