OPINION

Opinion

Latest news from and about the homeland

Bollywood has long been guilty of distorting historical narratives for commercial appeal. But when such distortion targets an oppressed people’s liberation struggle, it transcends fiction and becomes a political act. Over the past decade, India’s Hindi-language film and streaming industry has repeatedly vilified the Tamil Eelam liberation movement, portraying it as terrorist fanaticism rather…

The Red Flag

The first and most important thing to understand about the Sri Lankan flag is that every version of the lion flag is, definitionally, racist and fascist in symbolism, including the official one. It was intentionally designed that way, by committee.

PTA reform: A farce in multiple acts'

Writing in The Morning, Ambika Satkunanathan, former Human Rights Commissioner of Sri Lankan (HRCSL), explains how most of the recently announced proposed 'reforms' to the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) "already exist and are not new."

Australia: a limbo where dreams and hopes are crushed

Over the last decade, Australia has gone to disturbing lengths to ensure asylum seekers do not seek refuge in their country; most of which have been slammed around the world as inhumane. Chief amongst the dozens of critiques that Australian authorities have come under are the conditions in which asylum seekers are held in.

What next for Australia’s refugees?

Last week several refugee supporters, including myself, were arrested after dropping a banner off the rooftop of the Park Hotel in Naarm/Melbourne in protest of the plight of approximately 30 refugees who had been imprisoned onshore.

Sri Lanka’s crisis is of its own making

People are starving in Sri Lanka. The economy is in freefall as the cash-strapped government struggles to pay off its debts. The country has been forced to sell over half of its gold reserves and the prices of basic foods have skyrocketed. The pandemic has undeniably devastated Sri Lanka, but this is a crisis of the government’s own making. Instead of pursuing a “people-centric economy”, Sri Lanka’s insular policies have been military-driven, unaccountable, and detached from the struggle of citizens.

One Country, One Law' - The Sri Lankan state's hostility towards Muslims grows deeper


Writing in the International Crisis Group (ICG), senior consultant Alan Keenan slams Sri Lanka's "One Country, One Law" Presidential Taskforce as a means by which the Rajapaksa can "divert discontent among the government’s Sinhala Buddhist base toward an embattled minority".

Like Shamima Begum, I could soon be stripped of British citizenship without notice'

Writing in the Guardian, Tamil human rights lawyer at MTC Solicitors, Naga Kandiah, slammed the British government’s proposed Clause 9 to the nationality and borders bill which could see dual nationals stripped of their citizenship without notice.

The New Statement’s research, based on the 2011 census, reveals that as many as 5.6 million people living in England and Wales could be affected by the rule change.

Testimony of Ambika Satkunanathan on Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka

Ambika Satkunanathan, Former Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, addressed the United States House of Representatives Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights this week, as it held a hearing on 'Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka'.

See the full text of her address and video footage of the event below.

Testimony of Sondra Anton on Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka

Sondra Anton, student attorney at the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, addressed the United States House of Representatives Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights yesterday, as it held a hearing on 'Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka'.

See the full text of her address and video footage of the event below.

Testimony of John Sifton on Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka

John Sifton, the Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch, addressed the United States House of Representatives Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights today, which is currently holding a hearing on 'Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka'.

See the full text of his address and video footage of the event below.