Editorial : The shame, the sham and the scandal of Deraniyagala

The vision of professional, independent journalism is to be the voice of the voiceless, weak and defenceless...

Hi-tech tyranny and oppression of the people

Do citizens exist for the State or is the reverse true? This question has assumed much significance...

Taxing the evil: Why selective treatment? - Editorial

The government yet again has increased the prices of cigarettes to boost its tax revenue. The lower end fag prices were jacked up by Rs.2 and the high end by Rs.3. Interestingly Treasury Secretary Dr. P. B. Jayasundara had told media a few days back that the tax revenue of the government was on the rise.

Plague of the Silvas

Minister Mervyn Silva and his son Malaka have always courted controversy. Never out of the limelight, they again attracted attention for the wrong reasons this week; Malaka was assaulted at a clothing store in the heart of the city; Mervyn ordered the closure of a controversial factory in Gampaha.

Noori under ‘reign of terror’ A deaf and blind Police force

The recent allegations of crimes committed in Noori, Deraniyagala has revealed Police inaction and encouragement given to the crimes allegedly committed by the former Chairman of the Deraniyagala Pradeshiya Sabha (UPFA) Anil Champika alias ‘Athakota’.

The political power of an event Opening of Mariinsky Theatre and Nelumpokuna

British liberal columnist Jonathan Power has written about the opening of the new extension of St. Petersberg's Mariinsky Theatre. This is what he has to say: "Observers say that what drives President Vladimir Putin is to make Russia respected. But perhaps Putin over-estimates how much power Russia already has.

Bruce Lee – the unsurpassable martial artiste

It comes as a shock that forty years have passed since I first saw ‘Enter the Dragon.’ Time flies. Then came a pleasant surprise. A hasty viewing a week ago on DVD revealed that Lee remains unsurpassable as a martial artist. Fourteen years older than Jackie Chan, I suppose he could still be turning out films if he hadn’t died so tragically the same year that Enter the Dragon was released. But I prefer to remember him as I see h

Kumarathunga Munidasa

During a time when rice, clothes, vehicles were all being imported to Sri Lanka, Kumarathunga Munidasa, a Sri Lankan writer fought endlessly to free the people of this  nation  from the  western influences.   He wrote in the editorial of the Lakmini Pahana newspaper: "Dangerous are the times for Sri Lanka. If the importing of rice stopped, we would have nothing to eat. If importing of materials stopped, we would have not

Dayasiri's irrational frivolousness

Dayasiri who left the UNP to join the Mahinda regime claimed that resisting sexual harassment was the main reason that forced him to leave the UNP.

Busting the common wealth of the people - Editorial

While millions of people in Sri Lanka are struggling for survival and the cost of living keeps on soaring, the Government is to spend a staggering Rs. 1,930 million for the Commonwealth Summit to be held here in November.

Neelan Thiruchelvam - Stood for civil rights, pluralism and justice

The theme of public and private morality in the mourning of the dead after a war, the post-war social structure and coming to terms with pluralism for a more democratic future were focused  at an in- depth presentation by Vasuki Nesiah, Associate Professor of Practice, New York University.

Indian MPs need to do a reality check

The Indian government claims poverty has come down to 22 per cent in 2011-12 from 37 per cent in 2004-05. According to the Planning Commission’s latest report on poverty estimation, a person who earns Rs. 27.50 in a rural area within a day is considered to be above the poverty line.

Police and political Horror & Terror

This is indeed not a storyline for a movie. Nor are they notes for a piece of fiction we intend to publish in the future. It is rather a horror story, a story of terror, a story of fear, a story about the extent and depth to.....

Candidates we field are of good character

One of the se­nior-most Par­lia­men­tar­i­ans in the coun­try and Chief Op­po­si­tion whip, UNP front lin­er John Amar­a­tun­ga in a can­did in­ter­view with Dai­ly Mir­ror, spoke about his par­ty’s pol­i­cies on the up­com­ing pro­vin­cial polls and ex­plained why they did not be­lieve for­mer UNP MP Day­a­siri Jaya&s

SL roads need better planning and educated users

In most countries there is much planning and trials performed electronically by use of GPS and satellite to follow traffic movements prior to implementation of one-way systems and installation of colour light traffic control systems on the timing of stop/go during peak and non-peak hours. Studies are done continuously for 24 hours for a minimum of seven days prior to decisions being taken on timing. In this country colour light systems have to be

Ethics in crossover - Editorial

Apart from the causes for the pole vault by UNP Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara that we had discussed on Friday there is a serious ethical aspect involved in changing sides not only by the  Kurunegala District singer-cum-politician but by almost all those who had crossed over from one party to another.

Agro-chemicals : The silent killer in Sri Lanka

“Headlines in the NEW YORK TIMES in July 1962 captured the national sentiments…. silent spring is now noisy summer… In the few months between the New Yorkers serialization of “silent spring” in June and its publication in book form that September Rachel Carson’s alarm touched off a national debate....

Restoration of civic morals and professional ethics a critical need

What we witness today in this country is a steady erosion of the moral fabric of society. The pursuit of wealth, power and personal influence at any cost by self – seeking individuals has undermined the normative order; traditions, conventions, rule of law, moral values and ethical principles.

Editorial - Days of the demons in Deraniyagala

The consequences of seriously damaging if not destroying the independence of judicial service and the breakdown of the rule of law are now seen in various parts of the country.

WIGNESWARAN,SENATHIRAJAH AND THE FACADE OF TNA UNITY

Canagasabapathy Viswalingam Wigneswaran was named by the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) on the Ides of July  as its chief ministerial candidate for the forthcoming Northern Provincial Council election.

Active civil society, second chamber: Vital components in public interest

Democracy they say is the best form of government. This then goes uncontested. Yet the rise in human fallibility of greed, selfishness, self, centeredness and what not, have undermined its workability making political authority even prefer the state of autocratic rule.

China exposes shameful corruption by drug companies - Editorial

Transnational medicinal drugs corporations, during the past few decades of the globalised capitalist market economic system, are known to have emerged as one of the world’s biggest businesses, making as much profit if not more than the arms and agro-chemical industries.

AMERICA OVER THE TOP ON THREATS

Even taking into account the terrorist bomb attack on the Boston marathon an American has had less chance...

Editorial : Find the cause, then the cure

The claim Dayasiri Jayasekara committed political hara-kiri by joining the government appears to stem from most...

OBAMA PLAYING FOR HISTORY BOOKS, BUT WHERE WILL THE PALESTINIANS BE?

When the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, announced last Friday that Israel and the Palestinian...

Dayasiri’s ‘pole vault’ forced upon or just ambitious?

United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara is making a habit of generating headlines for controversial reasons, announcing yesterday that he would resign from Parliament and contest as chief ministerial candidate of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The rumour mill first went into overdrive a few weeks ago, when it was reported in the media that President Mahinda Rajapaksa raised this possibility duri

Don’t plunder or blunder with public funds - Editorial

While government leaders and their so-called economic experts continue to boast if not tell lies about high economic growth rates, per capita income and making Sri Lanka the miracle of Asia, a parliamentary committee on Tuesday issued a shocking report that that was like a thunderbolt to Parliament and the country.

THE CHOGM ‘HORSE’

Sri Lanka is a Country where everybody (with hardly any exception) loves a Tamasha. This is particularly so among politicians who not only gain from them but are also avid supporters of Tamashas provided they are paid for by somebody else - preferably from the public purse. 

Australia’s war on boats

By Mahir Ali    When the Australian Labour Party (ALP) dumped Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010, his parting words included the admonition that the government must avoid “lurching to the right” on its policy towards asylum-seekers. He might as well have added: “Don’t do it without me.”

JVP breakaway group FSP displays true socialist sensibilities

Here is a definite victory now, for the pro-devolution forces. It is not necessarily achieved,with the intervention of the Indian rulers. There is no doubt that Indian pressure is a significant factor, but a combination of forces within Lanka played a key role in pushing the Sinhala chauvinist lobby to a corner.