Ruki Fernando is a human rights activist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This interview has been edited lightly. Three years on, what’s your broad take on the coalition government’s performance? Where does the reform agenda currently stand? Some reforms have happened since 2015 to varying degrees, …
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been in and out of power since the 1990s. In 2015, he teamed up with Maithripala Sirisena and Chandrika Kumaratunge to oust President Mahinda Rajapaksa from power. Since then however, Wickramasinghe and the President have had a rocky relationship, …
From a man who had ceased to be India’s favourite to the reach-out and engagement with New Delhi now, former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has come a long way. There is a growing realisation in India that opposition forces that are gaining ground in their respective …
The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) called on the UN Human Rights Council to ensure Sri Lanka was referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to refer Sri Lanka to the UN General Assembly and to the UN Security Council in order “to be referred to the …
The 131st session of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) descended into chaos, yesterday, as Councillors expressed their displeasure at the number of provincial ministers in the Council. A number of Councillors asked NPC Chief Minister, CV Wigneswaran what he was going to do about the …
Mr. Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky the United Nations Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, who was in Sri Lanka on a nine-day …
The 39th session of the Human Rights Council commenced in Geneva today (10 September). In the opening statement by the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet referring to Sri Lanka said that: In Sri Lanka, although the authorities have moved too slowly towards meaningful …
A few weeks ago, Vigneswaran Nagamuththu was reunited with his wife and two sons for the first time since he fled Sri Lanka in 2009. It was a happy ending of sorts; after nine years when he feared he might never see them again, they …
The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) released its interim report on 06 September 2018 and called on the Government to “expedite and give highest priority to prosecutions and other ongoing cases involving enforced disappearances.” It recommended that the government suspend state officials including members of the …
India’s southern neighbour Sri Lanka may plunge further into the Chinese debt trap with Colombo yet again turning to Beijing for fresh loans, which will come during the final quarter of 2018. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is working with its Chinese counterpart, People’s …