Documents /

Technocratic Populism and the Pandemic State

This paper examines the ways in which the Sri Lankan Government has been able to employ a counterintuitive and underexamined type of populist rhetoric, that of technocratic populism. It looks at the ways in which both technocratic and populist narratives are combined, creating an ideological framework which serves to sanitize increasingly authoritarian actions. It focuses […]

Q and A on Regulations Issued under the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance & how this impacts the COVID-19 response in Sri Lanka

Following the detection of a spate of new COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka, regulations were made by the Minister of Health under Sections 2 and 3 of the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance (the Ordinance) by Gazette Extraordinary No. 2197/25 of Thursday, October 15, 2020. This guide briefly examines the legal framework relating to […]

Written Submissions by the CPA on the Case re the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution

On 23 September 2020, The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and its Executive Director, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu filed a Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the proposed Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution. A Brief overview of the Petition filed on behalf of CPA and its Executive Director is available here. The CPA’s basic position was […]

A brief Q and A on the Proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution

This brief guide is prepared by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) to highlight salient features of the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution. CPA also released a Statement on the 20th Amendment on 4 September 2020. Download this Q and A in English, Sinhala and Tamil. What is the Twentieth Amendment? The Twentieth Amendment […]

Sama Vimarshi: July 2020

Initiated in 2000, සාමවිමර්ශී (Sama Vimarshi) July 2020 Issue is a critical examination into the timely issues on human rights, peace and conflict analysis, democratic practices, diversity and people’s participation in governance among many other contemporary key areas of concern in relation to the upcoming 2020 parliamentary elections. The journal includes independent narratives from representatives […]

The need for prison reforms in Sri Lanka

The need for prison reforms has been discussed for years in Sri Lanka with very little progress. The COVID19 pandemic has renewed attention to the issue in an urgent manner. Systemic issues within prisons in Sri Lanka expose inmates and staff to heightened risks due to both the contagiousness of the virus as well as […]

Mirusuvil Massacre – Accused Pardoned; No Reparations for Victims’ Families

On March 26, 2020, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa granted a presidential pardon and released convicted death row prisoner and mass murderer, former Army Staff Sergeant R. M. Sunil Rathnayake.  While the country is on lockdown due to COVID-19, the President has seized this opportunity to deal a lethal blow to the rule of law to show […]