Police questions young environmental activist: Little Bhagya unmoved by undemocratic forces

19-year-old Bhagya Abeyratne made headlines last week over a statement made during the ‘Sirasa Lakshapathi Programme’ which is aired during weekends on Sirasa Television.

Delays in gazetting proposed Managed Elephant Reserve in Hambantota

Fifty eight (58) days have lapsed since farmers in Walsapugala, a grama niladhari division in Hambantota launched a satyagraha to call upon the government to protect their paddy lands. The human-elephant conflict (HEC) is a threat they have lived with for the greater part of their lives. But this conflict has aggravated as of late with mega scale development projects which are either in the pipeline or are currently underway. This is why around 8

Restriction to enter Iranaithivu island raises concerns of Human rights groups

On March 5, a group of journalists and a human rights activist went to Iranaimathanagar shore from which people used to go to the Iranaithivu island by boat. To find out facts behind the islanders’ protest against the burial of COVID-19 victims, the group tried to visit the island. But the group was not allowed by the Navy personnel at the Iranaimathanagar sh

Searching for the elusive Reconciliation in Practice

Reconciliation became a buzz word at the onset of the Yahapalana Regime and several attempts were made to stabilize a transitional justice process.

Govt. must declare a year of tolerance

This year - 2021- Easter Sunday falls on April 4. Two years ago, in 2019, it was on April 21. All of you who are reading this will recall exactly where you were and what you were doing on that fateful day in 2019.

Sanga defends his name in Sigiriya land dispute

The sport of cricket continues to attract bad publicity and this time its retired cricketer Kumar Sangakkara whose name is linked with a an alleged fraudulent land sale in Sigiriya Mailaththawa area. The story unfolds of how an elderly and ailing couple was approached by an individual who has promised them help in return for being granted powers as the caretaker of the land apart from being given possession of the documents that supports ownersh

SVB launches campaign to eradicate period poverty

Even with 52% women in its population, the majority of Sri Lanka’s women and girls are unable to make themselves productive.....

Leftist feminist leadership in a time of crisis

The International Women’s Day is a much awaited date on the calendar. Various issues regarding women’s rights are openly.....

A masculine attack on a Women’s Day protest

Participants at a peaceful march organised by Free Women, a leftist women’s movement in a struggle to achieve women’s freedom....

Abolish the Tampon Tax. Period

Haven’t we all faced that embarrassment when we have an “accident,’’ “dirtied” our school uniforms, and used the infamous brown paper.....

The Dam Street Mystery: Will the decapitated head serve justice to the crime?

The mysterious killing of a 30-year-old woman from Kuruwita has spread ripples of shock and fear among the people.

Thalaimannar, Maldives and now Iranaithivu…

After more than 300 days since cremation was made mandatory for the COVID- 19 deceased, the Government of Sri Lanka reversed the decision through Gazette 2216/38 on February 25, by allowing the burial of those who succumbed to COVID- 19.

Mineral sands extraction project in Oluvil: Worrisome future for Sri Lanka’s coastal stretches?

This Island Nation blessed with an abundance of coastal stretches has attracted many investors, both local and foreign eyeing to extract.....

Khaki fury at Peliyagoda Police rattles law fraternity

Torture and murder at police stations are nothing new in Sri Lankan history. Though many international human rights organizations......

Geneva: A destination where the cruel fear to go

For many right thinking people the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva offer hopes. These hopes are to have a government that’s responsible and accountable.

People at a loss as.... COVID vaccination programme hits a snag

The much awaited vaccination drive for Sri Lankan healthcare staff began on January 29. The National Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases....

Govt’s incorrigible foreign policy: Tail wagging the dog?

Barely a few months ago, with the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was safely ensconced in power and with the ruling party SLPP having won a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the foreign policy interlocutors of the new government outlined its foreign policy. Sri Lanka would follow an equidistant foreign policy. Neutrality would be the whole mark,

42 trees felled; Ambagamuwa PS Chairman - a law unto himself ! Unjust enrichment via natural resources

Ambagamuwa Pradesha Sabha (PS) Chairman Jayasanka Perera was allegedly accused of haphazardly felling 42 trees prior to widening Diyagala – Nallatanniya road without informing any state institute. We reported on this in the Daily Mirror recently.

The heritage of Richard de Zoysa as a victim of State-terror

Richard de Zoysa, who was kidnapped and killed by a death squad operating under the knowledge of the state on 18 February 1990.....

The Man Behind Moves to Form the “BJP” in Sri Lanka

The flower bud is the accredited electoral symbol of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which is ruling Sri Lanka. However, the image of that flower bud resembles the lotus flower bud. In fact, a lot of lotus buds are used to decorate platforms of the SLPP known in popular parlance as the “pohottuwa” party.

Highway to disaster?

Intending to protect the Ramsar Accredited Thalangama wetland from a proposed 10.4 km long highway project, which environmental activists say has posed a threat to the Thalangama lake, surrounding ecosystems and paddy fields, environmental activists, residents of the area and other concerned groups organised an awareness campaign on February 13, 2021, at the Thalangama Lake bridge.

Is it a giant leap backwards in the name of patriarchy?

154 years after the Sri Lanka Police was established, an Acting Woman Deputy Inspector General (WDIG) took office last October.

Ecocide – Another pandemic in disguise

COVID-19 wasn’t the only pandemic that struck Sri Lanka in 2020. A mass scale Ecocide began and is continuing much to the dismay of environmental....

Focus on new COVID variants: Strengthening ‘herd immunity’ before B117 gets on top of us

Initially, the UK B117 VOC didn’t seem to be more fatal (although we learnt in past weekit is), but its ability to infect more people means that it will kill more people.

Revisiting the RTI Act and its evolution in the digital sphere

The Right to Information (RTI) Act No. 12 of 2016 brought with it a promise of open government, citizen’s active participation in governance and accountability to the people of the country. With RTI, anybody from a remote village such as Siyambalan

We have to include wildlife conservation in school curricula: Herpetologist Nalin Hapuhinna

For Nalin Hapuhinna, slithery friends were part of his everyday life. Having had a fascination towards snakes from a young age, Hapuhinna....

Tamil “P2P” Protest of 2021 and the Tamil “Satyagraha” of 1961

The “Pottuvil to Poligandy” (P2P) Protest that ended last week was a watershed moment in the political history of Sri Lankan Tamils.

Myanmar diary: Dealing with impermanence and a ruthless junta

Myanmar, formerly Burma, a Buddhist nation, is in tears because the military has taken over the administration of the country once again.

Why are fewer women than men in science?

The landmark Declaration, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 10, 1948, reaffirms that, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, birth or other status”. Then, why are there fewer women than men in science?

Cutting up infants to save a tradition

When one thinks of FGM/C (Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting), many think it is only prevalent in the African region. However, recent media reports and research show that the practice also prevails in Sri Lanka, especially among certain sects of the Muslim community and the Dawoodi Bohra community, around the island. The earliest available report of FGM/C in the country dates back to 1996.