The Continuing October Revolutions in Sri Lanka
“October Revolution” is a term that used to gladden the hearts of Communist stalwarts the world over, our own left parties included. It was the occasion, more than a century ago, when…
The Constitutional Coup
What the coup taught us
Four years ago, a majority of Lankans elected Maithripala Sirisena as the country’s executive president. A year from now, the country will be asked to elect its next executive president. Can the…
The Crisis and After
The crisis that prevailed in the country over the last two months has been overcome, consequent to the decision of the Supreme Court that was handed down on 13th December. While the…
Are We Sri Lankans One People? Where Are Our Leaders?
Politically, it may appear that we are not one people. We have a long history of ethnicity-based politics within a small island with a measure of ethnic diversity unrivalled in countries of…
Judiciary’s Message: Constitution and Democracy First
Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP via In two judgments delivered in two consecutive days, Sri Lanka’s supreme court has sent out a firm message to the country’s quarrelling political leaders: constitution…
Resilience in Sri Lanka
The recent political crisis in Sri Lanka has gone largely unnoticed in the international press. Although it is a very serious matter for the 21.4 million Sri Lankans who currently have one,…
A Historic Judgment
On December 13, there was heightened police presence outside the Supreme Court as the public awaited news on petitions challenging the Presidential proclamation on the dissolution of Parliament. Sri Lanka has remained…
Let memory speak: A litany of remembrance
Photography by Frank Augstein/WPA Pool/Getty Images, via Any intelligent discourse must offer memory its rightful place. This is because, memory has present potential, to take us to happenings of the past, so that…
Breathing Space
This was a young female activist’s reaction to the events of October 26, when President Sirisena illegally appointed Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the post of Prime Minister, a move many are…
THE JUSTICIABILITY OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTS
In a week of high-stakes litigation in the two highest courts in the land, a key question in the public discussion over the continuing constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka has focused on…
We Want A Home And Country Free Of Violence
The 16 days of Activism Against Violence Against Women, begins on the 25th of November and ends on the 10th of December, on International Human Rights Day. These 16 days of activism…
Sites of Resistance
Frames of Resistance On the 28th of November 2018, at the annual National Youth Drama Awards held at Nelum-Pokuna, two young artists – Surin Chamara and Kasun Ukwatta – made a singular…
The Politics of Bedlam and Imperfect Constitutional Provisions
The recent politico-constitutional crisis marks a resurgence of interest in interpretation of imperfect constitutional provisions. Translating this interest into a meaningful dialogue may not be an easy task as Sri Lanka’s Constitution…
On the Comparison of Sri Lanka’s Present Constitutional Question with the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government in Australia
“Most countries with a Parliamentary form of government have ceremonial heads of state. Even in such countries, the head of state can exercise his discretion in dissolving Parliament. The British constitutional authority…
Crisis as Second Chance?
Time will say nothing but I told you so…” WH Auden (If I Could Tell You) Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Admiral and Chief of Defence Staff, epitomised impunity as he swaggered into Fort Magistrate…