Lockdown at Last: Too Little, Too Late?
“The most sacred laws of justice are the laws which guard the life and person of our neighbor.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments After nearly ten months of refusing a lockdown,…
Year: 2021
Will COVID-19 Trigger a Baby Boom or Bust?
*Sandamali is 26 weeks pregnant but she doesn’t yet know the sex of her unborn child. She lives in Bodagama with her husband and her two children, where healthcare facilities are at…
It’s Time to Free Muslim Women from Their Shackles
At two meetings held on March 8 and April 29 the Cabinet approved reforms to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA). The reforms will make 18 years the minimum age for…
Remembering Victims of Religious Intolerance and Violence
August 22 is the International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief established by the United Nations. In Sri Lanka, there is continuous persecution of religious minorities….
A Country To Die In
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressed the nation on the day Sri Lanka became South Asia’s first in average Covid-19 deaths. One hundred and ninety five people died on that day, according to official…
Development or Survival? Why We Need Trees
Sri Lanka’s country statement to the 21st Conference of the Parties (known as COP21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015 stated, “We are aware that…
Exploring Tamil-Muslim Relations in The Single Tumbler
Sunday Times In October 1990, The LTTE ordered some 75,000 Muslims in the Jaffna peninsula to leave their homes within 48 hours; they were allowed to take Rs. 300 and some clothes….
Development or Survival? Out of Balance
Sri Lanka’s country statement to the 21st Conference of the Parties (known as COP21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015 stated, “We are aware…
15 Years Later, No Truth or Justice for Missing Priest and Aide
On August 20, 2006, Father Jim Brown, a Catholic Priest, and Wenceslaus Vimalathas, his associate, disappeared. They were last seen at a Navy check point in Allaipiddy in the Jaffna district while…
Development or Survival? The Heat is Killing
In 1979 an official communique displayed in the news media proclaimed, “No oil means no development and less oil less development. It is oil that keeps the wheels of development moving.” But…
Development or Survival? The Lessons Not Learnt
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of madness. So I venture again into the realm of madness and once more try to…
A Diseased State of Affairs
About 10 days ago, a video surfaced online of an unmasked and ungloved policeman stopping and arresting some men in a trishaw on a road in the dead of night. Among these…
People’s Resilience and Judicial Independence
The people of Sri Lanka, like those in several other countries, are learning that their past could cost them their lives and the lives of their loved ones and those of many…
A Cabinet Reshuffle for a Much Needed Course Correction
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, approximately a third of the way into his term of office, carried out the most significant mid term cabinet reshuffle in recent Sri Lankan political history. The closest in…
Handling the Human-Elephant Conflict with New Techniques and Technology
African and Asian elephants are facing grave threats with an increase in poaching, the human-elephant conflict (HEC), habitat losses and mistreatment in captivity. Sri Lankan elephants are no exception to the devastation…
