Civil society

Image: To combat this, a critical mass of civil society must mount an apolitical challenge to the political establishment . Governance in Sri Lanka today is transitioning from a constitutional (albeit flawed) system of checks and balances to tugs of war between competing political power centres that are constrained not by the Constitution or statute […]

Image: Civil society groups and activists hold placards during a protest demanding that democracy be restored in the country as they gather at the Independence Square in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Nov. 19, 2018. | Photo Credit: AP. Meera Srinivasan DECEMBER 15, 2018 . Civil society groups and activists hold placards during a protest demanding […]

Image (c)Human Rights Watch 2016.  There is a constitutional coup in Sri Lanka. There is much more about it at Groundviews, but you can start here if you like. Today, we marched in the thousands in the country’s capital and commercial centre, Colombo. This is a response to things I am reading on social media this evening. (EDITS made […]

The Cabinet of Ministers approved on 20 February 2018 a proposal to introduce amendments to the Voluntary Social Service Act (VSSO) No. 31 of 1980. The proposed amendments contain far-reaching consequences on the activities and finances of civil society and if enacted in its present form will have a chilling effect on a range of private […]

Image: If enacted the act will  make collectives like Purawesi Balaya (Citizens Power) illegal of bring them under control. Ruki Fernando. On February 20, 2018, the Cabinet decided to publish the repressive Draft Act to Amend the Voluntary Social Service Organizations (Registration and Supervision) Act no. 31 of 1980 (LDO 32/2011) to a gazette and present it to Parliament for […]

Image: Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu  ( Lake house photo) The aftermath of the local government election has been fraught with political tension and the uncertainties of coalition politics. Leading civil society activist and Secretary of the Consultative Task Force on Reconciliation mechanisms, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu says these confusions must not be allowed to overshadow the 2015 mandate […]

Image courtesy of rtepakistan.org. In light of the recent incidents of alleged sexual abuse of 18 children who were residing in the Darun Nusra Orphanage, situated at 39/7A, Peiris Road, Kalubowila, we the undersigned Organisations would like to issue a joint statement placing our concerns and demands to the Government and the State Authorities responsible for […]

Image: The black flag protest was held on 14th Oct calling for the release of Tamil political prisoners. ( Tamil Diplomat) (PMD 19 Oct)A group of people, including a member of Northern Provincial Council K. Sivajilingam who recently protested in Jaffna hoisting black flags, met with President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat, yesterday (19th […]

Image:  Andrew Gilmou, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights presented the report. The Human Rights Council, in resolution 12/2, expressed concern over continued reports of intimidation and reprisals against individuals and groups seeking to cooperate or having cooperated with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights, and deep […]

Image (c)s.deshapriya: A fisherman looking at sea anxiously in the eastern city of Batticoloa.  It difficult to ignore the question of justice in the area of control and distribution of resources in the new face of capitalism  argues Sunil Bastian. Observing what is going on in Sri Lanka these days from a distance, my mind […]

A public campaigning event organized by the Peoples Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) will take place tomorrow  to hand over a petition of 20,000 signatures calling for the release of lands in Paanama to their original owners. The campaign action will take place in front of the Presidential Secretariat office tomorrow (June 14th) at […]

Image: Sri Lanka War zone May 2019. Addressing the media at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR), Maradana on April 18 the Collective of Civil Society Organizations urged the government to investigate  into war crimes allegations in accordance with Geneva Resolution 30/1 co-sponsored by the government. One of the speakers was Akalanka Hettiarachchi  of […]

Image: Members of a Sri Lankan civil society organisation participate in a candlelight in memory of the slain editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper Lasantha Wickrematunga, in Colombo on January 15, 2009. The editor of Sri Lanka’s Sunday Leader newspaper, Lasantha Wickrematunga, was gunned down just outside the capital on January 8, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Lakruwan […]

Image: A woman belonging to the Sri Lankan minority Tamil ethnic group lights a candle for people (c) Getty Image. According to a media statement issued by 12 civil society personal, Sri Lanka government has  stopped consulting the civil society  at the final stages of preparing National Human Rights Action Plan 2017-2021. A group of […]

Image:Chairperson of the Consultation Task Force for Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) Manouri Muttetuwegama courtesy GV. Interview: Deconstructing the CTF Report by Raisa Wickrematunge/ Groundviews. Excerpts from an interview with the Chairman of the Consultation Task Force for Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) Manouri Muttetuwegama on their recently released report: Q: What do you think are the most important […]

( Welianuma: Civil society doesn’t want to see a split, if they split, we won’t achieve this reform) Attorney-at-law and Human Rights Lawyer, J.C. Weliamuna said Civil Society Organisations, in his personal view would only stand by the government as long as the reform agenda was in place. “We supported the government on the condition […]

(10 leading civil society persons speak to SLB on Human Rights in Sri Lanka) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The implementation of pledges made by the new Government to the people of Sri Lanka and to the international community on human rights and reconciliation has not yet proceeded as expected. Early enthusiasm on achieving much needed democratic reforms […]

Statement on Accountability and the timing of Transitional Justice Mechanisms in Sri Lanka. We, the undersigned Sri Lankan civil society activists and organisations, note with deep concern the lack of tangible progress in ending impunity in Sri Lanka, more than seventeen months since the change of government in January 2015. We believe that no mechanism […]

By Camelia Nathaniel. Brito Fernando, President of the Families of the Disappeared, says that the government is under the impression that just like the Rajapaksa regime, they can gather support from Opposition members by offering them ministerial positions within the national government and covering up the charges against them. He points out when the 19th […]

The regular posturing by the so-called Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition calling for the upholding of democratic rights in Sri Lanka must be treated with the rightful contempt that it deserves. Condemning hypocritical posturing Even as sanctimonious hypocrisy drips off the tongues of these worthies when they speak with fervor on multifarious topics, ranging from the appointments […]

(Image: (c) Sunanda Deshapriya) Hundreds of people, including priests, environmental activists and fishermen, protested in Sri Lanka’s capital on Monday, demanding the government halt a $1.5 billion Chinese-funded port city project. The city, to be built on reclaimed land off Sri Lanka’s west coast, is to include a golf course, marinas, apartments, hotels and malls. […]

With the result of the Presidential election Sri Lanka began a march toward good governance on January 8, 2015. Several important steps, actually the initial ones were taken since then, the most significant of them being the reduction of the powers of the Executive President and the appointment of the Constitutional Council and independent commissions. […]

President Sirirsena’s  negative foreign participation in the accountability process has been condemned by  a statement drafted by Northern civil society and endorsed by number of organisations and individuals. Only few Sinhalese activists have  endorsed the statement, notably among them are Ruki Fernando and Herman Kumara and Brito Fernando. SLB publishes the full statement below: 28th […]

( PM Wickremesinghe  and Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thero singing the agreement) (SLB) Civil society groups which singed agreements with the Maithipala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe respectively as presidential and prime Ministerial candidates are discussing to publicly annul those agreements in the face of lethargic attitude of the government towards fulfilling the promises made, informed souses told […]

(Ambassador Samantha Power at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Mexico City) Finally, I just want to conclude with an example — a very concrete example. In January 2015, the people of Sri Lanka went to the polls to elect a new president. The incumbent Rajapaksa administration had governed largely through divisiveness and fear, […]

(Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs Harsha De Silva) Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs Harsha De Silva last week clarified that the Ministry of Defence would no longer play a role in supervising Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO). “The facilitation and supervision of NGOs is not a responsibility of the Ministry of […]

Leading civil society organizations and actors have called for an urgent parliamentary election to overcome the current political deadlock. * In a joint statement 17 organizations and 52 reputed activists have collectively claimed that, it is more than a month after the 23 April 2015, the date promised for the dissolution of Parliament in the […]

Issuing a statement a Colombo based civil society group has called for the government to strengthen human rights protection in Sri Lanka as the basis for its unity, peace and prosperity. The statement follows: 4 February 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka: We, the undersigned conveners on behalf of civil society organizations and individuals who have focused […]

A collective of artistes, academics and civil society activist has come together to provide a joint platform  for all opposition political parties that campaign for the abolition of executive presidential system. The first mass rally of the collective ‘Paravsi Balaya’  ( පුරවැසි බලය Citizen’s Power)  will be held at 3 pm on Tuesday, December 2, […]

[Sri Lanka Military; AFP photo] By Jehan Perera— This is a very troubled period for civil society.  The free space for activism that is outside of the government sphere has shrunk due to the policy of centralization adopted by the government.  Institutions of the state that are meant to be relatively independent of the government […]