CPA’s commentary on the proposed amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act note the minimalist approach and basic reforms insufficient to address ground realities. Aspects which require urgent reform as highlighted by legal scholars, civil society actors and even the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka have also not been addressed in the Bill. […]
15th November, 2021: The 20th amendment to the Constitution that was passed into law on the 22nd of October 2020 provided wide sweeping powers to the executive that further endangered the crippling democratic space prevalent in the country. Furthermore, the pandemic and its limitations have enabled the government to continue with its autocratic rule and […]
14th October, 2021, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned about the proposed Bill to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, published in the Gazette on the 8th of October 2021. The proposed amendments seek to dispense with the requirement of producing a suspect or accused before the Magistrate […]
15th September 2021, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply disturbed by media reports of two incidents this week where the State Minister of Prison Management and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation Lohan Ratwatte is alleged to have abused his position by entering two prisons inebriated, and attempted to assault remand prisoners. On Sunday […]
September, 2, 2021, Colombo, Sri Lanka: On the 30th of August 2021, by way of Gazette 2243/1, President Gotabaya Rajapakse issued a proclamation under Section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40) as amended. In the Proclamation, the President states that ‘I am of the opinion that it is considered expedient to do so […]
25th, August, 2021, Mangala Samaraweera was a personal friend and a friend of CPA. He shared our vision and dream of a Sri Lanka in which all of its peoples would respect each other and strive together for the peace, prosperity and reconciliation, our country desires and deserves. Like us, he believed in the Rule […]
13th August, 2021 – Is the Cure Worse than the Disease? Reflections on Pandemic Governance in Sri Lanka is the result of an initiative of Social Indicator (SI), the survey research arm of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA). The ‘Socio-Economic Index In the Face of COVID-19’, an island wide opinion poll conducted from February-March […]