Why the Office on Missing Persons Must Think Outside the Box
One of the greatest challenges facing Sri Lanka today is to restore its image in the realm of human rights. There’s not a day that goes by without the media highlighting war…
Politics and Governance
RTI Reveals Lanka E News Blocked On Order from President’s Office
In December 2017, Groundviews received a list of 13 websites that had been blocked from 2015 onwards by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC), via a Right to Information request. The documentation uncovered…
An insufficient appetite for a Rajapaksa return
Photo courtesy Al Jazeera The outcome of last week’s failed no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has established a few political ground realities. Firstly, it was a massive overreach by the…
UNP & SLFP: Transition Blues, Part 1
Photo courtesy DNA India Amidst so many stories about the ever-exciting twists and turns in the crisis of our government, we seem to ignore so many other significant political questions. One such…
Beyond No Confidence Motion, Is Sanity Possible?
Photo courtesy Sri Lanka Mirror “Through conviction one crosses the flood Through heedfulness the sea.” Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha (Alawaka Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya, Sutta Pitakaya) Raised from the Ground restarted the writing-life of…
The Impact of the No-Confidence Motion: A Round-Up
Featured image courtesy Colombo Gazette On April 4, the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister was defeated after a marathon 12 hour Parliamentary debate, with 122 MPs voting against the motion, and…
After the NCM: Thinking about positive possibilities
Photo courtesy South China Morning Post The outcome of the voting at the conclusion of parliamentary debate yesterday on the No Confidence Motion in the Prime Minister has three immediate and readily visible…
The Fall of the No-Confidence Motion Against the Prime Minister
Featured image courtesy VCG Photo It was fairly clear even before yesterday’s debate that the Prime Minister would not easily be defeated on the no-confidence motion, given the configuration of party representation…
The No Confidence Motion (NCM) and its Political Stakes
Featured image: Screenshot from ChannelNewsAsia interview Is there a low – cost way out from the present crisis boiling within the Maithripala Sirisena- Ranil Wickremasinghe administration? During the past few days, a…
Racism in Education, Religion and Neoliberalism: Empowering the anti-minority extremists?
Image courtesy The Star/AP The highly-educated and hyper-religious Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is consistently failing to apply inclusive, just, and peaceful approaches to resolving the country’s violent inter-communal clashes. The…
Reform Resistance in Sri Lankan Politics
Featured image courtesy ada.lk One serious political question that emerges from Sri Lanka’s current political impasse is the following: why has a reformist democratic regime, with domestic popular support as well as…
UPDATE: Flip-flopping on Accountability – A Timeline
Featured image courtesy ada.lk On March 21, 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tilak Marapana flagged the operationalisation of the Office on Missing Persons, the use of the Right to Information Act,…
The Reality of Sirisara Uyana: Redefining apartment living in Colombo
On March 15, 2018 (Thursday) at around 7.45 pm, a fire broke out inside a fifth floor apartment at the Sirisara Uyana complex in Dematagoda. Sirisara Uyana is one of the high-rises…
Havoc in the hills: A Reflection
Image courtesy DNA India Madness against Muslims The shameful acts of violence against the Muslim community in the Kandyan hills, were possible because the violence unleashed against the Muslim community in…
On Kandy: How Myths about Minorities Underlie Violence
Featured image from Colombo Gazette A man belonging to the majority ethnic group was attacked by a youth from the minority ethnic group. Two days later, the mortally wounded man succumbed to…
