Responsible Reporting Required
Sexual and reproductive awareness is essential for the health of all human beings but it is often neglected or stigmatized in Sri Lanka. The recent Covid pandemic and economic crisis have shown…
justice
Murder for Money: The Case of the Forcibly Disappeared Navy 11
Brief Successive government have promised that none of Sri Lanka’s “war heroes” would be tried for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa went as far as pardoning…
Elegy for the Extended Family
Mosab, reading your post today of the dead from an airstrike in Khan Younis, cousins, uncles, aunts, six members of your extended family, six degrees that separate us, I felt at…
Justice Undone in the Mirusuvil Massacre Case
It was one of the rare cases of justice being served – Sergeant Sunil Rathnayake was tried and convicted for the murder of eight civilians in Mirusuvil in Jaffna in 2000. Witnesses…
Zionism Plus Impunity: The Mathematics of Israel
When the Secretary General of the UN condemned the Hamas attack of October 7 and cautioned the world to see it in context, he came under harsh criticism from Israel. But he…
Why Deshabandu Tennakoon Must Not Continue as Acting Police Chief
On December 14, 2023, the Supreme Court delivered a historic judgement, holding Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon personally responsible for torture. Before this judgement, there have been reports of…
Mourning Children, Tyrant
Nobody will mourn you, tyrant, when you’re gone, when the coffin lowers into the grave. Nobody will visit the memorial and there will need to be guards placed on each…
Freedom of Movement in Sri Lanka and Human Rights Commission
On December 8, 2023, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) determined that the Navy had violated my right to freedom of movement by blocking me from traveling to the remote…
To Pledge Again
The math is simple. There are fifteen members of the UN Security Council. Five are permanent, the rest elected for two year terms. Together they represent the enforcement wing of the…
Nyet…Yahu
Do you think we can put this aside, forget, go to the reading with books and introductions, nothing nagging in gut and mind? No vision of a baby wrapped in…
75 Years On, UDHR’s Relevance in Sri Lanka and Beyond
On December 10, 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Drawing on grim experience of how misuse of power caused massive destruction and suffering and reflecting…
Shadows on Justice: Unraveling the Crisis of Custodial Deaths
The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) took a decisive step towards justice by submitting a special petition to the UN, European Union and the Swiss Embassy in Sri Lanka.…
Most People Believe Political Forces Were Involved in Easter Attacks
More than half the Sri Lankan population – 53% – believes local political forces were involved in the Easter Sunday attacks carried out in 2019, according to a survey commissioned in October…
The Mylanthanai Massacre: A Continuing Cycle of Impunity
Nallasera Nallamma was cooking lunch when the soldiers stormed into her remote village of Mylanthanai, one hour northwest of Batticaloa town, on August 9, 1992. They rounded up the villagers, separating the…
Three Poems for Palestine
APOCALYPSE The thunder of horses’ hooves No longer evokes terror This comes from the skies Life limps amidst the craters, The suffocating smoke, Brimstone would be a welcome manna from heaven…
