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Saama Vimarshi: March – April

This issue of the Saama Vimarshi is around the theme of Transitional Justice. The Sinhala newsletter can be downloaded here.

Citizen Survey on a New Sri Lankan Constitution

  The following is a brief survey conducted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) on a new Sri Lankan constitution. Sri Lankans of all ages are requested to respond to the following questions. The findings of the survey would be shared with the Public Representations Committee (PRC) appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka […]

International Mother Language Day: A Look at Language Rights in Sri Lanka​

  When asked about what the official language in Sri Lanka is, a majority of Sri Lankans said that it is Sinhala only while only 15% gave the correct answer of Sinhala and Tamil. CPA has a long history of work in the field of language rights, one that speaks of great success for minority […]

Convergence: On Religious Diversity and Freedom in Sri Lanka

The last three decades of Sri Lanka’s history is largely defined by violent conflict, especially in the North and East of the country. Since that war came to an end in May of 2009, we have also seen the rise of extremist religious and other racist groups, including from within the Buddhist clergy. CPA travelled […]

Why Do We Need A New Constitution?

  This booklet is compiled by the Citizens Initiative for Constitutional Change. In an easy-to-read, simplified manner, the book describes the need to architect a new Constitution for Sri Lanka and what principles must be reflected in it. Download the booklet in Sinhala here. Download the booklet in Tamil here.  

Citizens’ Initiative for Constitutional Change – Press Briefing

A collective of civil society organisations called the Citizens’ Initiative for Constitutional Change (CICC) organised a press conference on January 12th in Colombo, to give publicity to the process of collecting citizen input to feed into the government’s current constitution-making exercise. Speeches from the press conference can all be accessed in a playlist embedded below; […]

Commemorating International Human Rights Day 2015: Some Reflections on the Situation in Sri Lanka

With the political transition in 2015, Human Rights Day this year provides us an opportunity to reflect on the situation in Sri Lanka, identify areas for improvement and work towards realising greater respect, protection and promotion of human rights for all citizens. We have experienced and continue to experience a multiplicity of human rights challenges […]