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…
Peace and Conflict
Dreaming of Candies and Guns: Objects of Resistance
In , Anupa Perera’s exhibition at the Paradise Road Saskia Fernando Gallery (PRSFG), still life serves as a powerful lens to examine turbulent intersections of politics, conflict and environmental degradation. Perera fuses…
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…
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…
The Life and Work of a Master Artist and Teacher
A. Mark was an eminent artist and teacher who played a significant role in the artistic and cultural heritage of the Tamil community. He was born in 1933 in Gurunagar, Jaffna and…
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…
Justice in Flames: Art as Resistance in Sri Lanka’s Crisis
Anomaa Rajakaruna’s documentary on the aragalaya, was filmed in 2022 when Sri Lanka faced an unprecedented economic crisis. Fuel shortages led to long lines at gas stations and electricity cuts extended for…
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…
Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe
The Galle Literary Festival took place in the heart of Galle’s fort, inviting diverse voices in poetry and prose to host thought provoking discussions. From philosophy to identity politics, cricket to crime…
Jagath Weerasinghe Explores Sri Lankan Identity and Global Challenges
In his new exhibition at the Saskia Fernando Gallery, contemporary artist Jagath Weerasinghe engages in a thought provoking dialogue about the significance of creating art that resonates with current issues rather than…
President Donald Trump, Oil and Palestine
The second term of President Donald Trump, a convicted felon and a man of contradictions with fascist traits, is proving to be a bonanza to American billionaires and corporate moguls and disaster…