Clash of the Commanders

The recent spat - if one may call it that - between two former commanders of the Sri Lankan Army has caused quite a furore. Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka and Lieutenant-General Jagath Jayasuriya have engaged in a heated exchange over issues of command and control responsibility, as well as alleged war crimes. Sarath Fonseka served as Army Commander from December 6, 2005 to July 15, 2009. 

Cities built for man

“What did these vain and presumptuous men intend? How did they expect to raise their lofty mass against God, when they had built it above all the mountains and clouds of the earth’s atmosphere?” This is St. Augustine writing about Babylon in his “City of God”. In more modern times Jonathan Raban has written in “Soft City”, “The city has always been an embodiment of hope and a source of festering gui

Narendra Modi: From Child Marriage to Prime Minister

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 67th birthday falls on September 17. While wishing the Indian Premier the very best and wishing many more productive years to come; it is as good a time as any to reflect on his meteoric rise to power and the changing face of India under his leadership.   

Democracy is when the needy and not the rich are the rulers

Today we celebrate the United Nations’ World Democracy Day with this year’s theme being ‘democracy and conflict prevention’.   

War on terror: The deception and real agendas

Sixteen years ago on September 11, the way the world revolved changed drastically, politically speaking. Just, a second before the terror strike on New York’s World Trade Centre at 8.46 am Eastern Time, the world was moving on a positive direction with human rights and democracy dominating the political discourse.

‘The direction is towards establishing a fossil fuel-free economy’ - Damitha Kumarasinghe

The Dailymirror conducted an interview with Director General of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Damitha Kumarasinghe to obtain his views on the future of power generation in Sri Lanka and the current crisis in the power sector.The following are excerpts of the interview. 

two wrongs don’t make a right

The Sri Lankan Army, on July 16, 2008 captured the Vidaththalthivu Sea Tiger base, a strategically important fortification of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Mannar District. 

Oh! This crazy Sri Lanka

The first few days of this week saw a political comedy unfolding hardly taken note of by the Sri Lankan Society. Not on the small screens in households, but on the larger political canvas that’s rolled around in Colombo.  

Globalisation Enter the Dragon!

‘If you want to become rich, you will have to build the road first’, so goes the traditional Chinese saying. In other words, it is reference to the infrastructure development as the solid basis to propel or boost economic growth. In the analysis of things in this context, it became apparent that China, under its ambitious ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) has stepped in to develop the Hambantota Port and the industrial pa

Solar aquatics to save our ocean

Texas, Florida, some Caribbean and Latin American countries were devastated in recent days by two of the most powerful hurricanes recorded in human history. About 100 people were killed while tens of millions were severely affected by nature’s wrath though the United States President is still claiming that climate change is a Chinese hoax and has pulled the US out of the historic Paris treaty to curb global warming.   

Yahapalanaya slides to the ‘at least’ consolation

In the third week of January 2015, just two weeks after he became President, Maithripala Sirisena appointed his brother Kumarasinghe Sirisena as the Chairman, SLT. That was the beginning of making a mockery of the term ‘good governance’.  

ASSESSMENT: GOTABHAYA ENTERS POLITICS

Bemoan the non-availability of fresh material in the upper tiers of politics to replace the decrepit. For survival, the decayed leadership is ready to reach alliance with a devilish opponent. Unsuitable descendants await, both kinsmen and sycophants, located craftily in the wings of the second tier.

Politicians beware! No bureaucrat will carry out your illegal orders…

On Thursday, September 7, 2017, the High Court of Colombo issued a chilling verdict on one of the most anticipated cases filed by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID): Lalith Weeratunga, former Presidential Secretary and Anusha Palpita, former Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC),

SLFP’S FUTURE In Game of Thrones, game changes radically

When the British uncovered Soviet spies in the Establishment, they often looked the other way because imprisonment would send shock waves throughout the system and disturb social stability and consensus. 

Some are more equal than others

The issue about powerful or affluent people remanded or convicted taking shelter in the prison hospital has come up again. This time it has come into the public domain after former Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Anusha Palpita, the former Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) were transferred to the prison hospital soon after their conviction in the ‘Sil redi’ case.

If what was said was true even Fonseka won’t be spared

Former Presidential Secretary K.H.J. Wijedasa during a recent interview aired his views  on issues pertaining to the allegations made against war heroes, war crimes and the response of Sarath Fonseka with regard to Jagath Jayasuriya. Here are excerpts  of the interview.

Clarification from Rosy Senanayake and Harsha de Silva Awaited

The alleged Treasury Bond scams under the ‘Yahapalanaya’ government are arguably one of the largest financial scams to have taken place in the post-independence history of Sri Lanka

New book tells untold story of Sri Lanka’s 2009 victory at UNHRC

For the first time since Eelam War IV ended nearly eight years ago, a book entitled “Mission Impossible: Geneva” by Sanja de Silva Jayatilleka has come out on Sri Lanka’s path breaking diplomatic victory at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on May 27, 2009.  

Benefits aren’t passed to people due to bureaucracy

Joseph Michael Perera, a former Minister of the UNP and one time Speaker of Parliament, in an interview with our sister paper ‘Deshaya’ aired his views on the No confidence Motions, New regulations, political situations and other parliamentary procedures. Following are excerpts of the interview.   

Irony of SLFP members pulling out of Govt. over corruption

Last week the Daily Mirror reported that a group of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians have informed President Maithripala Sirisena that they would be leaving the government and that to discuss their next step they would soon meet Mahinda Rajapaksa, their former supremo.  

Black and White thinking in a gray world

Gone are the days when on seeking an opinion on anything – be it an idea, food, movie, clothing – one would have a wide variety of answers. The range would include – good, very good, somewhat good, not bad, tolerable, bit bad and bad.

US rhetoric on ‘freedom of navigation’ Sri Lanka should beware of becoming another South China Sea

The Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) held at Temple Trees recently, organized by the India Foundation, was billed as a gathering of IOR countries and ‘other concerned nations’ with a view to advancing ‘Peace, Progress and Prosperity” in the Indian Ocean. 

What ails Sri Lankan Cricket?

The recent unpleasant incidents the Sri Lankan cricketers experienced by way of hostile spectator reaction to a string of defeats, is indeed a sad situation. For a cricket crazy yet disciplined public, as opposed to their Indian counterparts, this is discouraging; so much so the World Cup winning captain and now Minister Arjuna Ranatunga made an appeal on media to the local cricket fans not to behave like the Indians.  

9/11 @ 16: Terror Unlimited

The war on terror that followed the September 11, 2001 Attacks in the United States has left a bloody and devastating trail of conflict ridden societies with Middle East, North Africa inheriting a decade and half of total violence and state failure leading to myriad of regional crises.

Literacy and Sri Lanka

Last Friday, September 8 marked International Literacy Day. On November 17, 1965, UNESCO proclaimed September 8 as International Literacy Day to highlight the importance of literacy to all individuals, communities and societies.  

Mother Teresa’s vision parallels with the Dhamma

Inspirational women belonging to religious communities and living according to vows, provide a more powerful view of women and their role in life, to inspire and encourage women to step out of limiting self-beliefs that keep them trapped in roles that lack of power. Historical characters like Arhant 

Unwinding the Iran nuclear deal

The big mistake, apparently about to be made by President Trump, in undoing the nuclear agreement made by President Barack Obama with Iran is not just that he intends to go backwards, it is that he doesn’t intend to go forwards. (To be fair, neither did Obama.)   

Delusions on Alcohol

It seems that as a nation we are losing track of what a government should do. We need to ask the simple question, “What are the prime responsibilities of a government?” Improving the quality of life of those in need and reducing financial and other forms of poverty come to mind. 

Proposed National Economic Council the way forward

The proposal to establish a National Economic Council (NEC) is a welcome move. It should rightfully be the apex body to assist in the formulation of forward-looking and innovative Government policies taking into consideration the emerging development priorities. 

Literacy in a digital world

Today is International Literacy Day and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says it will be celebrated across the world on the theme, ‘Literacy in a digital world’.