Persistence
The persistence of this gash, persnickety yet pernicious, painful, powerful, collective memory, to get the image framed for the memorial service, bodies burnt on the Yal Devi Express, houses and kovil…
justice
Forty One Years to Black July – Towards Meaningful Reconciliation
In Sri Lanka fear is pervasive. Suppression of media and fundamental rights of people and repression of human rights defenders foster a climate of fear, silencing victims and inhibiting reconciliation. Political and…
Uncover: A Journey Through Truth, Justice and Life in Sri Lanka
The aims to spark a conversation about these issues and inspire collective action towards justice and healing. Enforced disappearances have left an indelible mark on Sri Lanka’s history. The country has the…
Economic Justice and Financial Support for Torture Victims
Victims of torture can include those who survived torture, those who were killed and also their family members. Survivors of torture suffer from the effects of torture for prolonged periods, often for…
Strong Laws, Weak Enforcement: Torture Persists Despite Legal Protections
Torture refers to the act of deliberately inflicting severe physical or psychological pain and suffering on someone, usually to extract information, coerce a confession, punish, intimidate or as an act of cruelty….
The Utility of Tears
These tears fall into buckets, run to streams and rivers. These tears, shed weight from the body, leave a light patina like drops on the windowpane. How to go on…
Lending Sri Lanka’s Voice to the Palestinian Cause
Although Sri Lanka is a world away from Palestine local activists, motivated by the slaughter and suffering that the Palestinian people are undergoing in their own land each day, are carrying out…
Under Threat: Minority Journalists in South Asia
In 2021 Ajay Lalwani, a local news correspondent for an Urdu language newspaper, was sitting in a barber shop in Sukkur, Pakistan. Some gunmen drove by and opened fire, striking Lalwani in…
Reconsidering the De-gazetting of Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve
As both a developing nation and a biodiversity hotspot, Sri Lanka has to tread a delicate balance between conservation and development. The recent decision to degazette portions of the Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve…
After Rafah
When CBS News’s Ed O’Keefe asked White House spokesman John Kirby how many more charred corpses it would take for the US President to change his policy on Israel, Kirby’s reply was…
ICC Warrants and ICJ’s Order: Do They Matter?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan has requested a panel of three ICC judges to issue arrest warrants on five people, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant of Israel and Yahya…
On Burial and Punishment
I note the moral equivalence, one punishment for another although I don’t think we can fix history in a flash. Go back to days before October 7th or 8th. But…
Addressing Sri Lanka’s Complex Human Rights Issues
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard made an impassioned plea to the Sri Lankan authorities to meet their national and international obligations and find answers as to what happened to the thousands…
The Bitter Legacy of a Blood Stained Civil War
Thousands of people gathered in a hot, dusty field in Mullavaikkal in the Mullaitivu district to mark the end of the bloody civil war on May 19, 2009. The area was dotted…
Shades of an Undead Past
In Sri Lanka of 2024, kanji is a four letter word. During the long Eelam war, all sides committed horrendous atrocities. Sri Lankan forces, the LTTE and anti-Tiger Tamil groups all were…
