Human rights defenders, journalists, families of the disappeared and people remembering their dead are continually being harassed and monitored by intelligence services, military and police in the North. Although the war ended…
Brutality and corruption in Sri Lanka’s law enforcement are perennial issues. However with the government coming under increasing scrutiny, the cracks in the already fractured system are in the spotlight. Recent developments…
News broke on the morning hours of October 18 that Shehan Karunatilaka had become the first Sri Lankan author since Michael Ondaatje to win the Booker prize. The following hours, days and…
Brief Many journalists have been killed and subjected to enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka, with the Jayewardene-Premadasa led UNP governments of 1977 to 1994 and Rajapaksa led UPFA government of 2006 to…
Independent The Supreme Court’s determination on the constitutionality of the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill was met with relief last week. While the determination affirms many fundamental principles and constitutional protections, it provides…
For several months, hundreds of anti-government protesters have been arrested for mass gatherings, three of them under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. On October 9, at Galle Face, a teenager was arrested…
Women of the north have been one of the most affected communities of the war; they are a socially excluded community. Approximately 60,000 households in the Northern Province were estimated to be…
In the decades of its use, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been condemned for being an unjust and arbitrary law. The suffering of those detained under the PTA and the…
The failure of Sri Lanka’s rulers to protect ordinary people and treat with them with dignity will be a focus of worldwide attention on October 6 when the United Nations Human Rights…
The need for justice, truth and reparation for crimes under international law, human rights violations and abuses committed by state officials and armed opposition groups has been swept under the carpet on…
It was supposed to be a temporary law to fight the perceived threat of a militant uprising but it has remained for over 40 years, enduring even after the enemy has been…
Since 1992 at least 1,400 journalists have been killed for bringing reliable information to the public. These murders, and the subsequent impunity, are the ultimate consequence of a hostile environment for press…
Hiru News Over the last two months, six unidentified bodies have washed up on the shores of the Western Province creating fear and suspicion of a new trend of targeted violence. The…
Rediff Ever since the aragalaya began in April this year, Father Jeewantha Peiris has been a familiar figure in the forefront of the protesters, easily identifiable by his flowing black hair and…
It seems like a long time ago but the reality is that it’s been just 150 days since the urban middle class and their semi-urban cousins stepped out of their comfort zone…
