Green Cabin deeply concerned: Urges need to keep victim’s best interests at heart

The Board and Management of Cyril Rodrigo Restaurants Limited (Owners of Green Cabin) has issued a statement clarifying its position in relation to the alleged rape of an......

Did the ordinary voter get an uncooked deal?

The Parliament of Singapore some time ago passed a bill to abolish the Parliamentary Pensions Act after a review of ministerial salaries, which recommended that the pension scheme be scrapped for office......

Dharma Voices for Animals - EDITORIAL

In the afterglow of Binara Poya, we need to reflect on the Buddha Dhamma’s main theme “May all beings be happy” and on some practical issues connected to it.   At a time when......

Unswerving commitment by concerned authorities is essential to eliminate the scourge of Dangerous d

It is indeed tragic that despite the corrosive and devastating social effects of illicit drugs, successive administrations have not had the required political resolve and the firm commitment (with all the solemn pledges and hard resolutions made)....

LTTE’s cruel Conduct on Tamil Civilians in Wanni

The long-awaited  UN  report on Sri Lanka compiled by the Office of the United Nations  High Commissioner for Human Rights released last week has predictably evoked much excitement and controversy. 

Pope’s clarion call to white America

The Pope has caused waves in America during his visit this week. Invited to speak before Congress by the House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, he arrived right at the time the Republican presidential candidates are touting ideas that are anathema to Pope Francis.

2.5 million tourists, 2.5 million opportunities - EDITORIAL

We are living in an era where time-tested centuries’ old cultural values and traditions need to be interwoven with the marvels of modern technology and the concepts of a global village.

Commemorating Anagarika Dharmapala

Anagarika Dharmapala, the Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and writer who brought forth a revolution in a land that has long been plagued by Western colonization and repression of Indian religions is better acknowledged as the ‘Father of the nation’. 

Open letter to Dr. Rajitha Senaratne - There is a medical mafia in operation

You had been a fire-brand in the front line of politics for the past two decades; your dreams may have come true, but not ours. You got a big mess to clear up. The crucial sector that you are now.......

SWRD stood for maximum devolution and proposed federalism

Young SWRD, on his return from Oxford, England in 1925, professed the case for a federal structure for Sri Lanka, and made it the main slogan when he formed a political party named, the......

iChange: Initiative for Change

Psychological well-being has become an important aspect in the lives of people today. Yet, in terms of places that provide psychological treatment and other services......

Consensus built on local probe

A consensus is gradually being built in the country that the allegations of human rights violations committed by the combatants during the final stage of the war between the security forces.......

Never again yesterday: The CC cannot fail - EDITORIAL

The new national government, headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday reached another landmark in its journey towards building a new Sri Lanka......

A point to ponder

There’s a lot between-the-lines of the UNHRC Report on Sri Lanka, interestingly titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’.  Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has correctly pointed out that this is one of several reports on matters that

Long Distance Nationalism:

For the purpose of this article, I refer to the Sri Lankan diaspora as those Sri Lankans who have migrated to a foreign country permanently and not those who are temporarily working or residing in foreign countries. Estimates suggest that

From Puthumathalan to Geneva...

The latest “Geneva Report on Sri Lanka, or the Report of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Sri Lanka, was released on September 16 in Geneva during its currently ongoing 30th session.

CONSPIRACY BEHIND ‘NORTH–EAST’ MERGER

Merger of Northern and Eastern Provinces was one of the key proposals incorporated in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of July 29, 1987, which was thrust upon us by India as a result of intense lobbying by pro-separatist groups.

We have failed in value addition good prices for tea and branding

United National Party parliamentarian and the Minister of Plantation Industries, Navin Dissanayake in an interview with the Dailymirror  said that the UNP has always been pro business.

The United Nations Human Rights Council report Consequences and challenges

The long awaited Report by the United Nations Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka has now been released.  Its contents have grave implications for the destiny of our country,...

Death penalty diverts from real need

Friday Forum is deeply disturbed at the prospect of judicial executions taking place again in Sri Lanka after a gap of nearly 40 years. 

Superstition vs religion - EDITORIAL

The tragic incident that took place on Saturday in Gokarella  where a ten-month-old baby was trampled to death by an elephant, when a relative  attempted to carry the baby under the belly of the animal,  occurred during a festival at the Medagama Devalaya.

Who is responsible for illegal traffic sign boards?

I am confident everyone who reads this article will enhance their knowledge with regard to parking of vehicles and standing on roads where No Parking and No Parking & Standing sign boards are erected or exhibited on roads.

UNHRC resolutions: How far is too far?

The 261-page-report on Sri Lanka presented to the UN Human Rights Council is not a pleasant reading. Understandably so, because, it refers.....

Need of the hour: Rebuilding Sri Lanka’s image professionally

Sri Lanka unjustifiably retained US PR and lobbying firms in the post-2009 period at a massive cost to the country. This stands out as a gigantic fraud considering that the war......

An Efficient and Effective Parliament Secretariat is a must

Overseas Development Institute in a report on Parliaments published in 2005 states – “In terms of enacting laws,  debating national issues,  checking the activities of the......

Listen to heart-cry of the ocean - EDITORIAL

Those were the days when people could peacefully sit on Sri Lanka’s golden beaches and sing with the well-known Nina and Fredrick the beautiful song, “Listen to the ocean.....

Is the water we drink safe?

The Kelani River, a 145-km-long and ranked as the fourth longest river in the country. From its root in the Sri Pada Mountain Range it flows through Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Gampaha and reaches Colombo.

“Zero tolerance on violence against women”

Minister of Women and Child Affairs Chandrani Bandara Jayasinghe is entrusted with the duty of playing a proactive role -- both inside and outside Parliament -- to ensure women and children’s rights.....

Persisting Economic Crises and the Fate of Social Sciences

There were media reports about a week ago revealing that the Japanese authorities have ordered the closing down of Social Science Faculties at The Universities in Japan. This is incredible but......

FROM HERE TO THERE TO WHERE?

Tweedledum and Tweedledee are toilet-trained to share a common loo as newly weds in an era of same sex marriage. A streak that runs in a national government predominantly stuffed with.....