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Groundviews

Author: Basil Fernando

Year
Month
Colombo, Human Rights, justice, Politics and Governance

Downgrading Human Rights Commission No Remedy for Victims

The recommendation to downgrade Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) from Grade A to Grade B by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 12/14/2021
Colombo, Human Rights, justice, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Transitional Justice

The Constitutional Roots of the Problem of Disappearances

There is a bagful of tricks that Sri Lankan governments have been using when it comes to the issue of revealing the truth and providing justice to the families of the disappeared….

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 11/24/202111/24/2021
Colombo, Human Rights, justice, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

One Country, One Law; No Law Enforcement, No Law

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s appointment of Presidential Task Force mandated to implement the One Country, One Law concept, headed by radical monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, is a clear indication that another period of…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 10/29/202111/09/2021
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

Beware: The Third Readymade Constitution is Coming Soon

Professor G.L. Peiris has announced that the drafting process of the Constitution is over and that the text is ready. He said that it was to be presented to the Parliament in…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 10/22/2021
Colombo, Human Rights, justice, Politics and Governance

Proposed Amendment to Criminal Code is a Grave Setback for Human Rights

The proposed Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979 will open up a Pandora’s box of serious abuses. In essence what…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 10/13/202110/13/2021
Colombo, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Reconciliation, Transitional Justice

New Mechanisms Required to Ensure Justice for the Disappeared

Today of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances “Sri Lanka has the world’s second-highest number of cases registered with the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances….

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 08/30/202108/30/2021
Colombo, Political philosophy, Politics and Governance

From Fantasy to Nightmare: The Myth of Absolute Power

After many years of being a politician in various capacities, J.R. Jayewardene had come to the conclusion that if he could rule all by himself without any restraints, he could do a…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 08/26/202108/26/2021
Colombo, Politics and Governance

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…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 08/18/202108/19/2021
Colombo, Politics and Governance

SLPP: One Year of Non Governance

As the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is reaching its first year of governance, which some may call non governance, the question that may be in the minds of many is where…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 08/05/202108/05/2021
Colombo, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

A Cruel Government Supports Torture by Opposing Preventive Law

An amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing the Magistrates to visit places of detention has been turned into a political issue by a section of the government and by some…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 07/18/202107/18/2021
Colombo, justice, Politics and Governance

Release of a Convicted Murderer Raises Fundamental Questions

The release of the convicted murderer Duminda Silva is a reckless act that will have lasting consequences on the social organization of Sri Lanka and the social consciousness of the Sri Lankan…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 07/03/202107/03/2021
Colombo, Human Rights, justice, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Transitional Justice

Office on Missing Persons and the Zero Policy on Justice

One of the issues that demonstrated the approach of the Sri Lankan authorities to the problem of enforced disappearances can be discovered in a study of the narrative of the Office on…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 06/04/202106/04/2021
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Human Rights, justice, Politics and Governance, Post-War

Won the “War” but Lost the Law

Calling a civil conflict or a civil war, a war itself, is very misleading. Wars are fought with external enemies. However, civil conflict or a civil war is a fight that takes…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 05/12/202105/12/2021
Colombo, Easter Sunday Terrorist Attacks, justice, Politics and Governance

A Big Lie: The Promise of Justice for Easter Sunday Attacks

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith presided over the April 21 commemoration with the participation of other religious leaders. Talking about the issue he has said that the problem is not just about Catholics, but…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 04/22/2021
Colombo, Politics and Governance

Rule By Gazettes Leads to Impoverishment and Insecurity

It is not for fun that the Government established processes for taking decisions and implementing them. It is the age old wisdom gained through various experiences throughout history that led to the…

Basil Fernando Basil Fernando on 04/16/202104/16/2021

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