Lost and Confused – An Economic Policy in Shambles
At the time of gaining independence 74 years ago, Sri Lanka was a prosperous country that was recognised as a model economy with a per capita income of $120, on par with…
Colombo
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…
Fifteen Years On No Justice for Massacre of Muttur Aid Workers
In one of the most heinous crimes committed against humanitarian personnel, 17 Sri Lankan workers of Action contre la Faim (ACF), a French aid organisation, were murdered in their office in Muttur…
Protecting Children is Everyone’s Responsibility
The Covid-19 pandemic that has been impacting Sri Lanka for the past one and a half years has had wide ranging economic and social repercussions for people from all walks of life…
The Toxic Shipwreck: A Silent Killer Murdering Ocean Life
The X-Press Pearl ship catastrophe is the most significant ship accident that has happened in the Indian ocean and is the worst maritime disaster in the history of Sri Lanka. This is…
COVID-19 Public Health Measures Are Essential Even with Vaccinations
On July 19, 2021, at a World Health Organization (WHO) press conference, COVID-19 Technical Lead Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove’s son asked a question that has been on all our minds “when will…
With Militarization and Marketization KNDU Bill Sounds Death Knell for Higher Education
“The character of an educational system depends upon the character of the society for which it is designed. In a totalitarian system the education system is designed to establish among all sections…
Child Trafficking: Responding to a Complex Phenomenon
The recent incidents of sexual and economic exploitation of children have sparked many protests and a public outcry targeting the failure of the State to ensure justice to children and their families.…
Reading Poetry at the Attorney General’s Department
A prisoner goes to the jail’s library to borrow a book. The librarian says, “I am sorry, we don’t have this book, but we have its author.” It’s a Turkish joke, much…
Rotten Creeds, Failed Gods
“A leader is found! Yet cautiously to myself I ask, a leader to where? Despair overthrown often turns us in mad directions.” Katharine Kressmann Taylor (Address unknown) In Brother Grimm’s Little Briar…
A Life Well Lived with Courage and Compassion
Sri Lanka has lost a fearless and compassionate human rights defender in Manouri Muttetuwegama, who devoted her life to ease the suffering of those in pain. Born into a political family as…
The Disturbing Echoes of July 1983
July 1983 was one of the grimmest months in Sri Lankan history as state-organised anti-minority “riots” paved the way for decades of violence and human rights abuses across the country. The effect…
Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s “Blinds” – Seeing and Not Seeing
Most of us spent more time looking out of the windows of our homes this last year than in any other year. So it is perhaps no surprise that one of the…
Vistas of Dictatorship and Discontent: How It Is All Going Horribly Wrong
Despite the extravagant promises, policies and plans contained in its campaign document Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the SLPP government have failed miserably to deliver on practically all…
Trying to Silence a Fearless Voice: The Case of Tharindu Jayawardhana
Tharindu Jayawardhana is one of Sri Lanka’s most outstanding and promising young journalists. His writings and MediaLK, the news website he founded in 2019, are noted for highlighting some of the most critical…
