Dawn at Galle Face: Which Tomorrow?
“Beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see?” Do you hear the people sing (Les Misérables) “I’m 89 years old,” the grandmotherly protestor holding a hand-drawn placard says. “For…
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The Curse on Sri Lanka’s Bloodstained Leaders
The Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, knows exactly why most Sri Lankans are living through the worst times ever experienced in recent history. It’s the curse on the bloodstained leaders…
Journalists Rise During Protest Wave
Since late March, spontaneous street protests have been held across Sri Lanka calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and several others from the Rajapaksa…
Going Home after #GoHomeGota
The year is 1990. The regime in power is the UNP, led by President Ranasinghe Premadasa. The opposition MP? Mahinda Rajapaksa. The incident described above formed the basis of a fundamental rights…
Revolution by Committee and Other Ways to Kill a Protest
Infantilizing youth: a familiar trope The ongoing protests are being labelled youth protests. Yes, youth have taken the lead in the Occupy Galle Face protest, which is being sustained by their creatively…
How an Incompetent Cabal of Voodoo Economics Practitioners Ruined Sri Lanka’s Economy
Sri Lanka is set to commence its discussions with the IMF on Monday. The country has jumped off the plane of economic stability without a parachute and now we must hope that…
Protesting in Style: The Arrival of a New Generation
It is clear that some positive changes are happening in Sri Lanka. I am not talking about the hardships the country and the people have been facing. We all know no solution…
An Emergency Economic Stabilization Plan
Sri Lanka is at a very dangerous juncture with usable reserves that have dropped to about $150 million. Acute shortages of essentials ranging from fuel to medicine have become prevalent. Rising public…
Our Planet, Our Health
Today is World Health Day World Health Day, a global health awareness day, was declared to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Health Organisation (WHO) on April 7, 1948. World…
At the Tipping Point – What is Next?
Sri Lanka is going through a political experience like no other in its history. Unlike during the war, during the JVP insurrections or the ethnic riots where the trauma and loss was…
Where Were These Protests in the Past?
Sri Lankans living in the country or abroad feel more than a tinge of pride at how people are standing up against the corrupt government. They are protesting against all odds as basic needs …
Gotta Go
It’s tumbling down, Man. You gotta know when you got to go, Gota. You don’t have the luxury of waiting for Mother India to take back her child from that…
March 31 Protests and Aftermath: Updates
The Protest Events of March 31 leading into the early hours of April 1, 2022 On March 31, a silent citizens protest that began at Jubilee Junction in Nugegoda burgeoned into a massive show…
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…
Sri Lanka’s Crisis of Incompetence
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…