![](https://groundviews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/COLOMBO-270x220.jpeg)
On Protests
In November 2019, 6.9 million Sri Lankans overestimated the intelligence, capacity and compassion of the Rajapaksa brothers. That mistaken assessment was the root cause of the tragedy we are living through today…
In November 2019, 6.9 million Sri Lankans overestimated the intelligence, capacity and compassion of the Rajapaksa brothers. That mistaken assessment was the root cause of the tragedy we are living through today…
I debated with myself whether Sri Lanka’s present state was a crisis of incompetence or a crisis of arrogance and settled on incompetence. You could have someone arrogant but competent; it’s not…
The images are stark and compelling. The STF men are stoic and menacing. They stand unmoving, machine guns clasped tightly to their chests, their faces obscured by motorcycle helmets. The women are…
“Terror continuous dark terror against the fragile human land…” Zbigniew Herbert (To Marcus Aurelius) Had Sri Lanka a parliamentary system of governance, the Rajapaksas would have been out by now. Thanks to…
Much more lucid than in his disastrous last address to the nation, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was noticeably sombre and sober on Wednesday night. Perhaps mindful of the critiques that followed his earlier…
The Vavuniya High Court has upheld the rights of families of the missing and disappeared to be legally represented and participate in the investigation into the suspected gravesite at the Mannar Sathosa…
The Sri Lankan government was never likely to find the scrutiny of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2022 a comfortable experience. In a discussion delayed because of the…
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…
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,…
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 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…
“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…
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…
“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…
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…