Public Protest for Justice for the Easter Sunday Attack Victims

පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයෙන් මියගිය ජනතාවට යුක්තිය හා සාධාරණත්වය ඉල්ලා ජනතා විරෝධතාව පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයෙන් මියගිය ජනතාවට යුක්තිය හා සාධාරණත්වය ඉටු කිරීම සඳහා සෑම මසකම 21 වන දින කටුවාපිටිය බාල්දි හන්දියේදී පැවැත්වෙන ජනතා විරෝධතාවය, සැප්තැම්බර් 21 වන දිනද සුපුරුදු පරිදි පැවැත්විණි. මෙම විරෝධතාවයේ විශේෂත්වය වූයේ, පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයට අදාළ නඩු කිහිපයක තීන්දු සැප්තැම්බර් 22 වන දින ලබාදීමට නියමිතව තිබීමයි. විරෝධතාවයට එක්වූ පිරිස අවධාරණය කළේ, අධිකරණ තීන්දු කුමක් වුවද, පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයෙන් මියගිය සහ විපතට පත් වූ ජනතාවට සම්පූර්ණ යුක්තිය හා සාධාරණත්වය ඉටුවන තුරු තම අරගලය අඛණ්ඩව ඉදිරියට ගෙන යන බවයි. වසර ගණනාවක් පුරා අඛණ්ඩව පවත්වාගෙන යන මෙම නිහඬ ජනතා විරෝධතාවය, සත්‍යය හෙළිදරව් කිරීම, වගකීම තහවුරු කිරීම සහ වින්දිතයන්ට යුක්තිය ඉටු කිරීම සඳහා ජනතා ඉල්ලීම අඛණ්ඩව ප්‍රකාශ කරන අවස්ථාවක් බවට පත්ව තිබේ. Public Protest for Justice for the Easter Sunday Attack Victims As usual, a public protest was held on September 21 at Baaldi Junction, Katuwapitiya, calling for justice and fairness for those who lost their lives in the Easter Sunday attacks. The protest was particularly significant as several court judgments related to the Easter attacks were scheduled for September 22. The participants emphasized that, regardless of the court decisions, their struggle will continue until justice and fairness are fully delivered to the victims and their families. ஈஸ்டர் ஞாயிறு தாக்குதலில் உயிரிழந்தவர்களுக்கு நீதி கோரி மக்கள் போராட்டம் ஈஸ்டர் ஞாயிறு தாக்குதலில் உயிரிழந்த மக்களுக்கு நீதி மற்றும் நியாயத்தை வழங்கக் கோரி, வழக்கம்போல் செப்டம்பர் 21ஆம் தேதி கட்டுவாப்பிட்டிய பால்டி சந்தியில் மக்கள் போராட்டம் நடைபெற்றது. ஈஸ்டர் தாக்குதலுடன் தொடர்புடைய பல வழக்குகளுக்கான தீர்ப்புகள் செப்டம்பர் 22ஆம் தேதி வழங்கப்படவிருந்த நிலையில், இம்முறை நடைபெற்ற போராட்டம் முக்கியத்துவம் பெற்றது. நீதிமன்றத் தீர்ப்புகள் எவ்வாறு அமைந்தாலும், பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்களுக்கும் அவர்களின் குடும்பங்களுக்கும் முழுமையான நீதி மற்றும் நியாயம் கிடைக்கும் வரை தங்களது போராட்டம் தொடரும் என போராட்டத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டவர்கள் வலியுறுத்தினர்.

SANDHANI – South Asia Alternatives Conference 2026

The SANDHANI – South Asia Alternatives Conference was held from 3–7 September 2026 at the NICD Training Centre in Polgolla, Kandy, Sri Lanka. The conference brought together participants from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. Participants from Italy and Indonesia also joined the programme, contributing their experiences and perspectives to the discussions. During the five-day programme, participants reflected on several important questions and themes, including: What is SANDHANI, and why was it formed? What has SANDHANI achieved so far? The value and importance of alternatives in creating more just and sustainable societies. The need for collective action among Asian communities and organizations to protect and strengthen agroecology and aquaecology. The importance of strengthening solidarity, sharing experiences, and developing common strategies to respond to the social, environmental, economic, and ecological challenges facing communities across South Asia. A key outcome of the conference was the development of a five-year action plan for SANDHANI. Participants identified priority areas, agreed on collective actions, and shared responsibilities among the members and participating organizations to implement the plan during the coming five years. The conference was organized by the SANDHANI Working Group and hosted by MONLAR and NAFSO in Sri Lanka. The conference provided an important space for South Asian partners to strengthen their solidarity, learn from one another, promote alternatives, and build a stronger collective movement for agroecology, aquaecology, environmental justice, and sustainable community development.

Reflecting on 15 Years of the Praja Abhilasha Network-Focus group discussions and field visits

01-Reflecting on 15 Years of the Praja Abhilasha Network – Southern Province Consultation A comprehensive evaluation of the programmes, achievements, challenges and journey of the Praja Abhilasha Network over the past 15 years is currently underway. As part of this process, active community leaders representing Hambantota, Matara, Galle and Kalutara districts gathered at the Southern Fisheries Organizations’ Office in Matara on 08 August 2026. The PALTRA study team conducted a face-to-face consultation with these community leaders to gather their experiences, reflections and recommendations on the impact of the Praja Abhilasha Network’s work, community participation, achievements, challenges and future priorities over the past 15 years. Through this evaluation, we aim to learn from our experiences and strengthen the way forward in advancing people’s rights, food sovereignty, land rights and community empowerment. 02-PA Network Assessment – Field Visits & Focus Group Discussions The Praja Abhilasha (PA) Network Assessment was successfully conducted from 15–18 August 2026, covering several provinces and communities. As part of the assessment, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted in: -Northern Province – Jaffna -Eastern Province – Batticaloa -Uva Province – Janawasa 03 The assessment team also carried out field visits to Ponnaveli, Kankesanthurai (KKS), Myleddy, Ashraf Nagar and Pannama, engaging with community members and local stakeholders to better understand their experiences, challenges and achievements. During the field visits, the team also met Raheem from Trincomalee, a Government Officer in Adalachchani, and the HEO Coordinator, providing valuable opportunities to exchange information and perspectives. The entire assessment programme was facilitated by the PALTRA team, with the respective Provincial Leaders and District Coordinators taking the lead in organizing and coordinating the focus group discussions and field visits. We sincerely appreciate the commitment and support of all the community leaders, district coordinators, provincial leaders, government officials and participants who contributed to this important assessment process. Together, we continue to strengthen the PA Network and build a stronger movement for people’s rights, land rights, food sovereignty and community empowerment. 03-PA Assessment – Polpithigama and Field Visit The PA Assessment program was conducted at the Full Moon Hotel, Polpithigama, on 20 August 2026. Leaders from Puttalam, Kurunegala, and Polonnaruwa participated in the program, which was facilitated by the PALTRA team. Following the assessment program, the Polonnaruwa team and I participated in a field visit to Wadurassa and the 12 Kotasa villages, where we conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with community members. 15 years of our journey – with the people, for the people, moving forward together! #PrajaAbhilasha #PA_Network #15Years #Evaluation #CommunityLeadership #FoodSovereignty #LandRights