Suspects with military links feature in a number of ongoing investigations into crimes and human rights violations committed in Sri Lanka’s post-war period. The Criminal Investigation Department’s report in Lasantha Wickramatunga’s murder…
Last Friday (12 May) Sri Lankans living in the central hills lined its narrow streets to catch a glimpse of that Indian tea-seller who rose to become the Prime Minister of India….
Emmanuel Macron, the 39-year-old leader of the fledgling En Marche! (On the Move!) party, soundly defeated Marine Le Pen, the ‘unsinkable’ stalwart of the right, by 66% to 34%. Le Pen’s harsh…
Last July, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said Sri Lanka was planning to demilitarise by 2018. The cautious optimism that followed this news died away when the military contradicted Samaraweera’s speech, with Jaffna…
The photographs are framed in a variety of ways; gilt-edged, glossy black wood, or laminated. Creased from being held and passed around. Whatever the frame, they are cradled with equal tenderness. These…
Sri Lanka’s media continues to deviate from established standards of ethical journalism. This includes graphic pictures, misleading photos and commentary of events, racial labels used selectively against ethnic groups, factual errors and the…
In the current debate about reform of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act of 1956 (MMDA), those opposed to reform are arguing that all reform must be consistent with the i school…
Even as a child, Yameen Rasheed was an avid reader who had his own opinions, his father Hussain says. A self-described “disobedient writer” Yameen was writing by the time he was in…
The recent announcement that Sri Lanka had successfully defeated a motion to deny the GSP Plus trade concession would boost the country’s export sector, which had been flagging over the last 18 months,…
Over the last few months, there have been several protests across the Northern Province demanding the release of civilian land from under military occupation. While there have been no definitive responses to…
The adhan call resonates. The residents of Marichchukkaddi in Musali stop speaking and bow their heads in prayer. For five minutes, peace prevails. The only sound is that from the green banners…
This fascinating autobiography of Vijaya Vidyasagara edited by Skantha Kumar and Marshal Fernando and published by the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue is excellent reading. Priced at Rs. 500/- and covering 300 pages…
The Meethotamulla tragedy has brought back the politics of garbage to every screen, newspaper and radio. Street protests are happening around every garbage dump. Modern day popular communication technologies have taken over…
When you tell people in Washington that you’re following Sri Lanka, you might get a strange look. You might get something worse than that. But you never really know. Please keep in…
In 2012, I visited Madampitiya to help with research for a friend’s thesis. The subject was the spread of disease in this area, situated close to a garbage dump. The tiny lanes…
