One Year in Kilinochchi
On February 20th, the protest by families of the disappeared in Kilinochchi passed the one year mark. Mothers, wives and fathers have sat by the side of the A9 road, inside the…
Post-War
366 days – Roadside Protests in Kilinochchi
366 days (as of 20th Feb) is a long time to be at a 24 hour roadside protest. That’s how long Tamil families of disappeared in Kilinochchi have been there. In the…
Constant Tug of War
Independence Day is marked with military parades and empty rhetoric on peace. The Sri Lankan State continues to exercise power, profiting from political instability, disenfranchisement and control over Tamil bodies and land…
#justaphotolka : Highlighting and Pushing Back Against Ongoing Surveillance in Vavuniya
On November 24, two youth were questioned in Vavuniya around posts they had made on Facebook. One of the photos was of the Divisional Secretariat of Vavuniya North, Nandukerni, and specifically, a…
In Their Absence: Families of the Disappeared Share Treasured Keepsakes
“Do you have anything that reminds you of your son/daughter/husband/grandchildren? Something that they used?” Mother/Father/Wife/Sister/Grandmother: “I have, son. I kept it safely. I washed my son’s blood-stained shirt, and kept it with…
Vijay Nagaraj: Contributions to public discourse in many guises
Vijay Nagaraj, who passed away in a tragic car accident in August, was someone I interacted with for around six years. We didn’t meet regularly, yet when we did, we carried on…
Soundbites and sound bytes: Future of digital conversations in Sri Lanka
Even before the end of the war in 2009, but certainly after it, conversations on society, politics, culture, religion and other vital matters are moving online to digital spaces, or are increasingly…
Constitutional reform, communications & political transformation: An interview with Mark Freeman
Mark Freeman is the founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT). As noted on IFIT’s website, Mark is a Belgian and Canadian citizen. He is a leading expert…
Beyond Box-Ticking: Unpacking Pablo de Greiff’s Statement on Sri Lanka
November 6 marks the deadline for candidate applications for the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). The signing of the Office of Missing Persons gazette drew praise from the UN, with United Nations Secretary-General António…
The Gloves Are Off: Reactions to Ben Emmerson’s Statement on Torture, Counterterrorism
On July 14, 2017 the Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson released a statement at the end of his visit to Sri Lanka, where he met with detainees, activists,…
What You Need To Know: Facts on the Enforced Disappearances Bill
Why is there a need to criminalise ‘enforced disappearances’? Sri Lanka has had a history of allegations of ‘enforced disappearances’, white van abductions etc. This is evidenced by the numerous commissions of…
Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government: Taking Selfies on the Rail-track
Photo courtesy Post-Rajapaksa Sri Lanka suffers from a deadly absence. It has a democratic government, but no democratic opposition. Had Sri Lanka been a normal democracy – with a democratic government and…
The Aftermath: Aluthgama Three Years On
The words of a Muslim man I met on my visit to Aluthgama, two weeks after the violence broke out in 2014 rang hollow as I returned to Aluthgama a few weeks…
Sri Lanka’s deepening political crisis: Not losing an opportunity to lose another opportunity
Image courtesy Is the (‘good governance’) regime jointly led President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremasinghe slowly abandoning its political reform commitments made during the Presidential and Parliamentary elections of 2015? Are the…
Avoiding Superstitious Cures, Defeating Dictatorial Solutions
Image courtesy University of Sri Jayawardenepura Sri Lanka, despite her soaring developmental ambitions, spends less than 1% of her national budget on research and development, an anomaly which was highlighted at the…