Under Threat: Minority Journalists in South Asia
In 2021 Ajay Lalwani, a local news correspondent for an Urdu language newspaper, was sitting in a barber shop in Sukkur, Pakistan. Some gunmen drove by and opened fire, striking Lalwani in…
Politics and Governance
Reconsidering the De-gazetting of Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve
As both a developing nation and a biodiversity hotspot, Sri Lanka has to tread a delicate balance between conservation and development. The recent decision to degazette portions of the Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve…
Sajith Premadasa and A.K. Dissanayake Tied in Voter Poll
The Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) MRP provisional estimates of presidential election voting intent in April 2024 show support for NPP/JVP leader A.K. Dissanayake dropped to…
Sri Lanka and India’s Regional Dominance
When the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was hosted by India a couple of months ago everybody sat up and took notice, especially those old enough to recall that once-revolutionary movement’s strident, even…
After Rafah
When CBS News’s Ed O’Keefe asked White House spokesman John Kirby how many more charred corpses it would take for the US President to change his policy on Israel, Kirby’s reply was…
ICC Warrants and ICJ’s Order: Do They Matter?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan has requested a panel of three ICC judges to issue arrest warrants on five people, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant of Israel and Yahya…
Presidential Elections: A View from the North
For the first time, Sri Lanka’s presidential election in October will have three main contenders – President Ranil Wickremesinghe contesting under an independent symbol, the SJB represented by Sajith Premadasa and the…
Sri Lanka in the Current Global Context
The purpose of this article is to provide an analysis of the major characteristics of the global context today and to point out a key implication for the Sri Lankan state. A…
On Burial and Punishment
I note the moral equivalence, one punishment for another although I don’t think we can fix history in a flash. Go back to days before October 7th or 8th. But…
Most Sri Lankans Think the Country is Going in the Wrong Direction
Three out of four Sri Lankan adults (75%) said that the country is heading in the wrong in April 2024 while almost none (3%) said it was on the right track. The…
Addressing Sri Lanka’s Complex Human Rights Issues
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard made an impassioned plea to the Sri Lankan authorities to meet their national and international obligations and find answers as to what happened to the thousands…
The VFS Controversy: Making Sense of What Happened
On May 1, 2024 video footage shared on social media showed a Sri Lankan lawyer berating officials for outsourcing the issuance of visas to VFS Global at a congested Bandaranaike airport with…
The Bitter Legacy of a Blood Stained Civil War
Thousands of people gathered in a hot, dusty field in Mullavaikkal in the Mullaitivu district to mark the end of the bloody civil war on May 19, 2009. The area was dotted…
Navigating Reconciliation: Sri Lanka at the 15 Year Post-War Juncture
As Sri Lanka marks 15 years since the end of its civil war, it is a critical time to reflect on the past and look to the future. Central to this juncture…
Shades of an Undead Past
In Sri Lanka of 2024, kanji is a four letter word. During the long Eelam war, all sides committed horrendous atrocities. Sri Lankan forces, the LTTE and anti-Tiger Tamil groups all were…
