Situation Analysis

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who spearheaded the brutal crushing of Tamil Tigers a decade ago, stormed to power Sunday but promised to be a president for all Sri Lanka’s races and religions after a divisive election. Seven months after Islamist extremist attacks that killed 269 people, Rajapaksa was elected on Saturday on the back of a nationalist […]

5th November, 2019. Statement Condemning Threats, Harassment and Reprisals against Human Rights Lawyer and Jaffna University Senior Lecturer, Kumaravadivel Guruparanly. We, the undersigned individuals strong condemn the recent threats, harassment and unfair treatment against human rights defender, Kumaravadivel Guruparan, by the Sri Lankan military and University Authorities. Guruparan, is a prominent human rights lawyer and […]

Editorial, Daily FT. The Election Commission is one of the key institutions central to Sri Lanka’s democracy. Sri Lankans have stayed true to their power to exercise their franchise for over 70 years and for this reason the country is categorised as one of Asia’s oldest democracies. Therefore efforts to discredit the Election Commission, especially […]

Voters still reeling from the devastating Easter Sunday attacks must choose between two powerful political families. Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent./theguardian. What is happening? Sri Lanka goes to the polls on Saturday for a presidential election that will be a decisive moment for its future. The country is still reeling from the Easter Sunday bombings […]

“At times media freedom is used to forget what is necessary for the country, what should be done for society… Similarly if we do not get the support of the courts we cannot do this. Every institution must realise this…. ‘Human Rights’, ‘Media Freedom’, various ideas such as these are given to us by The […]

As Sri Lankans head to the polls to elect a new president on 16 November, Gotabaya Rajapaksa stands as the widely acknowledged front runner. As defence secretary during his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa’s decade-long presidency ending in 2015, he was a leading figure in a government that many minority Tamils and Muslims, as well as opposition […]

The Presidential election to elect the 7th Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is to be held on the 16th of November 2019. The deadline for candidates and political parties to campaign for the Presidential Election, including electronic and print media, ends at midnight today. However, all the candidates that are contesting […]

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran has sought a criminal investigation against fake news published in three local newspapers. In a letter to the Acting Inspector General of Police, Sumanthiran says three articles published in three local newspapers had falsely reported that he called on the Tamils to vote for New Democratic Front Presidential […]

‌“We see only Muslim villages have been developed. but not the Tamil villages. The only way for Catholic and Hindu villages to get developed is to vote for Gota.” Namal Rajapaksa in Mannar. “We have to act against Muslims. We Tamil youth have to think and act.” – leaflet by Kiran youth front for SLPP. […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s elections chief Mahinda Deshapriya displays ballot boxes that will be used in the upcoming presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Thursday, October 31, 2019. The voting is scheduled to be held on November 16.  © 2019 AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena. (New York) – The winner of Sri Lanka’s presidential election on November 16, 2019 will face enormous challenges to […]

 The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) urges Tamil people from the North-East and throughout Sri Lanka to freely exercise their franchise at the November 16 Presidential Election, giving careful consideration to the political formations and agendas of the major contenders.  After playing a decisive role in the political change of 2015 and experiencing disappointments on the […]

Image: Minister Rajitha Senaratne with the ‘White Van’ drivers at the press conference yesterday.Picture by Kelum Liyanage. The Government will begin investigations into the rest of the murders and abductions committed during the Rajapaksa era after its affirmation in power on November 17, Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday. The […]

Image: “Also, there is no meaning when politicians and the top-level officials of related to the fisheries sector are using their power and misusing the law. If so, what is the use of our Fisheries Assembly, Fisheries Committee ?” they added.. “We do not know to do any other jobs. We are the traditional fishers and Fishers who are engaging […]

Who is winning? This seems to be the question many people these days are keen to find an answer to. Whenever this question is put to me, my usual answer is one that disappoints the interlocutor: “It is difficult to say. But I can tell you a little bit about what I speculate as the […]

“We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” George Orwell. (The Adelphi – January 1939) “The first duty of the Memory Police was to ensure disappearances,” writes Japanese author Yoko Ogawa in her tale of an island where things disappear, and disappeared things cease […]

On 21 September 2019, in accordance with the Constitution, the Election Commission issued media guidelines to ensure a free and fair presidential election.3 These guidelines were issued under article 104B(5)(a) which was introduced through the 17th amendment to the Constitution.4 The guidelines encompass a wide range of responsibilities and duties that the media has with respect to […]

The winner of Sri Lanka’s upcoming presidential elections could change the nature of India’s relationship with its neighbour. India’s Buddhist neighbours, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, are preparing for fresh elections in the coming months. While Sri Lanka’s presidential elections are just around the corner, Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi is preparing to face the electorate […]

Edited image: Gotabaya Rajapaksa, leaving a campaign rally this week, is running for president in the Nov. 16 election. DINUKA LIYANAWATTE/REUTERS. The Rajapaksa family’s prior rule was stained by allegations of human-rights violations and corruption, sparking worries in Western capitals. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—A controversial political dynasty that made Sri Lanka a centerpiece of China’s efforts to expand its […]

Presidential Election – 16th November 2019. An Election for a President to be democratically elected for Sri Lanka is due to be held on 16th November 2019. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) -The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) as the party with the third largest number of seats in Parliament desires to state its position, […]

7 November 2019, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is releasing a letter sent to Mr Senura Abeywardene, the Country Representative for Sri Lanka at Facebook, on 30 September 2019, with specific asks around ads oversight in relation to the 2019 Presidential Election. Download the letter as a PDF here. It is also reproduced […]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Sri Lanka’s presidential candidates to give firm pledges to respect press freedom after a media owner threatened and then fired a radio news editor for refusing to broadcast fabricated and biased information, in an incident that speaks volumes about intimidation of journalists in Sri Lanka. “He shouted at me, […]

In Brief What is MCC? It is an independent development organization, like USAID, funded by US Taxpayer dollars. Is MCC a grant or a loan? A Grant. Not a loan. Is it connected to SOFA and ACSA military agreements? No connection to ACSA or SOFA. No military connection what-so-ever. MCC has signed 37 grant agreements up to date in 30 different […]

Image: Sajith Premadasa. The election manifesto of Sajith Premadasa was released last week and it is interesting to analyse it with the same criteria that was used by me to evaluate the manifesto of Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week. What’s good The most eye-catching aspect of the manifesto could be the concessions offered to small enterprises. […]

Image: Three weeks of non-stop demonstrations demand jobs (unemployment is 35%), an end to corruption and resignation of the Lebanon government are ongoing. At no time since 1848 in Europe has unrest, rebellion, street fighting and mob rule erupted as much as in 2019. This time it is worldwide – South America, Africa, the Middle East, […]

Sajith Premadasa hasn’t killed anyone, he’s a Sri Lankan citizen and he has political experience, so he has my vote by default. That’s how low the bar is, and gives you a sense of his main opponent. I’m happy to vote for him because he’s young, he’s pro-poor, and he has good people around him. […]

We are presently witnessing a whirlwind of activities in the lead up to Presidential Elections due on 16th November with an unprecedented number of candidates and election hype. It was in this midst that we marked the six months anniversary of the devastating Easter Sunday attacks which claimed over 250 lives, injured many more and resulted […]

Image; Ruling party presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa presenting his manifesto to Chief monk of the Malwatta chapter. (Image from SP tweeter)  R.K. Rudrakrishnan. Sinhala majoritarianism dominates the campaign for the November presidential election. THERE were quite a few visitors at the world’s emptiest airport, the Chinese-built Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, just over 200 kilometres south […]

Misunderstanding our system of government will be the first step in the direction of future abuses of power and unconstitutional action. Sri Lanka will elect a new president on 16 November 2019. While unusually that will be neither the current President nor the current Prime Minister, what is less well understood is that the office […]

The paucity of information on the use of public funds in Sri Lanka has typically impeded the public from holding the government accountable for its spending. The lack of visibility tends to leave mismanagement, poor planning and a lack of accountability undetected, which has resulted in the poor implementation of budget proposals in each budget […]

  “We as Unions note here with stress, that none of you as candidates have paid any attention to over 02 million employees in the formal private sector and to those in the informal private sector such as the private commuter transport service, the trishaws, small cafes and canteens, shopping complexes, security guards in private security services, […]