And Not To Yield: The Life and Work of Lasantha Wickrematunge
The recent war was officially over by the time I came to Sri Lanka a few years ago but it was a country still recovering from protracted violence. Lasantha Wickrematunge was made…
Media and Communications
Rusted Metal, Bloodied Minds – Crisis and Struggle
When the GotaGoGama Protest site was attacked by supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 9, a row of tents were destroyed and burned to the ground by the rowdy gang that descended…
Brilliance and Resilience
There have been dark times in Sri Lanka in 2022. Economic anxiety and disruption of existing supply chains for the essential services of food, gasoline, petrol and electricity led to profound distress…
Critical Zone: In Search of New Aesthetics
We are living in a critical zone. Have you ever thought of the critical nature of the zone that we live? Probably not; we take the earth that we live on for…
An Ode to Kindness: Celebrating Edwin Ariyadasa in Four Memories
Edwin Ariyadasa, born on December 3, 1922, would have turned 100 this past weekend. While he was a giant and a pioneer in journalism in Sri Lanka, this reflection is not about…
Ending the Violence And Silence
There has been a positive change in Sri Lanka in the past 5 to 10 years in the recognition of the rights of women and children. This is the result of the…
Challenging Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists in Sri Lanka
Brief Many journalists have been killed and subjected to enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka, with the Jayewardene-Premadasa led UNP governments of 1977 to 1994 and Rajapaksa led UPFA government of 2006 to…
Online Feminism for an Inclusive Democracy
Although Sri Lanka has achieved much progress in education, health and most social indicators, the representation of women at every level of governance remains abysmally low. Since the country’s transition to democracy…
Pushing Their Narrative: China’s Efforts to Influence Sri Lankan Media
The 21st century has seen a rapid expansion of globalisation at unprecedented speed. So much so that no country is an island anymore, not even Sri Lanka. This phenomenon, which has brought…
Sri Lankan Government Found Guilty of Lasantha’s Murder
Since 1992 at least 1,400 journalists have been killed for bringing reliable information to the public. These murders, and the subsequent impunity, are the ultimate consequence of a hostile environment for press…
GotaGoGama: A Learning Curve
GotaGoGama is gone. Gota has returned. Things have regressed in the past two months or so. The nucleus of Sri Lanka’s popular protests have ceased to exist. Its last days were a…
Performance Art and Political Protest
Performance art is an offshoot of visual arts where the artist uses his or her body as a medium of communication. Performance art has always been interconnected with society and politics. Artists…
The Evolution of Gotagogama and Its Periphery in Colour: One Photographer’s Perspective
The strange poetic irony of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s fall from grace is difficult to miss. So palpable and stinging is his graceless exile and retirement that it is only fitting that he should…
Dissent Art Comes Into its Own
There is a lot of blood; faces grotesquely distorted, hands dripping red, bared fangs and dismembered body parts. Disgraceful alliances are mocked, leaders are lampooned and ridiculed and suffering and repression are…
Ananthy Sasitharan: One Woman’s Relentless Quest for Justice
Thousands of women across Sri Lanka are searching for missing their husbands, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. The long and tragic history of enforced disappearances goes back to the first JVP insurrection…