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Sri Lanka Weighs Executions for Drug Offenders, 50 Years After Its Last Hanging

Sri Lanka Weighs Executions for Drug Offenders, 50 Years After Its Last Hanging

COLOMBO — President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s anti-narcotics council took up the question of executing drug offenders on Monday, reopening a debate that has surfaced twice in three decades and collapsed both times. The President’s Media Division said the “Ratama Ekata,” or A Nation United, National Operations Council met at the Presidential Secretariat and concluded that trafficking now threatens the economy, the tourism industry, and the country’s social values, and that harsher laws were nee


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

They Found Justice for Easter. Why Can’t They Find It for Mullivaikkal?

They Found Justice for Easter. Why Can’t They Find It for Mullivaikkal?

By Che Ran The Easter Sunday bombings were one of the darkest days in Sri Lankan history. On 21 April 2019, suicide bombers walked into churches filled with families celebrating the resurrection of Christ and into luxury hotels serving breakfast. More than 260 people were killed. Hundreds more were injured. Children died in their mothers’ arms. Entire families disappeared in a matter of seconds. It was an atrocity. The people responsible—whether they built the bombs, funded them, or knowingl


Che Ran

Che Ran

How the LTTE Hollowed Out Tamil Society Long Before Its Military Defeat

How the LTTE Hollowed Out Tamil Society Long Before Its Military Defeat

By M.R. Narayan Swamy At a workshop for teenage Tamil girls in Jaffna, a teacher wanted to know who Nelson Mandela was. Several hands went up. Mandela fought for South Africa’s freedom and to end apartheid. The answer was apt. Okay, who was Mahatma Gandhi? Again, several hands went up. Gandhi led the Indian independence movement against the British. He was an apostle of non-violence. Correct. A third question followed: Who was (Appapillai) Amirthalingam? There was a silence in the classroo


M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy

How Deep Do China-Sri Lanka Ties Really Go? A New Book Explores

How Deep Do China-Sri Lanka Ties Really Go? A New Book Explores

By M.R. Narayan Swamy China and Sri Lanka have enjoyed decades of close and warm relations. Many Sri Lankans also credit China with providing extensive military assistance that helped Colombo defeat the Tamil Tigers. But is there a side of this relationship that has been kept under wraps? Yes, says a Sri Lankan scholar in a revealing new book. After detailing at length the many ways China has come to the economic and military rescue of Sri Lanka since the 1950s, Colombo-based Bhagya Senaratne


M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy

400 Kilometres for a Fingerprint

400 Kilometres for a Fingerprint

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — At the Jaffna bus stand, the overnight service to Colombo fills steadily. Some passengers carry small backpacks; others clutch thick plastic folders secured with elastic bands. Many have made this journey before. They are not travelling for work or leisure. They are heading south to fulfill a visa requirement — specifically, to provide biometric fingerprints at a visa application centre. The appointment itself may take only a few minutes. The journey will consume most of a n


Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Tamil Leaders Accuse Government of Building Parallel Power Structure Through Praja Shakthi

Tamil Leaders Accuse Government of Building Parallel Power Structure Through Praja Shakthi

A government-backed community mobilisation programme has emerged as a political flashpoint in Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern Provinces, with elected officials, political parties, and civil society groups warning that the initiative undermines constitutional governance and threatens to erode Tamil political representation at the grassroots level. The Praja Shakthi (People's Power) programme, launched by the National People's Power (NPP) government and presented as a poverty alleviation initiat


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Tamil MPs Raise Alarm Over Kivul Oya Irrigation Scheme

Tamil MPs Raise Alarm Over Kivul Oya Irrigation Scheme

Two Members of Parliament from the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) have raised serious concerns in Parliament and parliamentary committee meetings over the implementation of the Kivul Oya Irrigation Project, alleging that the scheme would lead to the submersion of Tamil villages, the destruction of traditional irrigation systems, and potential changes to the demographic composition of Tamil areas in the region. The objections come as the government prepares to resume the long-stalled project


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

ITAK and dTNA Float Common Tamil Political Document Amid Internal Rifts

ITAK and dTNA Float Common Tamil Political Document Amid Internal Rifts

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (dTNA)—a grouping formed by parties that broke away from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA)—have decided to jointly prepare a political document which they describe as reflecting the aspirations of the Tamil people. The two sides have also invited other Tamil political parties operating within the Tamil national political space to participate in the process. Addressing a joint media briefing alongside EPRLF Leader


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent