By Madura Ranwala The National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) yesterday warned monks, Uduwe Dammaloka, Elle Gunawansa and Murutettuwe Ananda Theras, who had expressed suspicions of foul play in late NMSJ leader Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera not to incite the public. “Some of the monks held on remand are those with cases being heard against …
By Hafeel Farisz Gihan De Chickera in his analysis published last week puts forth an argument on the class dynamics of the recently-held ‘protest’, for the lack of any other term, at Independence Square. He brings to discourse a valid point on the class dynamic of the protesters and how it panned out during the …
By Upul Joseph Fernando The battle between Rajapaksas’ and the Maithri-Ranil Government has now reached the stage: Get-Set-Go! Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week stated that all fraud and corruption of Rajapaksas’ would be made public within the next three months and urged the Rajapaksas’ to be ready with their lawyers from now on. Even …
By Dr.Sujata Gamage Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka writes that the joint Opposition crowd that gathered at Hyde Park on 17 March represents leftists, anti-imperialists and progressives in the Right vs. Left, Reactionary vs. Progressive and Pro-imperialist vs. Patriotic anti-imperialist divides. The crowd certainly was a formidable one but not the kind to which he alludes. Those …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of Utopias.” ~Oscar Wilde …
Continue reading ‘Inaction of Present Govt in Countering Opposition Propaganda and Mud Slinging’ »
By Ayesha Zuhair A number of recent opinion pieces penned by some well-known writers have drawn attention to the growing ‘radicalisation’ among the Muslims of Sri Lanka. Among the key concerns raised are that Sri Lankan Muslims are becoming ‘exclusivist’ and ‘self-alienating’ by following a strict interpretation of Islam, manifested in particular by the growing …
By P.K.Balachandran India and Sri Lanka have agreed that the Jaffna airport in North Sri Lanka should be upgraded to be an international airport without extending the runway because fresh land acquisition is being opposed by the local people. A five-member technical team of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chennai which inspected the airport …
By P.K. Balachandran The book “Oru Koorvaalin Nizhalil” (In The Shadow Of A Sharp Edged Sword) by S.Thamilini, former head of the Tamil Tigers’ Women’s Political Wing, has become controversial, with one section of Tamils saying that its criticism of the militant outfit will weaken the Tamil case at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), …
By C. A. Chandraprema The UNP’s rally at Lipton Circus last Tuesday was supposed to be a public show of strength in favour of the proposed ETCA with India. The Prime Minister announced that they would be bringing people onto the streets on 15 March to counter those who had been opposing ETCA and this …
By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan “When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross,” goes a saying that is widely attributed to the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, Sinclair Lewis. In 1935, Lewis wrote a novel called “It Can’t Happen Here,” positing fascism’s …
Continue reading ‘Fascism Comes to USA as Donald Trump Fans the Flames of Bigotry and Racism’ »
MANY ingredients went into making Donald Trump. An under-appreciated one is the distinctively German, or rather Kallstadtian, tinge to his family history. Mr Trump is descended from German immigrants who arrived in America penniless and succeeded quickly through hard work,a free relationship with the truth, opportunism, shrewd business tactics and a great sense of family …
Continue reading ‘The German Heritage Element in the Evolution of Donald Trump-The Economist’ »
By Ranga Jayasuriya The academics at the University of Kelaniya have reportedly suspended teaching activities in protest against on-going ragging at the university. Since a dog biting a man is no news, university protests which happen equal if not a greater frequency are also hardly considered as news. However, this one is special since it …
By Ameen Izzadeen The Deep State is an extremely powerful network that controls nearly everything around you. You won’t read about it in the news because it controls the news. Politicians won’t talk about it publicly. That would be like a mobster discussing murder and robbery on the 6 o’clock news. You could say the …
By P.K.Balachandran The senior-most leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Hasen Ali, has rebelled against the party complaining of a consistent bid by the party Establishment to engineer his exit by stripping him of powers due to him as party General Secretary. Ali (70) was conspicuous by his absence at the SLMC’s 19 …
By C.A.Chandraprema On the day that the Joint Opposition held their Hyde Park rally, Minister Sarath Fonseka was also in the news having requested the President to give an amnesty to the LTTE operative who was an accomplice in the attempt to assassinate him inside army headquarters. This was hailed by some quarters as an …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene There is more than a trace of Grimm’s Fairy Tales in the lofty disdain with which the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition leadership lectures to Sri Lankans on its inherited economic woes. One tale succeeds another, all equally stupendous and some patently deserving of ridicule. Achieving monumental confusion First we were told that recovering …
By C.A.Chandraprema Two shows of strength were put up in the environs of Hyde Park last week, by the UNP on Tuesday (Mar. 15) and the Joint Opposition two days later and that just about shows the political division in the country today. There is the UNP on the one hand and the Joint Opposition …
By Rasika Jayakody Many political parties use ‘protest’ rallies as a powerful tool to achieve short and long-term goals when they are in the opposition. Ever since the formation of organised political parties in Sri Lanka, protests have been a part and parcel of the country’s political culture. Some protests, in fact, influenced important developments …
BY DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA After Hyde Park, March 17th 2016, politics cannot go on as before. Not for much longer anyway. For a few months now, Prof. Kumar David, a literate leftist and an ideologue of the Yahapalana bloc, has strenuously urged in his columns that the UNF (and its cosmopolitan left allies) “smash the …
By Shamindra Ferdinando UNP National List MP and Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka yesterday said that Rajapaksa brothers, Mahinda, Gotabhaya and Basil should be thoroughly investigated on waste, corruption and irregularities during the last ten years of President Rajapaksa’s rule. Democratic Party (DP) leader Fonseka alleged that the Rajapaksas had profited from entire range of projects …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Field Marshal Fonseka points to a map depicting positioning of troops on the Vanni front (Pic by Nimal Dayaratne) Denying UN accusations that the army had massacred over 40,000 civilians during the last phase of the ground offensive on the Vanni east front in 2009, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, MP, yesterday stressed …
By P.K.Balachandran There is an uneasy truce in Jaffna University over a dress code for its women students. The code, drawn up by the university and the Arts Faculty Students Union, has its roots in the Tamils’ fear about “cultural degradation” in post-war Jaffna. But due to vehement protests by the women, the code has …
By Chamodi Gunawardana Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday claimed a ‘revengeful Government’ cannot impede him from engaging politics even if they arrest his entire family on what he insisted were false charges. Addressing a sizeable public gathering at the Joint Opposition “Jana Satana” rally at Hyde Park Rajapaksa said he will never betray his family’s …
by Dasun Edirisinghe Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that he would not give up politics even if his entire family was put behind bars. Addressing the Joint Opposition’s first rally at Hyde Park, Colombo, Rajapaksa said he had been in prison for a period of three months and he second son Yoshitha for 41 …
By A.B. Abdul Gafoor If the TNA proposes a North-East merger for finding a solution to the country’s ethnic problem which has prevailed for the last three decades, a separate province must be given for Muslims, Water Supply, Drainage and Urban Planing Minister Rauff Hakeem said. He was speaking at a media conference at Green …
By P.K.Balachandran Strong expressions of opposition to the proposed Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India are expected to grab the spotlight at a public rally to be held here on Thursday by the Joint Opposition Group (JOG) led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The ETCA has become critical for the JOG for two …
The leading Kurdish political party in Syria declared its own federal state in the north of the country yesterday (Wednesday), laying down a challenge to both Turkey and to peace talks in Geneva. Leaders of the PYD, the Leftist party that is now the dominant power in north-east Syria and is allied to the Turkey-based …
By Krishantha Prasad Cooray STUNNED! The word “Stunned” sums up the overall sentiment at the SSC ground on the evening of the 12th day of March, 2016. It didn’t matter which camp you belonged to, whether Royal or S. Thomas’. If you had been following the game from day one, you would have been stunned …
By P.K.Balachandran Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has said that the fate of ArcelorMittal’s project to build 65,000 pre-fabricated houses for the war-displaced in the Tamil-majority Northern Province, should be decided by the beneficiaries and not by the Central Minister of Rehabilitation D.M. Swaminathan, or the Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V.Wigneswaran. After Swaminathan …
By Upul Joseph Fernando A close analysis of how the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime dealt with India and the contradictory policies and statements that emanate, at present, from former Ministers like Prof. G.L. Peiris amply demonstrate that they are playing politics for their advantage using proposed agreements between Colombo and New Delhi. The analysis records that …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Sri Lanka’s current foreign policy and external alignments are increasingly asymmetrical with the needs of its material base; with its fundamental economic, financial and developmental requirements and interests. Sri Lanka is being redesigned and reconstituted into what Mao Zedong called a “semi-colony”. A semi-colony is one which does not belong to a …
by Dasun Edirisinghe The Joint Opposition yesterday said that all SLFP MPs within its ranks would be attending a rally to be held on March 17 at Hyde Park, Colombo in spite of a warning from the SLFP leadership that disciplinary action would be taken against them. Addressing the media at Dr. N. M. Perera Centre, …
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN Chennai Port Trust had, on Friday, commenced supplying bunker fuel to ships at anchorage, an official said. Till recently, international vessels that were passing various Indian sea ports had to go either to Singapore or Colombo for bunker fuel. Chennai Port has now started supplying bunker fuel through barge to vessel …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa has recently developed a habit of visiting all kinds of suspects in remand prisons, many of them implicated in offences allegedly committed during the MR reign. Last week, he visited Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, who was arrested over allegedly keeping an unlicensed elephant calf at his temple, which is an …
By Vishwamithra1984 The multiple misdeeds, alleged crimes ranging from abductions, assaults to even murder, acts of corruption and nepotism, providing wrong and deceitful information on the economy etc. belong, as already alleged, in the right domain — the Rajapaksa regime. These were all acts of commission. When one adds the acts of omission to this …
by Tisaranee Gunasekara “Just as political democracy is all that stands between individuals and an overmighty government, so the regulatory providential state is all that stands between its citizens and the unpredictable forces of economic change.” – Tony Judt (Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century) From time immemorial, humans have imaged their heavens, the …
By Shehan Chamika Silva The Colombo High Court today decided to revise the Kaduwela Magistrate’s order to remand Yoshitha Rajapaksa and three others over the alleged financial irregularities at the CSN and they were granted bail by High Court Judge A. A. Heiyanthuduwa.
By Gihan de Chickera A recent online video showing a young couple challenging two security guards who were trying to evict them from Independence Square for spending time there together deserves to be commended, as it highlighted a firm stand taken by citizens against the absurd and arbitrary imposition of a set of hypocritical and …
By Rasika Jayakody As anticipated, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party has launched an offensive against the political protest rally to be held in Colombo on Thursday by the UPFA parliamentary dissident faction against the proposed ETCA economic agreement being negotiated with India. In swift implementation of a party central committee decision, letters have been sent …
By Don Manu If the former president’s astrologer Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena got it wrong and came a cropper predicting Rajapaksa’s political future by gazing at the stars then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was spot on — as he says himself — and hit the bull’s eye when it came to prophesying the doom that awaited the …
By C.A.Chandraprema Despite what appeared to be a concerted effort to deflect public attention with various sideshows like Minister Sarath Fonseka’s maiden speech in parliament, and the arrest of Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka on charges of illegally keeping an elephant, the economy remained the main focus last week with the opposition even hinting at a likelihood …
by Gamini Weerakoon The story of a young couple being ordered out of Independence Square by two security guards of a hired private security firm was on the front pages of many daily newspapers. Surprisingly the young man and woman had public support rallying round them and on the next day there was a public …
By P.K.Balachandran The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, has appealed to the Lankan government to reconsider its plan to build 65,000 prefabricated houses for war-displaced persons in the province through a contract with ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based company headed by the Indian billionaire, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal. Speaking at a function at …
By Saman Indrajith Close on the heels of additional burden placed on taxpayers, the UNP, the SLFP, the Opposition and the Joint Opposition consisting of UPFA rebels, in a rare display of unity, yesterday unanimously approved a range of allowances for MPs. Besides, they agreed to pay a special allowance to the parliamentary staff, according …
by Rohana R. Wasala “Thou dost conspire against thy friend, Iago, If thou but think’st him wronged and mak’st his ear A stranger to thy thoughts”. – Othello , the eponymous hero of the Shakespeare play The political stability that Sri Lanka enjoyed for a brief five years after the conclusion of the civil conflict …
Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Faces a “Pons Asinorum” (Bridge of Asses) That He Must Cross’ »
By Malinda Seneviratne Last Sunday (March 6, 2016) a protest was held at Independence Square. The ‘call to action’, so to speak, came in the form of a post on social media by unknown persons calling themselves ‘Occupy the Square’. The issue was about a security guard taking issue with a couple for ‘inappropriate behaviour’ …
By P.K.Balachandran The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) wants the Sri Lankan government to look at the question of releasing the Tamil war-time detainees from a political standpoint, as a measure of ethnic reconciliation, and not just as a legal issue. TNA spokesman and MP, M.A. Sumanthiran told Express on Friday, that the alliance leader R.Sampanthan …
Mrs. Mangaiyarkkarasi Amirthalingam the widow of former Sri Lanka Leader of the Opposition and Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) Leader Appapilaai Amirthalingam passed away at a Hospital in London, UK, on Wednesday March 9th 2016 . Mrs. Amirthalingam who was 82 years of age had been hospitalised a day earlier for a pancreatic ailment on Tuesday …
Ahead of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to China next month, Sri Lanka today gave the go-ahead to the country for the controversy-hit USD 1.4 billion Colombo port city project that was suspended by President Maithripala Sirisena over environmental concerns. The Sri Lankan Cabinet approved the extension of the agreement on the Port City project …
By Saman Indrajith Ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Yoshitha, during his 100 month service in the Sri Lanka Navy had been on 27 foreign trips, Parliament was told yesterday. State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene responding to a question raised by JVP Kalutara District MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that Yoshitha had visited the US, the …
The Financial Crimes Investigation Department (FCID) yesterday filed charges, including those of money laundering, against eight people, including former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s eldest son Namal. After considering the complaint, Court also ordered four bank accounts belonging to a company allegedly owned by MP Namal Rajapaksa to be frozen till investigations were completed. FCID submitted its …
By P.K.Balachandran The Sri Lankan parliament on Wednesday unanimously resolved to draft a new constitution for the country. An amended resolution, moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, was passed without a division. The PM had introduced a resolution to change the constitution, first on December 23 2015, and it was to have been debated and …
by Dasun Edirisinghe The Joint Opposition declared yesterday that it would move a second no-faith motion against Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake as several amendments to the 2016 Budget presented by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday would increase already burdensome taxes heaped on the masses. Addressing the media at Dr N. M. Perera Centre in …
By P.K.Balachandran The two-month long impasse over the admission of AIDS suspect Rehan Dilshara to a school in Sri Lanka has ended with Trinity College, a leading Christian missionary school in Kandy, agreeing to take him and meet his expenses. A Memorandum of Understanding to admit the six-year old from an indigent family, was signed …
අතුරුදහන් කරනු ලැබූ සහ දිගු කාලයක් බන්ධනාගාරගතව සිටින පුද්ගලයන් සම්බන්ධයෙන් ක්රිඅයාකාරී සැලැස්ම காணாமல்போகச் செய்யப்பட்டோர் மற்றும் நீண்டகாலம் சிறையிலுள்ளோர் தொடர்பான உடனடிச் செயற்றிட்டம் PLAN OF ACTION REGARDING VICTIMS OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES AND PERSONS HELD IN CUSTODY FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME [2.33 p.m.] ගරු රාජවරෝදයම් සම්පන්දන් මහතා (විරුද්ධ පාර්ශ්වයේ නායකතුමා) (மாண்புமிகு இராஜவரோதயம் சம்பந்தன் – எதிர்க்கட்சி முதல்வர்) (The …
By Upul Joseph Fernando Coconuts play a vital role in the politics of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his loyalists. They believe that fruitful results are emerging from the lakhs of coconuts they dashed into bits at kovils and temples against the government and its members ‘ Results are surfacing as an outcome of dashing coconuts’, said …
By P.K.Balachandran In a shrewd move to counter his rival, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday appointed Mahinda Amaraweera as the General Secretary of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Currently Lanka’s Fisheries Minister, Amaraweera is a popular leader from Rajapaksa’s pocket borough of Hambantota in South Sri Lanka. As such, he …
by Dasun Edirisinghe The JVP yesterday threatened to block all six roads leading to the Colombo City if the government was not ready to give the fertiliser subsidy to farmers. JVP trade union wing leader K. D. Lal Kantha said the date of their protest would be announced later as the government intelligence services were …
By Chitra Weerarathne Colombo High Court Judge A. A. R. Heiyantuduwa yesterday reserved the order on the revision application filed by Yoshitha Rajapaksa and four other suspects, for March 14. The revision application is to set aside the Kaduwela Magistrate’s orders that the aforesaid persons be remanded on Jan. 30, 2016 and further remanded on …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Having castigated the Sri Lankan judiciary, founding editor of Ravaya Victor Ivan yesterday alleged that the media was even worse. Victor Ivan said a vast section of the media had pathetically failed to deliver. Claiming that nothing could be expected of them, the onetime JVP front liner stressed that it would be …
By Saman Indrajith Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday announced changes to the government’s first budget proposals increasing the Value Added Tax (VAT) and removing tax relief given to several sectors. Such action. he said, was essential to ‘maintain GDP at 5.4 per cent and the economic growth rate at 6 per cent in 2016.’ Making …
International Women’s Day, March 8, is a rallying point for feminists worldwide. Established by the United Nations in 1975, it is a day to celebrate women’s achievements while highlighting remaining gender inequalities. But 41 years later, is it still necessary? YES! Women and girls may have scaled unimaginable heights in politics, science, arts, sports and …
Continue reading ‘8 Reasons Why We Still Need International Women’s Day On March 8th’ »
By Uditha Jayasinghe India’s top official in Sri Lanka last week slammed the “absurd” and “defeatist attitude” of those protesting an expanded trade agreement between the two countries insisting their concerns are unfounded and would prevent economic growth. India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Y.K. Sinha was emphatically critical of protests against the proposed Economic …
By P.K.Balachandran For the first time in the history of the observance of Sivarathri in Sri Lanka, issues of inter-ethnic reconciliation overshadowed religious observances this year. Even as the All Ceylon Hindu Congress (ACHC) urged President Maithripala Sirisena to address the long-standing grievances of the Tamil community and announce alleviating measures to mark Sivarathri, Prime …
BY Cassendra Doole The alleged involvement of Minister of Megapolis and Western Province Development, Patali Champika Ranawaka, in an accident on Sunday 28 February, has become a hotly debated topic in political and media circles. On the day in question, a vehicle belonging to Minister Ranawaka was allegedly involved in an accident with a motorcycle, …
By P.K.Balachandran Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday sent out a powerful message to the island nation’s security companies saying that their guards have no right to harass un-married couples in public places on the basis of their own weird ideas of morality. “The PM has issued instructions to ensure that young people …
By Harischandra Gunaratna Federation of National Organisations Chairman Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera yesterday flayed the government for being meek and submissive vis-a-vis Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Y. K.Sinha’s disparaging remarks about former Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris. Dr. Amarasekera, addressing the media at Dr. N. M. Perera Centre at Borella said: “The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe …
By Madura Ranwala and Norman Palihawadana Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika would be questioned last over the jeep-motorcycle mishap that occurred at Rajagiriya on Sunday night (February 28), in which two youth received injuries, one seriously, Senior Deputy Inspector of Police (SDIG), Pujith Jayasundara told The Island yesterday. He said the investigation in …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday says that there has never been a previous instance of a foreign envoy challenging the role of the Opposition here. Prof. Peiris was responding to Indian High Commissioner Y. K. Sinha’s recent verbal attack on the Joint Opposition and reference to former President …
By T.Ramakrishnan India’s High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha has taken on former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Joint Opposition, an informal coalition of pro-Rajapaksa parties and groups, over the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) between India and Sri Lanka. Referring to reported observations of the former President and members of the Joint Opposition against …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Member of a special parliamentary committee Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle yesterday called for the immediate implementation of the death penalty at least in special cases like the rape and murder of five-year-old Seya Sedewmi. The Negombo High Court will deliver the verdict on that case on March 15. Seya Sedewmi was abducted, raped …
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila yesterday said that Minister Patali Champika Ranwaka who was alleged to have driven a vehicle belonging to the government and knocked down motorcycle at Rajagiriya and then fled the scene had committed four offences––negligent driving, fleeing the scene of an accident, getting another person to own up to the …
By Ranga Jayasuriya By all accounts, the Yahapalana government is going through a rough patch. Some folks quip, tongue-in- cheek that the Joint Opposition’s coconut dashing has begun to work. Whatever the otherworldly forces behind the fallout, this is bad show. The UNP stalwart and the Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella was …
By Mahinda Rajapaksa The government has indicated that they intend signing an Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement with India this month. Neither the Parliament, nor the general public have been officially informed about the contents of this proposed agreement. From the draft that has been unofficially released to professional associations by Minister Malik Samarawickrema, we …
by Kishani Jayasinghe – Wijayasekara Every Performing Artiste dreams of that one Event – one opportunity that changes the course of his or her destiny. That one unforgettable and special ong/dance/painting/sculpture/role or oration that changes life as they know it and in some cases like this, even defines them. As an opera singer, I have …
By Rasika Jayakody The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which was on the verge of a major split a few weeks ago, is now swiftly consolidating its position in the country’s political sphere ahead of a crucial elections to local government bodies. Although the formation of a new political party by party rebels is not an …
By Don Manu Perhaps it’s the long exposure to the balmy breeze that blows in from the Indian Ocean. Or the cultivated taste for the Palmyrah treacle that flows liberally to the waiting pot. Or even the pungent onion that sprouts in abundance from Jaffna’s fertile soil and is rumoured to make grown men lose …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene In a typical twist of Sri Lankan humor, there is a sardonic caricature doing the rounds of Ministers in the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition government sporting a ‘satakaya’, the habitual wear closely associated with the Rajapaksa brand of political leadership. Changing shades of crimson Initially signifying an earthy affiliation with the village, the …
By C. A. Chandraprema Last Friday, for the first time since the present government assumed office, a special cabinet meeting was held to discuss the economic situation and a proposal to increase taxes. No official statement has yet been given out about the decisions made at that cabinet meeting or whether a final decision was …
By PK Balachandran The Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Y.K.Sinha, has strongly rebutted “misconceptions and canards” about the proposed Indo-Lanka Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) and the Indian-aided Emergency Ambulance Service. Speaking at the “Indo-Lankan Workshop on Non Tariff Measures and Increasing Awareness of Indian Standards and Regulations under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free …
By Malinda Seneviratne Let me begin by assuming something that defies all logic. Let’s assume that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wants to be remembered as the man who democratized the nation through relevant and robust constitutional amendments that ensure transparency and accountability, re-establishes Rule of Law, gives coherence to the ideal of ‘Separation of Powers’, …
Continue reading ‘A Maithri-Mahinda Patch-up Of Some Kind that Stumps Ranil Cannot be Ruled Out’ »
By P K Balachandran For the first time in the history of Sri Lankan tourism, visitors from China have outstripped those from India. In February, 32,186 Chinese had come to Lanka while those who came from India numbered 26,559, according to official figures. Till January this year, Indians were leading. In January, there were 28,895 …
BY Cassendra Doole The two eye witnesses who gave chase to Minister Champika Ranawaka following his hit and run case yesterday, filed an affidavit at the Police Headquarters today (4) regarding the accident. Speaking to the media shortly after, one witnesses said that the Minister had fled the scene after hitting the two injured victims. …
By Siranjani Kumari Eight Indians including two brokers allegedly involved in a kidney racket involving Indians and Sri Lankans were ordered to be detained by Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya yesterday for questioning at the Mirihana Detention Centre. The Colombo Crime Division investigating the alleged kidney racket nabbed six Indians for overstaying their visa, from …
By PK Balachandran The “Green Trincomalee” Movement is asking the government of India to give up its plan to build a coal-fired power plant at Sampur in Trincomalee district and build an environment-friendly solar power plant instead. “We are not against India setting up a power plant at Sampur. We realize that Trincomalee is of …
By Barkha Dutt (This is an opinion piece by the only journalist who met Kanhaiya Kumar after his release from jail last night). The first thing I noticed was his smile – a boyish, toothy grin that travelled all the way up to his eyes that still glimmered with hope and optimism, despite having spent …
Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar who was released from jail today on bail received a hero’s welcome at the campus on Thursday evening. In a defiant speech, he took shots at the government tearing into charges of sedition against him and said he had faith in India’s Constitution and democracy. Here are the …
Continue reading ‘Kanhaiya Kumar, Out On Bail, Speaks Of ‘Azadi’ Freedom in India On JNU Campus’ »
Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday said that he had nothing to hide about last Sunday’s SUV-motorcycle accident which injured two persons at Rajagririya. Addressing a meeting at the Kalutara District Secretariat yesterday the minister said:
By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando Dramatic turn of events were exposed in Ceylon Today (3 March) by two young men after giving chase to a black SUV jeep that attempted to escape and run, after hitting two motorcyclists in Welikada, Borella, last Sunday (28), under the headline Eyewitness Reveals Champika in Hit-and Run Drama. The …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The Joint Opposition yesterday said that it wanted the National Police Commission (NPC) to inquire into serious accusations directed against the police in respect of the cover-up of a recent accident in which Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka was allegedly involved in. A senior Joint Opposition spokesperson told The …
by Sunetra Choudhury JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar made a fiery speech on the university campus late tonight taking on the Narendra Modi-led government, hours after his release from jail. “I come from a village. Where there are magic shows. People show magic and sell rings that fulfill all wishes…We have some people like …
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar is behind bars after he was charged with sedition and arrested on 13 February following his fiery speech an evening before at the university campus. The speech, which is around 23 minutes long, was delivered in Hindi. Following is a close transcription of the speech and in …
By Shamindra Ferdinando State Finance Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday warned that rebel SLFPers would face further disciplinary action, including the possible loss of parliamentary seats unless they changed their current strategy. National List MP Abeywardena urged them to toe the party line or face the consequences. The dire warning was given at a media …
By Prof.Carlo Fonseka My respected senior colleague Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera argues that because unitary states have one national anthem, states that have one national anthem must be unitary states (Feb. 19). The logic underlying this reasoning is like that of a dentist who argues that because healthy adult men have 32 teeth, those who have …
By Prof. G.L.Peiris In the current debate about the proposed Economic and Technological Co-operation Agreement with India, and its impact on Sri Lanka’s vital economic interests, there are some central issues which must be seen in sharp relief. It is surely obvious that empirical experience of the working of agreements already in force, provides the …
By Madura Ranwala Senior DIG Western Province Pujith Jayasundara yesterday said the police were ready to ascertain the veracity of the claims that Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka was involved in a road accident which injured two persons, if a complaint was lodged to that effect. “We have not received any …
A group of unidentified gunmen yesterday afternoon opened fire on a prison vehicle carrying the suspects held in connection with the killing of former PA MP and presidential advisor Bharatiya Lakshman Premachnadra. Ravi Jayanath alias Dematagoda Chaminda was seriously injured in the attack which took place in the Dematagoda police area.
By Upul Joseph Fernando The Editor of the Indian Express newspaper Shekar Gupta interviewed then President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2008 in which Mahinda made very interesting observations. Mahinda claimed the Indo-Lanka Agreement signed in 1987 was the best solution to the ethnic crisis and praised the introduction of the 13th Amendment as also the best …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka With every major step it takes in every important direction, the Wickremesinghe- administration seems to run into difficulty, losing popularity and social legitimacy. The further it goes on any front, the narrower its social support becomes. To put it more simply, with every step it takes, fewer people seem to go along …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.” -Charles de Gaulle When we discuss in our high-sounding socio-political conversations of reconciliation or accommodation, we simply mean a genuine feeling of empathy, based fundamentally on compassion and kindness. Whether one …
By Sharmini Serasinghe Many amongst our parliamentarians ought to be told that it is far wiser to keep their traps shut and be thought of as fools, than open it and remove all doubt! The latest to put his foot in the mouth; a seemingly favourite pastime of many a politico, is the Minister of …
By Mahinda Rajapaksa The SLFP is now in danger of losing its identity as a political party. I take pride in the fact that I built the strongest SLFP government in our party’s history during my tenure in power. That government was so strong that it could be defeated only by conspiratorially creating divisions in …
Continue reading ‘There is Clearly a Concerted Effort By The UNP To Destroy The SLFP Completely.’ »
The alleged deal arrived at with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) in 2005 by former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to win Presidential elections by getting the tigers to enforce a boycott of polls in Tamil areas in return for an enormous amount of money is expected to be exposed in great detail in …
Delivering a major blow to the unity Government, Fitch yesterday downgraded Sri Lanka’s ratings to B+ Outlook Negative from BB- on account of increasing refinancing risks, growing debts and decline of reserves. Under the new ratings Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) changed to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-’. A Negative Outlook has been assigned …
by Dasun Edirisinghe The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) has, in a letter to President Maithripala Sirisena, accused Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella of an attempt to have a particular individual appointed a temporary lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Kelaniya. The minister has made a written request …
by Dasun Edirisinghe President Maithripala Sirisena appointed 22 new SLFP organizers yesterday, replacing some members who are openly backing the Joint Opposition led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Accordingly, Minuwangoda SLFP Organiser and Convener of the Joint Opposition, Gampaha District MP Prasanna Ranatunga, has been replaced with his brother and former MP Ruwan Ranatunga. Central …
By Cyril Wimalasurendre KANDY – Former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said in Kandy that he was among the UPFA members to be arrested soon. MP Rajapaksa identified National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa, MP Kumara Welgama, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena, former MP Basil Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa as some of those …
By Uditha Jayasinghe Stepping in to balance the market, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday issued instructions to fix a maximum price of Rs. 2,500 for a sack of 50kg fertiliser of any brand which is given to the farmers and also increased taxes on potatoes and big onions with immediate effect. Under his instructions the Finance …
The Sri Lanka Navy yesterday announced that Lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapaksa had been suspended from the Navy with effect from 28 February. He was suspended from naval service upon the direction of the Defence Ministry. The ministry said this decision was taken in regard to a request made by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) to …
By Gagani Weerakoon The Head of the State and his Foreign Minister seem to stand poles apart when it comes to getting foreign expertise in the process of investigating war crime allegations. This was evident when Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera clearly stated Sri Lanka is open to international actors in the war crimes probe and …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardena It is becoming increasingly more difficult to pretend that sexual violence is not on the rise in Sri Lanka. In past weeks alone, particular incidents included the rape and murder of a thirteen year old girl in Vavuniya as well as another teenager in Mawathagama while a six year old boy …