The ruthless repression of dissent, the growing crisis of refugees, an unchecked climate crisis and double standards of the West on human rights violations were some of the issues facing South Asia…
Kamala Vasuki is an artist and feminist activist who has continuously reacted and responded to oppressive, marginalizing and silencing mechanisms through her social action and her expressions through art. The work she…
On March 17, the government published its proposed 97 page Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). The ATA is the latest attempt by governments to respond to domestic and international criticism over the last 40…
In Sri Lanka, for decades, the state has been abusing power and violating the rights of its citizens with impunity, often in the guise of protecting the country and citizens from terrorism.…
One morning in April 2008, Rameshkumar picked up a hire in his tuk tuk in Digana and was driving to the destination when he was suddenly accosted by a group in a…
The plantation sector is vividly different from other sectors and is yet to be shown empathy and true care. Female workers leave home for work by 7 am and come home by…
In a landmark case last month, the Vavuniya High Court ordered the army to produce three LTTE members who had surrendered to the military in May 2019 and have been missing ever…
Ahnaf Jazeem is a 27 year old Muslim poet from the remote village of Chilawathurai in the Mannar District. Ahnaf was arrested on May 16, 2020 by the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division…
“Come, join us in jail!” read the invitation to artist Sujith Rathnayake’s exhibition-cum-provocation, Crisis & Struggle. Indeed, a visitor to the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in Colombo was quickly confronted by a…
Veteran human rights campaigner Reverend Marimuthu Shakthivel’s voice is tinged with frustration when he says, “There will come a day where we will see the end of our struggle for the rights…
Sri Lanka’s national anthem presents a vision of the country as a motherland to many, life giving and filled with nature’s abundance and beauty, a place of truth seeking and wisdom. It…
We cared for Indira Gandhi. She understood Lankan Tamil plight and the need for redress, return of lands, control over local affairs. And how could a liberation movement win without…
Panama is a remote village at the southern end of the eastern province in the Ampara district. The slogan often used in land struggles, land is life, is true for most people…
A Supreme Court judgement, a new US law, Canadian sanctions and United Nations evidence gathering are making it increasingly hard for Sri Lanka’s past and present rulers to avoid accountability for large…
January is usually a grim indication of the perilous state of human rights in Sri Lanka. It is reminder of the many cases that have gone unpunished with perpetrators still at large.…
