From Pilgrim to Terrorist
One morning in April 2008, Rameshkumar picked up a hire in his tuk tuk in Digana and was driving to the destination when he was suddenly accosted by a group in a…
Peace and Conflict
The Hardships of the Forgotten Plantation Sector
The plantation sector is vividly different from other sectors and is yet to be shown empathy and true care. Female workers leave home for work by 7 am and come home by…
Military to Face a Day of Reckoning Over the Disappeared
In a landmark case last month, the Vavuniya High Court ordered the army to produce three LTTE members who had surrendered to the military in May 2019 and have been missing ever…
Sri Lankan Regime to Face UN Scrutiny
As Sri Lankans continue to protest against postponement of local elections, harsh austerity measures and other injustices, the regime faces added pressure as UN bodies gather in Geneva. The situation in Sri…
A Promising Poet Silenced by the PTA
Ahnaf Jazeem is a 27 year old Muslim poet from the remote village of Chilawathurai in the Mannar District. Ahnaf was arrested on May 16, 2020 by the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division…
Commemorating Sri Lanka’s 2022 Protest Movement
“Come, join us in jail!” read the invitation to artist Sujith Rathnayake’s exhibition-cum-provocation, Crisis & Struggle. Indeed, a visitor to the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in Colombo was quickly confronted by a…
Taxing Times
Sri Lanka’s poorest of the poor, their lives devastated by economic collapse, may face a killer blow soon: a crippling of the public health system. That GMOA is planning to paralyse the…
Justice for the Disappeared: Will the Next Generation Take on the Fight?
Veteran human rights campaigner Reverend Marimuthu Shakthivel’s voice is tinged with frustration when he says, “There will come a day where we will see the end of our struggle for the rights…
Battle Lines Drawn Again Over the 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment, created 35 years ago, has once again become a flashpoint after President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared its implementation. Anti-devolution forces have begun gnashing their teeth; those who went into hiding…
Released at 71: the Story of Selvarathinam
The scorching heat beats down on the field. A herd of cows shelter under the trees that are scattered across the field. I went in search of Mr. Selvarathinam. His wife told…
Using Art to Uncover a Lost Society Destroyed by War
In his new collection of artwork, Suntharam Anojan depicts a visual account of the impact of the 30 year war that altered the topographies of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. Through the…
Still Looking for Independence after 75 years
The media have been replete with the pronouncements that the president of Sri Lanka was going to resolve the ethnic issue by taking some rapid action measures. However, scepticism was inevitable when…
The Nation at 75
Sri Lanka celebrates its 75th independence day today. The event has provoked much debate and discussion. Coming on top of the worst financial crisis in the country’s post-independence history, it coincides with…
Sri Lanka at 75: Whose Motherland, What Freedoms?
Sri Lanka’s national anthem presents a vision of the country as a motherland to many, life giving and filled with nature’s abundance and beauty, a place of truth seeking and wisdom. It…
February 4: Has It Ever Been Relevant?
The first Independence day celebration I could remember as a kid was 1984. I still remember it simply because the celebrations took place in my hometown, Kalutara. It was an extravagant half…
