Since the end of the war, Sri Lanka’s economy is being transformed through a rapid process of financialisation. Such widespread financialisation facilitated infrastructure development, a real estate boom linked to urbanisation and expansion of credit leading to increasing indebtedness of the (...)
Coalition government has failed on promise to repeal Prevention of Terrorism Act
Sri Lanka’s progress towards reform has “virtually ground to a halt” and brutal torture is used with impunity, the UN concludes in a scathing report on the country’s human rights record.
The report, which comes three (...)
The undersigned civil society activists and groups in Sri Lanka express our deep concern about the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to take steps towards implementing the death penalty. The death penalty has not been implemented in Sri Lanka since 1976, though it continues to remain as a (...)
Thirty-seven civil society organisations and 170 individuals yesterday released a statement condemning the threats against Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Chairperson Dr. Deepika Udagama.
Given below is the full statement:
We are appalled at statements akin to death threats, violence and (...)
Unions, representing both workers and employers, are taking cautious approach to a proposal from an Asian Development Bank (ADB) to reform the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) by maximising its returns largely through investing in the stock market among other options.
The draft White paper on (...)
The Sri Lanka government is rushing into free trade deals at a time when it’s foreign mentors are struggling with the negative impact of such deals.
The yahapalana government came into power at a time when the wisdom of free trade arrangements was being questioned in the very citadels of (...)
The anniversary of the civil war’s end reveals the persisting ethnic division in Sri Lanka
Nine years is perhaps too short a time for deep wounds to heal, but it is enough time to begin to introspect. However, going by the polarised views around the anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s civil (...)
Sri Lankans either mourn or celebrate on the anniversary of the end of the civil depending on their narrative of the war. Many Tamils observe May 18 as ‘Remembrance Day’ to remember their dear ones who lost their lives, while the government commemorates May 19 as ‘Ranaviru (War Heroes) Day’ to (...)
Despite the stereotypical and misguided view that the youth in Jaffna, loaded with foreign remittances from relations abroad have become unproductive and lazy, the majority of the unemployed have taken to menial jobs to make ends meet due to dire economic situation.
Since the end of Sri (...)
The top professional bodies representing engineers, architects, town planners and quantity surveyors and other related professions this week charged that the government has rushed into signing the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) without having proper legal frameworks in place (...)
After a nearly three-decade civil war those devastated by it had to rebuild their lives and finding employment was a challenge. The strategy adopted by the Government was to expand credit and promote self-employment. But then things took a turn for the worse when their livelihoods did not (...)
The local government election for 337 local government bodies in Sri Lanka (except Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha) was held on 10 February 2018. This election and its results captured special attention due to two main reasons:
• This was the first election held under the new electoral system (...)
The failure of “reconstruction” is pushing young Tamils to seek new leaders
Something is stirring in Mullaitivu.
For years, this corner of northern Sri Lanka was a stronghold for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The LTTE had its own police here, its own courts. Its leader, Velupillai (...)
The fallout of the local government elections continues as a political crisis. The anti-Muslim violence, the no-confidence motion and its defeat are the latest manifestations of a government that is finding it hard to govern. Amid the manoeuvring of political forces and the blame game within (...)
Saturday, 14 April, marked a year since the collapse of the garbage dump at Meethotamulla. Thirty-two lives were lost and nearly 60 houses were destroyed on that fateful New Year’s Day.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy much was said about the need for better waste management. Companies (...)
Why are poor Buddhists blaming Moslems for their problems? The new face of Sinhala nationalism in Sri Lanka.
The recent riots targeting Muslims in Kandy have provoked accusations on many sides. While mainstream conversations focus on what the riots entail in terms of immediate political consequences for the current Government and its tepid response, progressives have also had to reckon with the growing presence of anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence as a feature of contemporary Sri Lankan (...)
As activists engaged in the struggle for women’s rights, justice and equality for all across Sri Lanka, we strongly condemn the recent spate of violence against Muslim communities, and the communities’ homes, shops and places of worship.
As citizens in a country in only its ninth year after the (...)
The Local Government elections have sent tremors through the body politic of Sri Lanka, and the fall out of the shaken Coalition Government is yet to unfold. With the muscular re-emergence of Rajapaksa populism, nationalist political strategies are again gaining centre stage. Even as economic (...)
The singular focus on international rights intervention is killing a once-vibrant local rights movement.
From the time Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, international actors have infused narratives of the war with stories of human rights abuses. Eight years since, it has only become clear (...)
Prof. Romila Thapar once said that a serious historian should have the sharp eye of a detective gathering even minute details related to the phenomenon that she studies. Hence, she advises her research students start with reading Agatha Christie. Of course no historian can collect every (...)
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