Author: CPA Comms Officer

Concerns over the continued use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)

3 April 2025 The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned with the continued use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by the Sri Lankan state. According to media reports, a youth was recently arrested under the PTA for allegedly pasting stickers that criticised the actions of Israel in Gaza. It is also […]

Letter to the Minister of Women and Child Affairs

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I write on behalf of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) to urge immediate attention to urgent law and policy reforms towards women empowerment and gender equality. We recognise your efforts, particularly during the CEDAW intervention in February this year, towards upholding and advancing the rights of women […]

Calls for a Public Prosecutor’s Office – The Urgent need for reforms

19 February 2025 In early February 2025, media reported of the Attorney General’s intention to discharge three suspects in case number B 92/2009. The case was linked to the murder of senior editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, and the decision to discharge the suspects led to criticisms from sections of society. This resulted in President Anura Kumara […]

Navigating Sri Lanka’s Economic Precarity: The Need to Address Foundational Issues in Governance

A robust economic recovery for Sri Lanka requires an understanding of how the country fell into economic precarity. The learnings of both the Civil Society Governance Diagnostic Report and the International Monetary Fund’s Governance Diagnostic Assessment of Sri Lanka made it apparent that Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is first a crisis of governance. In other […]

Letter to the Honourable Minister of Justice

Following the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, the National People’s Power (NPP) has been entrusted with a significant mandate by the people of Sri Lanka, presenting you with the opportunity to drive key reforms to restore public trust, transparent governance, justice, and accountability. On behalf of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), I am writing to […]

An Open Letter to the President on the Urgent Need for Governance Reforms, Action gainst Corruption and the Lack of Accountability

1st November 2024 Centre for Policy Alternatives (Guarantee) Limited 6/5, Layards Road, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, Presidential Secretariat, Galle Face, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka Your Excellency, Sri Lanka has witnessed a busy few weeks since the Presidential election held in September 2024 and in the lead up to the parliamentary election […]

CPA Statement on the death of Professor Kumar David

16 October 2024, Colombo: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) notes with deep sadness the passing at the age of 83 of Professor A. Kumar David – or as he was wont to describe himself, ‘the original AKD’. Kumar was a brilliant scholar, an accomplished academic, tireless newspaper columnist, imaginative Marxist public intellectual, and a […]