Moving Towards True Reconciliation
In May this year, a Sri Lankan living in Australia was seen tearing up a flyer on the Tamil genocide commemorations at a #GotaGoHome protest. He said, “Do you think there was…
Year: 2022
The Right to the City: GotaGoGama
Today, Colombo’s tent city GotaGoGama is a hive of activity but sustaining this energy will undoubtedly strain resources as participation waxes and wanes. I am reminded of another such space which celebrated…
Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s Covert at Venice Biennale
Welcome to this conversation with one of Sri Lanka’s most renowned artists, Chandraguptha Thenuwara. I don’t think those who are listening need an introduction so I will go straight into ? It…
Crisis Agenda for the Vox Populi and Fourth Estate
People gasp for breath, eyes burning as the teargas canisters explode. Smashing bursts from police water cannon fling back protesters’ bodies from the serried metal barriers. Suddenly the roaring, massed, demonstrators melt…
Protecting the Environment in Times of Economic Turmoil
World Environment Day is celebrated every year to highlight the importance of the environment we live in. This year the theme is only one planet but to Sri Lankans it would be…
The Disappeared and the Struggle of Love
“1971 was for a few months. 89 for more than two years, and the war? The war went on for 30 years…10,000 in 1971, 60,000 in 1989 and in the war, of…
Protecting and Preserving the Environment Against All Odds
The country’s recent economic and political woes have taken the spotlight away from the myriad cases of blatant environmental degradation going on every day. Big business interests, corrupt officials, unscrupulous politicians and…
Abolishing the Tainted Monarchy: Make Elizabeth the Last?
It was the queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012 and I shuffled past the crowds lining Fore Street in Exeter securing a front row vantage point to watch the burgundy Rolls Royce Phantom…
COPE Inquiry Reveals the People Who Brought Sri Lanka to its Knees
Last week’s Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) inquiry into the Central Bank (CB) and the economic situation revealed some rather distressing, but not surprising, revelations. The complete politicization of the CB is…
Parliamentary Democracy: Re-living a Myth
Parliamentary democracy is a system of governance through which people share resources, provide for their own needs, enhance their own interests and deal with unexpected contingencies, as far as possible on their…
Comrade Q – An Incomplete Sketch
The caption was pure Qadri: piece of June 2020 might have been the first time it strayed into his public writing. But then, as he points out, appointing a taskforce to create…
Anatomy of Violence
There has been a lot of violence and also a lot of talk about violence in this last month. It shouldn’t come as a surprise because violence has underlined our Sri Lankan…
The Paddy Farmer’s Dilemma
There are various dire predictions of the expected amount of paddy this Yala season, which will result in insufficient rice to feed the country, although there is some confusion as to how…
We want the Power of Equality, Justice and Love. Not Love for Power.
In late April, women from movements and collectives in the North and East marched into GotaGoGama in Galle Face to voice their concerns and issues in solidarity with the struggle in the…
Ranil: Return of the Master
Despite all indications to the contrary, a single seat in parliament has disproved political assumptions that shape our opinion. Just weeks ago, it was unthinkable that Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political future could be…
