Interviews & Articles24/04/2018
Tobacco policy: Mitigating influence of vested interests
Sri Lanka ratified the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in November 2003. The FCTC is a global treaty developed in response to the health consequences of tobacco consumption and the formidable power exerted by the vested interests of the tobacco industry. Recognising the undue influence...
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The hidden side of cigarette pricing
The media in Sri Lanka has often misrepresented the cigarette industry and cigarette taxes in favour of the monopoly producer Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC). In June 2017, Verité Research (VR) published an Insight titled ‘Who’s responsible for ‘Alternative facts on tobacco taxation’. Official statistics published since the article, lend further...
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Allocation of funds to the OMP
Sri Lanka’s national budget for 2018 allocated Rs. 1.4 billion to the Office on Missing Persons (OMP).[i] The allocation was viewed as a positive step towards supporting reconciliation mechanisms in Sri Lanka. However, a closer look reveals that the allocation entails two betrayals. The first is that the budget process...
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The Political Culture, Not Facebook, is the Problem
Featured image courtesy AP Photo/Rukmal Gamage Organized mob violence against minorities has been a feature of the political landscape in Sri Lanka for several decades. In fact, one could say that it has become part of our political culture. Thus blaming Facebook and other social media is a way of avoiding...
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On Kandy: How Myths about Minorities Underlie Violence
Featured image from Colombo Gazette A man belonging to the majority ethnic group was attacked by a youth from the minority ethnic group. Two days later, the mortally wounded man succumbed to his injuries and dies. Within hours, angry mobs physically attacked members of the minority community, looting their businesses, and...
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