Sri Lanka Set to Lose More Forests
Photo courtesy of Rainforest Protectors Trust Environmentalists are up in arms once again as the government withdrew two circulars that protected 700,000 hectares of forests, which are now in danger of being…
Development
US Unable to Counter China’s Hold on Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy of ORF The primary objective of Secretary Pompeo’s visit to South and South East Asia (Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Indonesia and Vietnam) was to drum up support for the US…
UN at 75: Time to Change Perceptions and Realise Potential
Photo courtesy of ShareAmerica In 2020, the United Nations completes seven and half decades since its inauguration and since its Charter came into operation on October 24, 1945. Following the brutality of…
Fighting the Pillage of Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy of Wikiwand In a rare victory for Sri Lanka’s environmental defenders, the government has decided to cancel the gazette issuing legal documents to people illegally occupying state lands. A concerted…
When Authoritarianism Causes a Crisis of Governance
Photo courtesy of LMD The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, drew the attention of the world to the situation in Sri Lanka on 14 September, 2020 stating, “I…
The Cost of Development at Any Cost
Photo courtesy of Lankaweb As the country hurtles along the path of development at any cost, its environmental defenders are facing a host of challenges on all sides. From illegal road construction…
Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka – Undoing Thousands of Years of Coexistence
Photo Courtesy of The Daily Mirror The elephant is a symbol of pride, and of cultural and religious significance to Sri Lankans. They have been a feature of attraction, bringing large numbers…
Youth Rights and Liberty in Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy of UNICEF Sri Lanka According to the latest estimates by the United Nations, in 2019, 1.2 billion of the world’s population were between the ages of 15 and 24. That…
The Value of Forests
Photo courtesy of Tashiya de Mel This is a callout to Sri Lankans who have enjoyed our forests. If you have ever spread your picnic lunch in the soft shade of a…
PODCAST: Conversation with Anushka Wijesinha on economic, the pandemic & life under lock-down in Sri Lanka
In an on-going series of podcasts with individuals in Sri Lanka, I caught up with economist Anushka Wijesinha to talk about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Sri Lanka as well…
Hijacking a Third World State: Post-colonial governance, elitism and international law. The case of Sri Lanka.
Photo via Le Mepris The creation of elitism, patronage and postcolonial governance Sri Lanka’s idle paradise had operated, since the end of British colonialism, within the British institutional system and legal measures….
Out of Site, Out of Mind – A Shift in the Protest Landscape of Colombo
Image courtesy Twitter/Ishara Danasekara The appearance of a sign designating an area near the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo as an “Agitation Site” has had a divided reception. According to Cabinet Spokesperson Minister…
For a political-economic understanding of land conflicts in Eastern Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy Voice of America When talking about conflicts around land in eastern Sri Lanka, explanations based on ethnic identity spring to mind. Sri Lanka’s ethnic majority, for example, is seen as having…
A week that will shake Sri Lanka’s future
Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe via PRI Who is winning? This seems to be the question many people these days are keen to find an answer to. Whenever this question is put to…
EleFriendly Bus Endangered after Easter Sunday Attacks
Featured photo courtesy Sri Lanka Elephant Several months on, the effect of the Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, 2019 is being felt even in remote areas like Wasgamuwa, affecting both children…
