In conversation with Chandana Sirimalwatte
Chandana Sirimalwatte is the Editor of the was attacked with iron rods in Jaffna. Chandana’s been arrested, interrogated by the CID and has had his press sealed. In October 2009, he was…
Author: Groundviews
In conversation with Capt. Elmo Jayawardena
Capt. Elmo Jayawardena took to the skies when Sri Lanka’s commercial aviation was, to coin a phrase, just taking off. He is today known for his writing published in mainstream media, often…
EXCLUSIVE: Interview with TNA MP Suresh Premachandran on the LG elections, Parliamentary Select Committee and Political Solution
caught up with TNA Member of Parliament Suresh Premachandran, who spoke to us about the nature of election violations that occurred in the Northern Province prior to the 23rd of July and…
Justice Palakidnar Memorial Oration: Economic Development, Inclusive Societies And Peace
[Editors note: Full text of speech delivered at the Justice Palakidnar Memorial Oration in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 24 July 2011 by former President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Photo from…
TNA MP Suresh Premachandran on the result of the Local Government elections
Photo from Wikipedia Updated, 27 July 2011: Listen to exclusive interview with Suresh Premachandran here. This statement on the results of the recently concluded local government elections (covered in detail by here)…
Northern Local Government Elections
(Photo: Reuters, from International Business Times) is curating news and updates from the ground, as well as domestic and international media coverage on the historic local government elections in Jaffna. Polling started…
A ‘Sri Lankan identity’ and race relations
– Prof. H. L. Seneviratne, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Virginia, Lanka Monthly Digest, June 2011 – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, June 2011 A regular contributor and commentator…
Pecha Kucha: Celebrating creativity in Colombo
was invited to the press conference official launch of Pecha Kucha Colombo. It’s an interesting concept, more details of which can be read on its website here. Post-war Sri Lanka affords a…
The attack on TNA Parliamentarians in Jaffna: A timeline of outrageous denials (Updated)
TNA MPs at the assault location. Photo courtesy Transcurrents A comment left on left recently by a well-known commentator David Blacker, notes, “When you attempt to use terrorism to further your goals,…
Resource book for historians, researchers and media: A year of tweeting from Groundviews
Visualisation of our Twitter followers. See larger version here. We used the web service Tweet Book to capture all our tweets over the past year in a single PDF. We’ve tweeted thousands of…
Photographic evidence of war crimes in Sri Lanka, or not? (Updated)
“The resulting carnage, photographed by Harun, was indescribable, but worse was to come.” The Living Scotsman’s review of by former UN spokesperson Gordon Weiss flags, inter alia, photos taken by Ret. Col….
The ‘coolest’ publisher of English books in Sri Lanka: In conversation with Sam Perera
Sam Perera, along with Ameena Hussein (see interview here) began the Perera Hussein Publishing House, a niche publisher based in Sri Lanka known to publish some of the most compelling contemporary writing…
In conversation with Neluka Silva, Professor in English, University of Colombo
Neluka Silva is the Head of the English Department and Professor in English, University of Colombo. Given the recent agitation amongst University staff and the general crisis over tertiary education, I first…
Exclusive interview with Callum McCrae, Director of ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ produced by Channel 4
caught up with Callum McCrae, Director of the highly controversial and very disturbing film by Channel 4, Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields, in New York, a day before the film was due to…
Groundviews blocked in Sri Lanka (Updated)
Update, 7.40pm: As we note in our tweet, we wish the Sri Lankan government made up its mind! This site, and even Transparency International’s site are now unblocked on SLT ADSL. The…