Breaking the Silence on Batalanda: A Call to Action
For more than two decades, the Batalanda Commission report has languished in the archives of our nation’s history, ignored and forgotten by those who should have cared most [1]. But recent events,…
justice
The Thaiyatty Land Issue
Although the civil war ended 16 years ago, Sri Lanka’s land conflicts continue with state agencies appropriating land used and owned by Tamil and Muslim communities in the north and east in…
Witnessing Two Genocides Happening Now
As part of the Kolamba Kamatha Festival, Stages Theatre Group presented , two powerful plays of remembering, witnessing and refusing to look away. In , playwright Ruwanthi De Chickera distills the complexity…
Sri Lanka’s Response to the UK Sanctions
Last year, I studied in some depth perceptions of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and the National People’s Power (NPP) after the consequential presidential election and again after the even more significant…
Israeli Tourists Spark Tensions in Arugam Bay
Arugam Bay, once an idyllic and peaceful coastal town in the southeast, is facing growing tensions as the number of Israeli tourists, particularly those with military connections, continues to rise. The influx…
Sanctions: A Step in the Right Direction to Combat Impunity
The UK government has announced sanctions on three top former war time military commanders and a former LTTE commander accused of serious human rights violations and abuses such as extra judicial killings,…
UK Sanctions Former Military Commanders and Karuna
The UK government has imposed sanctions, which include UK travel bans and asset freezes, on three former military commanders and a Tamil paramilitary leader accused of serious human rights violations and abuses…
A Victory for the Bathalegoda Estate Workers
With British colonial rulers controlling the coastal regions, including the lowlands, they secured the Kandyan kingdom through an agreement unifying Sri Lanka into a single state in March 1815. Until then, the…
The Rocky Road to Reconciliation
The legacy of the civil war still haunts communities across the country. Despite Sri Lanka’s ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, lingering ethnic tensions have deterred investment, hindered development and impeded progress. Without…
MMDA Reform Is About Women’s and Girls’ Lives Not Political Games
Following the parliamentary debates on the Women’s Ministry budget allocation commencing March 8, fears are being raised within Muslim communities that reform of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) is an…
Protecting Women in a Patriarchal Society
The statistics speak for themselves. Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) as well as child abuse have reached alarming proportions throughout the country; several cases are reported daily in the media. One…
Tackling Extra Judicial Killings
The incidents of extra judicial killings are on the rise again with several suspects being killed while allegedly trying to escape or dying while in police custody. The police are identified as…
Arab Counter Plan for Gaza: An Exercise in Futility
Gaza, a thriving cosmopolitan trading town along Via Maris trade route between Egypt and Turkey until 1948, became the Gaza Strip since then and remained the largest refugee camp for two million…
Many Gaps in Government’s Commitment to Protect Women’s Rights
I was feeling extremely lucky to be part of the Sri Lankan NGO delegation representing Women’s Action Network (WAN) at the 9th periodic review of the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination…
President Donald Trump’s Gaza Riviera: Madness or Calculated Ploy?
To Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his circle of Zionists, not to mention the Christian evangelists in the US, US President Donald Trump’s announcement to acquire the Gaza Strip – a…