In the lead up to the September session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) the Government of Sri Lanka floated the proposal of establishing a truth and reconciliation mechanism (TRC).…
Human rights defenders, journalists, families of the disappeared and people remembering their dead are continually being harassed and monitored by intelligence services, military and police in the North. Although the war ended…
Chandrakumari whips out her smart phone and prods it sharply with one finger. She wants to display the website that says Sri Lankan Tamil girls are being held as sex slaves in…
Brutality and corruption in Sri Lanka’s law enforcement are perennial issues. However with the government coming under increasing scrutiny, the cracks in the already fractured system are in the spotlight. Recent developments…
One striking issue is currently polarising society. Should the country forget about demanding system change and accept the status quo for now to get the economy back on track? The argument is…
News broke on the morning hours of October 18 that Shehan Karunatilaka had become the first Sri Lankan author since Michael Ondaatje to win the Booker prize. The following hours, days and…
Paralysis, blocked arteries, arrests cutting off ringleaders, in a plot to silence the flow and will of the majority, this reality implemented swiftly once the dictator fled to be replaced by…
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…
Capitalist transition within a state is a process that involves changing institutions or the rules of the game so that markets become the primary mechanism for resource allocation. These changes must be…
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…
Twenty two is not perfect. Far from it, perhaps light years far. Yet, in a season of defeats and setbacks, it is a win for Sri Lankan democracy, and for those Sri…
Himal Southasian With the onset of the Aragalaya earlier this year, discussions about harmony, unity and coexistence took center stage and became popular topics among people. The Aragalaya, and especially GotaGoGama at…
In the early weeks of 1979, Iranians from across the nation rallied a common cry, a cry against imperial oppression. For more than half a century, the Pahlvi dynasty, Iran’s last ruling…
“be careful as you go ‘cos little people grow and little people know when little people fight we may look easy pickings but we got some bite” Sunday October 9 was a…
For several months, hundreds of anti-government protesters have been arrested for mass gatherings, three of them under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. On October 9, at Galle Face, a teenager was arrested…
