Situation Analysis

We are deeply disappointed that a Bill to repeal the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act of 1951 (MMDA) has been tabled in Parliament by MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana on 8th January 2020. It is claimed that the purpose of the Bill is to address the grievances of Muslim women and children. In reality, it does not represent […]

Paradox of Democracy and Attrition of Civic Space in Sri Lanka: Quo Vadis? The erosion of hegemony of the ruling historic bloc, and the crisis of the state and democratic institutional decay reached a new phase after 1977. After gaining a landslide victory with a five-sixths majority at the 1977 elections, the UNP government under […]

(OFFICE ON MISSING PERSONS/MEDIA RELEASE/15 January 2020) Recent media reports have claimed that the government plans to review the Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) Act No. 14 of 2016 (the Act) with a view to amending the same. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) officially communicated its position by letters […]

Image: The 19A was thus, achieved by the resilient advocacy of academics, politicians, civil society groups, erudite clergy and many more agitated citizens of the country who were frustrated by the constitutional chaos and abuse of democracy caused by the 18A.  Just before the dawn of the New Year, two constitutional amendment Bills were presented […]

“If we lift the hideous rags of History, we find this: hierarchy versus equality and order versus liberty.” – Éric Vuillard (The Order Of The Day) The indications are clear, as are the implications. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, elected on a Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist platform intends to rule as a Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist president. For the first time in […]

Hand wringing by Government politicians over leaked tape recordings of phone conversations between prosecutors, judicial officers and a United National Party politician known more for his brawn than his brain, (this worthy’s cerebral power appears to be even less than commonly perceived), is hypocritical in the extreme. Historic undermining of the judicial institution Even as […]

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a high-powered Presidential Commissions of Inquiry (PCoI) to investigate allegations of political victimization as well as interference and undue influence on the judiciary and police during the past regime. The Commission comprising retired Supreme Court Justice Upaly Abeyrathne (chairman), retired Appeal Court Justice Daya Chandrasiri Jayathilaka and retired IGP Chandra […]

Why no overtures will be made to Tamils and Muslims by the SLPP until after the parliamentary elections. (Daily Express) The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), whose Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the November 16 election without the support of the minority Tamils and Muslims, and is still to reach out to them in any […]

Image: TNA parliamentary group led by its leader R.Sampanthan meeting former president M. Sirisena to discuss issues related to devolution of powers. (file) ” The last 30 years have seen the country making such positive efforts towards resolving issues that have plagued it since Independence by meaningfully acknowledging the plural nature of our polity. We […]

Image: All these sectors  of the three tree crops comprising tea, rubber and coconut, apparels and telecommunication services have now reached their saturation point with the available technology. The sick economy President Gotabaya Rajapaksa – now fondly called Gota by everyone – inherited an underperforming economy. It was just like the economy which the previous […]

We are bang into the New Year. The new session of Parliament has been opened by the President. Parliamentary politics could move to a new swing, with a government not having a formal majority in the House. There is also another political tune at play – that of the National Anthem. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa acknowledged […]

It was an eventful year in Sri Lankan politics in 2019. If not a year of crisis, perhaps the term chaos sums it up most accurately. The year started with several political tugs-of-war between former president Maithripala Sirisena and former prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, after Sirisena sacked Wickramasinghe and swore-in Mahinda Rajapaksa , quite unconstitutionally. These dramatic events paved the […]

MP Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa’s gazetted 22nd Amendment Bill (Private Member’s Bill) effectively seeks to: a) Allow the President to decide whom to appoint as CJ, Supreme & Appeal Ct judges, JSC members, Attorney General, Auditor General, IGP, Ombudsman & Secy General of P’ment; b) Require the President to merely ‘ascertain the views’ of the following, before […]

Image: British teenager arriving in Court. On 25 November 2019, Gania Banister Francis, a Tamil employee of the Swiss Embassy (aged 38) alleged that she was kidnapped by the Sri Lankan Police. She has said she was treated brutally and subjected to coercion and sexual harassment. She added that the Police asked her for sensitive […]

A tumultuous year has ended, and an uncertain future lies ahead.  Democratic space is already closing around us, and it is critical for civil society to be clear-eyed about where we have been and the challenges that lie ahead. Nothing much happened after rescuing the country from a constitutional coup. The PM forgot why the […]

Image: Once allies became enimies — President Maithripala Sirisena, right, with Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom he has sought to oust as prime minister   © Reuters. Preaching to others while lifting a supercilious finger at inequities patently becoming apparent in the return of the Rajapaksas to seats of power in Sri Lanka, the most recent of […]

Almost exactly five years after starting this column. I will end it before it is ended. The non-publication of the column a week into the new Presidency was a reminder that the space enjoyed by writers to critique political power from January 2015, is now under threat. One must be empathetic with publishers and Editors. […]

Image: A Sri Lankan Tamil refugee cleans utensils outside her house in a refugee camp in Perambalur district, about 250km (155 miles) from Chennai [File: Nathan G/EPA] Nearly 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees living in India are not eligible for citizenship under a new law, sparking concerns they may be forced to return to the island nation they […]

Once again we celebrate international migrants day on the 18th of December as declared by the United Nations. The migration movement has seen many shifts over the years especially since 2015. People move from countries for multiple reasons such as poverty, hunger or food insecurity and unstable economic outlooks, geopolitics, national and national and regional […]

Image: Swiss embassy staffer, in pink shawl, being escorted to a court in Colombo.   | Photo Credit: AP . Meera Srinivasan. Sri Lanka’s reputation as a constitutional state at stake: Bern. Sri Lanka police on Monday arrested a local employee of the Swiss Embassy in Colombo, who has been at the centre of a diplomatic controversy, […]

This National Policy Framework (NPF) of the government constitutes of 10 key policies aimed at achieving the fourfold outcome of a productive citizenry, a contented family, a disciplined and just society and a prosperous nation. There is no mention of strengthening democratic governance, reconciliation  or human rights in the 10 point programme. Bring to justice […]

Image: A journalist attached to the Lankadeepa newspaper and his family were attacked by a group of men. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday assured that media freedom will not be hindered in any form during his tenure, according to a statement from his office. Addressing heads of local media institutions, he said that […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s recently elected president Gotabaya Rajapaksa (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Newly-elected Sri Lankan president, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, has made several significant appointments of former military officers since the November 16 poll to bolster his already extensive powers and give greater control to the armed forces. One of the most important was his selection of retired […]

The task of Buddhist monks is to uplift the minds of their followers and not to change governments (Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thera)   President GR should be ever indebted to the Sangha, because without its tireless canvassing he would not have achieved what he did on 16 November. Given the volatile ethno-religious cleavages and unpredictably shifting […]

The presenting of a Cabinet Paper by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this week, proposing the establishment of a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry (SPCOI), under the SPCOI Law (1978) to investigate government officials who had conducted ‘witch hunts’ of other public officials during the time of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition Government as well as ‘third parties’ […]

There was a time when they frequented the streets, happy to receive a few coins or a packet of food. Conveniently addressed as beggars, they too are a part of society. In fact sociology experts refer to them as depicting the true picture of a particular society. But as cost of living soared there was […]

Image: First executive president of Sri Lanka J.R. Jyawardena too transferred senior CID officers for political reasons. I write this piece in great sadness. But I must because if I do not, I feel I would failing in my duty as an former policeman. Independence of the Police I am sad for the independence of […]

Image: Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (AP/ File) In Sri Lanka, with the longest history of universal suffrage in Asia, every election excites the nation, and that will be the case with the upcoming parliamentary polls. Less than a fortnight after Sri Lanka’s November 16 presidential elections, the country is faced with two realities. One, a […]

social media users erroneously believe that Katuwapitiya is a part of the Negombo electorate These messages were not only degrading the people of Negombo, but were also an insult to those who had been killed These hate mongers went as far as to say that those voters who voted for Sajith were terrorists. Any Sri […]

Gotabhaya Rajapakse [Credit: AP Photo] The international messages of congratulations sent to Sri Lanka’s newly-elected president, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, all underscore the fact that the strategically-located island is enmeshed in geo-political rivalries, centred above all on Washington’s determination to undermine Chinese influence throughout the region and prepare for war. Rajapakse, an ex-military officer and defence secretary […]