Post Tagged with: "Sri Lanka"

Beyond the Myth of TINA to the IMF:  The New Development Bank in the Asian 21st Century

Beyond the Myth of TINA to the IMF:  The New Development Bank in the Asian 21st Century

Asia is the fastest growing and most dynamic region of the world according to a recent IMF Report; “Recovery Unabated Amid Uncertainty”.[i]  Asia and the Pacific will contribute around 70 percent of global growth this year as expansion accelerates after Covid-19 supply chain disruptions, with ongoing geopolitical turmoil and war in Europe, as well as, various hybrid over the horizon[Read More…]

by 19/05/2023 Comments are Disabled World
A Game of Thrones in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The Master Mind and Cover-up of Investigations in Easter Bombing in Sri Lanka

A Game of Thrones in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The Master Mind and Cover-up of Investigations in Easter Bombing in Sri Lanka

‘The Owl of Minerva takes flight only at Dusk’ –Walter Benjamin “We have met the enemy, and he is us” — Pogo Comics quoted in the “ISIS is US: The Shocking Truth Behind the Army of Terror.” April is the cruelest month: Four years ago as the Fahrenheit rose on a beautiful Easter Sunday morning in April 21, bombs exploded[Read More…]

by 28/04/2023 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka’s unconvincing response to Universal Periodic Review’s forthright findings

Sri Lanka’s unconvincing response to Universal Periodic Review’s forthright findings

Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process with involves a review of human rights record of all UN member states. It is a process conducted under the articles of Human Rights Council which provides the opportunity to each state to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their countries and to fulfill their[Read More…]

by 23/03/2023 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Alternatives to the IMF and the future of the Welfare State: Beyond the blame game between Superpowers

Alternatives to the IMF and the future of the Welfare State: Beyond the blame game between Superpowers

The economic proxy war between the rising and fading Superpowers is escalating and expanding in the “Asian 21st Century.’ This was apparent in an (un)diplomatic exchange between Chinese and United States officials over the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) debt restructuring delays in Sri Lanka which was the venue of the recent CARAT/ MAREX war games. These happened in the run[Read More…]

by 19/02/2023 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Ranil’s political gamble to resurrect the half alive but kicking 13th amendment

Ranil’s political gamble to resurrect the half alive but kicking 13th amendment

The 13th Amendment is the baby born from the Indo-Ceylon Accord of 1987, a brain child of India which is an international agreement as entered by two independent nations India and Sri Lanka. It is adopted in the Constitution of Sri Lanka and cannot be removed or repealed unless another new Constitution is adopted by Sri Lanka. This is not[Read More…]

by 14/02/2023 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lankan President’s Promises for Tamil Leaders

Sri Lankan President’s Promises for Tamil Leaders

It is a well-known fact that most of the past agreements written and/or oral promises including undertakings of the past Sri Lankan governments are mostly complied with breaches, partial and / or complete non-compliances. Some of the notable instances are the Indo-Ceylon Agreement 1987, BC Pact 1958, and Reasonable Use of Tamil Language Act 1958. At the recent meeting with[Read More…]

by 14/01/2023 Comments are Disabled South Asia
The media of Climate Anxiety and Debt Bondage: Cui Bono in a Post-Truth World?

The media of Climate Anxiety and Debt Bondage: Cui Bono in a Post-Truth World?

 “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute’ runs a wry idiom in New England where the weather may change dramatically in minutes. However, these days blaming the weather for pretty much everything is fashionable– be it global warming or cooling, no rain, or too much rain, drought, floods or a snow blizzard in winter. Recently the news[Read More…]

by 29/12/2022 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
Ranil: Blowing Hot and  Cold

Ranil: Blowing Hot and  Cold

73 year old Ranil Wickremasinghe after serving as a prime minister for five years achieved his ambition of becoming the President of Sri Lanka on 21 of July  2022 as an appointed member of parliament not elected by the people in an election but through the national list thanks to he people’s uprising  and fleeing of Gotabayas;’family on 9th of[Read More…]

by 12/12/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka Financial Crisis Needs Accountability

Sri Lanka Financial Crisis Needs Accountability

The recent statements of President Ranil Wickramasinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry expose and confirm the financial, political, and economic bankruptcy of Sri Lanka even admitted by the leaders and architects of these bankruptcies who nurtured and fed them for their political and personal prosperity partly encouraged by the numbed and sterile opposition coupled with the complacency of ordinary citizens.[Read More…]

by 29/10/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
‘Make the Economy Scream:’ Whither the Asian 21st Century?

‘Make the Economy Scream:’ Whither the Asian 21st Century?

The Scream by Edvard Munch ‘History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”  Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte  ‘Make the Economy Scream’  were President Nixon’s instructions to the Central Intelligence Agency, September 1970, as the first Socialist President of Chile, Salvador Allende’s Popular Unity Party swept to power amid Cold War headwinds.[i] According to then US[Read More…]

by 21/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
UNHRC 51/5 Resolution Against Sri Lanka 

UNHRC 51/5 Resolution Against Sri Lanka 

UNHRC in its 51st  session passed a Resolution against Sri Lanka with 20 countries supporting and 7 countries opposing while other 20 countries abstained from voting. This striking Resolution has vindicated and enhanced UNHRC’s reputation and its deep commitment to uphold human rights, accountability and justice to the victims of human right violations and genocidal crimes. It is to be noted[Read More…]

by 17/10/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Financial Crisis in Sri Lanka

Financial Crisis in Sri Lanka

Over the past decade, the Sri Lankan government has borrowed vast sums of money from foreign lenders to fund public services. Sri Lanka had to fall back on its foreign exchange reserves to pay off government debt, shrinking its reserves from $6.9 billion in 2018 to $2.2 billion this year. This impacted imports of fuel and other essentials, which sent[Read More…]

by 17/10/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Ensuring Sri Lanka’s Compliance with UNHRC Resolutions

Ensuring Sri Lanka’s Compliance with UNHRC Resolutions

Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka and Tamils all over the world are very deeply concerned in relation to Sri Lanka’s past human rights violations including war crimes and the very minimal steps taken by Sri Lanka so far to uphold accountability and dispense justice to the victims which is long delayed and has been remaining in cold storage since the[Read More…]

by 25/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Refer Sri Lanka to International Criminal Court

Refer Sri Lanka to International Criminal Court

The Sri Lankan government’s failure to establish an accountability mechanism for violations of International law means that referral to the International Criminal Court or the creation of another international mechanism “would be fully warranted,” said the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council. The primary reason for the call for referral to ICC[Read More…]

by 22/09/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
IMF Bailout of BlackRock amid Adani Greenwash:  Where does the Gravy Train End?

IMF Bailout of BlackRock amid Adani Greenwash:  Where does the Gravy Train End?

Buenos Aires was rocked again last week by massive protests against austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Structural reforms with austerity have resulted in soaring inflation, currency depreciation, poverty and inequality that is eroding Argentine society and economy, while enabling bail out of private lenders and vulture funds like BlackRock. Argentina is now on its 21st IMF[Read More…]

by 28/08/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Red Flags of Cold war in the Indian Ocean: From IS-claimed Easter attacks to Yuan Wang–5

Red Flags of Cold war in the Indian Ocean: From IS-claimed Easter attacks to Yuan Wang–5

The alarm bells had been ringing for some time in Sri Lanka. The island nation is strategically located at the center of the Indian Ocean on the busiest trade and Undersea Data Cables routes in the world and hence perpetually in the cross-hairs of big power rivalry. For those who missed the signs if not the red flags; ripples caused[Read More…]

by 17/08/2022 Comments are Disabled World
A Brief Outline of Strategy for the New Phase of Janatha Aragalaya

A Brief Outline of Strategy for the New Phase of Janatha Aragalaya

[This article is based on the discussions with activists of the Janatha Aragalaya and concerned Sri Lankan citizens. It is a humble contribution towards ongoing debates within the movement. As the French proverb goes: “De choc des opinions jaillit la vérité” – Truth arises from a conflict of opinions.]   With the deepening crisis of the world capitalist system, we[Read More…]

by 13/08/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Will Sri Lanka recover from its massive debt crisis?

Will Sri Lanka recover from its massive debt crisis?

The massive debt crisis has affected the lives of nearly all classes in the society, specially the poor and middle, in Sri Lanka is not new. The loans given lead to a debt trap which is the root cause of our situation. Sri Lanka’s foreign debt has reached US$ 52 billion and debt servicing last year was six billion dollars[Read More…]

by 10/08/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Peaceful Protests for a Revolutionary Change in Sri Lanka

Peaceful Protests for a Revolutionary Change in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankans had been protesting for months over the country’s economic crisis that has led to a severe shortage of many essential imported items like medicines, fuel and cooking gas. Wickremesinghe’s predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country after protesters stormed his official residence and occupied many key state buildings including the president’s office and prime minister’s office and official residence.[Read More…]

by 09/08/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
As the State collapses in Sri Lanka, citizens fill the vacuum

As the State collapses in Sri Lanka, citizens fill the vacuum

Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic and political crisis has created new kinds of solidarities among citizens, as they try and help each other ride through fuel and food shortages in the absence of assistance or information from the government. Take the fuel queues that stretch for a kilometer or more outside petrol pumps in every direction, for example. Vehicles have to[Read More…]

by 08/08/2022 Comments are Disabled COVID Response Watch
Revolt in Sri Lanka: Does A Seismic Struggle Guarantee System Change?

Revolt in Sri Lanka: Does A Seismic Struggle Guarantee System Change?

To quote Ahilan Kadirgamar, a political economist at the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, the uprising is “a revolt and not yet a revolution, because it doesn’t want to change fundamental social relations… or property relations.”1 As was the case with the massive upheaval in Egypt in 2011 (https://multiracialunity.org/2021/02/24/revolt-in-india-does-a-seismic-struggle-guarantee-systemic-change/, https://multiracialunity.org/2021/03/18/revolt-in-burma-does-a-seismic-struggle-guarantee-systemic-change/), without a program to challenge capitalism or an organization to[Read More…]

by 07/08/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Endless wait for petrol turns life upside down for Sri Lankans

Endless wait for petrol turns life upside down for Sri Lankans

People following the 2022 Sri Lanka political-economy crisis will be able to decipher that the two are closely linked. Political eruptions in Sri Lanka since April have usually followed intense periods of economic shortages. In March there were crippling 12-hour power cuts, resulting in small demonstrations that culminated on 9 April when thousands gathered at the Galle Face Greens. This[Read More…]

by 01/08/2022 Comments are Disabled COVID Response Watch
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Expected To Return, Says Official

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Expected To Return, Says Official

Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to return to the country from Singapore, a Sri Lankan lawmaker says. Cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena told reporters on Tuesday that G Rajapaksa was not in hiding but the date of his return was not known. The former president fled Sri Lanka after mass unrest over an economic crisis. Many protesters say[Read More…]

by 27/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lankan President – Ranil Wickremasinghe will face people’s anger

Sri Lankan President – Ranil Wickremasinghe will face people’s anger

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe won the presidential elections conducted by the Parliament on Thursday after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad amidst intense agitation over the economic crisis. He will serve the remaining tenure of Gotabaya Rajapaksa till November 2024. Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Sri Lankan Politician who is also currently the 9th President of Sri Lanka since July 21,[Read More…]

by 26/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Burning Questions of the Sri Lankan People’s Movement: What is to be Done?  

Burning Questions of the Sri Lankan People’s Movement: What is to be Done?  

(This article is based on a talk delivered at the online session organised by International Solidarity with the People’s Movement in Sri Lanka on a 23.07.2022) The people’s movement in Sri Lanka has entered into a deadlock with the ‘(s)election’ of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President. Within hours of him assuming office, a mid-night crackdown on the Galle Face protest camp[Read More…]

by 24/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
The Elephant in the Room: Geopolitics and the ‘Great Reset’ in Sri Lanka

The Elephant in the Room: Geopolitics and the ‘Great Reset’ in Sri Lanka

“But to watch cricket, there has to be a country left for us to watch it in, no?” A fan at the Galle Test Match that ended with an innings victory for Sri Lanka. July 11, 2022 Spirits were high on July 11 when the Sri Lankan cricket team beat the visiting Aussies by an innings even though the country[Read More…]

by 24/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
A Call for Debt Justice, Debt Cancellation and Transparency in IMF Negotiations in Sri Lanka

A Call for Debt Justice, Debt Cancellation and Transparency in IMF Negotiations in Sri Lanka

The Coalition for Economic Democracy in Sri Lanka (CEDSL) is a group of concerned academics, activists, agricultural, fisheries and industrial workers, students, business persons, trade unionists, and professionals based ‘in country’ and overseas, including the diaspora, who uphold the values of economic rights and justice in public policy making. In the wake of two years of economically-devastating Covid-19 lockdowns, quantitative[Read More…]

by 22/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Popular Opposition To Wickremesinghe’s Election Could Spill Over Into Violence In Sri Lanka

Popular Opposition To Wickremesinghe’s Election Could Spill Over Into Violence In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was braced for more unrest after newly appointed president Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed to crack down on the protests that toppled his predecessor, condemning them as “against the law”. Speaking after being MPs picked him as successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Wickremesinghe made it clear he would not tolerate those he perceived to be stirring up violence. “If you try[Read More…]

by 21/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Gotabaya’s ascent and descent in power as the President of Sri Lanka

Gotabaya’s ascent and descent in power as the President of Sri Lanka

Gotabaya’s election as the President of Sri Lanka in December 2019 is unique as it exposes and endorses the underlying political ills of Sri Lanka namely racism, communalism, majoritarianism and Sinhala/Buddhist hegemony. His victory has cemented the paths of polarization and created separatist and segregating tendencies among the usual peaceful Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim communities. This article briefly mentions the[Read More…]

by 21/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Will Sri Lanka be able to develop an alternative to hateful political nationalism of the Rajapaksas?

Will Sri Lanka be able to develop an alternative to hateful political nationalism of the Rajapaksas?

The mighty nationalist leaders from the Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka looked helpless and cowardly when he was humiliated at the airport as he tried to flee abroad to protect himself from the agitating people who protested at the airport. Still, he used his powers as the arm forces followed it ‘dutifully’, knowing fully well that it was actually a[Read More…]

by 18/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Struggle For Complete System Change To Continue In Sri Lanka, Protesters Vow

Struggle For Complete System Change To Continue In Sri Lanka, Protesters Vow

Sri Lankan protesters have vowed to continue their struggle for a complete change of the system by abolishing the presidency, as the popular uprising that ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president marked the 100th day on Sunday. The anti-government protest began on April 9 near the presidential office and has been continuing without a break. “We will continue our fight till[Read More…]

by 17/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
The rise and fall of Gotabaya Rajapaksa

The rise and fall of Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician and former military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022. Gotabaya Rajapakshe  is believed to have directly overseen the country’s police and military, which have been accused by the UN, human rights groups and Sri Lanka’s own investigative agencies of crimes[Read More…]

by 17/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Get Gota: Holding a War Criminal Accountable

Get Gota: Holding a War Criminal Accountable

The fall and ignominious retreat of Sri Lanka’s Gotabaya Rajapaksa has enlivened one distinct possibility.  Having formally resigned as Sri Lankan President, a point made via email from Singapore, those wishing to see him account for war crimes may get their wish. There have been various efforts in train regarding a man who ruthlessly concluded his country’s civil war in[Read More…]

by 16/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
This historic moment must be used to confront Sinhala Buddhist nationalism 

This historic moment must be used to confront Sinhala Buddhist nationalism 

Most of the myths regarding the history of Sri Lanka originate from the Mahavamsa. And so, Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists maintain that they are the Buddha’s selected people, and that the island of Sri Lanka is the Buddhist promised land At the opening of the nineteenth century, the existence of an historical record called the Mahavamsa, or Great Dynasty, was known[Read More…]

by 16/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka Parliament Meets Tomorrow, New President To Be Elected Within 7 Days

Sri Lanka Parliament Meets Tomorrow, New President To Be Elected Within 7 Days

Sri Lanka politicians are trying to settle popular unrest as parliament plans to meet tomorrow after the official resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was made today. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said he expected to elect a new President through Parliament within 7 days in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The Speaker said in terms of the Constitution Prime[Read More…]

by 15/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Tanks Deployed Near Parliament And State Of Emergency Declared In Sri Lanka

Tanks Deployed Near Parliament And State Of Emergency Declared In Sri Lanka

On Thursday, the Sri Lanka government announced a curfew in the capital Colombo and its suburbs that would run until 5am on Friday. To stop demonstrators from accessing the Parliament on Thursday, the Sri Lankan Army stationed tanks close to the building. Troops in green military uniforms and camouflage vests arrived by armored personnel carriers on Thursday to reinforce barricades around[Read More…]

by 14/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Succession In Focus As Sri Lanka Plunges In Political Vacuum

Succession In Focus As Sri Lanka Plunges In Political Vacuum

Sri Lanka’s opposition parties are trying to cobble together an all-party government and pick candidates who can take over after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to step down, giving in to popular pressure in a country struggling to pay for essentials. Sri Lanka has been plunged into a political vacuum after an economic crisis sparked widespread protests[Read More…]

by 11/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Unprecedented Protests Create Political Crisis In Sri Lanka

Unprecedented Protests Create Political Crisis In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s opposition political parties are trying to agree on a new government a day after the country’s president and prime minister offered to resign in the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s economic crisis. Sri Lankan Army chief General[Read More…]

by 10/07/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Dear Times and Costly Cricket: Australia’s Sri Lankan Tour

Dear Times and Costly Cricket: Australia’s Sri Lankan Tour

For a country experiencing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, the picture of a touring team pampered and fussed over might cause consternation.  But the Australian cricket tour to Sri Lanka has only been met by praise from the country’s cricket officials, where logic is inverted, and the gaze of responsibility averted.  Not even a shortage of[Read More…]

by 07/06/2022 Comments are Disabled World
The Galle Face Protests – A Lesson For All Political Leaders

The Galle Face Protests – A Lesson For All Political Leaders

The Galle Face protests which commenced on April 9th 2022 cannot be described as a mass uprising by the majority of the Sri Lankan population representing all sections of the communities particularly the middle and upper class sections besides the minority communities, the Tamil and Muslims. It was necessitated and forced upon on the low wages earning working population who[Read More…]

by 06/06/2022 1 comment South Asia
Indiscriminate Bombing And Shelling Of Hospitals by Sri Lankan Military

Indiscriminate Bombing And Shelling Of Hospitals by Sri Lankan Military

“Hospitals are supposed to be sanctuaries from shelling, not targets,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “While doctors and nurses struggle to save lives in overcrowded and under equipped facilities, Sri Lankan army attacks have hit one hospital after another.” The Sri Lankan armed forces have repeatedly struck hospitals in the northern Vanni region in indiscriminate artillery[Read More…]

by 31/05/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
End political instability in Sri Lanka

End political instability in Sri Lanka

Global Kairos for Asia-Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) calls for respect for human rights, an end to political instability and, the re-building of Democracy in Sri Lanka Global Kairos for Asia-Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) is a collective of Asian Christian Theologians working in partnership with scholars and human rights activists of different faiths to express our radical solidarity with the people[Read More…]

by 27/05/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
The crisis in Sri Lanka: Exploited for regime changes in South Asia?

The crisis in Sri Lanka: Exploited for regime changes in South Asia?

Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, center, who resigned on May 9, seen with his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who three days before in a Cabinet meeting, pressed for the resignation, so as to buy an elusive peace. Colombo has been a witness to terrorist bombings and assassinations, but not to the scenes of  mass violence, that unfolded on May[Read More…]

by 12/05/2022 1 comment South Asia
An ignored genocide of Tamils at Mullivaikkal in Sri Lanka on 18th May 2009

An ignored genocide of Tamils at Mullivaikkal in Sri Lanka on 18th May 2009

There cannot be any plausible reasons to deny the fact of a genocidal agenda initiated by the Sri Lankan Governments immediately after the independence in 1948 against the Tamils living in the North and East. Sinhala majoritarianism, communalism and later adding Buddhism  provided the keys to open up and launch several discriminatory measures which commenced from Sinhala Only Act of[Read More…]

by 12/05/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka in Deepening Turmoil: Between Crisis and Opportunities

Sri Lanka in Deepening Turmoil: Between Crisis and Opportunities

  The economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka has turned worse with the people’s protests assuming violent bouts, snowballing across the island nation. Predictably, the ruling Rajapaksa family has become the principal target of attacks, and there are reports that Mahindra Rajapaksa—who resigned as prime minister—and his family had to flee from the capital even as President Gotabaya remained[Read More…]

by 11/05/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka Spring: Popular and timely uprising

Sri Lanka Spring: Popular and timely uprising

This uprising in Sri Lanka has brought the family rule of Rajapakshas’ to its knees before the angry and hungry crowds who once brought them to power. The unique beauty of this uprising is the participation of people from all walks if life irrespective of their race, religion or region, people from north to south and east to west are[Read More…]

by 11/05/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
The fate of the enforced disappeared and the mass graves in Sri Lanka

The fate of the enforced disappeared and the mass graves in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, the issue of people going missing during the country’s long civil war is an open wound as evinced by the struggle of Tamil mothers seeking news about their loved ones. For the past five years Tamil mothers have been protesting in the North and Eastern Provinces in hot sun dust and rain demanding to know what happened[Read More…]

by 10/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Rulers For National Interests or Parochial Interests in Sri Lanka

Rulers For National Interests or Parochial Interests in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s past 74 years of political history since independence in 1948 is  marked with rules by eighteen Prime Ministers and by seven Presidents from 1978 after the late J.R. Jayawardene introduced the powerful executive system of government which has now grown like a banyan tree with roots and branches encompassing  the Rajapakshes’ family and pedigrees. The Presidential powers have[Read More…]

by 05/04/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Unimplemented undertakings, resolutions and promises of Sri Lanka

Unimplemented undertakings, resolutions and promises of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s defiance and delaying tactics in implementing its own undertakings and several UNHRC Resolutions by demanding extensions and lame excuses to implement these in good faith and in time. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet mentioned some of the incidents under the section on “Impunity in emblematic cases” in her annual report to the UN Human[Read More…]

by 28/03/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Recommendations on Human Rights in Sri Lanka should be implemented

Recommendations on Human Rights in Sri Lanka should be implemented

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Madam Michael Bachelet’s Report on Sri Lanka submitted on 24th February 2022 for discussion is fully welcome which is also endorsed by the Sri Lankan Tamils and Tamil politicians due to its frank and forthright exposure with no mincing of words. This article analyses  some of her recommendations and observations to justify and support[Read More…]

by 21/03/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka’s exercise in futility at human rights council to whitewash its decades of human rights violations

Sri Lanka’s exercise in futility at human rights council to whitewash its decades of human rights violations

Foreign Minister G.L. Pieris’s speech at  the 49th Session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva is impeccably laced with web of lies and littered with hollow and empty promises and empty undertakings having been cleverly woven to cover up the truths and mislead the United Nations, UNHRC and International Community. Undoubtedly there will be few buyers of his labored[Read More…]

by 12/03/2022 1 comment South Asia
Pathetic plight of the elderly mothers and relatives of missing persons in Sri Lanka

Pathetic plight of the elderly mothers and relatives of missing persons in Sri Lanka

For the past 1390 days, the elderly mothers and relatives have been engaged in a series of struggles, especially amid the great epidemic threat, “78 parents of the missing relatives have lost their lives in the ongoing series of struggles for justice, “The 78 parents who fought for justice with us in past years are not with us today. The[Read More…]

by 05/03/2022 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
UN: Protectors of human rights or silent watchers of war crimes?

UN: Protectors of human rights or silent watchers of war crimes?

The United Nations is a global organization that brings together its member states to confront common challenges, manage shared responsibilities and exercise collective action in an enduring “quest for a peaceful world.” One of the main purposes of the United Nations is to maintain world peace and security. At present there are 193 member states in the UN. Of the[Read More…]

by 04/03/2022 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Time for UNHRC member countries to consider sanctions against Sri Lanka

Time for UNHRC member countries to consider sanctions against Sri Lanka

Whether or not Sri Lanka cooperates with the international investigation, the OHCHR will proceed with its work as mandated and present  its report to the Human Rights Council [HRC] The HRC will discuss the Report  [Sri Lanka will have the right to respond] and decide on whether it will be adopted or not. If the Report is adopted and there[Read More…]

by 28/02/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Prevention of terrorism act (PTA) 1979- Preserving it for a potential Presidential dictatorial rule

Prevention of terrorism act (PTA) 1979- Preserving it for a potential Presidential dictatorial rule

The much widely criticized PTA of 1979 described as draconian is doomed to live as long as Rajapakshas hold the reins of power in Sri Lanka. The demise of it by repealing will certainly ring the death knell of any designs of dictatorship in Sri Lanka and their hold on power. PTA -1979 was legislated as a result and consequence and aftermath[Read More…]

by 27/02/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Possession and use of chemical weapons by Sri Lankan Army: Massacre of 147,000 Tamils

Possession and use of chemical weapons by Sri Lankan Army: Massacre of 147,000 Tamils

Sri Lanka is a democracy only in its most slovenly application, and even if it is a full, blazing beacon of a democracy, the category offers no protection or excuse for what that “democracy” so gruesomely did to Tamils by using banned cluster bombs and phosphorous to wipe out the Tamils trapped inside the war zone. Most unfortunate for all[Read More…]

by 14/02/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
February 4th Independence Day for Sinhalese and Black Day for Tamils in Sri Lanka

February 4th Independence Day for Sinhalese and Black Day for Tamils in Sri Lanka

Postcolonial Sri Lanka has become worse than it was during the colonial period. The sad history of February 4th – the day of independence to the Sinhalese has turned out to be a BLACK DAY to the Tamils. The Citizenship Act of 1948 – 49 and the state sponsored settlements of Sinhala people in the areas where Tamils were dominant[Read More…]

by 03/02/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
It is high time the Indo/Ceylon accord of 1987 is fully implemented

It is high time the Indo/Ceylon accord of 1987 is fully implemented

India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shri V. Muralidharans’s following statement on July 31, 2021 in the Rajya Sabha is timely, fitting and correct which also alludes to the nagging and continuing unsolved problems being faced by the Tamils in Sri Lanka. “India believes that delivering the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community is in the best interest of[Read More…]

by 17/01/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
It is high time for the British to recognize Tamil’s self determination

It is high time for the British to recognize Tamil’s self determination

It is high time for the United Kingdom to recognize its failure and realize that the sufferings of the Tamils started immediately after the British left Sri Lanka in 1948 and find justice and freedom to the oppressed Tamils who are now at a great loss of lives, land, resources, human rights etc. United Kingdom knows well that Sri Lanka[Read More…]

by 11/01/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Sri Lanka: Activating the dormant 13th amendment of 1987

Sri Lanka: Activating the dormant 13th amendment of 1987

The 1987 13th Amendment, a conceived and delivered baby of India under the Indo/Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 for adoption by Sri Lanka has been lying in the constitution of Sri Lanka partly implemented and mostly ignored by the Sri Lankan Governments since then. This 13th Amendment is now activated and given new life and blood by the Tamil leaders[Read More…]

by 06/01/2022 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Tamils all over the world welcome United States action against alleged war criminals

Tamils all over the world welcome United States action against alleged war criminals

Tamils all over the world [85 million] appreciate and thank the US State Department for their sanctions on two Sri Lankan Military Officials. Those military personnel were: Chandana Hettiarachchi, a Sri Lankan naval intelligence officer, for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely, the flagrant denial of the right to liberty of at least eight “Trincomalee 11” victims,[Read More…]

by 19/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Sri Lanka: Unfulfilled Commitments And Unending Promises

Sri Lanka: Unfulfilled Commitments And Unending Promises

  There is no dearth of promises and undertakings dished out by the successive Sri Lankan Governments and their opportunistic political leaders since 1948 whose sole intention and aim is to capture the political power at any cost to the interests of the nation and its people. Former President J.R. Jayawardene heralded this practice and habit with the slogan and[Read More…]

by 16/12/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
United Kingdom Owes Remedial Justice To The Eelam Tamils

United Kingdom Owes Remedial Justice To The Eelam Tamils

 Before the colonial rule by the Portuguese, Dutch and British there were  three sovereign regions in Sri Lanka [Ceylon] The Kingdom of Jaffna in the North [Tamil Kingdom] Kingdom of Kandy in the central highlands and Kotte in the Southwest [Sinhalese Kingdoms.] The Portuguese and Dutch ruled these regions as separate units, the British in 1833 for their easy administration[Read More…]

by 06/12/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka: How Rights of Tamils Eroded

Sri Lanka: How Rights of Tamils Eroded

Tamil Nation existed until the British conquered Sri Lanka [then called Ceylon] and amalgamated the Sinhala Nation in the South with the Tamil Nation in the North and East in 1833. Before that Jaffna Kingdom was ruled by Tamil Kings. There are several historical records to prove this fact. The British in 1948 gave independence to Sri Lanka [Ceylon] without[Read More…]

by 22/11/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Spiraling Prices, Shortages, Foreign Exchange Crisis In Sri Lanka: Opposition Leads Thousands To Protest

Spiraling Prices, Shortages, Foreign Exchange Crisis In Sri Lanka: Opposition Leads Thousands To Protest

Tens of thousands of supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition party rallied in the capital Colombo to protest the nation’s economic woes. This is the first major campaign against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government since it swept to power last August. Defying heavy sporadic rains, tightened Covid-19 guidelines and court orders, supporters of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya — led[Read More…]

by 17/11/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic nation – Not a Budhist Sinhala nation

Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic nation – Not a Budhist Sinhala nation

North and East Tamils traditional & historical homeland In Sri Lanka for the last 72 years, the intent and goal of all Sri Lankan Governments and Buddhist Clergy [without exception] have been to secure the Island as a SINHALA BUDDHIST STATE. The current Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakshe is latest and very active leader who is determined to achieve this[Read More…]

by 14/11/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka: One Country One Law-Consolidating and entrenching Buddhism

Sri Lanka: One Country One Law-Consolidating and entrenching Buddhism

President Gotabaya’s latest Presidential  Task Force headed by a convicted, jailed and pardoned Gnanasara Thero who is the founder of Bodu Bala Sena {Peoples’ Power Force] is entrusted to “Make a study of the implementation of the concept of “One Country One Law” within Sri Lanka and prepare a draft Act for the said purpose, to study the drafted Acts[Read More…]

by 11/11/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Draconian PTA, Presidential Pardon to Criminals and Impunity to Security Forces

Draconian PTA, Presidential Pardon to Criminals and Impunity to Security Forces

President Gotabaya Rajapakshe in his speech in the United Nations General Assembly in his ambitious statement said “Fostering greater accountability, restorative justice and meaningful reconciliation through domestic institutions is essential to achieve lasting peace. So too is ensuring more equitable participation in the fruits of economic development. It is my Government’s firm intention to build a prosperous, stable and secure[Read More…]

by 28/10/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Granting of GSP to Sri Lanka – Boosting and Encouraging Human Rights Violations

Granting of GSP to Sri Lanka – Boosting and Encouraging Human Rights Violations

The European Union is currently reviewing the suspension of GSP+ granted to Sri Lanka in 2017. In this respect, one has to consider the unacceptable state of accountability, justice and rule of law in Sri Lanka and how far they have been respected and observed by Sri Lanka as a member of HRC and UN. In this respect, the following[Read More…]

by 14/10/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
The Fallout and Lessons Learnt from HRC and UN September 2021 Sessions

The Fallout and Lessons Learnt from HRC and UN September 2021 Sessions

The 48th UN Human Rights Council’s sessions has evoked much interest for Sri Lanka’s Human Rights activists and Government coupled with mixed signals from the Human Rights Commissioner. While the Commissioner appreciates Sri Lanka’s moves which are apparently opportunistic and face saving farcical measures, she has also issued a warning to Sri Lanka that it will remain in the watch[Read More…]

by 28/09/2021 1 comment Human Rights
Devalued Accountability And Justice In Sri Lanka

Devalued Accountability And Justice In Sri Lanka

Minister of Justice Ali Sabry at a Zoom discussion on 30 August 2021 disclosed that the President in Cabinet meetings and outside has again and again stressed to us his following stand on the issue of disappeared persons. ” If anyone disappeared, there is no need to investigate the reasons for his disappearance.  Do not try to find out if[Read More…]

by 04/09/2021 3 comments Human Rights
Sri Lanka’s Falling Economy And Failing Good Governance

Sri Lanka’s Falling Economy And Failing Good Governance

President Gotabaya acclaimed as un uncrowned king of Sri Lanka after defeating the Liberation of Tigers in the genocidal war with the assistance of 22 countries particularly from India, Pakistan and China as confirmed by his brother Mahinda Rajapakshae [Gotabaya’s brother] while he was on a visit to India in May 2009 is now facing an unpalatable deafening voices of[Read More…]

by 22/07/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Tamils in Sri Lanka demand the restoration of their lost sovereignty

Tamils in Sri Lanka demand the restoration of their lost sovereignty

The Sinhala/Tamil relations and the ethnic conflict intensified immediately after the independence of the Island on February 04, 1948. The rise of Tamil nationalism is not entirely a new phenomenon but only resurgence. The institutionalization and entrenched structure  of genocide of Tamils since independence is the main cause of the conflict that caused the deaths of 70,000 civilians according to[Read More…]

by 15/07/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka One Island – Two Nations

Sri Lanka One Island – Two Nations

Sri Lanka formerly known as CEYLON is an island country in South Asia.  Sri Lanka was historically comprised of two distinctive nations; the country’s history has been written or represented as if it were one nation. However, the two nations, namely Sinhalese and Tamils, have existed in Sri Lanka continuously from historic times, each with its own distinctive religious, linguistic,[Read More…]

by 10/07/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
US Congress Resolution 413: Option for Sri Lanka to choose either Confrontation or Conciliation

US Congress Resolution 413: Option for Sri Lanka to choose either Confrontation or Conciliation

The recently tabled US 413 Resolution in the US Congress led by Ms. Ross breathes fresh air, confidence and hopes for the Tamils, particularly the victimized Tamils whose grievances which commenced in 1948 reached the climax with the genocidal war crimes committed during the war [2006-2009] However, structural genocide has now taken a strong hold on their lives compounded with[Read More…]

by 24/06/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka’s Steady Sliding Towards Military Dictatorship

Sri Lanka’s Steady Sliding Towards Military Dictatorship

President Gotabaya’s compelling necessity to install a military dictator rule is due to many reasons, some of which can be listed as follows:- The military mindset of the President is also an underlying factor propelling and influencing his thinking. He has to put an end to the accusations of UNHRC, UN and other civil groups, namly the commission of war[Read More…]

by 05/06/2021 1 comment South Asia
UNHRC Resolution 46/1 – A Welcome Development

UNHRC Resolution 46/1 – A Welcome Development

A welcome move for the United Nations, Security Council and International Community to uphold accountability and rein in Sri Lanka. At the 46th Session of UNHRC, the final Resolution on Sri Lanka was passed with 22 members voting for it with 11 opposing and 14 abstentions In this article some of the Resolutions’ vital recommendations can be  analyzed in the[Read More…]

by 01/04/2021 1 comment Human Rights
UNHRC Resolution 46th – Improved But Insufficient For Accountability And Justice

UNHRC Resolution 46th – Improved But Insufficient For Accountability And Justice

Sri Lanka’s contemptuous stand regarding the UNHRC Resolutions 30/1. 34/1 and 40/1 as rejected by it has come under discussion in the current 46th Session of UNHRC which is expected to pass a final Resolution against Sri Lanka. A zero draft Resolution has been drafted by the Core members with the UK playing the leading role. This follows after the Human[Read More…]

by 15/03/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka’s Desperate Damage Control Exercise To Degrade Draft UNHRC Resolution

Sri Lanka’s Desperate Damage Control Exercise To Degrade Draft UNHRC Resolution

   Recently. President Gotabaya Rajapakshe appointed a three man Commission to study and find out if any human rights violations have been revealed in the Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation Commission [ LLRC] Paranagama and Udalagama Commissions by ignoring and rejecting the several Reports of the UN Special Rapporteurs including United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon’s Report which detailed comprehensive human rights[Read More…]

by 08/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
UNHRC 46th Session In February/March 2021 – Judgement day for Sri Lanka and its War Victims

UNHRC 46th Session In February/March 2021 – Judgement day for Sri Lanka and its War Victims

The forthcoming 46th UNHRC Sessions in February/March 2021 holds the key to uphold accountability, justice and human rights in Sri Lanka while halting Sri Lanka’s history of evasions and denials  of its obligations to comply with and implement the recommendations in the 30/1 of 2015 and 40/1 of 2019 Resolutions. It has so far successfully resorted to devalue and delay[Read More…]

by 28/12/2020 1 comment Human Rights
United Nations Failure And Sri Lanka’s Defiance

United Nations Failure And Sri Lanka’s Defiance

The fate of the UNHRC Resolutions 30/1 of 2015 and 40/1 of 2019 Sri Lanka’s democracy completely changed and is now ruled by a dictatorial Sinhala Buddhist President elected by the majority Sinhala Buddhist voters. The 20th Amendment to the Constitution has placed him with absolute powers over judiciary, police, election and other independent Commissions which functioned independently without political[Read More…]

by 03/12/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
UNHRC Sessions In March 2021 – Duty to Ensure Accountability and Justice

UNHRC Sessions In March 2021 – Duty to Ensure Accountability and Justice

The UNHRC Sessions in March 2021 assume a greater political importance for the war victims of Sri Lanka and above all for the relevant roles of United Nations and UN Human Rights Council regarding their commitments to uphold Human Rights, Accountability Justice and Rule of Law in countries which have been subjected to UN and UNHRC Resolutions like Sri Lanka[Read More…]

by 30/11/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Crucial Time For Urgent Actions By UNHRC, UN, International Community And Diaspora Tamils

Crucial Time For Urgent Actions By UNHRC, UN, International Community And Diaspora Tamils

An unassailable present Rajapakshas Government could rule for another ten years and possibly more if the 20th Amendment finds its way in the Constitution. An entrenched dynastic rule appears to be looming partly contributed by dishevelled and splintered opposition from UNP and United Peoples Action parties along with contribution from the disunitedly wrangling self-centered Tamil political parties numbering seventeen with seventeen leaders[Read More…]

by 19/10/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Universal Declaration Of Human Rights And Sri Lanka

Universal Declaration Of Human Rights And Sri Lanka

The Universal Declaration for Human Rights  [UDHR] was adopted on 10th December 1948 by the United Nations at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The UDHR contains thirty Articles. Articles 1 and 2 outline the philosophical claim of the UDHR and emphasise that human beings are born free in equal dignity and are entitled to all rights and freedoms without[Read More…]

by 04/10/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia, Human Rights
Mare Nostrum for Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka’s “India First” foreign policy

Mare Nostrum for Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka’s “India First” foreign policy

by Punsara Amarasinghe & Eshan Jayawardane   Sri Lanka has been often portrayed as being in the crossroads of geopolitical encounters with powerful nations throughout its history and its unique geographic location in Indian ocean closer to the Indian mainland, yet distinct from it has made the island’s destiny extremely intertwined with India. Sri Lanka’s own historical identity is the[Read More…]

by 12/09/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
President Gotabaya’s Forward March Towards An Exclusive Sinhala-Budhist State In Sri Lanka

President Gotabaya’s Forward March Towards An Exclusive Sinhala-Budhist State In Sri Lanka

President Gotabaya’s throne speech on August 20, 2020 as expected does not spring any surprise or disappointments to the minorities particularly Tamils as it is a frank and forthright speech which is crowning Buddhism and Sinhalese and expressing his gratitude to them for their endorsement to his pledges. The two-third majority of SLPP in the Parliament was made possible due[Read More…]

by 04/09/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
COVID-19 And President Gotabaya’s Military Rule In North And East Of Sri Lanka

COVID-19 And President Gotabaya’s Military Rule In North And East Of Sri Lanka

Tamils in Sri Lanka especially in the North and East are now living between the devil and deep sea. Heavy presence of the military [to the ratio of one soldier to every four civilians 1: 4] and on the other side they are scared of the Covid-19. The President is determined to hold the election on August 05, 2020 without taking[Read More…]

by 25/07/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
COVID19: An Opportunity To Gotabaya To Establish His Military Rule

COVID19: An Opportunity To Gotabaya To Establish His Military Rule

  Gotabaya Rajapakshe the first time President, an Army veteran has proved himself as guardian of Sinhala Buddhist heritage and champion of the Armed forces. He openly and loudly said NO to Tamil political party TNA} for devolution or power sharing and the full implementation of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987. In his vocabulary devolution has become a bad[Read More…]

by 06/07/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Looming Dictatorship Rule In Sri Lanka

Looming Dictatorship Rule In Sri Lanka

Alarm bells are ringing and heard from various quarters about the direction of Sri Lanka being piloted by the military machine of Rajapakahe’s clan led by the military mindset President Gotabaya Rajapakshe who has a penchant to in tolerate criticism and opposition from any source and not hesitating to eliminate them by any means. President Gotabaya was not involved in[Read More…]

by 12/06/2020 1 comment South Asia
Justice To War Victims, COVID-19 And The Presidential Pardon To Convicted Criminal

Justice To War Victims, COVID-19 And The Presidential Pardon To Convicted Criminal

President Gotabaya’s pardon of a convicted criminal and let him loose and prowl free on the streets is only a licence and encouragement for him and other similar minded criminals to embark on a revengeful killing spree emboldened due to the guarantee of state protection and impunity. The prosecution of Sunil Ratnayake managed to miraculously wade through the many pitfalls[Read More…]

by 10/04/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Sri Lanka’s Sixth Amendment: a Violation of UN Charter and Fundamental Human Rights

Sri Lanka’s Sixth Amendment: a Violation of UN Charter and Fundamental Human Rights

Late President JR Jayewardene of Sri Lanka after allowing and being complicit in the massacres of Tamils in the 1977, 1983 pogroms and justifying them as a normal reaction of Sinhalese to take revenge on innocent Tamils, hurriedly passed the 6th amendment to the constitution in August 1983 to stifle the voice of Tamils. The amendment’s important sections are under:- Article. 157“No[Read More…]

by 15/03/2020 Comments are Disabled South Asia
UN Must Investigate The Usage of Cluster Bombs in Sri Lanka

UN Must Investigate The Usage of Cluster Bombs in Sri Lanka

It is high time for the United Nations to initiate investigation regarding the usage of banned cluster bombs and weapons of mass destruction [WMD]. Even after emerging of substantial evidences, United Nations is delaying the investigations.  United Nations gravely failed to protect the civilians during the war and knowingly ignored to take any action that caused more than the lives[Read More…]

by 10/09/2019 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Sri Lanka explosions: More than 200 killed, Churches and hotels targeted

Sri Lanka explosions: More than 200 killed, Churches and hotels targeted

More than 200 killed and at least 500 injured as eight explosions rocked Catholic churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka while Christians began Easter Sunday celebrations. Media report said: The blasts started at around 8:45am local time at St. Anthony’s Church in Colombo and St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a Catholic-majority town outside of the capital. The Zion Church[Read More…]

by 21/04/2019 1 comment World
In another anti-democratic act, Sri Lankan president dissolves parliament

In another anti-democratic act, Sri Lankan president dissolves parliament

Yesterday Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena blatantly violated the country’s constitution and dissolved parliament almost two years before its term officially ends. According to the gazette notification issued last night, new elections will be held on January 5 and the new parliament convened on January 17. Sirisena’s anti-democratic actions came just two weeks after he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe[Read More…]

by 10/11/2018 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Mass Graves – Disappearances – OMP – PTA  –   Justice to Tamils Victims ? 

Mass Graves – Disappearances – OMP – PTA  –   Justice to Tamils Victims ? 

The culture of impunity to the security forces under the DRACONIAN PREVENTION TERRORISM ACT [PTA] and their licence to kill especially the Tamils caused several disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Sri Lanka. It is to be noted that the Mass Graves, Disappearances and the Prevention of Terrorism Act [PTA] are all inter-connected. The Office of the Missing Persons is toothless[Read More…]

by 26/08/2018 1 comment Human Rights
Paradise in Tears: Sinhalese-Muslim Ethnic Tension in Sri Lanka

Paradise in Tears: Sinhalese-Muslim Ethnic Tension in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankans were looked for a change with sanguine hopes on good governance, reconciliation and development when the current president MaithripalaSirisenacame into power in 2015. However the greatexpectations yearned by Sri Lankans began to fade away with the lethargic, inefficient rule of the new government and the most recent ethnictension in the island has become its’ worst nightmare. The anti-Muslim[Read More…]

by 13/03/2018 2 comments South Asia
Winds of Change in Sri Lanka:Rajapakshe’s Voodoo in Local Election And Foreign Factors in Sri Lankan Politics

Winds of Change in Sri Lanka:Rajapakshe’s Voodoo in Local Election And Foreign Factors in Sri Lankan Politics

Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinghe & Eshan Jayawardane The enigmatic nature    of Sri Lanka was once again manifested by overall results of the recently held local election. The landslide victory marked by Former president Mahinda Rajapakshe’s newly established political party “People’s Front”(Podu Jana Peramuna) has disorientated the two main political parties of the island. In fact the local election was delayed[Read More…]

by 17/02/2018 1 comment South Asia
Is Sri Lanka Going To Be The Next China Town In Indian Ocean?

Is Sri Lanka Going To Be The Next China Town In Indian Ocean?

Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinghe & Eshan Mandara Jayawardane Chinese presence in Sri Lanka was not emerged out of the blue in the island’s recent political past.  Having located in a crucial geographic location in maritime silk route Sri Lankan history claims a long standing affinity with China in its rich history. However Sino Sri Lankan relations in the post independent[Read More…]

by 05/02/2018 2 comments South Asia
Cosmetic Plastering: No bona fide Unity In Sri Lanka’s Unity Government?

Cosmetic Plastering: No bona fide Unity In Sri Lanka’s Unity Government?

Since 2015, Sri Lanka has been governed by a Unity Government comprising of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party of the President and United National Party of the Prime Minister. In the run up to local elections (scheduled in February 2018)preserving the presidency and the power and privilege it brings with it has become a political necessity for the Sri Lankan[Read More…]

by 01/02/2018 1 comment South Asia
Sri Lanka: Violence Is The New Nonviolence

Sri Lanka: Violence Is The New Nonviolence

A Group of GMOA members and the medical faculty undergraduates were on their way to pelt stones on SAITM building in Malabe. On the way, they saw Lord Buddha meditating under a ‘Bo’ tree. They all went to him and told ‘Oh, Most Venerable! We are on our way to pelt stones at SAITM in order to protect the standard[Read More…]

by 13/07/2017 1 comment South Asia
Sri Lanka: Maha Sangha Should Be Banned From Politics

Sri Lanka: Maha Sangha Should Be Banned From Politics

Ivor Jennings, who was primarily responsible for drafting our Constitution upon gaining Independence from the British, handed us a secular constitution. Multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural as Ceylon was then and now is, the Jennings Constitution safeguarded certain rights of the country’s minorities in no uncertain fashion. It was commonly known as Soulbury Constitution and consisted of The Ceylon Independence Act,[Read More…]

by 13/07/2017 1 comment South Asia
Sovereignty & Sangha: Island Without Democracy

Sovereignty & Sangha: Island Without Democracy

Citizens enable the modern democratic State. With all its highs and lows and the complexity, democracy enables citizens to actively participate in the process of governing. Although democratic system allows citizens to actively participate in the governing process, it is up to the citizens to take that decision whether to participate in the governing or not. While social, political and[Read More…]

by 09/07/2017 1 comment South Asia
Ms Ndiaye, Special Rapporteur’s Visit Sparks Hope For The Tamils

Ms Ndiaye, Special Rapporteur’s Visit Sparks Hope For The Tamils

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that Ms Rita Izsák Ndiaye, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issueson problems faced by minorities in various countries, is to visit Sri Lanka from 10 to 20 October 2016. Her first three years term as the special Rapporteur started on 1st August 2011. She was given another three years on the[Read More…]

by 29/09/2016 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Ban Ki Moon’s Apollonian Speech At BMICH Colombo

Ban Ki Moon’s Apollonian Speech At BMICH Colombo

UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki Moon’s speech at the Bandaranayake International Memorial Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo to citizens of the South of Sri-Lanka showed that he has revived his Eastern wisdom. He tactfully told the audience that Sri-Lanka was responsible for part of the war crimes that was committed in the past. The crimes against the minorities reached[Read More…]

by 09/09/2016 1 comment Human Rights
Sri Lanka: Dear Mr. President! — ( An Open Letter)

Sri Lanka: Dear Mr. President! — ( An Open Letter)

Dear Mr. President, The wave of political enthusiasm which generates hope for a nation sans, bribery & corruption, mismanagement of the state resources, and the cunning culture of bureaucracy, in general the culture of cheating the ordinary citizen, is sadly being shattering and flattening, though you are still managing to keep the high tone in the course correction. It is[Read More…]

by 22/08/2016 1 comment South Asia
Sri Lanka And Office Of The Missing Person

Sri Lanka And Office Of The Missing Person

Sri Lanka with one of the worst records in human rights violations has come up with a positive step. It has passed the missing person bill with some amendments in unanimous way. The bill was passed with the support of TNA and JVP. The passed bill has certain good features; it will try to search and identify about 65000 missing[Read More…]

by 15/08/2016 3 comments South Asia
Sri Lanka: Ranil’s Dream And The Delusional Opposition

Sri Lanka: Ranil’s Dream And The Delusional Opposition

Arresting of an intelligence officer attached to Sri Lanka Army over the murder of late Lasantha Wickramatunge has sparked questions about the underworld of the state, and questioned the very ruling elements of the government. The investigation of this blatantly committed daylight murder has turned into yet another all-consuming matter in the political arena. Flies are around, bugs are moving,[Read More…]

by 25/07/2016 1 comment South Asia
Sri Lanka: Neither Anti-Tamil Nationalism Nor Anti-Sinhala Nationalism Would Solve The Convolution

Sri Lanka: Neither Anti-Tamil Nationalism Nor Anti-Sinhala Nationalism Would Solve The Convolution

It was yet another period of dark days in the history of Jamaica, where gobbled and devoured political parties along with other interest groups were instigating and fueling brutal civil war. The people in the country had no escape but to pray for their last moments of life to be lived in peace. Both political parties were using gangsters to[Read More…]

by 22/07/2016 5 comments South Asia
Sri Lanka: Post-War Abyssal

Sri Lanka: Post-War Abyssal

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?  ― Albert Camus Here is the disastrous and forlorn situation that many are facing in the post-conflict situation in Sri Lanka. Seven years have been passed but the wounds of the bloody conflict keep putrefying society due to absence of healing. In his recent[Read More…]

by 21/07/2016 1 comment South Asia
Sri Lanka: A Comment On The Proposed Office Of Missing Persons

Sri Lanka: A Comment On The Proposed Office Of Missing Persons

The attitude towards murder is one thing on which hardly any progress can be made in Sri Lanka. Murder is regarded as quite normal and not something to worry too much about. This attitude is also something that should worry everyone. It is this attitude we see in the proposed Office of Missing Persons (OMP). In most cases, the simple[Read More…]

by 18/06/2016 1 comment South Asia