The Puzzling Case of Hejaaz Hizbullah
The gold balloon tubes spelling out the words “welcome back” still hang in the living room, swaying in the gentle breeze one month after he finally returned home, a stark reminder of…
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Capturing the Disappearing Glory of Slave Island
As elegant old buildings and diverse neighbourhoods disappear before our eyes, sacrificed on the altar of development, a group of people came together in 2018 to initiate the We Are From Here…
Begging Around the World: An Evolving or Receding Foreign Policy?
Sri Lanka has reached out to the Russian Federation owing to the growing national crisis in the country, a national crisis that involves foreign exchange, fuel, power and of course basic essentials…
Ecosystem Restoration? Stop the Continuing Destruction
The laudable theme of this year’s World Wildlife Day is Ecosystem Restoration. What a noble ideal but is it applicable to Sri Lanka? In the last two years, the country has seen…
The PTA and Defending the Human Rights of a Sovereign People
The onset of the bi-annual sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in which Sri Lanka features prominently on the agenda through UNHRC Resolution 46/1, contributes to several local activities.…
UN Report Increases Pressure on Government Amid Continuing Human Rights Violations
There has been some progress on aspects of human rights in Sri Lanka in the past year according to a key United Nations report but major failings remain and, on some matters,…
The Welikada Prison Massacre Judgment: A Damning Indictment
In November 2012 a massacre took place at Welikada Closed Prison in Colombo during which 27 imprisoned persons were killed. On January 13, 2022 one of the three persons charged, Emil Ranjan…
The Challenges of Challenging a Draft Bill in the Supreme Court
The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA) has terrorised many Sri Lankans for over four decades. I have also been detained under the PTA, faced…
Does the Apparel Industry Supply Garments Without Guilt?
Sri Lanka’s apparel workers, mostly female, provide an important contribution to the country’s economy. In 2019, apparel exports amounted to $5.2 billion, almost 40% of all exports. The industry provides direct employment…
National Community and International Community
“A crisis of this magnitude can lead to renewal or destruction…” Ariel Dorfman (The last September 11) Perhaps England’s Henry II did not quite say, “Will no one rid me of…
PTA: Repeal or Amend?
The former Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, emphasized that terrorism strikes at the very heart of everything the UN stood for and it was a global threat to democracy, the…
Identities deemed Irrelevant: Land Issues in the Kuchchaveli Divisional Area
Censuses of the Trincomalee District taken through the various years will point out a slight numerical majority and minority in its various communities. Yet it is worth noting that no one ethnicity…
Catholic Church Demands Justice for Easter Sunday Attacks
The latest drama in the long running saga of the Easter Sunday bombings was the sudden arrest by the CID and subsequent release by the Magistrate’s Court of social activist and Easter…
The Brother Who Never Came Back: 15 Years Since the Disappearance of Subramaniam Ramachandran
“Even today I believe he will return but if he doesn’t, let him remain missing. If you want to report that he disappeared on the 15th, you can do that. We would…
Human Rights – Reconciliation or Defiance?
Protection and justice for the people of Sri Lanka will be discussed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at its 49th session from February 28 to April 1. In the…