A Bloody Turn
You say we are all traumatized by this genocide, that we are responsible as well, that we cannot hide under books or pillows from drones, fighter jets and two thousand pound bombs.…
Human Rights
US Imperialism Drives Middle East War
(Lenin) (General Alexander Haig, American Secretary of State) It is little over one year since Hamas fired those deadly rockets on Israel as mark of its violent struggle to liberate Gaza from…
Naming the Dead and Disappeared as an Act of Memorialisation
Naming the names of the dead is an important act of memorialisation; for those they leave behind, it is their names that contain their essence. Palestinians in Gaza are writing the names…
Will the President and the NPP Take Courageous Steps Towards Reconciliation?
Maatram Sri Lanka’s history is deeply scarred by ethnic tensions and addressing these divisions is crucial for the nation’s future. The National People’s Power (NPP) and its leader, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake,…
Building on Hope, Gaining Trust: Challenges for a New Government
Elections can be times of hope, offering the possibility of a fresh start, yet also bring deep divisions to the surface. Sri Lanka is one of several countries where in 2024 voters…
Global Israel Poses Global Threat
Global Israel is a name coined by the Israeli historian Ilan Pappe in his latest book and it refers to “a coalition that includes most governments, mainstream media and some parts of…
Gaza, First Death Anniversary
International Words cannot bring back the dead. But they can heal the wounded my teacher said. I went to the house; found its absence baffling and bitter like smoke disappearing…
Monitoring Mass Grave Excavations
The Colombo Port is an economic hub of Sri Lanka. In this densely populated area, a group of people are digging a pit during the day; it is not a gem pit…
Presidential Candidates Ignore the Scourge of Enforced Disappearances
None of the three leading presidential candidates have directly addressed the issue of enforced disappearances despite the fact that Sri Lanka has the second highest number of disappeared people reported to the…
Truth, Reconciliation and Interim Secretariat
A recent UN Human Rights Council session raising grave concerns about the situation in Sri Lanka, including a report by High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, was the focus of a…
Time for Sri Lanka to Chart a New Course on Human Rights
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged Sri Lanka to break from the past and chart a new course. Addressing the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council…
Grave Implications of Gun Violence
Gun violence is a prevalent issue that has challenged many countries around the world including Sri Lanka. Guns, a weapon mainly used by armed forces to maintain the peace and security of…
Hema Shironi’s Embroidery Depicts Impact of Conflict
Hema Shironi’s solo exhibition at the Saskia Fernando Gallery delves into the complex and often painful histories of colonization, civil war, displacement and migration, all of which are intricately woven into the…
The Search for the Disappeared: Struggle, Recovery, Resolve
As news of a mass grave breaks on television in a household in the North, its residents, a family of the disappeared, try to find ways of coping with this information. A…
The Need for Humanitarianism is Greater Than Ever
Former High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, said there were no humanitarian solutions to humanitarian problems because what they required were political solutions. When states and governments fail their citizens, endangering their…