Sri Lanka politics

One year after the protests that ousted Sri Lanka’s president and government, reforms remain elusive and the national crisis is far from over.

Sri Lanka hosted two high-level delegations from the U.S. in February – including one that opposition parties say was cover for a secret mission by the head of the CIA.

Fearing that it will be routed in elections, the ruling party unleashed a propaganda campaign to convince people that elections amid the economic crisis are a bad idea.

Ranil Wickremesinghe appears to be using the promise of power-sharing as a political tool to secure himself in power.

Sri Lanka’s elite-driven independence process laid the groundwork for the problems that continue to plague the country today, from ethnic tensions to inequality. 

The vote on the 22nd Amendment to the constitution lays bare the declining grip of the Rajapaksas over the SLPP.

A constitutional amendment to curtail presidential powers – again – was a key demand of the protests that drove the previous president and prime minister from office.

For far too long Sri Lanka has been a stage with the Rajapaksas as the only meaningful actors. A democratic renewal may be all that can save the country in the long run.

The government is concerned about renewed protests against the unpopular former leader, while opposition figures worry Rajapaksa will try to find a way to re-enter politics.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government will soon start negotiating debt restructuring with countries that provide loans to Sri Lanka.

Ranil Wickremesinghe's use of troops to dismantle protest camps in Colombo sends out a chilling message.

Hours after his swearing-in, he sent troops and police to force protesters out of the main protest sites in Colombo.