On human rights grounds, the US government has banned Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, the most senior officer in Sri Lanka’s navy from 2005 to 2009 and now a provincial governor, from entering the…
Two weeks ago, a complaint was made by Ms. Ishara Devendra, a journalist, about her workplace culture at ITN. Ms Devendra’s allegations, posted on her personal Facebook page, were that she had…
At a time when everyone is taking a stand on everything, abstentions only show that you don’t want to take a stand on anything. The SJB, the country’s main opposition, chose to…
In 2022 parliamentarian and lawyer Premanath C. Dolawatte presented to parliament a Private Member’s Bill to amend Sections 365 and 365A of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka with the aim of…
The connection between May Day and labour rights began in the United States. During the 19th century, at the height of the industrial revolution, thousands of men, women and children were dying…
Sri Lanka and Myanmar were both once colonized by the British and gained independence in the same year, 1948. That is not the only similarity these two countries share; both enjoy strong…
Brief Generations of Sri Lankans have experienced many curfews and states of emergency and also experienced the bloody harm suffered by curfew violators. But successive insurgencies spanning all parts of the country…
A much discussed and debated topic is the Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATA) of 2023, which was introduced as a mending patch for the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48…
Animal rights activists and conservationists are up in arms about a plan to send 100,000 toque macaque monkeys to China on the request of a private Chinese firm. The government says the…
How can the most ambitious renewable power project in Sri Lanka have this many detrimental impacts on the environment and the local communities of Mannar? Thambapawani, a derivation of the name after…
Prashan De Visser opens his maiden book with a stark question: “Does the state of the world overwhelm you and a better world seem improbable?” He then reflects on what seems to…
In Sri Lanka terror means Tamil or Muslim. When the J.R. Jayewardene government responded to the ethnic problem not with the promised political reforms but with repression and the PTA was born,…
March 20, when the IMF Board approved an Extended Fund Facility for Sri Lanka, now seems a long time ago. For many people this felt like a major step toward the resolution…
There are many things that I remember today, April 21, 2023 in relation to Easter Sunday attacks four years ago. Images of damage to the churches and hotels is among the vivid images…
In a brilliant and much needed documentary directed by Nadya Perera, one of the fast dying heritages of Sri Lankan Muslims, namely their musical traditions, has been brought to light. The Muslim…
