Situation Analysis

Hiruni, a fisherman’s wife, who has to manage her household (of five people) with an income of about 2.5 euros (= 500 Sri Lankan rupees) per day, is heavily indebted. In order to increase her household income, she borrowed 50,000 rupees (250 euros) from the LOLC bank, which specialises in micro-credit (https://www.lolc.com/lolc-micro-credit). With this money […]

1 January 2, 2020, Batticaloa: Sri Lankan police in plain clothing has entered the house of the Batticaloa based journalist: S. Nilanthan, purportedly to arrest him, and threatened his family when it was discovered he was not at home. (https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankan-police-threaten-family-tamil-guardian-correspondent-arrest-warrant) 2 January 5, 2020, Kilinochchi: Foreign Journalist was denied access to Iranaitheevu island by the […]

Colombo, February 18 (newsin.asia): On the grounds that the Sri Lankan government’s 2015 decision to co-sponsor the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution No: 30/1 on it was gravely flawed, the incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime has decided to withdraw the co-sponsorship. A top official in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office told newsin.asia that the decision to […]

Say, who will be the happiest over the US ‘travel ban’ on army chief, Lt-Gen Shavendra Silva – and more so, when it comes to the timing of the American announcement? Not, not even the Sri Lankan Tamil community or the TNA. It’s not even the SLT Diaspora, which has persisted with their anti-Rajapaksa since […]

During an address to senior Buddhists leaders at the Vibhajjavadi Dhamma Symposium and Maha Tripitaka Pooja on 4 January, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that the defence of the Buddhist order is central to ensuring unity and the protection of religious freedom of Sri Lankans who profess other faiths. Just one day prior, his brother, […]

An insightful writer I follow had written that the corruption revealed in the Airbus case, technically described as a deferred prosecution agreement, is intrinsic to capitalism or to the market system. The implication is that it may not be intrinsic to not-capitalism, usually described as socialism. But all one has to do is to read […]

“Let me bow before you my country, where It is ordained that none will walk the streets with his head held high.” Faiz (Let me bow before you) On the 72nd anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa conferred the rank of major general on 17 brigadiers. The list included Deshapriya Gunawardane, the commanding officer […]

Image: Attorney General (left) and Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda (right) at the 70th Independence Day celebration. One of the stranger if not outlandish manifestations of the upending of Sri Lanka’s legal order is the ongoing tussle between the Attorney General and the Presidential Commission inquiring into alleged incidents of political victimisation of public servants […]

Image: Sri Lankan traditional dancers perform during an event to mark the anniversary of country’s independence from British colonial rule in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) The 72nd Independence Day celebrations took place this year at the Independence Square under the auspices of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Those interested in national […]

The world over a great threat has emerged against civilization as a whole. This is the power of fake news used with the technological assistance of a highly sophisticated modern technological industry. A vast body of daily reports of all types is spread through the internet and social media. These publications cannot be held accountable […]

Image courtesy of consensusg.com. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s crisply yet firmly delivered (and electorally pitch-perfect) Conservative nationalist democratic discourse, the presence as ‘special distinguished guest’ of Russia’s Gen. Salyukov, Commander-in-Chief of Land Forces, the impressive military parade and colourful multicultural display, and on the flip side, the non-rendition of the National Anthem in Tamil, constituted the […]

The Independence Day celebrations got underway at the Independence Square this morning under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapksa and Prime Minister Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapksa, other local and foreign invitees attended the celebrations. Below is an excerpt of the President’s speech: Sri Lanka is a Unitary State. It is a free, sovereign, independent and […]

Since his election on 16 November 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, have initiated fundamental changes to policies on ethnic relations, the legacy of a 26-year civil war, and the rule of law. Mahinda had previously served as Sri Lanka’s president and Gotabaya as defence minister during the […]

(January 26, 2020) Last week, President Gotabaya Rajapakse had told U.N. Resident Coordinator Ms. Hanaa Singer that those reported missing from the war are “actually dead” and that the government would soon issue death certificates. Although the President has since clarified that death certificates will follow proper investigations, his remarks are an affront to mothers, […]

Image: Gotabhaya Rajapakse (AP Photo) (K. Ratnayake/WSWS) US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice G. Wells delivered a letter from President Donald Trump to President Gotabhaya Rajapakse during a one-day trip to Sri Lanka last Wednesday. The letter, according to the media, emphasised the White House’s “commitment and interest […]

Today, 10th January 2020, is 10 years since the disappearance of journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda. It also marks 10 years of struggle for truth and justice by his wife, Sandya Ekneligoda and two young sons. Investigative reports by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the Homagama Magistrate Courts indicate that Ekneligoda was abducted from Rajagiriya […]

Cartoon by @awanthaartigala . Leaked phone conversations between a politician and judicial officers with more details  due to emerge has led to the interdiction of a Magistrate and inquiries into other judges even as the Sri Lankan public remain tantalised by these unfolding scandals. Weighty matters of governance are left discarded, the soaring cost of living […]

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 […]