Sri Lanka Archives

Experts Urge Rapid Adaptation as India Braces for ‘Stronger’ Cyclones, Quakes

Despite early warnings reportedly reaching communities before the cyclones (Ditwah and Senyar) struck coastal regions in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia late in November 2025, over 1,500 people lost their lives and hundreds went missing even as millions were impacted by these disasters, which caused massive destruction. Scientists say that these disasters reflect a changing climate system, which is making cyclones more hazardous than what we considered “typical” in the past.

Press Freedom in Sri Lanka: A Long Road to Justice

By Johan Mikaelsson

Anyone interested in unsolved murders and disappearances will find much to study in Sri Lanka. Fifteen to twenty years ago, the country made global headlines, not only for the government’s military offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas but also for the numerous murders of journalists. The newly elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake—often referred to as AKD—seems determined to address the culture of impunity.

15 Years After the Civil War Ended, Sri Lanka Faces Another Crucial Election

By Johan Mikaelsson

Thousands of Tamils are heading to Mullivaikal on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, many of whom were here 15 years ago and still live in the region. They are there, May 18, to commemorate the massacre of civilians in a ‘no fire zone’ during the final stages of the civil war.

Building Resilience and Mental Health Capacity of Youth

By Cecilia Russell

Sri Lankan lawmaker Hector Appuhamy, in conversation with IPS ahead of a two-day conference aimed at educating and involving university students in mental health issues, said parliamentarians were concerned about gaps in the programmes and financing for youth mental health. They were looking beyond the country's health budget for support in ensuring that youth were able to access mental health facilities in a supportive environment.

Can Conservation and Development Be Balanced in Sri Lanka?

By Devana Senanayake and Janik Sittampalam

The Sri Lankan government recently cancelled three circulars that protected 700,000 hectares of forests, labelled Other State Forests (OSFs), which are not classified as protected areas but account for five percent of the island nation’s remaining 16.5 percent of forest cover.

Report Shows Sri Lanka has Escalation of Violence During COVID-19 Lockdown

By Mantoe Phakathi

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the escalation of violence against women and children in Sri Lanka.

Q&A: Learning Diplomacy From Flipping Burgers at McDonald’s

By Samira Sadeque

It’s a rainy February morning in New York, but inside the walls of her room, it might as well be summer -- bright and warm, much in contrast to the drizzles reluctantly crawling on the window panes of Ambassador Kshenuka Senewiratne's office overlooking Manhattan.

Disasters Bring Upheaval to Sri Lanka’s Rural Economy

By Amantha Perera

Last year was an annus horribilis for 52-year-old Newton Gunathileka. A paddy smallholder from Sri Lanka’s northwestern Puttalam District, 2017 saw Gunathileka abandon his two acres of paddy for the first time in over three and half decades, leaving his family almost destitute.

IPS Journalists Who Perished in the Line of Duty

By Thalif Deen

In the politically-risky world of professional journalism, news reporters are fast becoming an endangered species.

Sri Lanka’s Small Tea Farmers Turn Sustainable Land Managers

By Stella Paul

As the mercury rises higher, Kamakandalagi Leelavathi delves deeper into the lush green mass of the tea bushes. The past few afternoons there have been thunderstorms. So the 55-year-old tea picker in Uda Houpe tea garden of Sri Lanka’s Hatton region is rushing to complete her day’s task before the rain comes: harvesting 22 kgs of tea leaves.

Sri Lanka Shines Light on Public Sector Governance

By Amantha Perera

Sri Lanka’s long-awaited and much-debated Right to Information (RTI) Act became law this month without much fanfare.

Drought Could Cost Sri Lanka Billions

By Amantha Perera

The warnings are stark, the instructions, for a change, clear. Sri Lanka is heading into one of its worst droughts in recent history, and according some estimates the worst in 30 years. The reservoirs are running on empty, at 30 percent or less capacity. Only 12 percent of the island’s power generation is currently from hydropower and 85 percent comes from thermal, with a staggering 41 percent from coal.

Populist Leaders Endanger Human Rights: Advocacy Organisation

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage

Populist leaders pose a dangerous threat to human rights, fuelling and justifying intolerance and abuse across the world, said advocacy group Human Rights Watch during the launch of their annual global report.

China’s Billion-Dollar Re-entry in Sri Lanka Met with Public Protests

By Amantha Perera

Beragama is a typical Sri Lankan rural village, with lush green paddy fields interspersed by small houses and the village temple standing at the highest location. Despite being close to the island’s second international harbour and its second international airport, Beragama appears untouched by modernity.

Right to Information Act to Redefine Sri Lanka’s Media Landscape

By Amantha Perera

Sri Lanka’s upcoming 69th Independence Commemorations will be of special value to the island’s media - that is, if everything works as planned.

Peace Fails to Bring Prosperity in Eastern Sri Lanka

By Amantha Perera

It is a Tuesday afternoon and only a handful of devotees have flocked to the Meera Grand Mosque in Katankuddi, about 300 kms east of the capital Colombo.

Tracing War Missing Still a Dangerous Quest in Sri Lanka

By Amantha Perera

As Sri Lanka readies to begin the grim task of searching for thousands of war missing, those doing the tracing on the ground say that they still face intimidation and threats while doing their work.

Battered by Storms, Sri Lanka Rethinks Food Security

By Amantha Perera

The picture could be straight out of a tourist postcard – a sleepy green mountain with misty clouds floating above the canopy – if not for one fatal flaw: the ugly gash running right through the middle.

UN Discovery of Secret Detention Centre Revives Nightmares

By Amantha Perera

Details of a secret detention center, where serious human rights abuses took place, deep inside the sprawling Tricomalee Naval base in the east of Sri Lanka are slowly emerging.

El Nino Creates Topsy Turvy Weather in Sri Lanka

By Amantha Perera

Residents in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and outlying areas have been waking up to misty mornings of late. A decade ago, regular mist in this area just above the equator would have been a noteworthy event. These days, it is a regular occurrence in some parts north of the capital.