
Resolution Dream
We cared for Indira Gandhi. She understood Lankan Tamil plight and the need for redress, return of lands, control over local affairs. And how could a liberation movement win without…
We cared for Indira Gandhi. She understood Lankan Tamil plight and the need for redress, return of lands, control over local affairs. And how could a liberation movement win without…
A Supreme Court judgement, a new US law, Canadian sanctions and United Nations evidence gathering are making it increasingly hard for Sri Lanka’s past and present rulers to avoid accountability for large…
Religion doesn’t exist in the singular in reality. In the real world it exists only in the plural – over 4,000 religions although some place the number as high as 10,000. With…
The past few weeks have seen a rapid escalation of justice and accountability mechanisms on the national and international landscape for Sri Lanka’s gross human rights violators; the nooses are tightening around…
January is usually a grim indication of the perilous state of human rights in Sri Lanka. It is reminder of the many cases that have gone unpunished with perpetrators still at large.…
A murder of crows peck at a katta karawala carcass outside a stretch of fishing wadiyas as the sun sets, leaving a long shadow over the Mullaitivu beach. Every now and again…
Among the reprisals faced by prominent leaders of the people’s uprising last year were arrests, detentions, travel bans and continuing court cases. Many leaders have multiple court cases pending against them despite…
We have reached January 9th, 2023. We cannot go any farther or longer or deeper. We are at the turning point, on the cusp, early in the New Year, and we…
We all knew 2022 would be a challenging year for Sri Lanka even before its arrival. But no one expected it to be this difficult, hurtful, unpleasant, yet memorable. The country was…
What did this year bring? It brought the Palais des Nations in Geneva to hear my thoughts on poetry and diplomacy in the early months of the now even more…
A recent World Food Programme (WFP) report underlines the magnitude of the food crisis in Sri Lanka. The report shows that 36% of the country’s households are effectively food insecure while 76%…
2022 was one of the most momentous years in Sri Lanka’s recent history. An unprecedented people’s movement drove out an elected president and prime minister and forced the resignation of the entire…
In some ways, in 2022, life for Sri Lankans has followed a similar pattern to previous years. A few have prospered greatly or wielded power ruthlessly, many have faced misery, protests by…
Gnanamuttu Kusumawathi, known as Kusuma akka, passed away five years ago. We remember her rebellious spirit and strength with admiration and gratitude. Kusuma akka was a leader in the Panama Pattuwa (Pattuwa…
On this Boxing Day, eighteenth anniversary of the Tsunami I write about the year in which the Aragalaya swept up and dispatched the ruler of the ruling family. He fled first to…