President Maithripala Sirisena was surrounded by advisers who would lead him to his own destruction but the UNP would never let those sinister forces to achieve their goal, UNP Assistant Leader MP Ravi Karunanayake said yesterday. Addressing the media after declaring open a UNP office in Mattakkuliya, the former minister said that it was sad …
By Norman Palihawadane Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that a recent government decision to extend the business hours of bars and allow women to buy liquor and a subsequent presidential directive reversing it were aimed at duping the masses. “The gazettes lifting the ban came with the approval of the Cabinet of ministers headed …
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirsena’s bid to get another year in office through a Supreme Court interpretation of the relevant clauses of the 19 th. Amendment (19A) of the Constitution, has failed. The court has told him that there is a five year constitutional cap on his term. In a letter to Chief Justice Priyasath …
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has shot down any prospect of President Maithripala Sirisena staying on in office for a year longer officials said Monday. A five-judge bench in a unanimous decision ruled that the President’s term was limited to five years by the 19th amendment to the constitution that he himself initiated after winning the …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Could right-thinking people of Sri Lanka be blamed for asking themselves as to whether no one will rid us of these troublesome politicians following this week’s depraved fisticuffs on the floor of the House? Is this where the ‘Sovereignty of the People’ resides, as mandated by Articles 3 and 4 of …
( The “Sunday Times” Column On Presidency Sometimes, politics is all about being in the right place at the right time. Since Sri Lanka embraced a presidential system of government forty years ago, three of our six Presidents have been elevated to the highest office in the land by being in the right place at …
Continue reading ‘Time For President Sirisena To Make Transition From Politician To Statesman’ »
By Sarath de Alwis “Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.” – George Orwell, 1984 Who made Maithripala Sirisena, President of our republic? Was …
by C.A.Chandraprema President Sirisena’s request for a determination from the Supreme Court as to whether he could remain in power for six years even after the 19th Amendment reduced the term of the President to five years has caused consternation in the pro-yahapalana camp and quiet glee among their opponents. One of the pioneers of …
By Prakash M Swamy U.S. Senate Candidate, inventor of e-mail and tech guru Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai has exposed Harvard University’s attempt to pilfer trillions of dollars worth of indigenous artifacts through the sale of a “Harvard Tamil Chair” professorship. Harvard sought to collect $6 Million from the Tamil Diaspora worldwide, who had no idea of …
By Dinasena Rathugamage A chaotic situation prevailed in Jaffna after some SLFP candidates contesting the forthcoming local government elections played some songs of the now defunct LTTE. Number of politicians in Jaffna had complained to the Election Related Violence Centrers about the conduct of some politicians who had used the liberation songs of the Tigers …
By Ajit Kanagasundram The world today is desperate to attract foreign talent. Thirty percent of Silicon Valley startups are by Indians, and the same percentage is true of Microsoft employees, NASA employees and US physicians. Canada and Australia have long had a point system to attract talent and the US and the UK are thinking …
Continue reading ‘How the “Ceylon” Tamils From Sri Lanka Contributed to Singapore Over The Years’ »
(Text of Editorial appearing in “the Island” of January 12th 2018 under the heading “Whither yahapalanaya?”) A five-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), in response to a question posed by President Maithripala Sirisena, is deliberating whether he can serve a six-year term. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution has reduced the presidential term to …
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) told the Sri Lankan Supreme Court on Thursday that the 19 th. Amendment of the constitution makes it very clear that the term of the President, including the incumbent Maithripa Sirisena, is five years and not six. “CPA’s position on the 19 th. Amendment to the Constitution is very …
By S.S. Selvanayagam Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya yesterday (11) contended that President Maithripala Sirisena could continue his term of office as President for six years, even as a five-judge bench of the country’s highest court heard interventions on a knotty and politically charged question put before them by the incumbent President himself. Making submissions in …
By Chitra Weerarathne President’s Counsel Manohara de Silva said in the Supreme Court yesterday that Parliament had not said that the incumbent President Sirisena could hold office for six years when it passed the 19th amendment to the Constitution in May 2015; it had only said the term of the President should be five years …
By Colonel R Hariharan The two-decade long wait of thousands of fans of Tamil cinema’s superstar Rajinikanth ended on New Year eve when he announced his entry into politics is certain. To the roaring approval of thousands of fans attending the six-day interaction with the Thalaiva (as they lovingly call him), he added, “I will …
By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham “My entry into politics is certain.This is the compulsion of the times. In the upcoming state assembly polls, I will start my own political party, and contest in all the 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu.” With those words, Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, idolized as Rajinikanth the larger than life superstar of the Tamil …
Continue reading ‘Can Superstar Rajinikanth Be Another “Puratchi Thalaiver” MGR?’ »
By Skandha Gunasekara and Ashwin Hemmathagama Parliamentary proceedings descended into fisticuffs and name-calling yesterday when a brawl erupted in the House after the Speaker failed to obtain and table the bond report in Parliament. United National Party (UNP) and Joint Opposition parliamentarians clashed yesterday soon after the Joint Opposition invaded the Well of the House. …
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirsena’s bid to get another year in office through a Supreme Court interpretation of the relevant clauses of the 19 th. Amendment (19A) of the Constitution, stems both from a lack of clarity in the clauses and Sirisena’s own pressing need to stay in power a little longer. In a letter …
By Saman Indrajith Brawls marred yesterday’s special parliamentary sitting as the UNP and the Joint Opposition (JO) MPs resorted to fisticuffs after the Speaker failed to arrange for the tabling of the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that investigated the Treasury bond scams. The JO MPs invaded the Well of the House protesting …
By Dr. Ameer Ali Since the first parliamentary elections in 1947 Tamil-Muslim political relations in Sri Lanka has been dominated by mutual mistrust. Even though the Chelvanakam’sFederal Party and Ponnampalam’sCeylon Tamil Congress included the Muslims under the rubric Tamil-speaking people whenever they addressed public rallies, and similarly, even though Muslim political leaders talked tirelessly of …
The inquiries into a controversial bond auctions by the parliament and presidential commission showed that rule of law was once again working in Sri Lanka but people still find it to be unusual Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament. He said an inquiry initiative by him by three lawyers had recommended a further investigation and …
Many UNP MPs claimed that UPFA Parliamentarian Gamini Lokuge started the fistfight in Parliament, this morning. Parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra said it was Lokuge who started the fight by attacking S.M Marikkar in the isle of the House. It was confirmed by Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva who said he saw how Lokuge started the …
A tense situation erupted in the Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe read a special statement to the House over a Treasury bond scam committed at the Central Bank. Opposition legislators, loyal to former President Mahinda Rajapakse, launched a protest in the middle of the House as Wickremesinghe read his statement, …
by Chitra Weerarathne President Maithripala Sirisena, who publicly proclaimed several times, that he had voluntarily agreed to get his term of office reduced from six years to five through the 19th Amendment passed in April 2015, making it a world record by a sitting leader, has now asked the Supreme Court whether he can complete …
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena has asked the Supreme Court if he can remain in office for six years despite having reduced his tenure to five through a constitutional amendment, officials said Tuesday. The move to seek an interpretation to the 19th amendment to the constitution which among other things reduced the term of office …
Angelo Mathews has been appointed as the ODI and T20 captain of the Sri Lanka national team, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced short while ago. SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala officially announced the decision at a press briefing being held in Colombo. The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection committee has decided to appoint Mathews as the …
Continue reading ‘Angelo Mathews Appointed Capt for ODI and T 20 National Cricket Team’ »
By (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama and Indika Sri Aravinda UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake yesterday denied the claims made by Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Minister Mano Ganesan that underworld figures had been nominated for the upcoming local government (LG) elections to represent the Colombo North. Responding to a question raised by a journalist when MP Karunanayake …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Last week, President Maithripala Sirisena swung his ‘sword’ that he recently vouched to use. The UNP had a good deal of its vital parts cut off. It would be nursing those wounds throughout the local government election campaign, which it was earlier expected to win hands down. The president in his much …
(Text of MEDIA RELEASE Issued by Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the “Third anniversary of the incompetent government responsible for the worst debt crisis in Sri Lankan history”) On 9 January 2018, the so-called yahapalana government completes three years in office. During this short period they have created numerous crises running through virtually every sector …
(Following is the statement by Lal Wickrematunge, brother of slain The Sunday Leader Founder Editor-in-Chief Lasantha Wickrematunge, on the ninth anniversary of his murder. It was read out by Lal’s daughter Minal at the memorial gathering held on 8 January at Lasantha’s graveside) Nine years have passed since Lasantha was done to death in the …
Kicking campaigning for the upcoming Local Government elections into a new gear, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said the Government would have to pay a whopping Rs. 10 trillion over the next 25 years due to allegedly irregular bond sales of Rs. 4 trillion from 2008 to 2015 without the Central Bank’s Monetary Board approval. …
By Anura Balasuriya Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the loss caused by treasury bond scam was much bigger than the amount stated in the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the bond scam. Addressing the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna’s inaugural rally in Kadawatha on Saturday, the former President said that he had …
Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has said that revelations made by the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry which investigated the treasury bond issuance of the Central Bank are false. Addressing a UNP meeting in Colombo, on Saturday, the former Finance Minister said that he had requested a copy of the Presidential Commission …
Prime Minister Ranil Wickreme-singhe yesterday stated that he was proud to reflect on the many hurdles overcome so far by the yahapalana government since January 08, 2015. In a statement issued to mark the 70 th anniversary celebrations of the UNP, the PM said: “When President Sirisena and I embarked on the campaign for yahapalanaya on …
By The “Sunday Times” Political Editor President Maithripala Sirisena chose to reveal highlights of the story behind the Central Bank bond scam on Wednesday – part of the findings of the Commission of Inquiry. That it came unusually in a pre-recorded 21-minute address to the nation gave it the status of a “national” issue. Yet, …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Auspicious times or not, Sri Lanka certainly rang in 2018 singularly inauspiciously as damning revelations of the monumental financial scam right in the bowels of the nation’s Central Bank were revealed to a badly shell-struck public even as the New Year had scarce been allowed to draw its breath. Fairy tales …
by C.A.Chandraprema The ‘special statement’ on the bond commission report made last Wednesday by President Maithripala Sirisena was, all things considered, the only statement that could have been made in the circumstances. To have expected anything else was unrealistic. The yahapalana project is something that goes beyond the President, the SLFP which he controls, and …
By Saman Gunadasa The Sri Lanka government formally handed over Hambantota Port to China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPH) on December 9, after almost two years of negotiations. The port is located on the country’s southern coast, close to some of the world’s busiest sea lanes. Addressing the ceremonial hand-over, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared that …
President Maithripala Sirisena’s office has put out several versions of his bond commission statement in an apparent attempt to soften the blow to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his party. The first English translation of the President’s Sinhala statement was reasonably close to the original, but a subsequent version — Bond Report V3 final.docx — …
By Norman Palihawadana Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that he was happy about the decision taken by the government to conduct a forensic audit on alleged bond scams under the UPFA government from 2008 to 2015.
By Kalathma Jayawardhane Joint Opposition MP Namal Rajapaksa yesterday said President Maithripala Sirisena had cleared the good name of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe through his Wednesday’s statement on the Central Bank bond scam. Addressing the media following an event held in Colombo, MP Rajapaksa said that accordingly, now the wrongdoer was former Central Bank Governor …
By Kalathma Jayawardhane In the wake of President Maithripala Sirisena’s statement on the Central Bank bond scam, the joint opposition today said President Sirisena should also be held responsible for the fraud as he was the appointing authority of Arjuna Mahendran as the Central Bank Governor who cleaned out the Treasury. Addressing a news conference …
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday maintained that, on his instructions they had already referred the findings of the COPE Committee headed by parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti that probed the Treasury bond scams to the Attorney General on October 31, 2016. President Maithripala Sirisena forwarded the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the scams also …
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister’s office expressed hope that the Attorney General will act on a report by President Commission of Inquiry, though no action has been taken on a parliamentary report which was handed over more than a year ago. The Prime Minister’s office said a report by the parliament’s Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) …
The report of the Sri Lankan Presidential Commission which probed a massive illegality in the issue of Treasury Bonds by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in 2015, serves the political interest of President Maithripala Sirisena. The report on the multi billion rupee scam, the main contents of which were revealed to the country …
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, in a special statement to the nation on Wednesday said that the government would adapt a new Monetary Law Act in the island country to avoid any malpractices in the Central Bank in the future. Sirisena made the statement following the conclusion of probe by a special Presidential Commission into …
Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena said a Presidential Commission which probed Sri Lanka’s biggest securities scam has held former central bank governor Arjuna Mahendren responsible for leaking market sensitive information and also recommended legal action against former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake. Making a special statement to media on the Presidential Bond Commission report, Sirisena said …
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday revealed to the public recent incidents of corruption and bribery over the issuance of Treasury Bonds as well as serious acts of fraud and abuse of power and state resources, backing key recommendations from specialists tasked with an independent probe. In a much-awaited prerecorded televised address to the nation, the President …
By The “Sunday Times” Political Editor (Following are excerpts from the political column appearing in the “Sunday Times” of December 31st 2017) The three-member Commission of Inquiry to probe the Central Bank bond scam handed over its report to President Sirisena last afternoon at his Paget Road residence in Colombo. During a nine month period, …
by Anura Balasuriya Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that though many wanted his photograph to be printed on their campaign posters for the forthcoming election campaign, only the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which had the lotus bud as its symbol had a right to do so. Rajapaksa said so, addressing the candidates contesting …
By Col R Hariharan Sri Lanka is expected to hold the nation-wide local government (LG) elections on February 10, 2018. Usually, local body elections are low key affairs. However, this election is important as a mid-term appraisal of the performance of President Maithripala Sirisena- Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe government. It would also provide an indication …
Continue reading ‘Political fallout of Local Government Polls in Sri Lanka’ »
Happy New Year! Wish You All The Very Best For 2018!! Compliments Of The Season!! D.B.S.Jeyaraj
By Ranga Jayasuriya 2018 should be the year Sri Lanka finally prioritises on economy and evolves a political cohesiveness that supports economic development. However, there is an acid test: the future of the UNP-SLFP unity government. The memorandum of understanding between the two parties lapsed on December 31; the SLFP says a decision will be …
By P.K.Balachandran As 2017 ended on Sunday, Tamil filmdom’s superstar Rajinikanth made the much expected announcement of his entry into Tamil Nadu politics. The star of over 160 films, many of them hits, had been toying with the idea of entering politics as per a tradition in Tamil filmdom in which successful actors end up …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka “What is a Nation?” (“Qu’est-ce qu’une nation?”) – Ernest Renan (1882) “I have been in the belly of the beast and I know its entrails.”– Jose Marti The resumption of rumblings over the SAITM issue, due to concerns about a double-cross by elements of the Government, generated commentary which was revealing. From …
The decades long guessing game has finally come to an end. Superstar Rajinikanth, the actor loved by the masses in Tamil Nadu and beyond, has officially announced his entry into politics. On Sunday, dressed in a white kurta and pants, Rajinikanth walked into the Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai’s T Nagar to an audience of …
By Ravi Ladduwahetty Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in an exclusive interview with Ceylon Today last afternoon, dared the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee to terminate his membership from the Party in which he has been a member for the last 50 years since 1968 and a Member of Parliament for the Beliatta electorate …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene As we enter upon a New Year pregnant with hope and foreboding in equal parts, the inglorious epitaph of the past twelve months qualifies to be none other than the adage ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’ A tug-of-war between the old and the new Certainly the …
By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka There were strange reactions to Sri Lanka’s political responses to and UN vote on the issue of Jerusalem. There are those spokespersons of the Sinhala Far Right who criticized the Sri Lankan stand and the cross-party political consensus as instances of double standards. The argument was that those who could not …
By Ajith Siriwardana Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Minister Mano Ganesan had been provided with Special Task Force (STF) security with a backup vehicle with five STF personnel, STF sources today said. Meanwhile, the Minister said in a statement that he faced serious security issues and sought the intervention of President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister …
By Namini Wijedasa Some assets located overseas have been “provisionally identified” as being the proceeds of crimes committed by certain politically exposed persons (PEPs) of Sri Lankan origin, authoritative Government sources revealed this week. While they declined to say who these persons were, PEPs typically include politicians and bureaucrats. These were the outcomes of investigations …
By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath’s recent comments (in an English Daily) on his party’s stance on the national question makes interesting reading; especially in the context of the current constitution making process. Herath, asked to explain the JVP’s current position, vis-à-vis, the ethnic problem and power devolution as a …
Continue reading ‘Is the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Truly Ready to Embrace Real Change?’ »
President Maithripala Sirisena appointed newly sworn-in legislator Piyasena Gamage as state minister for law and order in a move that sought to reduce the authority of a very close ally of the prime minister. Sirisena, who is at loggerheads with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) gave the influential portfolio to Gamage, a …
By Sandun A Jayasekera President Maithripala Sirisena said today he would not hesitate to use the ‘sword’ on his relatives, friends or party supporters in his journey to create a clean, unstained and a people-friendly political culture. “In my journey with a sword to create a clean, unstained and a people-friendly political culture and to …
A Christmas Reflection by Bishop Duleep de Chickera Bethlehem is the little village in which Jesus was born. It was here, that the unseen God emptied himself to become human in the form of Jesus, so that humans could hear and know God best through the idiom of the human, and rise to a fully …
President Maithripala Sirisena, who is at loggerheads with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), has strongly hinted at a possible split of their coalition mid-way of its five-year term. The President told his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) loyalists that he has decided to carry out the “second stage” of his daring political …
(Excerpt From “Talk At The Cafe Spectator”Column in “Sunday Times”) Malaysia insisted on meeting with Wigneswaran despite objections by officials Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak’s two day visit to Sri Lanka was not without controversy. One incident came at a scheduled meeting Premier Razak had lined up with Northern Province Chief Minister C. …
By Don Manu At first light, at first sight and at first read, the news seemed to be a page out of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. But Lanka was forced to believe it, like it or lump it, when Russia announced its decision to cut down on its 400 million dollars worth of Ceylon …
By Champika Fernando As a 12-year-old, Sri Lanka’s new national cricket coach would do 15 minutes of bat drill after dinner each day, standing in front of a mirror. He would then go to sleep with his bat under the pillow. Such was his dedication to the game. Chandika Hathurusingha signed up this week as …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Even allowing for the caustic truth of the 16th century saying that ‘what cannot be cured must be endured’, there is a limit to endurance if Sri Lanka has to undergo repeated visits of international United Nations missions without tangible benefits ensuing to the country’s long-suffering citizens. A more incisive critique …
By C.A.Chandraprema The yahapalana government has been adept at shooting themselves in the foot and they took another major step in that direction by discussing in cabinet that a special presidential commission be appointed to investigate the alienation of the land on which the newly opened Shangri La hotel now stands. This land originally belonged …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake With the nominations for elections to all local bodies concluding earlier this week, the stage is set for the local government elections throughout the county on February 10, 2018 under the new electoral system, making it an effective National Poll of deep political significance. The week also saw a major development on …
By Meera Srinivasan S. Indira Gandhi owns a brand-new house now. She is one of the first few from Sri Lanka’s hill country Tamil community – that has a two century-history in the island – who can call this home, and the piece of land beneath it, her own. A full-time worker in a tea …
By Ranjith Wimalasiri Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya yesterday called on all SLFP candidates, contesting the forthcoming local polls to include pictures of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in their campaign posters and other such propaganda materials. The Chief Minister made that request while addressing a press conference held at the Chief Minister’s office in …
By Dr Kamal Wickremasinghe The expression Relative Pitch used in the caption of this essay is a concept that originates from the field of music, which describes the crucialability of singers and players of instruments in an ensemble to re-create a given musical note by comparing it to a reference note. The phrase ‘relative pitch’ …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka It is all very simple really. This election is about you. If you vote for the UNP, you think that the country is better off under Ranil, is doing better and will do better under him as PM than it did when Mahinda Rajapaksa was in charge. If you voted for regime …
By Vishwamithra1984 “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” ~Nicco Machiavelli There was no Machiavellian nuanced statecraft. There was no Dudley Senanayakian transparency and honesty. There was no Jayewardenesque stoicism. There was not even lofty but empty rhetoric of the likes of …
By Sandun A. Jayasekara President Maithripla Sirisena has in a special statement to the Cabinet today blasted the ad-hoc, un-advisable and arbitrary decision by the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime to move the Army Headquarters from Baladaksha Mawatha in Fort and sell the land to Shangri-La Hotel chain. Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told a media conference held at …
By Chathuri Dissanayake In a bid to create a conducive environment for negotiations to overturn the ban imposed by Russia on Sri Lankan tea exports, Cabinet yesterday decided to defer the asbestos ban until further review, a top Minister confirmed. The surprise ban slapped on all agricultural product exports from Sri Lanka, including Ceylon Tea, …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Amidst the routine ‘celebrating’ of annual International Human Rights Day, a Bill to amend Sri Lanka’s Code of Criminal Procedure Act (CPC) on the vexed question of giving suspects in police custody the right of prompt access to legal counsel gazetted in mid-November, quietly escaped scrutiny. A sorry trajectory of bad …
By Purnima Pilapitiya (Shreen Abdul Saroor Received the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law On December 11th 2017 as one of 15 Winners from Around the World) Shreen Abdul Saroor comes from a ‘sporty’ family. Growing up in Mannar, the daughter of a teacher-father, she was exposed to as many sports …
By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wants to appoint a Commission into the issuance of bonds by the Central Bank during the second Rajapaksa term, when Ajith Nivard Cabral was the Chairman. Good. Excellent, in fact. I have a bigger matter into which I suggest he institutes an inquiry. It is about a …
By The “Sunday Times” Political Editor Personal initiatives by President Maithripala Sirisena to re-unify the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) ahead of the local polls have all ended in failure. Now, he has declared political war on the rival faction for repeatedly snubbing his overtures. Sirisena told his ministers and other SLFP stalwarts this week …
By C.A.Chandraprema It would not be incorrect to say that that this local government election is all about the Sri Lanka Podujana Party and very little else. Everyone is waiting to see how the SLPP performs as that will define the future of Sri Lankan politics. One may say that that the party that had …
by Tisaranee Gunasekara ……….there is such a thing as suicide. – “Aldous Huxley(Texts and Pretexts) “Does a nation remember and forget in much the same way as an individual does?” Kazuo Ishiguro wondered in his Nobel Lecturei. As the third year of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration draws to a close, the question cannot but arise: does …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda The Attorney General yesterday informed the Court of Appeal that there has been no written or oral contracts entered into by the Land Reclamation and Development Corporation and the D.A. Rajapaksa Foundation for the construction of the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum and Memorial in Medamulana. Senior Deputy Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne appearing on …
Russia has temporarily restricted the import of all Sri Lankan agricultural products, including tea. This is after an alleged detection of a beetle in the packaging on one consignment of tea from the island. The restriction, announced by Russian agricultural safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, will go into effect on December 18. Reached for comment, Foreign Ministry …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake An important shift of politics from elections to the protection of nature was seen in this week’s Wild Life and Nature Protection Society (WPNS) organised protest at Vihara Maha Devi Park moving to the UN Office in Colombo, which drew considerable public support, showing a growing public interest in a crisis mounting …
Torture and arbitrary detention were still being practised by Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities while unjustified delays in court cases meant delayed justice, a United Nations expert team has said. “The right to personal liberty has yet to be respected by law enforcement, security forces, judicial and other authorities,” the experts said in a statement, …
By W.A. Sunil Sri Lankan union leaders shut down a seven-day national strike by 5,000 rail workers on Wednesday after a government-appointed Cabinet Sub-Committee made a vague promise that “recommendations” on workers’ demands would be submitted to the cabinet and resolved within two months. Announcing an end to the walkout, Locomotive Engineers Union (LEU) general …
By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham Political parties are busy filing nominations to contest local government electionsscheduled for early 2018. As many political analysts have observed, the elections, postponed for more than two and a half years, have aroused the same interest as that of a general election.The interest is understandable given that it would be a litmus …
Continue reading ‘The Games Politicians Play For The Local Government Elections’ »
By Mahinda Rajapaksa Nominations have now been accepted for the local government elections which had been delayed by nearly three years due to the government’s fear of the voting public. Even though a local government election is not an election at which political power changes hands, this election is of special significance because this is …
By Chaturanga Pradeep Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera today met Colombo’s Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith to appreciate measures taken by him to stop private classes on Sundays and Poya Days. He also thanked the Cardinal for standing up against discreet measures taken to make men and women infertile.
By M.S.M.Ayub Even being a strong loyalist of the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa has unusually taken a backseat at a time when his boss and mentor is going to face an election, the results of which might turn out to be a trendsetter. The reason is very clear. …
President Maithripala Sirisena stirred up a hornet’s nest yesterday when he changed the Secretaries of social ministries without consulting line ministers. The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Recourses, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Urban Planning and Water Supply, the Ministry of Law and Order, the Ministry of Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs …
By Colonel R Hariharan China gaining operational of the port marks yet another strategic milestone in furthering President Xi Jinping’s ambitious 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The Chinese control of port infrastructure assets already acquired in Gwadar in Pakistan and Djibouti (Horn of Africa) has strengthened its position in the Indian Ocean. India’s inability to …
Sri Lankan employees have unanimously voiced concern about mismanagement at the national carrier and asked the authorities to sack the entire board and their chief executive officer to save the debt-ridden carrier. In an unusually blunt letter to their Chairman Ajith Dias, six unions said he had failed to revive the airline and worse still …
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa The Railways trade unions have called off their week long strike yesterday (13) following a discussion with the Cabinet sub-committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena. Railway Drivers’ Union Secretary Indika Dodangoda told The Island that the railway workers regretted inconvenience caused to commuters. The four-member Cabinet sub-committee was tasked with looking into …
By “Sunday Times” Political Editor One evening early this week, Basil Rajapaksa, a key player in the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), was en route to his home in Battaramulla after attending a meeting in Dehiwala. He had reached the Kohuwala junction when his mobile phone rang.As an aide explained, he was in his Land …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Deputy Leader of the breakaway JVP faction National Freedom Front (NFF) parliamentarian Weerakumara Dissanayake yesterday received SLFP membership from President and SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena. Former MP and Chairman of NFF Piyasiri Wijenayake and North Central Province PC member P. B. Kumara, too, received SLFP membership. Anuradhapura District MP Dissanayake switched his …
By Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha While there is much uncertainty now about what will happen to the country, certain certainties are assured. Chief amongst them is the headlong destruction of his reputation that Ranil has precipitated in the last three years. I do not refer only to his unashamed capers with regard to the bond scam, …
By Kelum Bandara Former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said yesterday that he had a brief telephone conversation with President Maithripala Sirisena for the first time after years, and discussed the matters related to current political developments. However, Mr. Rajapaksa declined to elaborate on what was discussed. He said the telephone conversation took place with …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka The SLFP’s crisis is a crisis of ideological identity. It is also an existential crisis. The SLFP is divided into two tendencies, a Minority (‘Menshevik’) faction with 44 seats in Parliament, led by President Sirisena, not all of them elected, and a Majority (‘Bolshevik’) faction with over 50 seats, led by former …
By Sanja de Silva Jayatilleka On Friday the 8th of December, 8 of the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting. It was called by Bolivia, Egypt, France, Italy, Senegal, Sweden, UK and Uruguay, in response to President Trump’s unilateral declaration that the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital …
By Spectator Who is Afraid of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa? That is a question we must ask because the former Defence Secretary and sibling of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is generating headlines without doing much, really. To put things in a nutshell, the current hullabaloo is as follows: The Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) is attempting to …
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By Sheain Fernandopulle The picture of Jesus Christ where droplets of sweat were seen emerging from the forehead at St. Anne’s Church in Wattala depitcs something more than a miracle, St. Anne’s Church Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Sanjeev Mendis told Daily Mirror yesterday. He said the miraculous incident enhanced the faith of the people in …
By C.A.Chandraprema With nominations set to open on Monday for the first 93 local government institutions, frantic last minute moves are being made to form an alliance between the Joint Opposition and the SLFP faction in the government. The initiative in these moves is from the latter rather than the former. Several public figures like …
By Dr.Deepika Udagama Dr.Deepika Udagama is chairperson Human rights Commission of sri Lanka. Dec 10th is International Human rights day. \ “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” The above quotation is from Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration was adopted by the UN General …
By Shaahidah Riza Separating the communities strictly along caste, race and religious lines, as was done in the previous delimitation process, will only ensure that the entire country is divided, Chairman of the Delimitation Committee Dr. K. Thavalingam said. In an interview with Ceylon Today he explained that the recently enacted Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Several rather fantastic claims in respect of restoring the Rule of Law were made by the Government at the highest levels this week. Droll statements at talkfests Ideally the Government’s commitment to closing the spluttering legal and investigative processes on killings of Sri Lanka’s scribes in the Rajapaksa decade should have …