The Right To Truth: Mapping The Displaced
The right to truth is often linked to healing in the wake of trauma. The International Centre for Transitional Justice says “truth can assist in the healing process after traumatic events; restore…
Development
The fabrications of Yahapalanaya: 65,000 metal houses for the North & East
Photograph courtesy Reuters In late December 2015, the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs opened bids from various contractors to build 65,000 houses in the Northern and Eastern…
Culture happens. No matter what.
Image via NKAR Currently there is an initiative to draft a National Cultural Policy for Sri Lanka – which will look at bringing arts, culture and creative thinking into the heart of…
Reconsidering Colombo and Sri Lanka’s Political Rollercoaster
I recently read an interesting piece about Colombo. After having read the article, I felt like searching for flights online to purchase a plane ticket with money that I don’t have. Then…
Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Need for Domestic Actions
Photo via The Paris Agreement focusing on climate change and ways to address its adverse impacts was adopted on the 12th December 2015. It provides both binding and voluntary measures to address…
Building Colombo into a Globally Competitive City
As Sri Lanka transitions towards peace, it’s time to discuss what cities of the future will look like. Colombo has numerous problems caused by urban sprawl – flooding and traffic congestion being…
Citizens Call For More Participation, Transparency In Megapolis Plan
Picture courtesy wrmpp.gov.lk A group of citizens, headed by Jayantha Dhanapala, Prof Savitri Goonesekara and Sunil Siriwardena have written to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requesting for more transparency and public participation in…
A Tale of Taxation – A rundown on Budget 2016
In the wake of the Budget being presented in Parliament, spoke to several people, including economists, trade union representatives and government officials, on their thoughts– from positives to reservations. Senior Economist –…
Responses to the budget: Markets, capitalism and expenditure
Photo courtesy WSJ #budget suggests 'paradigm shift'. Anti-Social Democratic position. 'Small government&Big market' theory represents real republicanism #lka — Charitha Herath, (PhD) (@charith9) November 21, 2015 A single tweet from Charitha Herath…
What’s a ‘job’ worth in this “atomised” world?
Photo courtesy Projects Abroad Speaking at a discussion forum on Tuesday (06 October) at the Mahaweli Centre on a recently authored book by Siritunge Jayasuriya titled “80 July Strike – Analytical Report”…
#Cokepollutes: Signatories to petition and archive of tweets against Coca Cola
Coca-Cola has paid Rs 130 Million to Water board as voluntary compensation for Kelani River pollution issue reports Lankadeepa newspaper — Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) September 25, 2015 It appears that due to…
A rond-point for vessels plying the Indian Ocean: Sri Lanka in Arab cartographic tradition
Source: Picture Collection, Mid-Manhattan Library, The New York Public Library Preserving Sri Lanka’s interests and ensuring her prosperity in a global trading network has demanded a cautious and balanced foreign policy through…
The Good, the Bad and the Uncouth
Photo by AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, via Yahoo News There is change, and for the better. The presence of the leader of the SLFP at the UNP Convention was something unimaginable even a year…
Stop taking us kids to the zoo!
Photo from Rally to help the animals in the Dehiwela zoo Some grown ups might think that they’re giving their kid a treat by taking them to the zoo, but actually they…
The Coca-Cola Incident – Are we the next Plachimada?
Image courtesy Killer Coke On August 17th 2015, the Coca Cola factory in Sri Lanka leaked diesel fuel into the Kelani River, polluting the water supply for millions of Sri Lankans living…
