“Onna Babo Billo Enawaa” was a familiar threat often used by grown-ups to frighten children into obedience in those days. Fear would be instilled into children that the kidnapper with the sack (Goni Billa) would grab them if the kids did not do a

As Sri Lanka prepares for the crucial presidential election on November 16, the major crisis is clearly political corruption with the abuse of power and the failure to take effective legal action. Since independence, few if any leading politicians ha

Since April 21, 2019 Sri Lanka has witnessed probably the most unusual behaviour of politicians of all shades of opinion and their slavishly loyal goons, in the wake of one of the bloodiest attacks in recent times on one of the most holy days for Chr

In conversation a few days ago while travelling in a ‘tuk tuk,’ an elderly driver asked me why there wasn’t any law to disqualify candidates who did not present their political reason(s) within at least two weeks, for contesting elections.

One of the 35 presidential candidates – the highest ever number to contest so far – is former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah who was branded by many politicians, especially those aligned to the Sri Lanka...

The Malaysian security authorities arresting as many as 12 persons for being involved in activities connected to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) makes Sri Lanka tighten its security belt.

Many of us have heard the story about a Sri Lankan minister meeting his counterpart from a developed nation. For the benefit of first time voters, the story is retold here. Once, a Sri Lankan minister visited a developed country.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the main constituent party of the National People’s Power (NPP), approaching the Tamil Ealam Liberation Organization (TELO) and the People Liberation Organization of Tamil Ealam (PLOTE) to garner support for the upcom

The two Tamil parties- Tamil Makkal Kooteny (TMK) led by former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) led by former MP Suresh Premachandran, teamed up with the Tamil National Al

Promises are cheap, plans expensive. Promises easy, plans take time to formulate and a certain basic level of intelligence to articulate. Promises don’t add up to vision, plans do. Some candidates promise, others plan. I need not elaborate.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Oliver Wendell Holmes

The election results in Elpitiya a few days ago underscored the fact that politicians can obtain benefits from investments if they’re done wisely. Many moons ago the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime invested heavily on the Southern Expressway. Political an

Life consists of 3 Ex+Ex+Ex’s– Yesterday was ‘Experience’ Today is ‘Experiment’ and Tomorrow is ‘Expectation’ our political morons have not yet learnt to use the Experience of their Experiments to achieve their Expectations!!! We sho

Two things would have startled the Rajapaksa clan in relation to the Galle Face inaugural rally held by the DNF on October 19 in support of their candidate Sajith Premadasa. First, obviously, was the unprecedented numbers who flocked to the green sur

For the past few decades of the globalised capitalist market economic system most of us have chosen to follow the western models in areas ranging from fashion to food. Now most highly qualified nutritionists agree that western food models have failed

Deputy Leader of the United National Party (UNP) and Presidential Candidate of the United National Front (UNF) coalition, Sajith Premadasa who is contesting under the Swan symbol of the New Democratic Front (NDF) promised at his maiden election campa

During the weekend, Malaysia’s Special Counter-terrorism Unit arrested 12 suspects, including two lawmakers of the ruling coalition over alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Subsequent investigations have uncovered a trail of fina

According to the Marxist theory of the state, the army is the chief component of state power. Whoever wants to seize and retain state power must have a strong army. The Sri Lankan state had a strong Army, Navy and Air Force led by a strong Three Forc

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) effectively chose the President of Sri Lanka in 2005. Yes, the Tigers did it - a few empty ballot boxes from Omanthai moaned their way back to the counting centres.

According to our Constitution, Sri Lanka is a democratic socialist republic. In my opinion, ours is currently not a democratic state but only a constitutional republic.

In the aftermath of US President Trump okaying the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, ‘Kurds’ are in the news. The Kurds, an Iranian ethnic group native to a mountainous region.....

The Presidential Elections campaign is in full swing in Sri Lanka, with a record number of candidates and two promising candidates from the two mainstream parties. The election battle is clearly heading for an epic showdown...

The political spectacle“Ekwa Idiriyata” (Forward Together) that unfolded on October 10 at Galle Face Green has elevated the morale of the green party to ecstatic heights. A mammoth crowd -- estimated by some of being in the range of six digits

If Kusal Perera (KP) had a better education in history to grasp the diverse dimensions and the multifarious factors that interact and mesh to determine its winding, zig-zagging course in time, he would not have written the bilge he wrote last Friday

For thousands of years, male chauvinism has played the dominant or dictatorial role in world affairs. Even in most religions, males are given the primary role with most major religions not giving an equal place. This is seen even in families where th

Two weeks ago, we said one of the options left with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Maithripala Sirisena, after former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa....

Monday last saw 35 presidential candidates queueing up for the race on November 16. Six others who deposited money had withdrawn. One among them was the eldest in the Rajapaksa family, former Speaker in Parliament...

The rate at which elephants are killed in this island has raised eyebrows in many. Though this is a Buddhist dominant country and those practising this philosophy promoting non-violence, the cruel ways in which jumbos...

If any election does not reflect the will of the people, it is a sham. Whoever tries to distort the will of sovereign people is committing an act of treason. Identifying the rogues before.....

The past four decades have hardly been kind to the peace- and freedom-loving people of Afghanistan. But despite the many destructive conflicts imposed on the country, Afghans armed with a steel willpower have persevered to survive and thrive in what