The horrific events of July 1983, when a wave of state organised arson and murder against Tamils left many dead, displaced or traumatised, shocked people in Sri Lanka and internationally. Many people…
Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, a prominent lawyer, diplomat and human rights advocate, is widely recognised for her significant contributions to the field of international human rights and women’s rights. She served as the…
It was July 25, 1983 – that fateful day, which altered the trajectory of my life forever. Growing up in Colombo, we had come to accept the sad fact that ethnic conflicts…
An expert in Transitional Justice, accountability and reconciliation, former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Ambika Satkunanathan shares a powerful story of loss and perseverance during Black July and its impact…
While Colombo bore the brunt of the violence of Black July in 1983, other areas of the country were also affected. Groundviews conducted interviews with survivors in Bandarawela, many of whom described…
I was in Jaffna in July 1983, staying with a few friends of mine at the boy’s hostel of the University of Jaffna. The hostel was situated right by the Kokkuvil train…
I don’t have any kind of greedy idea that you will get this letter. And yet, I cannot leave off from writing this letter to you. The mind flutters like the…
Bandarawela town is the definition of a picture perfect landscape, surrounded by green hills, lush trees and bright flowers. But Bandarawela is also evolving into an urban hub in its own way….
Half a century ago, it was higher education, saving universities from Tamil encroachment. Today it is Buddhist heritage, saving archaeological sites in the North and the East from Tamil encroachment. Tomorrow another…
When I confronted my Sinhala neighbour in my broken Sinhala over a certain issue recently, My Tamil neighbour pleaded, “Maureen we are Tamils, we can be in trouble”. I was shocked to…
It is painful to read how Sri Lankan government ministers rallied their goondas to fan out in neighborhoods looking for Tamil homes marked on voter lists. It is painful to…
Editor’s note: July 23, 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the July 83 anti-Tamil pogrom, which has left an indelible mark on Sri Lanka’s history. This dark chapter overshadowed the nation’s post-independence…
Numerous ways in which human rights failings harming Sri Lankans should be set right were flagged up on July 10 by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). This was part of…
As the government proposes yet another authority, the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), to deal with the process of healing the country, human rights activists are questioning the motives behind the…
Unequal types and processes for divorce constitute one of the most problematic aspects of the current Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) 1951 of Sri Lanka. In June 2021, a government appointed…
