Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s woes with cannabis legalisation
Some propose legalising marijuana production to ease Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. Yet, any move to legalise marijuana cultivation in Sri Lanka will have to overcome a long history of prohibition, social stigma and criminalisation
Pamodi Waravita | Mar 06, 2023

On night patrol in Sri Lanka’s human-elephant conflict zone
Hambantota in Sri Lanka has been on the frontline for human-elephant conflict for years. 2022 was the worst year yet, with a death toll of 433 elephants and 145 people
Roshan Gunasekare | Mar 03, 2023

Sri Lanka’s great IMF lie
Decades of looking to the IMF for salvation has yielded only crises. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis demands urgent relief measures for a desperate citizenry and a new, self-sufficient model of development
Ahilan Kadirgamar and Devaka Gunawardena | Feb 20, 2023

Sri Lanka’s local elections are a major threat to the ruling class
Rising anger, prolonged economic crisis, painful IMF-backed policies and the government’s anti-democratic tendencies are creating a volatile mix, with Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Rajapaksas and Sri Lanka’s political elites on alert
Jayadeva Uyangoda | Feb 13, 2023

How a human rights law became a tool of repression in Sri Lanka
The ICCPR Act, modelled on an international human rights treaty meant to prohibit national, racial and religious hatred, has been distorted in Sri Lanka to punish blasphemy and target minorities
Gehan Gunatilleke | Feb 07, 2023

China courts influence in Sri Lanka via the Buddhist clergy
Beijing needs new allies now that the Rajapaksas are reeling, but the enmeshing of politics and religion in Sri Lanka is always cause for concern
Tisaranee Gunasekara | Jan 26, 2023

Sri Lanka’s Easter bombing verdict is reshaping politics and power
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered former president Maithripala Sirisena and top security officials to compensate victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. But Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister at the time, has escaped scrutiny.
Rathindra Kuruwita | Jan 20, 2023

The human dimension to Sri Lanka’s economic crisis
On rising poverty, income inequality, and potential solutions.
The Editors | Oct 14, 2022

Notes on the Sri Lankan struggle
Police brutality and growing public consciousness during the ‘Janatha Aragalaya’.
Marlon Ariyasinghe | Aug 09, 2022

