“Too far Yet too close The soul, as dense as a forest So dark and deep Don’t fade away: Don’t fade away O mysterious being Don’t run off: Don’t run off Like a fewer dream Like the soothing, gentle touch of someone close Caress my body and soul with love so mellow” (The song played at the end of the ...
Photo courtesy of News18 The demise of Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, the senior-most leader who guided Tamil national politics post Mullivaikkal, has deepened the leadership vacuum in Tamil politics. Sampanthan entered the political arena through the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), being inspired by the ethnic liberation politics of S.J.V. Chelvanayagam, and served as the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) ...
Photo courtesy of The Economist Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) MRP provisional estimates of presidential election voting intent in May 2024 show support for NPP/JVP leader AK Dissanayake at 39% (-2) and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa at 38% (unchanged compared to April). Support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe increased to 15% (+3) while support for ...
Photo courtesy ICES In a world where narratives of conflict and division dominate, the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) offers a refreshing perspective through its latest project, Shared Encounters. This semi-academic book, along with three accompanying documentaries, seeks to challenge the prevailing discourse by highlighting stories of coexistence and ethnic confluence from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. These works ...
Photo courtesy of DW The latest estimates from IHP’s SLOTS MRP model shows little changes in voting intention amongst all adults in May 2024. SJB (remains unchanged at 34%) and NPP/JVP (-1%). Both SJB and NPP/JVP are tied with voter support of 34%, followed by SLPP with 13% (-1), UNP with 6% (unchanged) and ITAK with 4% (-1). The May ...
Photo courtesy of Ada Derana R. Sampanthan MP passed away on June 30, 2024. He was 91. Sampanthan was a venerable statesman, and veteran Tamil politician. His passing marks the end of an era. As journalist Meera Srinivasan wrote in The Hindu obiturary, “A parliamentarian for nearly half a century, Mr. Sampanthan was a bold and relentless voice in the House. Since ...
Photo Courtesy of Verite Research Sri Lanka’s women are literate and well educated with a 92.3 percent literacy rate and 1.4 female students for every one male student enrolled in tertiary education. However these high numbers are not translated to workplace participation that stands at a low 31.8%. Neither is it reflected in women who hold positions of power, especially ...
Photo courtesy of The Hindu Victims of torture can include those who survived torture, those who were killed and also their family members. Survivors of torture suffer from the effects of torture for prolonged periods, often for the rest of their lives, physically, mentally, socially and financially. Many are unable to continue their livelihoods in the same way as before. ...
Photo courtesy of BBC This article questions how we understand what is meant by state security. Rethinking what we mean by state security has to start with how we understand the state. The state is usually treated state as a concrete, self-contained entity that has attained a final status. The physical geographic space covered by the state is securitised, and ...
Photo courtesy of Will Baxter Today is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture Torture refers to the act of deliberately inflicting severe physical or psychological pain and suffering on someone, usually to extract information, coerce a confession, punish, intimidate or as an act of cruelty. It is considered a severe violation of human rights and is prohibited ...
Photo courtesy of FT The president’s speech in parliament last week raises serious concerns about his own understanding of the workings of the Constitution and his own commitment to constitutional governance and the independence of the judiciary. There are two issues I wish to consider here; firstly, the Supreme Court’s Special Determination on the Gender Equality Bill and secondly the ...
Photo courtesy of The Guardian “We are accused of terrorism If we dare to write about the remains of a homeland…. About a homeland where birds are not allowed to sing About a homeland where writers must use invisible ink….” Nizar Qabbani (We are accused of terrorism) Had writer V.V. Ganeshananthan lived in Jaffna instead of New York, she would ...
Photo courtesy of Mathi Sutha I went to watch Venthu Thaninthathu Kaadu (Dark Days of Heaven) with some trepidation as I had no prior knowledge of the film or its director and no recommendations to go by. I feared it would be a pornography of violence that crudely sacrificed the plot and its characters for some greater political point. The ...
Photo courtesy of Lankapuvath The recent suggestion by United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Range Bandara to hold a referendum to postpone elections by two years caused an outcry and was quickly denied by senior UNP members. Was he was merely expressing a personal view or was he was testing the waters on a serious idea? Either way, this tactic ...
Photo courtesy of AP In 2023, the number of refugees and asylum seekers (those with pending refugee applications) in the world increased about 8.75% from 45.9 million to 50.3 million, according to statistics of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). But Sri Lanka’s contribution to address this increasing global crisis has dramatically declined in the last 15 months. According ...
Photo courtesy of StudyWay The tides of work in Sri Lanka are shifting and Gen-Z is at the forefront of this change. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyzing factor to throw young adults into this new form of work: the gig economy. This flexible, platform-based work arrangement has recently surged, offering opportunities and challenges for Gen-Z. The article discusses ...
Photo by Ama Koralage June is the #Pride month where we commemorate, celebrate and recognize Two-Spirit (North American specific term to recognize two-spirit Indigenous folks), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Asexual and additional sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTIQQA+) activism, culture and their impact on history locally, nationally and internationally. As cis women having born and raised in ...
Photo courtesy of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor These tears fall into buckets, run to streams and rivers. These tears, shed weight from the body, leave a light patina like drops on the windowpane. How to go on with the day, cook, eat, walk, call friends, write? These tears do not dry on the glass. They harden into rocks and stones. ...
Photo courtesy of Lanka News Web Although Sri Lanka is a world away from Palestine local activists, motivated by the slaughter and suffering that the Palestinian people are undergoing in their own land each day, are carrying out a concerted campaign to bring their plight to the notice of politicians and people here. While by no means an influential actor ...
Photo courtesy of S&D The increasing prevalence of online child abuse has emerged as a pressing issue not only in Sri Lanka but globally as well and demands urgent and multidimensional responses. The digital age has provided unparalleled opportunities for connection and information sharing but it has also facilitated the exploitation and abuse of children in ways that are difficult ...
