Cambridge and Oxford university unions cancelled debates scheduled for the end of March involving Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Tamil Solidarity and various youth and student groups organised opposition […]
It has been more than a year since the current government, led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, came to power. Since the National People’s Power (NPP) government took office, there has been ongoing debate about its […]
The arrest of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former Sri Lankan president, even on what some might dismiss as a minor charge, is not a “victory” in itself but a political warning. For decades, the ruling class […]
The Results The local election concluded on 6 May in Sri Lanka marks the beginning of a loss of support for the National People’s Power / Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (NPP / JVP) (formally a “leftist” […]
On the 54th anniversary of the rebellion launched by Wijeweera (founder of the JVP – Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) on April 5, 1971, there has been great curiosity and discussion in Sri Lankan society about the […]
“The National People’s Power (NPP) government coalition won an absolute majority in the recent parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka. The seats of the traditional parties in the regions of the north-east of the Tamil speaking […]
A discussion has emerged in society about the nature of the National People’s Power (NPP) government, formed under the leadership of Anura Kumara Dissanayake. There was an old saying in Sri Lanka about how a […]
The Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led National People’s Power (NPP) won an unexpectedly large victory in the elections held on November 14 in Sri Lanka. This is a huge victory for the NPP in parliament. This is […]
Sri Lanka’s general election, held on 14 November, marked a breaking-point in the country’s political history. The National People’s Power (NPP) secured an extraordinary 159 seats, achieving a two-thirds majority in Parliament. This result shocked […]
For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the country finds itself under the leadership of a president—Anura Kumara Dissanayake—who hails from a party with a left-leaning background. However, despite the media’s portrayal of him […]
Though the establishment parties somehow survived the Aragalaya (The Struggle) in 2022, they were never able to win back the full trust of the masses. The ruling Rajapaksa family then stepped back from governmental positions […]
The recently concluded presidential elections have shocked Sri Lanka’s established, corrupt, family-centered political parties. The result, favouring the The Janatha Vimukthi Peramun (JVP – ’People’s Liberation Front’), which led the National People’s Power (NPP) electoral […]
In the presidential election held on September 21, 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidency by receiving 5,740,179 votes, or 42.3 percent. He will go down in history as the president who failed to secure […]
Sri Lanka’s presidential election held last Saturday resulted in electing Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the ninth executive president of the country. He polled 5,634,915 votes as against his nearest rival Sajith Premadasa who polled 4,363,035 […]
The ninth presidential election that took place on 21 September 2024 is nothing like what has happened in the past. It is the first election since the 2022 mass movement (Aragalaya) that ousted the former […]
Over 75 trade unionists and international visitors attended a conference organised by the Free Trade Union Centre in Sri Lanka, which debated the way forward for workers in that country following the protests of 2022, […]
The United Socialist Party (USP), the Sri Lankan section of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI), is contesting in the upcoming September 21st presidential election in Sri Lanka. Siritunga Jeyasuriya is running to highlight […]
Wickramabahu Karunaratne, who was a giant of the left movement in Sri Lanka, ended his life’s journey on 25th of July. I first met Wickramabahu in the latter half of 1970 when I attended a […]
Part 3 The struggle for far sighted Marxist position I was one of the boys in the car that made its way to the Palali airport in the middle of the night. The other is […]
Part 1 Indian military intervention and emergence of political confusion One evening in 1988, when encroaching darkness seemed momentarily halted, in the gentle embrace of the emerging moonlight, a car was driving towards Palali airport. […]
A remembrance event for the July 1983 pogroms, which was organized in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday, July 23, was attacked and forcibly stopped by the police. The 1983 pogrom against Tamils is regarded as […]
Part 3 * A weakness of the Galle Face declaration is its calls for the existing parliament to reform itself by changing the way it operates, abolition of the presidency, and possibly enacting a few […]
Part 2 The current regime lacks any viable economic solution other than perpetuating further suffering among the broader population. Their economic survival hinges on the continuation of this brutal suffering for the masses, who are […]
It has been a year since the mass movement erupted in July 2022. The movement now faces a number of questions that need to be addressed. The development of future struggles and their victory depends […]
The ultimate trump card of capitalist political leaders in underdeveloped countries is to promote racism and religious divisions. The purpose of this article is to examine the nature of the deep economic crisis facing the […]
Restart decisive struggle against government attacks! On 20 March, the IMF announced a $3 billion bailout (over 4 years) for Sri Lanka. However, this deal is nowhere near enough to solve the deep crisis that […]
“Go Home Gota” was the slogan with which a new wave of mass struggle started in Sri Lanka in April last year. This struggle then developed into a massive popular uprising, including huge strikes, that […]
On Sri Lankan Independence Day, 4 February, Tamil Solidarity organised a protest to oppose the repressive Sri Lankan regime at the Sri Lankan High Commission in London. The protest was organised with the slogans: “75 years of […]
The Aragalaya (Sinhalese for “struggle”) protests in Sri Lanka, fuelled by a cost-of-living crisis, inspired students and young people across the world. People saw images of masses of protesters taking over the presidential palace and […]
Protests were held across Sri Lanka and internationally on 9 November demanding fundamental democratic rights, such as the right to protest, the right to assembly, freedom of speech and the release of all protesters, including […]
The Movement for Peoples Councils (MPC) in Sri Lanka, together with IUSF (Inter University Student Federation), is appealing to the workers, students and youth, internationally, to support the struggle in Sri Lanka. As a first step, […]
Defend the right to protest Release all those arrested during protests On the 21st July, Ranil Wickremasinghe assumed the Presidency of Sri Lanka after the former President Gotabaya Rajapakse fled his official residence and was […]
On the day of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-led ‘interim budget’ announcement for Sri Lanka, thousands of protesters were brutally attacked in the streets of the capital, Colombo. Over 22 were arrested and are being […]
The following statement was circulated by the United Socialist Party (CWI in Sri Lanka) to socialist parties and groups in Sri Lanka from 12th August. Socialistworld.net An open appeal to socialist organisations Building for a […]
On the 18th of August the newly appointed president of Sri Lanka unleashed a brutal attack on a demonstration in Colombo organised by the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF). The IUSF played a key role during […]
The heavy military moved into protest areas in Colombo last night and during early Friday morning, clearing out the area of demonstrators. The day before, arrest warrants were issued for student protest leaders. The new […]
Tens of thousands gathered in Sri Lanka again today to make sure that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa finally resigned and was gone. With the help of the military, the president was reported to have fled the […]
A historical day was marked on 9 July in Sri Lanka, when the masses decisively entered the pages of history. People from all around the country descended on the capital city Colombo to register their […]
Deepening crisis Sri Lanka came to a halt early this month as the government announced that it does not have enough fuel or any money available for imports. All private vehicles are banned and schools […]
Which direction Sri Lanka will take in the coming period? Will the establishment move towards consolidating its position, which was jolted by recent mass uprisings led by the youth? Or will the mass youth movement […]
The Sri Lankan government’s attempt to defeat the movement against it has provoked a ferocious reaction from protesters. Just days before, on 6 May, trade unions organised the most successful Hartal (a general stoppage of […]
The following article was written just before the resignation yesterday of Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, after weeks of protests amid an economic crisis. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains in place as demands grow for […]
Some Pictures from of Hartal Day On Friday 6th of May, 2022, the sun rose on the island nation Sri Lanka just as on any other day. But it was not an ordinary day. Hundreds […]
Tens of thousands of workers all over the country came out on strike on Thursday 28 April. They are demanding the resignation of the country’s corrupt president and his family-led government. They have created the […]
Tamil organisations and self-proclaimed leaders in Sri Lanka have so far refused to come out clearly in support of bringing down the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime. With the position of ‘anybody but the Rajapaksas’ in the […]
The economic crisis in Sri Lanka did not appear suddenly but has been in the making for some time. Covid-led destruction devastated the tourist industry and government policies have further accelerated the crisis. The recent […]
As we write protests continue to take place across Sri Lanka the day after protesters defied one of the strongest-ever curfews in place and gathered in many parts of the capital city and across the […]
A spontaneous and countrywide eruption of struggle is now taking place in Sri Lanka. Many youth and workers are gathering in parts of the country to express their anger against the government. Prices of essential […]
From about 7.30 on the night of Thursday, 31 March, thousands of angry protesters besieged the residence of Sri Lanka’s president, Gotabaya Rajapakshe. Buses and other vehicles were set on fire in what could be […]
Tens of thousands took to the streets of Sri Lanka, on 16 March, demanding the government to act on the spiralling cost of all essential commodities. Street protests have become a common feature and take […]
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