After Gotabaya, the Deluge?
“Slip slidin’ away, Slip slidin’ away…” Paul Simon No astrologer in Sri Lanka reached such dizzy heights as Sumanadasa Abeygunawardane. He predicted for the Rajapaksas the future they wanted and was rewarded with power…
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Water Pumps and Chickens: Rhetoric vs Reality in the North
December 19, 2021. Jaffna town. 6 am. Three motorcycles parked one behind the other at an angle with headlights on. Two armed military personnel, clad in black, on each motorcycle. Women headed…
To Flee or Not to Flee, That is the Question
Once known as being the best fed, most educated and healthiest people in South Asia, Sri Lankans are facing the bleak prospect of a full blown economic crisis that will dramatically push…
Taking the Military to Task with International Sanctions
While Sri Lanka grapples with an inevitable economic meltdown, the international community has not forgotten the country’s obligations to move towards a reconciled society through the process of transitional justice. One of…
MMDA: Psychological Impact on Children (Documentary)
The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) has been under discussion by various groups, commissions and governments for the last six decades. Although recommendations have been made for amendments to the Act,…
Conservation in 2021: A Year Like No Other
In 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the world and under its malevolent cloak, Sri Lanka’s environment, wildlife and wilderness had to face some of the greatest threats they have ever had. Not…
Stumbling from One Annus Horribilis to Another
The newspaper headlines say it all – gas shortages, no money to import medicine, there will be no bread soon, staple vegetables are unaffordable, power cuts are starting and there is only…
Repay Foreign Debt or Finance Essential Imports
South China Morning Post The available foreign reserves of the country can be used to either repay foreign creditors or to finance imports of essential goods and services required by its citizens.…
A Disastrous 2021 and Conservation Challenges in 2022
Environmental conservation in Sri Lanka is as challenging as the economy of the country. Environmental degradation is fully supported and carried out with the blessings of corrupt politicians. This has been the…
Desmond Tutu – An Inspiration and Challenge for Sri Lanka
Desmond Tutu was a black, South African, Christian male but in a world where colour, caste, class, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, sexuality and gender matter, he transcended all of that to be a…
2021: The Year in Review
2020 flowed into 2021 with a continued air of uncertainty due to the unrelenting spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The third wave saw cases and deaths rise exponentially, taking the country’s healthcare…
An Unjust Justice System Needs to Be Changed
Two prisoners in Sri Lanka were recently released after being detained for many years, a harsh reminder of the ease with which people can be locked up on flimsy grounds. This has…
Weaponising Buddhism: Will the Third Wave Be the Last?
Independent Sri Lanka experienced three waves of weaponsation of Buddhism. The first was when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike embraced the Buddhist Commission Report. D.S. Senanayake had refused, on Constitutional grounds, a request by the…
Families of Prisoners are Human Beings
In December 2008, Human Rights Office Kandy (HROK) had started to present human rights awards during the celebration of International Human Rights Day. I was among those who received an award and…
Historic Court Win for LGBTIQ Community
Thanks to archaic, Victorian-era laws that are still present in Sri Lanka, the country’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTIQ) community has been marginalised and discriminated against for over a…
