The middle finger to the middle-path in Sri Lanka
A week ago, we disgraced ourselves. Racist louts, some in the garb of Buddhist monks, engaged openly in speech and behaviour so violent, even those who led it were forced to suggest…
Author: Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa
Are Chinese Telecoms acting as the ears for the Sri Lankan government?
The title is inspired by the article published in Eurasianet.org, examining the probable role of Chinese telecoms firms, notably Huawei and ZTE, in espionage and surveillance. The article notes that both ZTE…
In conversation with Shashi Tharoor at Galle Literary Festival
As part of the Galle Literary Festival, I had the opportunity to speak with Shashi Tharoor, whose writing I’ve immensely enjoyed read since my University days in India. As the festival’s website…
Optics and politics of grief
Photo courtesy asianews.it UTHR(J), Special Report No: 34, December 2009 Moderating the session with Dr. Abuelaish Izzeldin, the author of at the Galle Literary Festival this year was memorable not so much for…
The Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA): What implications for Sri Lanka?
There are a lot of websites in the US that have gone black to protest against the proposed Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Wikipedia has gone…
Review of ‘Right of Way: A journey of resettlement’
I was delighted when asked to review . At the time of review, the publication was not in the public domain, and given what I had seen of Sharni’s previous work, I…
Milinda Moragoda’s ‘Right to Information’: A sordid record of its real nature and limits
The Hansard of 20th September 2011 records a question posed by Dr. Harsha de Silva in Parliament over the campaign finances and the asset declaration of Mayoral candidate Milinda Moragoda. See high…
Fundamental questions for AJM Muzammil and the UNP
Last Friday, I was slated to interview the UNP’s Mayoral candidate AJM Muzammil on public television. After his media manager expressed a keen interest and confirmed his participation, Muzammil backed out the…
Hacking mayoral campaign promises
Photo from Asian Mirror In , an article published on the Lanka Business Online website recently, the Head of the Policy Planning Group, Milinda for Mayor Campaign and renowned policy analyst Prof. Rohan…
Milinda Moragoda: The gap between promise and reality
Milinda Moragoda’s on-going mayoral campaign is interesting on many counts. Particularly appealing to me is that it is extremely web media savvy. The campaign’s central website, http://www.ourcmb.com, is leagues ahead of what…
Joshua Roman in Sri Lanka
I met Joshua Roman, a TED Fellow, at TED 2011. TED audiences are very hard to please. Because of the nature of the TED Fellows, speakers and performers, the bar for any…
Months after the 18th Amendment: Is the Executive really more accountable to Parliament?
Image via BBC The 18th Amendment, we were told, would make the President more accountable to Parliament. The Editorial of the noted back in the day, By making it mandatory for the…
The continuing disinformation campaigns in Sri Lanka: Is mainstream media complicit?
For the second time in a fortnight, subscribers to the newspaper have been entreated to an interesting disinformation campaign that appears to be conducted with those embedded within, and possibly with the…
A review of ‘The Cage: The Fight for Sri Lankan & The Last Days of the Tamil Tigers’
I was elated to take delivery of my copy of with articles perceived to be against the incumbent government, that this tome will be freely sold in bookstores. The publication and release…
From draft to official text: Wikileaks reveals the US response to the end of war in Sri Lanka
The Norwegian newspaper published on 7th May a cable from the Wikileaks tranche of US diplomatic cables (confidential briefings) dealing the US government’s response to the end of war in Sri Lanka. Wikileaks…