Debt restructuring and our local debt - EDITORIAL

In April last year, our country’s rulers finally admitted that sections of the public already knew for some time - that we had reached a point of no return. Our expenditure had far exceeded our income....

Aswesuma: Learn from the past

The government has launched a social welfare scheme called “Aswesuma Social Welfare Programme” to help the poor segment of the society that has been affected by the ordinary economic system that has been shaped up for the high-income segment to further benefit and also by the current economic crisis. This seems to be a project under the social safety net envisaged by the International monetary Fund (IMF) in its programme for Sri Lanka

A CALL TO SL CIVIL SOCIETY 2024 SHOULD BE A YEAR OF TOLERANCE IN SRI LANKA

We are in the phase of rapidly fading memories of the 2022 ARAGALAYA and Economic meltdown, faded memories of the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Easter Sunday carnage and lost memories of a 3

Sumanthiran’s Bill on PC election: A waste of time?

The private member’s Bill that has been presented by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran to amend the Provincial Council Elections Act is in a way an attempt to test President Ranil....

Insurrection in Russia and challenge to the dollar - EDITORIAL

Countries around the world were shocked at events which unfolded in Russia on Saturday, where a mutiny by the ‘Wagner Private Military Company’ founded by Evgeni Prigozhin (a one-time close friend....

Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Matale District JVP Insurgency

Former Sri Lankan President and ex-defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa known generally as Gota figured prominently in an Associated Press (AP) news report dated June 22, 2023.

Can’t we find a famous personality to celebrate world Yoga Day? - EDITORIAL

World Yoga Day was celebrated across the world on June 21 (Wednesday) with Sri Lanka too having many events across the island to mark the occasion. The word yoga....

Don’t gag whistleblowers, for they are a vital part of democracy

War is a lie. Terrorism is a lie. The state is an embodiment of lies, damn lies, and statistics. As Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s mind-blowing political novel 1984, finds out, even....

Her land, her rights: Key role of women

With Sri Lanka still struggling to overcome the socio-economic crisis, there appears to be little or no time to contemplate on issues like desertification and drought. President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana

Why SL claim it has less capacity Than least developed countries for trade facilitation?Concerning notification made to the WTO

In contrast, Sri Lanka has made poor progress moving from 29% to 31.5%. What is alarming is that Sri Lanka, which was slightly ahead of the average performance of LDCs in 2017, has fallen far behind them by 2023

Evolved mindsets and understanding the work of stand-up comedians

In a country full of religious maniacs, halfwits and bigots, I’m determined to avoid the prickly subject of religion, but what happened to standup comic Natasha Edirisooriya needs a comment.

Repaying our debts. and the unthinkable alternative - EDITORIAL

Up to December 2022, our external debt stood at US$ $49.7 billion. By April 2023 we suspended debt repayment, announced ourselves bankrupt and applied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a US$2.9 billion....

Political will imperative in eradicating corruption - EDITORIAL

The government seems to have placed the fate of the country totally on the success of the programme sponsored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, it, no doubt relies on the success of the government’s professed plans of eradicating corruption.

How much more entitlement for Sri Lankan Politicians?

How much more self-entitlement should politicians in this country have? Consider the tragicomedy at the International Yoga Day at the weekend.

Sri Lanka had met 29 IMF commitments and failed three by end-May: Verité Research

Sri Lanka had met 29 of the 100 trackable commitments of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and had failed on three as of the end....

Fathers’ Day and failing fathers - EDITORIAL

Yesterday, the third Sunday in the month of June, we in Sri Lanka, like hundreds of thousands of others around the world celebrated ‘Fathers’ Day’. Some Catholic....

Govt.’s free market policy could push the economy over the cliff

The economic suffocation in our country has been all too clear for anyone who opened their eyes to the predicament of the working....

Excavate Length and Breadth; Reveal Buddhist/Hindu ruins in every nook and cranny

Established 133 years ago in 1890, the Department of Archaeology needs a complete revamping. All the archaic laws, regulations and policies....

BBS, Gnanasara Thera and the Kalutara Violence

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga recently raised a pertinent question on Twitter about Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and others of his ilk. She asked in her tweet why no action had ever been taken against Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and others, who had insulted other religions practised in the country.

Comedy of Terrors A government haunted by the memory of Aragalaya

With the number of repressive actions that the government has taken in recent months, especially after the last year’s public uprising which was commonly called the Aragalaya, one can imagine the anxiety that has been tormenting some of the leaders of the government over public dissent.

The world is starving, but war is the priority

Way back in 2015 the World Bank presented an agenda to permanently end world poverty and hunger by 2030, raise real incomes of the poorest people; provide safe food and adequate nutrition; that can better steward the world’s natural resources.

A food shortage created by choice

Sri Lanka was a country where its kings had a specific role in food production and that was to build tanks and ensure there was enough water for farmers to engage in agriculture.

After Iran-Saudi deal, China takes on bigger peace challenge in Palestine

In yet another milestone in its journey towards numero uno in world affairs, China has invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas for a state visit connected to an ambitious peace initiative. The Palestinian leader arrived on Tuesday for a four-day visit.

Planet Ocean: the tides are changing

Sri Lanka is known as the island, which is the pearl of the east. But today, like in most other countries, it is a case of casting pearls before swine. We have not only polluted the ocean around Sri Lanka but also for political reasons allowed India’s

Exits and the dilemmas they spawn

In the second week of June, the Yahapalana Government dispatched several high-ranking loyalists to the UK or else instructed those, who happened to be in that country or were planning to visit for other business to lobby UK citiz

Lanka’s catch-22 situation

In April 2022, our country defaulted repaying its foreign debt triggering a major crisis in the country. With no dollars available, all goods from fuel and oil, to basic foodstuffs ran out. Transport ground....

Politics without conscience - EDITORIAL

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned as an MP on Friday over an allegation of misleading the Parliament with regard to the “Partygate,” a series of rule-breaking government parties during the COVID-19 pandemic he had attended.

Many reasons for and against privatization of SOEs

The Parliamentary Sectorial Oversight Committee on National Security last week recommended against the privatization of Sri Lanka Telecom, citing national security grounds. The government has claimed the report ‘lacks logical or scientific data.”

The practicality of promises made to the UNHRC

The UN Human Rights Council’s 53rd session will begin On June 19. An oral assessment of the rights situation in Sri Lanka will be made by the Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türkon June 21. As usual, the Sri Lankan government is going all out to present the case that it has been making sincere efforts to deliver on the promises it had made earlier.

BRC Proposals and Press Takeover Bill of ‘64

“The Sri Lanka press, one of the liveliest and bluntest in Asia, has been firmly subdued by the Government.”—The New York Times of May 8, 1974. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, with little experience....