The Rohingya in our midst: Learning from the vulnerable
Photo by REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain via A Reflection The Rohingya in our midst brought out the worst in some of us. The aggression of a mob that sought to intimidate and deny these…
Human Security
Countering the Fascists on the Streets: A Lesson from Australia
Photo by Christina Coombe The recent attack by a group of hoodlums led by Buddhist monks on a safe house sheltering Rohingya refugees in Colombo has once again exposed the ugly face…
We need to talk about that e-NIC project
“The national identity scheme represents the worst of government” said Theresa May, the then UK Home Minister. introducing a bill to scrap the national biometric ID scheme in the UK . “It…
“We vehemently refuse to be deceived again”: Protests by families of disappeared, continuing abductions and empty promises
Photography from Above was the last line in a press release issued on 17th August, by Association for Relatives for Enforced Disappeared in Kilinochchi district, at a press conference in Colombo. It…
Voluntary, Safe and Sustainable Return: Support Needed for Sri Lankan Refugees
“O our motherland, bid us a farewell We buried our smiles in our lips We buried our life in our bodies We are making a procession like empty skeletons….” This was the…
The Aftermath: Aluthgama Three Years On
The words of a Muslim man I met on my visit to Aluthgama, two weeks after the violence broke out in 2014 rang hollow as I returned to Aluthgama a few weeks…
#FloodSL: Key Accounts to Follow
Sri Lanka is experiencing flooding after what is said to be the most torrential rains since 2003. Despite being beset with heavy flooding in 2016 as well, the country was still unprepared for this…
Sri Lanka Floods 2017: Sharing the Blame
Once again Sri Lanka is in the grip of a natural disaster. Thousands have been displaced and hundreds killed by the floods and landslides. The tragedy is that this time the rains…
Spiraling incidents of military intimidation in the North: Ruki Fernando
There have been increased incidents of military intimidation in the last couple of weeks in areas like Pilakudiyirippu (near Keppapulavu), Paravipaanchan in Kilinochchi, and Puthukkudiyiruppu – former military held lands which have…
Sellamma & her struggle to reclaim her house and land in Puthukudiyiruppu
Sellamma is 83 years old. She has a house in Puthukudiyiruppu (PTK) East, Ward no. 7, in the Mullaitivu district in the Northern Province. It’s opposite the PTK Divisional Secretariat (DS). But…
Forecast for 2017: Asanga Abeyagoonasekera
This is the sixth in a series of video interviews forecasting what 2017 will have in store across different sectors. Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka, Asanga Abeyagoonasekera…
Invictus: Stories of Resilience from Mannar and Mullaitivu
In the post-conflict narrative, there are stories that are glossed over, or never told. November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. To mark this day, travelled…
Kajan and Sulakshan: Tragic symbols of ongoing police brutality
Featured image courtesy Tamil Guardian On Monday and Tuesday, IGP Pujith Jayasundera’s mobile number, given out to the public just months before, rang unanswered. The reason – the shooting of two youths,…
The President, prisons and a question of justice
AP Photo/Sanka Gayashan, via South China Morning Post President Maithripala Sirisena, in an exclusive interview with the today, noted the following. Question: In your statement you referred to the detention of officers…
Harassment of human rights defenders even under ‘yahapalanaya’
Photo courtesy Sampsonia Way Today, 1st Oct. 2016, I came the Bandaranayake international airport in Sri Lanka to travel to London. I was asked by the officer at the immigration counter to…