Asia Pacific Jun 9, 2022
Brothers at odds, but ruling family still holds key to Sri Lanka's future
by Alasdair Pal and Devjyot Ghoshal
Two brothers who had dominated Sri Lanka's politics for nearly 20 years have gone their separate ways.
Asia Pacific / Politics May 9, 2022
Sri Lanka prime minister resigns as curfew imposed after clashes
During weeks of unprecedented demonstrations, protesters have demanded that Mahinda Rajapaksa quit for mishandling the economy.
Asia Pacific / Politics Apr 27, 2019
Sri Lankan ex-defense chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa says he will run for president, tackle radical Islam
Sri Lanka's former wartime defense chief, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said on Friday he would run for president in elections this year and would stop the spread of Islamist extremism by rebuilding the intelligence service and surveilling citizens. Gotabaya, as he is popularly known, is the younger ...
Asia Pacific / Politics | ANALYSIS Nov 2, 2018
Sri Lanka's strongman is back, and he's brought his family too
by Iain Marlow
In a compound secured by the Sri Lankan elite special task force that protects the island nation's top leaders, beneath framed photos of himself in army uniform, the brother of newly installed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is mulling a presidential run. "I'm not interested in ...
Asia Pacific / Politics Oct 27, 2018
After sacking prime minister, Sri Lankan president suspends parliament as political rift deepens
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday suspended parliament until Nov. 16, a day after removing Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and replacing him with former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa in a surprise move that signals escalating political tensions in the South Asian nation. "The president ...
Commentary | COUNTERPOINT Jun 18, 2016
Culture of fear lingers in war-traumatized Sri Lanka
by Jeff Kingston
Civil war engulfed Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009, with a death toll estimated by the U.N. at up to 100,000. The war was fought between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, aka Tamil Tigers, and the Sri Lankan state. Civilians paid the highest price, ...
National Jun 16, 2016
Former Sri Lanka president urges more development projects with Japan
by Ayako Mie
Amid a proliferation of development deals in Sri Lanka, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says his country and Japan could work on more projects together, including hospitals and highways. "I believe that the infrastructure projects are very important for Sri Lanka after the war," Rajapaksa said ...
Editorials Aug 21, 2015
Former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's recent electoral defeat means Sri Lanka can move forward on reform.
Editorials Jan 18, 2015
While the new president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, says he wants to build a nation based on Buddhist principles of nonviolence and compassion, it is not clear if he is prepared to investigate charges that war crimes were committed during the 26-year-long civil ...
Commentary / World | COUNTERPOINT Jan 17, 2015
Sri Lanka votes against fear and kleptocracy
by Jeff Kingston
The stunning ouster of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Jan. 8 was good news for that island nation of 20 million, and further evidence of a universal yearning for good governance. After a decade in power, Sri Lankans chose to hold Rajapaksa accountable for ...
Asia Pacific Oct 27, 2013
Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka's affable authoritarian?
by Jason Burke
Down in the deep south of Sri Lanka, where life usually moves at a leisurely pace, there is one small town that is less tranquil. Hambantota — population 20,000 — is expanding fast. There is a vast new deepwater port, built with $360 million ...
National / Politics Mar 15, 2013
Japan, Sri Lanka agree to boost maritime security cooperation
Japan and Sri Lanka agreed Thursday to strengthen bilateral cooperation in Indian Ocean maritime security and coast guard patrols, including greater exchanges between their defense authorities to fight piracy.