Education, Citizenship and Development
Siri Hettige Professor of Sociology University of Colombo Education is recognized the world over as a means of achieving wider social and economic objectives. Modern education systems are designed in such a…
Advocacy
Women and politics in Sri Lanka: The challenges to meaningful participation
In an earlier article on titled ‘Half a Democracy‘,  the author referred to the virtual absence of women in political institutions in Sri Lanka, and their resultant inability to define politics and…
‘GSP PLUS’ PRIVILEGES: THE NEED FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
ROHAN EDRISINHA & ASANGA WELIKALA There has recently been speculation and media reports about the European Union’s system of tariff preferences known as the ‘GSP Plus’ programme, of which Sri Lanka is…
Lionel Bopage: Protection of fundamental human rights is a responsibility of a democratic government
by Lionel Bopage Any government genuinely looking after the interests of its people would stand for pluralism and the fundamental democratic and human rights of its people. Thus that government will be…
Focus on Human Rights
The diplomatic offensive of the government is in full swing even though there continues to be confusion as to who speaks authoritatively for it on the matters of war, peace and human…
Doing Business with Myanmar
The Daily Mirror on 29 August 2007 reports a high-level meeting at Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) between state and business leaders of Sri Lanka and a state delegation representing trade interests…
A Donkey doing a Dog’s work: The Grade 1 entrance fiasco and the Chief Justice
This author is gobsmacked by the recent edict by the Chief Justice on school admissions to Grade 1. It is an affront on equality and human dignity. What is more, as a…
Let’s stop corruption in Sri Lanka!
A litany of socio-political problems we face today can directly or indirectly be traced back to the existence and growth of corruption. Bordering on criminality, exacerbating extreme poverty, stifling economic development and…
School admissions
R.M.B Senanayake The Supreme Court is looking into the Education Ministry circular on School Admissions. According to a writer in the Daily News the court wants to ensure equal treatment for all…
Vienna Convention and Sri Lankan Child Worker on Death Row
Donna E. Chung, Ph.D. International Trade and Labour Compliance Advisor Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. Washington, D.C. 20 July 2007 On 15 July 2007, just one day before the deadline, a judicial…
Rizana’s future: what WE CAN DO.
The beheading of Rizana, a Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia feels unstoppable. I first heard about this issue late last week ago, but only found out yesterday that her execution…
A question to the government and the LTTE
What place is home for Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala Sri Lankans? Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in. — Robert…
Causing a storm in a tea plantation
The plight of the Sri Lankan tea plantation worker is a well known issue in the country, and even though the law now grants them with full citizenship rights, the real story…
The Peace Confidence Index Survey: What the people think about peace, war and talks
An article sent to Groundviews by Rajan Philips, that is slightly revised from an earlier version published in the media in Sri Lanka recently. Newspaper reports have given prominence to the latest…
A Marxist Perspective on Constitutional Reforms
Erik Olin Wright, in his interesting and insightful article entitled “Compass Points: Towards a Socialist Alternative†(in New Left Review No. 41, Sep-Oct, 2006), dissects the term “social†that has been present…
