By P.K.Balachandran The Sri Lankan government on Monday decided to erect the world’s tallest Christmas tree here, defying the Catholic Church which had stalled the project earlier on the grounds that it was wasteful and that the money would be better spent on poverty alleviating programs. The project to erect a 100 meter or 325 …
By Lahiru Pothmulla The construction of the world’s tallest Christmas tree at the Galle Face Green, which was halted, had been resumed today, the Ports and Shipping Ministry said. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had informed Minister Arjuna Ranatunga to resume the construction of the Christmas tree. The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister had met …
As a Sathyagraha launched by the Hambantota port workers entered the fourth consecutive day yesterday without any sign of an early solution, media and civil organisations, labour unions and political parties condemned Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravi Wijayagunaratne for manhandling The Island/Divaina Suriyawewa correspondent Roshan Gunasekera. Gunasekera said: “I shouted that I was from the …
By World Socialist Web Site Hundreds of navy soldiers deployed by the Sri Lankan government violently broke up a protest by striking Hambantota Magampura Port workers inside the port on Saturday. Since Wednesday some 480 workers at the port in southern Sri Lanka have been on strike, opposing its privatisation and demanding they become permanent …
(Text of Media Statement issyed by the Free Media Movement on the Attack on Journalists by the Navy Commander at Hambantota Harbour) The Free Media Movement, condemning the attack on journalists by the Navy,including the Navy Commander on the International Human Rights Day (10th December), urges the President to commence a special investigation and take …
By Sandun Jayawardena and Chandani Kirinde Workers on strike at the Hambantota Port for a fourth day and continued to occupy two foreign container vessels forcing a Navy operation to evict them yesterday. Later yesterday, the Navy helped one of these ships “Hyperon Highway” to leave the Port. Gantry cranes positioned on the path of …
By Dhanya Rajendran Even as late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa received treatment at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai for 75 days before she passed away on December 5, television cameras stationed outside the hospital gates focussed on one person, who was barred from meeting the 68-year-old leader. Deepa Jayakumar, Jayalalithaa’s brother’s daughter never shied away from …
By Anna Isaac Less than five days after Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa passed away, the ruling party appears to be laying the groundwork for her close aide Sasikala Natarajan to take over as general secretary. This comes after senior AIADMK leaders urged Sasikala at Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence to take over as supremo …
by Dr.K. Vijaya Kumar (Vijaya Kumar is the President of the Lanka Estate Workers’ Union, a member of the Politbureau of the LSSP (Majority Group) and Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of Peradeniya) The Lanka Sama Samaja Party holds its 81st Anniversary Celebrations this month. The celebrations in Colombo are to be held by the …
The Constitutional Council (CC) will ask President Maithripala Sirisena to initiate action against Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera over allegations that he attempted to save a suspect from arrest over a corruption investigation. The decision came after a lengthy discussion on Friday at the CC meeting chaired by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. An official source said yesterday …
By Namini Wijedasa A Chinese-dominated joint venture (JV) will be granted comprehensive control of Hambantota port — including its internal security — under a framework agreement signed this week between the Sri Lanka Government and China Merchants Port Holdings Company (CMPort). The agreement, which was seen by the Sunday Times, was entered into between CMPort …
By Saman Indrajith Joint Opposition MPs yesterday staged a protest in Parliament against the government using the Navy personnel to assault Hambantota port workers who are on strike. The MPs protest came after NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa, raising a point of order, informed the House that workers of the Hambantota port were being attacked by …
By B Kolappan Providing clear signals that V.K. Sasikala will not face too many hurdles in gaining and probably even holding on to the reins of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu, a section of leaders in the party on Friday openly hailed her as the natural political heir …
By Peter Bradshaw “I’m Spartacus!” – “I’m Spartacus!” – “I’M SPARTACUS!” Every film buff knows that moment, every panel-show comedian riffs on it. A mob of defeated slave rebels in the pre-Christian Roman empire is told their wretched lives will be spared, but only if their ringleader, Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), comes out and gives himself …
By A Guest Contributor “They destroyed our nation. They are rapists. They are murderers. They stole our land. They killed our people.” My mom would always repeat this to me. She would tell me stories about the war and how brutally everyone had suffered. I, too, believed all her stories. She had brainwashed me into …
Continue reading ‘I am a Tamil Woman in Love With a Sinhalese Man’ »
By Sandasen Marasinghe, Disna Mudalige and Ishara Mudugamuwa Buddha Sasana and Justice Minister Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapaksa said he would visit Batticaloa to discuss and settle the religious dispute that has been cropped up in the area. He made this comment in response to a question raised by TNA MP S. Viyalendran during the committee stage …
By Greg Bearup Mahinda Rajapaksa sits at a desk in his party office beneath a photo of himself. He’s not especially tall but solid in the chest and arms; like an old rugby prop, his head seems to rest on his shoulders without much need for a neck. He’s never seen in public without his …
Continue reading ‘Phantoms of Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka’s Reign of Terror’ »
By PK Balachandran In a politically significant act which could help him garner the support of Sinhalese nationalists, Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena, on Thursday cleared the names of 19 Sinhalese chiefs who were officially branded as ‘traitors’ by the British rulers of the island 198 years ago. The President’s media division said that Sirisena …
By Ramanathan S. As the dust around the death of Jayalalithaa settles, the focus is now slowly shifting to the political events of December 5 and 6, and how her closest aide, Sasikala, acted during Jayalalithaa’s illness and in the immediate aftermath of her death. Some questions in the air: What was the need to …
By Anna Isaac Hours after Apollo Hospital in Chennai announced that late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday, the political wheels were already turning in the AIADMK. The smooth transition of power to loyalist O Panneerselvam late on Monday night, even as news of CM and party supremo Jayalalithaa’s demise was …
Continue reading ‘Will Sasikala Natarajan take over as AIADMK Party General Secretary?’ »
By Gomin Dayasri Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna [SLPP] has displayed its public face in presenting Basil Rajapaksa and Chairman G.L.Peiris [budding buddies of the‘bud’ party]– after hectoring by MR, hibernating in the background as its ultimate leader. Make no mistake it is his party. It will be conceived and buried by him if he succeeds …
By Shehan Chamika Silva The Attorney General, in the Colombo High Court, today re-indicted former minister Basil Rajapaksa and Divineguma Department’s former director general Kithsiri Ranawaka on charges of misappropriating Rs.29 million belonging to the Divineguma. The indictments originally filed in Court on Mr. Rajapaksa and Mr. Ranawaka were yesterday withdrawn by the AG on …
By B.Kolappan After lying low for many years, the family members of V.N. Sasikala, the close confidant of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, particularly her husband M. Natarajan, were seen prominently at the funeral on Tuesday. Almost all the family members — Ms. Sasikala’s sister-in-law J. Ilavarasi; the latter’s son and the AIADMK’s new power centre, …
By B Kolappan Noted Tamil poet and dramatist Inquilab, whose angry lines Manusangada Naanga Manusangada (Humans, we are humans… ) that powerfully portrayed the massacre of 44 Dalits in Keezh Venmani, died here on Thursday. He was 72 and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. A Marxist-Leninist wedded to the idea …
By Norman Palihawadana Chairman of the committee which was entrusted the work on the giant Christmas tree which was being constructed at the Galle Face Green, Mangala P.Gunasekera yesterday said the project was called off and its objective was religious harmony. Addressing a news conference at the Ports and Shipping Ministry auditorium Gunasekera said the …
By Saman Indrajith UNP National List MP and co-chairman of the Operational Committee of the Constitutional Assembly Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne informed Parliament yesterday that he had received death threats over the phone and the caller had told him to stay out of the constitution making process. Raising a privilege issue, MP Wickramaratne said an unidentified …
By Dharisha Bastians The main opposition Tamil National Alliance pitched into Resettlement Minister D.M. Swaminathan in Parliament yesterday, demanding his resignation over the controversial Government proposal to build 65,000 prefabricated steel houses for war affected families of the North and East. TNA Jaffna District Parliamentarian and party Spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran used his time during the …
Just minutes after Jayalalithaa was laid to rest next to her mentor MGR at his memorial in Chennai’s Marina beach, her close aide Sasikala’s husband, M Natarajan, who was once a key member of Jayalalithaa’s political team, said that the AIADMK will continue under the legacy of Jayalalithaa and MGR, and that no one person …
By Norman Palihawadana Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith yesterday frowned on a colossal sum of money being spent on the erection of a Christmas tree at the Galle Face Green. He said it was a vain attempt and the money spent thereon could have been utilised to help the poverty stricken people. Addressing a …
By B Kolappan Cho Ramaswamy, political commentator, theatre personality and editor of Thuglak, a Tamil magazine known for its withering satire and fearless criticism of political figures, died here early on Wednesday. He was 82 and is survived by his wife, son and daughter. He has been ailing for some time, and was hospitalised for …
By Sandasen Marasinghe, Disna Mudalige and Ishara Mudugamuwa TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran railing against Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D.M. Swaminathan demanded his resignation in Parliament yesterday. The MP was making an angry speech during the Committee Stage debate of the Budget 2017 when the Finance Head of ‘Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, …
The illnesses mentioned in the prison hospital diagnosis card of former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva are all false, said UNP MP Hirunika Premachandra. She made this observation participating in the Committee Stage debate of the Budget 2017 when the Finance Head of ‘Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Ministry’ was taken up in Parliament …
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday apologised for the destruction of the Jaffna library when the UNP was in power in 1981. Participating in the third reading stage debate on budget 2017 under the expenditure heads of the ministry of prisons, rehabilitation and resettlement, Prime Minister extended the apology.
by Chitra Weerarathne The Attorney General yesterday withdrew the indictment against Basil Rajapaksa, the former Minister of Divineguma, Economic Development and the Director General of Divineguma, Kirthi Ranawaka. The state informed the High Court of Colombo that there was a technical defect in the charge sheet and it hoped to file a fresh indictment shortly. …
By Mirudhula Thambiah Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian Sathasivam Viyalendran said that the hate speech occurring in the Eastern Province against the minority communities is a pre-planned agenda by the representatives of the former regime. “We respect Buddhism and we respect Buddhist monks but a small number of them are trying to tarnish …
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya Tamara Kunanayakam is best known in Sri Lanka as former Ambassador to the UN in Geneva from 2011 to 2012. It is less well known that she chaired the UN Working Group on the Right to Development from 2011 to 2015 and was Ambassador to Cuba from 2008 to 2011. Following the …
By Saman Indrajith Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that Joint Opposition statements on last Saturday’s incident near Parliament were not acceptable. Former local government members who raped 100s of girls and killed the husbands of wives they raped were no ordinary demonstrations; they were a security threat. PM Wickremesinghe, soon after Joint Opposition Leader …
Amidst a pall of gloom following Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s death, senior AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam was elected the leader of the Legislature Party shortly after Monday midnight and sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. At a solemn ceremony in the Raj Bhavan, Mr. Panneerselvam was administered the oath of office and secrecy by …
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday expressed his concerns over what he described as criminals of the Rajapaksa regime threatening to surround Parliament. “Those who took part in the recent protest are not the ordinary citizens of this country or boys from university student unions. These were the local government members of the Rajapaksa regime who …
A person who attacked Nava Sama Samaja Party leader Vickramabahu Karunarathne calling him “a traitor and should be killed” has been released on bail by the Kaduwela Magistrate. The attack took place at a restaurant, Sonora Thalawatugoda where Dr Karunarathne was having dinner with two of his friends after his book on philosophical notes ‘Yathawadi …
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has died at the age of 68. After battling for her life at Apollo Hospital in Chennai for 75 days, the iconic Dravidian leader and six-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu succumbed to her illness on Monday, December 5 at 11 30pm. As the news spreads, a wave of …
By Kavitha Muralidharan My first memory of watching J Jayalalithaa on screen was in the song “Ninaithen Vandhaai”, from “Kaavalkaran”. Even in the small box television set in which I was watching it, Jayalalithaa, dressed like an Egyptian princess, looked every bit regal. The graceful dance movements only added to her aura. She had something …
(Text of a statement issued by former Sri Lankan President and current Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa opposing some provisions in the proposed new Constitution) The reports submitted by six subcommittees on constitutional reform appointed by the Constitutional Assembly were tabled in parliament while everybody’s attention was focused on the budget. With that government ministers …
By Dharisha Bastians Former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa fired his first major salvo against the proposed new Constitution yesterday, saying that by rushing through the constitutional reform process, the Government was prioritising matters that were ‘only of interest’ to “separatists” and “foreign parties”. Taking blatantly Sinhala nationalist positions in a lengthy essay …
Mirudhula Thambiah, a Journalist attached to Ceylon Today, was recently forced to undergo a serious security check, at the Indian Immigration Authority, based at the Bengaluru Kempegowda Airport, where she was continuously questioned. It was not a routine or normal security check, but an extraordinary case of harassment. She said, “I was harassed by the …
By Saman Indrajith It is only through a struggle that democracy in Sri Lanka can be secured and the socialist dream realized. There is no other way to achieve this objective, leader of the Front Line Socialist Party, Kumar Gunaratnam alias Kumar Mahattaya said yesterday. Gunaratnam who was freed from the Anuradhapura prison on Friday …
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday objected to the Constitutional Council discussing the controversial conduct of police chief Pujith Jayasundara. Wickremesinghe told parliament that there was no formal complaint against Inspector-General Pujith Jayasundara who was caught on camera allegedly interfering in a Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) investigation. “If there is any complaint …
By Skandha Gunasekara Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in Parliament yesterday, said he would hold a meeting with both, IGP Pujith Jayasundara and Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake tomorrow (5), while assuring Parliament that no Police investigations have been halted. The Prime Minister, responding to a question raised by Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara …
By Nimal Sanderatne No single factor has retarded the country’s economic development more than communal violence. The current communal tensions in several parts of the country could create instability and uncertainty that would destabilise the economy beyond recovery and mark the death knell of the country’s efforts to resolve the current economic crisis. Orchestrated no …
Continue reading ‘Current Communal Tensions in Country Could De-stabilise Economy Beyond Recovery’ »
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene For close to ten years, Sri Lanka was ruled by a Presidency under which calls were openly given by politicians to heads of the judiciary, the police and hapless public servants ordering them to act or not to act as the case may be. This is not to say that such …
BY NIRANJALA ARIYAWANSHA Minister of National Co-existence and Official Languages Mano Ganesan warns that a referendum on a Constitutional amendment cannot be won easily. But he argued that if a referendum is held for this purpose, it must be won. He further questioned what the replacement would be in case the good governance government is …
By Niranjala Ariyawansha Front Line Socialist Party (FSP) politburo member Kumar Gunaratnam, who was jailed for violating immigration and emigration laws, after arriving in the country on tourist visa, was released from the Anuradhapura Prison yesterday upon completion of his one-year jail period. After stepping out of the prison, the FSP politburo member told the …
By Rasika Jayakody IGP Pujith Jayasundara found himself at the centre of a major controversy this week, after receiving a controversial phone call while addressing a Police event in Ratnapura Instead of waiting until he was finished with his speech, the IGP stopped midway to answer the phone and failed to move away from the …
By Dharisha Bastians Police Chief IGP Pujith Jayasundera is under fire from the Opposition and corruption watchdogs after he was caught on camera attempting to interfere in an investigation by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) earlier this week. The IGP told an unidentified caller in the presence of media personnel in a video that …
Vice President-elect of the United States Mike Pence called President Maithripala Sirisena Thursday night on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump During the conversation, President Sirisena conveyed his best wishes to the new administration under the leadership of Trump. The conversation focused on measures for strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the US in the …
By P.K.Balachandran Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday appealed to the Joint Opposition led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, not to thwart the constitution-making and ethnic reconciliation processes by indulging false propaganda because if the current chance to solve the national problem is missed due to narrow minded jockeying for power, the country will …
By Saman Indrajith President Maithripala Sirisena informed Parliament yesterday that he would call for explanation from IGP Pujith Jayasundara over the latter’s recent remarks on taking persons into custody by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division during a police commemorative event at Ratnapura. Soon after President Sirisena completed his speech during the third reading debate on …
By Saman Indrajith Parliament should be informed of the person the IGP had been talking over the phone during a police commemorative event at Ratnapura, Chief Opposition Whip and JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake demanded. He made this comment participating in the committee stage budget debate in Parliament yesterday. “Whom did the IGP address as ‘Sir’? …
by Saman Indrajith The Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington has been ordered to investigate an allegation that Rs. 27 million had been spent for a person living at the residence meant for Lankan Consul General at Los Angeles while that position was vacant. In accordance with instructions issued by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera two top …
By Dharisha Bastians untitled-5President Maithripala Sirisena made a passionate appeal for consensus on the proposed new Constitution in Parliament yesterday, urging lawmakers to support his Government’s efforts to end decades of ethnic strife and achieve lasting peace. In a 25-minute speech delivered during the budget debate on the Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation last …
The Government yesterday confirmed the Frontline Socialist Party leader Premakumar Gunaratnam would not be extradited when his prison term comes to an end on 9 December, but may instead be issued citizenship. “We will consider this if an application is submitted once he completes the prison term. I am ready to act upon receiving his …
By Saman Indrajith Serious financial irregularities had taken place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the previous government, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament yesterday. Samaraweera said that among them was the acquisition of a house on rent in Los Angeles for the use of former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapksa’s son. He said there …
By Amra Ismail Kadireshan Ravishankar, a 34-year-old barber and father of four, alleges he was tortured by the Hatton HQI (Headquarters Inspector) on September 23. He was working at his brother, Kadireshan Simson’ salon – ‘CS Saloon’ – when he was called to give a haircut to the Hatton HQI. Grappling with abject poverty, Ravishankar …
By Frances Bulathsinghala Interviews with some of Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable war-affected persons in the north show that a meaningful post war reconciliation process to them includes action towards human development, based on a comprehensive and consistent post conflict development policy that is focused on knowledge and understanding of grass root scenarios. There is no …
By Rajeewa Jayaweera The Prime Minister has recently spoken in Parliament of the need to substantially increase salaries of our legislators. He is of the view current salaries are grossly inadequate. The Prime Minister believes higher salaries will reduce corruption and attract better talent to the legislature. As of today, an MP earns a salary …
( Full Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island” of December 1st 2016 Under the Heading “MPs have all the luck!) Santa seems to have got his wires crossed. Else, he would not have landed near the Diyawanna Oya several weeks ahead of Christmas. Usually, he favours children, but this time around he seems to …
By Rasika Jayakody While the Parliament is heating up, with the committee stage debate on the budget in full swing, the SLFP, led by President Maihthripala Sirisena is preparing for a major membership drive. The move comes in the wake of the Joint Opposition’s decision to form a new party under the leadership of G.L. …
By Buddhika Imbulana Former Deputy Minister Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, alias Karuna has been transferred to a separate cell under tight security at the Colombo Remand Prison.
Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy yesterday said the Monetary Board had taken action against controversial primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries but stopped short of providing details, citing legal constraints and market sensitivities. At the tail-end of recounting a slew of new measures taken to promote the credibility of the Government securities market, the Governor noted …
By P K Balachandran Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, a former top LTTE military commander who later became Deputy Minister of National Integration in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, was arrested on Tuesday by the Financial Crimes Investigation Department (FCID) for alleged misuse of a bullet proof luxury government vehicle. He was remanded till December 7 …
By Ranga Jayasuriya The outbursts of Sinhala-Buddhist ultra-nationalism in the South have often been cyclical. They take place with the connivance, and when it was not the case, complacency of the government in power. A closer look at this periodic rage would also reveal, since the Black July in 1983, which was facilitated by the …
Continue reading ‘Govt Must Combat Both Militant Buddhism and Shadowy Salafism’ »
By W.A. Sunil According to the Colombo-based Daily Mirror, at a meeting of Sri Lanka’s security council on Sunday, President Maithripala Sirisena instructed the police and security forces to “take all who incite racism into custody and produce [them] before courts under the existing law.” While the immediate reason given for this order is to …
By Saman Indrajith Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told Parliament that he would not hesitate to verbally attack the media when and where necessary but no journalist would be harmed. He said that though the government criticised the conduct of media not a single journalist would be abducted or assaulted under the good governance rule. …
By Saman Indrajith JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanyake said in parliament yesterday that media suppression has assumed a new form under the present government even though the white van culture had been ended. He said there was no point in castigating the page one news stories in newspapers as they were on real incidents that …
By Bandula Jayasekara in Hague There was a raging debate on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the so-called ‘electric chair’ in Sri Lanka not so long ago. This seems to have died down for now. Who knows whether it would re-emerge on election platforms in the future? Electric chair or not, the ICC itself …
President Maithripala Sirisena has asked US President elect Donald Trump to pressure the UN Human Rights Council to drop war crimes allegations against the country’s troops. Sirisena’s office said on Sunday he had sent a “special message” to Trump seeking US intervention at the council, where Sri Lanka faces censure for alleged wartime atrocities. “I sent …
By Srinivasa Ramanujam There’s excitement in the air as the batting team needs a six off the last ball to win. The batsman, drenched in sweat, takes his time to take guard and slogs at the ball. It bounces just a few metres before the boundary rope and the hitter looks to the skies in …
Continue reading ‘Cricket Commentary in the Thamizh Language is Becoming Popular in Tamil Nadu’ »
By Dr. M.A.Mohamed Saleem and Arjuna Hulugalle At a time when the mechanism for decentralization is foremost in one’s mind, it was heartening to read that President Sirisena made a reference to it in a call to his Ministers to come up with proposals for its introduction (Sunday Times, November 6th 2016). Apolitical stability can …
By P.K.Balachandran Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has said that he will write to the US President-elect Donald Trump, seeking his help to get Sri Lanka freed from allegations of human rights violations during Eelam War IV. “I will write to President (Donald) Trump to ask him to free us from these accusations,” Sirisena said …
By The “Sunday Times” Political Editor It seemed ironic that it should come in the wake of the jolt the mainstream media in the United States received after Republican Donald Trump won the November presidential elections. Both the electronic and the print media, almost altogether, spoke of a victory for rival Hillary Rodham Clinton. Most …
A matter of concern for the Government is the fear of growing religious extremism. This saw an extended meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) chaired by President Sirisena at his Paget Road residence. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Public Safety Minister Sagala Ratnayake, State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi, the Police …
Govt Ministers at their weekly meeting late last month, gave approval to a far reaching piece of legislation titled Development (Special Provisions) Bill. It will now be published in the Government Gazette and presented in Parliament. Some changes suggested by President Sirisena, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga will be …
By Don Manu Money seems to be the only motivator to kick start Lanka’s MPs to do an honest day’s work. Perhaps it is after taking cognisance of this ignoble truth and identifying it as the ignominious cause of their conditioned inertia that moved the Prime Minister last week to raise their pathetic financial plight …
President Maithripala Sirisena has expressed his displeasure to Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera over the arrest and subsequent remanding of the former Commandant of the Police Special Task Force (STF), K.L.N. Sarathchandra. Mr. Sarathchandra, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), was arrested and produced before Colombo’s Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya. He was remanded till …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene For far too long following the change of power last year, many have responded to the policy and practice of the Unity Government with the plea to ‘tread softly in case the Rajapaksas return.’ The logic (if that is the appropriate word) in this thinking was asinine at its core. An …
By Meera Srinivasan Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is on a week-long visit to China on the invitation of the Chinese government — a development that sections within the government and diplomatic circles here see as a “strong message” from Beijing. The visit assumes further significance in the wake of controversial remarks made by …
By Rasika Jayakody After the Rajapaksa family fell out of power in January, last year, almost every ultra-nationalist group representing Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy went into a dormant phase. They stopped holding dramatic press conferences, stopped disrupting public events organized by other religious groups and refrained from storming into government offices. Their presence was barely noticeable in …
BY DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA Fidel was the last of the Titans, of the epic heroes. Whatever our travails, our generation and the ones before us were fortunate to live in the decades in which there were great leaders, visionaries who combined their ideal with action and changed the world they inherited. Our generation and one, …
Continue reading ‘FAREWELL TO FIDEL CASTRO THE LAST OF THE TITANS AND EPIC HEROES’ »
By Dayaratne Pathirana Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunge was shot dead by Army intelligence officers, CID Inspector Nishantha Silva told Mount Lavinia Magistrate Mohammad Sahabdeen today. He said this while presenting the investigative reports on an Army intelligence officer who was arrested on charges of abducting and detaining the driver who drove Mr. Wickramatunge’s vehicle …
By Rory Carroll and Jonathan Watts in Havana No street bears his name and there is not a single statue in his honour but Fidel Castro did not want or need that type of recognition. From tip to tip, he made Cuba his living, breathing creation. Children in red neckerchiefs scampering to free schools, families …
By P.K.Balachandran A Sri Lankan court on Friday issued an international arrest warrant against Lankaenews Editor Sandaruwan Senadheera for contempt of court. The warrant is to be executed through Interpol, the local media reported. This is the first time a Sri Lankan court has issued an international arrest warrant against a journalist.
By Aparna M Sridhar ( Carnatic Music Maestro Dr.Balamuralikrishna Passed away in Chennai on November 22nd 2016 at the age of 86. This article appeared under the heading “When Kalyani came calling “in the September 2014 Inaugural issue of “Saamagaana-The first Melody” published in Bengaluru. It was written by the magazine Editor Aparna M. Sridhar …
Continue reading ‘Musical Prodigy Balamuralikrishna Defied Tradition to Popularise Carnatic Music’ »
By Eranda Ginige We are all hypocrites, more or less. These people top the chart. 1. Animal lovers……….. ………who fight for the rights of selected animal species. We protest bull races, but love watching horse races in Nuwara Eliya. We can’t bear the sight of chains around the feet of elephants but walk our dogs …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka’s Biggest Hypocrites – Five Broad Categories’ »
By Rory Carroll Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90, Cuban state television announced on Saturday, ending an era for the country and Latin America. Brother Raúl Castro announces on Cuban state television that controversial revolutionary leader has died at age of 90 The revolutionary icon, one of the world’s best-known and most …
Fidel Castro, Cuba’s former president and leader of the Communist revolution, has died aged 90, state TV has announced. It provided no further details. Fidel Castro ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century before handing over the powers to his brother Raul in 2008.
By M.M.Zuhair P.C. The European Union (EU) in an interim report that received media coverage in Sri Lanka as far back as 2009, on the GSP + (Generalized System of Preferences) had alleged that aspects of the Muslim personal laws in operation in Sri Lanka were in violation of UN conventions.The EU, had in the …
By K.K.S.Perera Prices of a large number of drugs were surreptitiously but ‘meticulously’ increased by 40-55 per cent over the past 16 months as part of the ground work preparations for the so-called ‘Bibile policy’ introduction of drug price reductions implemented by the authorities in collaboration with the Pharma Mafia. The transnational pharmaceutical industry, or …
BY BANDULA JAYASEKARA in The Hague Stephen J Rapp is the former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed to that position by the US President Barrack Obama. He is now with The Hague Institute for Global Justice as a Distinguished Fellow. We met him in …
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has, in a statement issued through the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), urged President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to act swiftly and decisively against those responsible for hate speech. ONUR Chairperson Mrs Kumaratunga had welcomed the recent arrest of two persons from different communities on …
Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Sri Lanka has urged the government not to go ahead with the move to restrict the student intake for external degree programmes. The JVP, the Joint Opposition and students have been agitating against the government proposal to curtail the external degree programme. The Church has requested that tangible measures be taken …
By S. S. Selvanayagam The Court of Appeal yesterday (22) fixed for September 6 the appeal against the Anuradhapura High Court Jury decision in the alleged massacre of villagers of Kiliveddi in Kumarapuram, Trincomalee. The Appeal was filed by the Attorney General against the Jury decision by which six former corporals of the Army were …
By PK Balachandran Having suffered a great deal by putting all its eggs in the basket of the Sri Lankan government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa between 2010 and 2014, China has now adopted a balanced Sri Lanka policy under which it will engage the opposition as well as the government of the day. This …
By DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA Disclosing on his blog that he was “reluctantly voting” for Hillary Clinton and explaining why, Richard Falk, Prof Emeritus of International Law at Princeton and former UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestinian Territories, noted with characteristic lucidity that the global Left is divided between those outside the USA who are primarily …
By M.S.M.Ayub Sri Lanka is a strange country. One Minister says that dozens of Sri Lankan Muslims have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria(ISIS), one of the world’s most brutal terrorist organisations while another says there are no intelligence reports about such links between Sri Lankan Muslims and the said outfit. How serious …
By Dharisha Bastians Radical Buddhist monks threatening demolition of majority Muslim suburbs of Colombo and employing violent, racist and threatening rhetoric against public officials continue to enjoy impunity under the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government, which was swept into office on a wave of minority angst and frustration about the meteoric rise of hardline Sinhalese groups under the …
by Zacki Jabbar Amidst contradictory statements emanating from the government, Co-Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday that no one connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS) had come to Sri Lanka in the guise of teachers. He told a news conference in Colombo that according to the security …
By Shamindra Ferdinando A key government proposal to enhance benefits provided to Senior Citizens in Budget 2016 budget hadn’t been implemented by the Central Bank, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake acknowledged on Monday night. Minister Karunanayake said action would be taken to implement 2016 budget proposal along with budget 2017 proposals. Minister Karunanayake castigated interviewer Rangana …
By Rasika Jayakody Members of the Joint Opposition (JO), who are essentially the Rajapaksa faction within the SLFP, are well aware that the success of their political campaign hinges on one key factor – disharmony between the two main partners of the ruling alliance. Over the past 20 months, they have looked for various opportunities …
By Kelum Bandara Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran said today the gangsters who call themselves the ‘Aava’ group operating in the North is ‘politically-motivated and army-assisted’. He told a news conference in Colombo that the group did not originate from among the Tamil community per se.
By P.K.Balachandran The view of C.V.Wigneswaran, Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province, on the basic structure of the proposed Sri Lankan constitution, runs counter to that of the Constitutional Assembly’s sub-committee on Center-Provincial relations. While the sub-committee has refrained from branding the proposed devolution system as either “federal” or “unitary”, Wigneswaran said here …
By Ajith Sriwardana and Indika Sri Aravinda National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Minister Mano Ganesan said today that people in the North could celebrate Maaveerar Naal (Heroes Day) without mentioning the name of the LTTE, as it was a proscribed organisation. Minister Ganesan said it was a human right for people to be able …