Photo courtesy of Newswire A National People’s Power (NPP) delegation led by its leader comrade Anura Kumara Dissanayake was invited to India for talks with India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, the National Security Adviser (NSA) Mr Ajit Doval and the Foreign Secretary Mr Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Dr Jaishankar’s social media posts denoted positive and productive discussions that centred ...
Photos courtesy Prof. Sampath Seneviratne Mannar is one of the oldest cities in Sri Lanka dating back to the maritime Silk Road and the trade routes between India and Sri Lanka. It also has some of the most important wintering wetlands for migratory birds. Sri Lanka is a signatory nation for the United Nations Convention of Migratory Species. Hence, we ...
Photos by Ama Koralage They gather every Sunday at 4.30 opposite the Healthguard pharmacy on Thimbirigasyaya Road come rain or shine, a band of diehards who have bonded since April 7, 2022 by coming out of their comfort zones to protest against various misdeeds and missteps of the country’s leaders from escalating prices to student arrests, rampant corruption and the ...
Photos courtesy of Sudeepa Dhananjaya During four months in 2022, from March to July, Sri Lanka witnessed events unprecedented in its history. Driven to despair at the state of their nation, hundreds of thousands of citizens converged on Colombo to insist that their president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resigns. They streamed into Galle Face at all times of the day and night. ...
Photo courtesy of UN News Since being granted independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has been run by three family dynasties whose unaccountable, corrupt and incompetent regimes have led the country into various crises: economic, political and social including in the form of constitutional riots, two insurrections and a thirty-year long civil war. Currently the country is bankrupt and under the ...
Photo courtesy of Xinhuanet As we mark another independence day celebrating the transfer of power from the British colonial government to Ceylonese rulers, it is important to reflect on the situation that existed before, the impact and the dependencies created henceforth. Away from the superficial ceremonial grandeur, is there a commendable social, economic, political and cultural reality post-independence? Does that ...
Photo courtesy of Colombo Times The Minister of Justice recently presented to parliament the Anti-Terrorism Bill, and its first reading took place on January 10, 2024. While this Bill is fraught with problems, two main issues with the Bill remain the drafting process and the impact that the Bill will have on the liberties of the people, minorities and dissidents ...
Photo courtesy of IPS Women in Sri Lanka face serious barriers to political representation and the country ranks among the lowest in the world for the percentage of women in national legislatures. After the parliamentary elections in 2020, there were just over five percent of elected women representatives in parliament. Underrepresentation of women occurs at each level of elected leaders ...
Photo courtesy of Hindustan Times People suspected of using illegal drugs are among the latest Sri Lankans to find their rights under attack from the regime. So are those sharing news and views online that might suddenly be deemed prohibited, as huge powers of censorship are handed to a few presidential appointees. Meanwhile ministers continue to push for an Anti-Terrorism ...
Photo courtesy of PBS “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids you killed today?” was a line from a popular song written by Bill Fredericks and sung by a group of school children in US, soon after Lyndon Johnson decided to increase US troops in Vietnam from 59,900 in 1965 to 448,800 in 1967. In fact, during the course of the ...
Photos courtesy of Saskia Fernando Gallery Firi Rahman grew up with parrots so he is familiar with their looks and understands their habits. On a visit to Paris, it seemed as if the parrots from Colombo had followed him there – migrants to a foreign land, making unfamiliar sounds while racing across the landscape looking for another home. The Parisian ...
Photo courtesy of Arab News The reporter gives us news and despite the agony in details: shrapnel killing kids, hospitals, schools and mosques bombed with two thousand pound projectiles, almost two million people displaced, hounded, on the run, we feel order conserved, written into the lede, helmet emblazoned with the white word press, its voice trusted on television, the internet. ...
Photo courtesy of Colombo Times “Blessed One, Arhat One, Great Sage Sri Samanthabadra…”Part of the official invitation to the self-proclaimed Arhat cum Chief Sage Samanthabadra to preach his dhamma. “Mahinda is a religion. Mahinda is a philosophy. Mahinda is a culture and a morality this country needs.” Chief Incumbent of Mirisewetity (Lanka news web – 14.8.2020).The Tripitaka is silent on ...
Photo courtesy of LNW On September 18, 2023, the Government of Sri Lanka published a Bill titled “Online Safety” and this was subsequently tabled in parliament on October 3. The Bill aims to establish an Online Safety Commission with a range of powers, including the ability to direct persons and internet service providers to remove vaguely defined “prohibited statements” from ...
Photo courtesy of Twitter Sri Lanka has published a bill to establish a Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation. Although the bill superficially appears to tick several boxes for the international community, a close examination reveals it is deeply flawed and represents a total betrayal of justice for Tamil and Sinhala victims of mass atrocity crimes. This aside from whether ...
Photo courtesy of NPR As the International Court of Justice prepares to deliver its verdict on South Africa’s case against Israel, now is an opportune moment to reflect on what it means for the West, the Global South, and international law and human rights.The news from Gaza is pretty grim, and it is getting grimmer by the day. Nearly 24,000 ...
Photo courtesy of JNS “Israel, like South Africa, is an apartheid state after taking Palestine from the Arabs who had lived there for a thousand years.” (Hendrik Verwoerd) “The people of South Africa will never forget the support of the state of Israel to the apartheid regime.” (Nelson Mandela). It may sound strange why South Africa of all countries should ...
Photo courtesy of Vikalpa “The records are crucial to hold us accountable. They are indispensable as deterrents against a repetition of this ghastliness and they are a powerful incentive for us to say, “Never again”. They are a potent bulwark against human rights violations. We must remember our past so that we do not repeat it.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu, October ...
Photo courtesy of CPA It has been 16 years since the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in September 2007. However, Sri Lanka has not formulated a legal or policy framework, in line with the declaration, to ensure the survival, dignity and wellbeing of indigenous people in the country. After several meetings and ...
Photo courtesy of The Japan Times Given the wars and conflicts that engulfed the world at the end of 2023, peace and conflict studies have become even more important as we welcome 2024. This article is based on the experience of Sri Lanka. Using the example of Sri Lanka, its aim is to show the importance of taking into account ...
