Building Bridges with Stories
Unsalted Porridge “Where do you suppose they must be serving porridge today?” Most of their mornings dawn with this question. Waking early, standing in line, pot in hand – that steaming hot…
Human Rights
The Tamil Struggle, the Aragalaya and Sri Lankan Identity
May 18, 2009. The end of the war. Of the many horrific visuals of the end of the war the one that is etched in my memory is of people crossing the…
Ensuring Political Stability for Economic Recovery
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) calling the IGP and the Army Commander for questioning about the failure to prevent the attack on peaceful demonstrators on May 9 is an…
Challenging Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
The Permanent People’s Tribunal in The Hague (Netherlands) has commenced hearings into murder of journalist and editor Lasantha Wickrematunge based on an indictment presented by a coalition of international press freedom organizations.…
People’s Tribunal Hears Evidence Against My Father’s Killers
Today the People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists in the Hague will commence hearing evidence in the assassination of my father Lasantha Wickrematunge. The indictment alleges the Sri Lankan government’s complicity…
People’s Uprising for System Change
April and May 2022 will be remembered as the most important months in the post-independence era. During this short period the much hoped for people’s awakening expressed itself powerfully. People who wielded…
The End?
“We must love one another or die,” wrote Auden in September 1, 1939 as the world slid into calamity. Gotagogama and the nationwide anti-Rajapaksa struggle it pioneered and symbolized seemed to be…
To the Sisters of My Motherland
My beautiful motherland, ravaged by invaders and damaged by internal conflict over the centuries, is now drowning in the depths of economic despair. There is no respite in sight for the people…
Sri Lanka Under the Jackboot
The Rajapaksa regime has declared a state of emergency amid ongoing protests including a general strike on May 6. This gives the government drastic powers to crack down on dissidents. The move…
Why Minorities Must Support the Struggle
The current political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka calls for a new strategy in the political course of the Tamils and other minorities. People have been provoked to revolt against the…
Protecting the Rights of the Disadvantaged When Talking to the IMF
Had the decision been thought out and strategic like that of Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia during the Asian financial crisis, I would have backed the Sri Lanka government’s lack of interest in going…
The Curse on Sri Lanka’s Bloodstained Leaders
The Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, knows exactly why most Sri Lankans are living through the worst times ever experienced in recent history. It’s the curse on the bloodstained leaders…
Journalists Rise During Protest Wave
Since late March, spontaneous street protests have been held across Sri Lanka calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and several others from the Rajapaksa…
Critiquing the Protests Constructively
I’d like to say this is the beginning of the end but it’s not. The latest spate of protests to hit the country has now been going on for more than a…
Where Were These Protests in the Past?
Sri Lankans living in the country or abroad feel more than a tinge of pride at how people are standing up against the corrupt government. They are protesting against all odds as basic needs …
