Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

Precedents Exhibit Signals from the Government’s Effort to Regulate Social Media

Admin August 4, 2021 642

R. Ram Keheliya Rambukwela, Minister of Mass Media, and Ali Sabri, President’s Counsel and Minister of Justice are seeking cabinet approval to freeze social media to control fake news. They jointly submitted a cabinet paper on the matter. This is in order to guide national security and a good

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

The Leap of Modern Education from Equality to Inequality

Admin July 12, 2021 892

Perunilan People focus on education in modern times more than they did in the past. The reason is that education largely contributes to uplift the status of an individual in terms of social status. Sri Lanka provides free and equal access to education for all.  But, have the seeds of inequality been planted in the […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

Estate Schools and Online Education

Admin July 5, 2021 1153

Jeeva Sathasivam Even though you have educational programmes on TV channels,  how would children study when these channels are closed and where do they find money to buy cell phones and even if they have the phones they have to climb rooftops or hilltops to access signals.  This is the grievance of an Upcountry parent.  […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

The Port City: Judgement, Democracy and Reconciliation

Admin July 5, 2021 671

C.J. Amarathunga Many agree that the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka regarding the fundamental rights petitions on the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill is crucial and historic. However, many people consider the judgment also paved the way to safeguard the independence and state integrity. However, most of us miss the […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

Lankan National Languages Ignored by Foreign Countries

Admin June 25, 2021 1788

P.Kirubakaran According to the last census, 21.7 Million population of Sri Lanka is composed of 74.88% Sinhalese, the majority people, and 24.6% Tamils, divided into three groups as Sri Lankan Tamils, Muslims, and Indian Tamils. Other races include Malays 0.2% Burgers 0.18%, Veddhas/Indigenous People and others 0.14%.  70.2%  of the population are Buddhists,

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

How Corona Impacts the Estate Sector

Admin June 23, 2021 959

 Jeeva Sathasivam This is the time of Corona. The virus that hit the world in 2019 is still shaking the entire planet. Although it was expected that the impact of the virus would gradually subside after one year, it did not occur. The impact of the virus in the early days is now greatly feared […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

When Media Goes Against Reconciliation

Admin June 22, 2021 1322

Jude R. Muthukuda Among many factors that affect peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, the media contribute immensely to conflicts among Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people. Some spread mal information devised to create conflicts, while many others are fake news, posted either knowingly or unknowingly.  Journalists are bound to report responsibly without causing

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

The Everyday Person and the Identity Card

Admin June 21, 2021 765

Kapila Kumara Kalinga Some people say that a Chinese woman who is lost among men in a city might find it challenging to find her husband because all Chinese men are alike. But, Chinese people face no such problems. They can easily distinguish differences, although others cannot.  We must not be too proud of our […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

Reconciliation and constitutional reform

Admin June 5, 2021 754

Aruna Lakshman Fernando Drafting the constitutional reforms of Sri Lanka is postponed with no date. In 2015, the Good Governance government appointed a committee headed by Lal Wijenayaka to consult the public to draft a constitution. The present government has also appointed a draft committee headed by PC Romesh de Silva. The time given to […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

A Constitution for Reconciliation

Admin June 1, 2021 1359

Aruna Lakshman Fernando Sri Lanka is now free from the civil war that was dragging for decades. Many structural changes were required to avoid the recurrence of such a humanitarian catastrophe. Constitutional reform that addresses the issues is one of them. However, the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime did not focus on such a constitutional reform from […]