The man who might have stopped Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings
When bombs planted in churches and hotels killed more than 200 people in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, few had realised that the nation had a problem with Islamist militancy. …
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One of the World’s Hottest Destinations. Now It’s Eerily Empty
Having landed a few minutes earlier here at Colombo’s international airport, our jam-packed flight from the Maldives is disembarking its crammed cabin, passengers marching down the arrival ramp under the …
Bombers from rich families. Research explains what motivates them
Two of the nine suicide bombers in Sri Lanka who killed more than 250 people on Easter Sunday were the sons of a rich and famous spice trader in the country. One of them had studied aerospace engineering at Kingston University, England, but did not …
Tread carefully
Even as DNA tests conclusively proved that Zahran Hashim, chief suspect of the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka, died in the attacks, India worries that the growing tensions between the nation’s Buddhist majority and Muslim minority might plunge the island back into another crisis …
Hopes Dim After Terrorist Attack
Even before the coordinated bombings that killed 250 people last month, Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister were in trouble — largely of their own making. Now calls for President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to step aside when their terms are over, …
When national security trumps religious freedom
The fallout from the recent spate of suicide bombings in Sri Lanka highlights the tension between religious freedom as a fundamental human right and national-security concerns. The country’s ban on face coverings — which admittedly impinges on religious liberty — can be justified in light …
Anger Could Tear Sri Lanka Apart
The Easter bombings in Sri Lanka last month were a massive human tragedy for a country that has already experienced too much violence. Prior to the attacks on Christian churches …
It’s not too late to bridge the divides in Sri Lanka — but it won’t be easy
In the days since Islamist terrorists carried out attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, a series of violent reprisal attacks have targeted the country’s Muslim …
Sri Lanka: The crisis and constitutional violations
Sri Lanka was in a deep and complex crisis even before the outbreak of the Easter Sunday attacks. Now, in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks, the country has plunged into a deeper and bigger crisis, which is more complex than it was before. …
Rwanda and Sri Lanka: A tale of two genocides
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and the 10th year since the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka. While the 1994 Rwandan genocide has become part of …