Rajapaksa’s Retreat: Temporary Truce or Political Imposture?
Photography courtesy The active politician is a creator, an initiator: but he is neither creates from nothing nor does he move in the turbid void of his own desires and dreams.…
War Crimes
Dismal failure of the judiciary ends up with people’s demand for hybrid justice mechanism
Featured image courtesy AsianTribune In the co-sponsored UN Resolution (A/HRC/RES/30/1) adopted on 01st October 2015, the government conceded that that people of Sri Lanka have no trust and confidence in the justice…
Good Governance and Political Will
Photograph: ISHARA S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images via “Error is cowardice…” Nietzsche () The military is a microcosm of the society it comes from. Lankan society has been experiencing a ceaseless wave of violent crime…
Who are “war heroes”?
Featured image courtesy DNAIndia We daily read and often hear of “war heroes”, and of our duty from protect them from any charges of misconduct. This is one of the few issues…
Paranagama Report: Presidential Commission of Inquiry Into Complaints of Abductions And Disappearances
Picture courtesy Tamil Guardian The soft copy of the Report from the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Into Complaints of Abductions And Disappearances chaired by Maxwell Paranagama is now available online. “The Darusman Report……
Sri Lankan Parliament and the UNHRC Resolution: Will Justice Prevail Over Politics?
Picture courtesy Foreign Policy – South Asia. “.” – Arthur Schopenhauer “.” ― Thomas Hardy On October 20, 2015, the Sri Lankan Parliament will debate the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) resolution on…
THE GENEVA RESOLUTION AND POLITICS: A NOTE OF CAUTION
Photo courtesy The recent Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka is a remarkable document. Crafted in the immediate aftermath of the devastating OISL Report on Sri Lanka whose central recommendation was…
University Academics Appeal to the Authorities Regarding the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Sri Lanka
Photo via TO: H.E PRESIDENT MAITHRIPALA SIRISENA HON. RANIL WICKRAMASINGHE, PRIME MINISTER HON. MANGALA SAMARAWEERA, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS HON R. SAMPANTHAN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION PRINCE ZEID BIN RA’AD, UN…
Why do ‘Hybrids’ oppose the Hybrid Court?
Photo courtesy SBS Sri Lankans as individuals and as members of diverse ethnic groups are cultural, economic, and political hybrids. They are receptive to hybridity in anything and everything they do, without…
“Hybrid” war crimes probe: No political will even for own domestic probe
Photo courtesy Al Jazeera “Don’t judge us on broken promises of the past government.” Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told the 30 Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 14…
Domestic Inquiry, Militarisation & Victim-Witness Protection
Photo from Balendran Jeyakumari was arrested with her then 12 year old daughter in March 2014 on charges she possessed two stolen mine detectors. Lugged in remand prison for almost a year,…
THE MIRUSUVIL CASE: WHY SEARCHING REFORM IS URGENT AND NECESSARY
Image courtesy The High Court Trial at Bar’s recent conviction and sentencing of Staff Sergeant Sunil Rathnayake to death for what has come to be known as the ‘Mirusuvil massacre’ was met…
FAQ on the UN Human Rights Council Resolution (2014) on Sri Lanka
Image courtesy Rights Now A UN investigation into allegations of violations of human rights in Sri Lanka is about to commence. As an aid to public discussion, Friday Forum sets out below information to help the general…
UN Investigators for Sri Lanka, Show Your Work!
Photo by Lakruwan Wanniarachchi, AFP/Getty Image via Al Jazeera If the U.N. wants to promote reconciliation in Sri Lanka, it has to show its work. U.N. investigators should use tools and methods…
Revaluation of Values: Applying the Pullman Principle to Post-War Sri Lanka
Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images via Al Jazeera America This past couple of weeks I’ve been rereading Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy. I first picked up ‘Northern Lights’ (Book 1) in…
