Repression Will Not Stop Protesters
For several months, hundreds of anti-government protesters have been arrested for mass gatherings, three of them under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. On October 9, at Galle Face, a teenager was arrested…
Year: 2022
Unfreezing the Grief: Coping with Ambiguous Loss
Are you a wife or a widow if your husband has been gone for years? Are you still a mother if your only child is missing? Do you speak of your brother…
Justice is Elusive for Women of the North
Women of the north have been one of the most affected communities of the war; they are a socially excluded community. Approximately 60,000 households in the Northern Province were estimated to be…
A Life Wrecked by an Unjust Law
In the decades of its use, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been condemned for being an unjust and arbitrary law. The suffering of those detained under the PTA and the…
Ways to Achieve Good Mental Health
Mental health has been a cause for concern in Sri Lanka for some time. A civil war for 30 years, a tsunami in 2004, the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019 and the…
Sri Lanka After Geneva: Quo Vadis?
Yet another resolution on Sri Lanka has passed in the UN Human Rights Council, 20 member states voting for it, seven against and 20 abstaining. This resolution will facilitate the continuation of…
Achieving Human Rights for Sri Lankans After UN Vote
On October 6, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution calling for major change after repeated abuses by the Sri Lankan regime. There were 20 votes in favour with…
Pushing Their Narrative: China’s Efforts to Influence Sri Lankan Media
The 21st century has seen a rapid expansion of globalisation at unprecedented speed. So much so that no country is an island anymore, not even Sri Lanka. This phenomenon, which has brought…
Regime’s Abuses Will Be Costly When UN Human Rights Council Votes
The failure of Sri Lanka’s rulers to protect ordinary people and treat with them with dignity will be a focus of worldwide attention on October 6 when the United Nations Human Rights…
Adherence to Human Rights Vital for Economic Recovery: Amnesty International
The organisation issued this statement on the report: The Sri Lankan authorities and the international community must fully incorporate human rights into their responses to the country’s economic crisis, Amnesty International said…
On the Question of Occupation, Violence and the People’s Struggle
A few months ago, the area surrounding the Presidential Secretariat was home to an unprecedented resistance. The occupation at Gotagogama marked 124 days of nonviolent struggle and vibrant community. The struggle area…
A Pivotal Shift in the Status Quo
The Mahanayakes of Sri Lanka’s three Buddhist monastic orders – Siam, Amarapura, and Ramanya – have written a letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe. They have requested concessions on the recent electricity tariff…
Universal Jurisdiction – The Last Resort to Prosecute International Crimes?
The need for justice, truth and reparation for crimes under international law, human rights violations and abuses committed by state officials and armed opposition groups has been swept under the carpet on…
Arbitrary Detention and Torture by Another Name: The Proposed Bureau of Rehabilitation
Undeterred by the economic crisis, the government continues its attempts to enact regressive, repressive and counter-productive laws. The most recent is the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill. Lack of legal definitions Persons to…
Mapping Out Colombo’s High Security Zones
The government’s designation of public streets and government buildings in central Colombo as High Security Zones (HSZs) by invoking the Official Secrets Act has led to widespread condemnation at home and abroad…
