Anti-Terrorism Bill: The Good, Bad and the Ugly
In Sri Lanka, for decades, the state has been abusing power and violating the rights of its citizens with impunity, often in the guise of protecting the country and citizens from terrorism.…
Reconciliation
Sri Lanka at 75: Whose Motherland, What Freedoms?
Sri Lanka’s national anthem presents a vision of the country as a motherland to many, life giving and filled with nature’s abundance and beauty, a place of truth seeking and wisdom. It…
Jungle and the Sea: A Tale of Courage, Hope and Survival
Following the runaway success of his first play, Counting and Cracking, writer and director S. Shakthidharan has produced a new play called Jungle and the Sea, which has received enthusiastic reviews since…
Transitional Justice, Refugees and IDPs in Post War in Sri Lanka
Following three decades of bloody and protracted civil war between government forces and the LTTE, the group was dismantled in May 2009. As reported by the U.N. panel formed by Secretary General…
President’s Anti Freedom Crackdown Undermines Trust
As Sri Lankans continue to suffer the effects of the economic crisis and varied human rights abuses, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has made clear his willingness to use force against people who protest…
Does Sri Lanka Need a Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism?
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).…
Unfreezing the Grief: Coping with Ambiguous Loss
Are you a wife or a widow if your husband has been gone for years? Are you still a mother if your only child is missing? Do you speak of your brother…
Achieving Human Rights for Sri Lankans After UN Vote
On October 6, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution calling for major change after repeated abuses by the Sri Lankan regime. There were 20 votes in favour with…
Counting and Cracking: A Journey of Learning, Healing and Understanding
It debuted to rave reviews in Australia in early 2019 and met with the same response in Edinburgh and Birmingham. Despite recounting very personal and Sri Lankan experiences, S. Shakthidaran’s Counting and Cracking…
Paying Attention to the Voices That Will Not Be Silenced
As the world marks another International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, in Sri Lanka, which has the second highest number of forcibly disappeared in the world after Iraq, families of…
The Tea is Cold: Cinema as Social Responsibility
A young man from Colombo, Randika, travels to Jaffna on an assignment to find out how the war has affected people there. At first he is more interested in sharing photographs on…
A Call for a Change in Culture
“They will never change” is a phrase that many Tamils overseas often hear from back home. A simple phrase articulated partly in sadness, partly in gloating. It’s difficult to condemn how various…
Moving Towards True Reconciliation
In May this year, a Sri Lankan living in Australia was seen tearing up a flyer on the Tamil genocide commemorations at a #GotaGoHome protest. He said, “Do you think there was…
Questions of Justice and Accountability
As videos of helicopters taking off in the early hours of Tuesday May 10 appeared on social media, rumours swirled that some members of the Rajapaksa family had fled Colombo. While the…
Building Bridges with Stories
Unsalted Porridge “Where do you suppose they must be serving porridge today?” Most of their mornings dawn with this question. Waking early, standing in line, pot in hand – that steaming hot…
