UNHRC’s Inconsistent HR Oversight: A Global Concern

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has strongly criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for what he perceives as selective and biased scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

Does the government learn the hard way?

Never in the Sri Lankan history had a government faced such a plethora of hot issues, at once, at its beginning, as faced by the current national People’s Power (NPP) government. Similarly, never in the history had a government really wanted a “system change” including the change in the thinking pattern of politicians, officialdom, and the ordinary people.

Virakesari’s ‘News King’ Sellathurai was the doyen of Jaffna journalists

Sri Lanka, known earlier as Ceylon, has produced many journalists of a high calibre in the past. These excellent scribes writing for Sinhala, Tamil or English newspapers acquired a large readership and made their mark over the years. Some were bi-lingual too.

Trump’s disdain for soft power opens doors to China

The move to wind up USAID is a reflection of US President Donald Trump’s disdain for social welfare across the world and also the use of soft power as an instrument of foreign policy.

A change in governance and the need to stop hate speech

Corruption has permeated all levels of Lankan society. Corrupt practice rules from top political leaders to the lowly peons in government departments.

“Sri Lanka, Voices From A War Zone”: A vital reminder

We forget very easily. Even the terrors and travails of the recent pandemic are being forgotten.

The government showed up mediocre at the UN in Geneva for CEDAW

I was excited to join the Sri Lankan NGO delegation representing Women’s Action Network (WAN) at the 9th periodic Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) review.

The truth about truth-seeking

While Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath was in Geneva delivering his speech at the 58th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday,

A pall of gloom hangs o’er Lanka - EDITORIAL

On 22 September 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake leader of the National People’s Power was elected President of our country.

Till the next Talaivar comes…

When I was in my mid-teens, my brothers and I were afforded several trips to our dad’s tea estate in Bandarawela. One way of nurturing our need for boyish pranks was to pull at the sarongs that some of the estate workers wore; and lo and behold, most of them never wore underwear! But there was this one person called Kesavan, the community headman, and when we tried our pranks on him he offered no resistance.

National security: From the womb to the tomb

It may not be an exaggeration to say that national security has become the most politicised topic in Sri Lanka these days. In parliament and political platforms, much precious time is spent on the critique of and in defence of the government’s national security policy, but there is very little introspection.

Is AKD’s leadership living up to expectations?

It has been exactly 160 days since the National People’s Power (NPP) rose to govern the nation and it seems that the public mood is already divided, even among their supporters. The rise of the NPP brought a sense of renewed hope to many voters seeking a lasting solution to the nation’s economic turmoil and political instability.

HOW THE ELITE LOOK AT THE ELEPHANT MUST BE CHANGED!

Sri Lanka has always tried to showcase its rich culture for possessing elephants. From the elephants in the wild to the jumbos in domesticated set-ups, what Sri Lankans have tried to do over the years is associate this animal and the islander with pride

In Sri Lanka, reconciliation should no longer be treated as a buzzword -EDITORIAL

When the thirty year ethnic conflict ended in 2009, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had ample opportunities to address the grievances of the Tamil minority.

Budget proposals, gangsters and unfulfilled promises

The month of February 2025 has been most eventful. One of the most anticipated events was the first budget to be proposed by our first-ever leftist government not in coalition with other political parties. With its overwhelming majority in parliament, there is little doubt the budget would be passed.

Does Sri Lanka really have a crime wave?

Last week, underworld kingpin Sanjeewa Kumara Samararathne, alias ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’, was shot dead inside the Colombo magistrate court by a gunman disguised as a lawyer. The killing, as shocking as it was, also highlighted major security lapses: Producing a high-risk inmate before the magistrate was unwanted at a time when much of bail hearings are taking place over Skype.

“Governments should govern, not Compete in business” - Amitabh Kant

Amitabh Kant—the key driver of Made in India, Startup India, Incredible India, and God’s Own Country—shares his views with Daily Mirror in an interview during his visit to the country.

“INDEPENDENT” PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE: MYTH AND REALITY

The institution of criminal proceedings is of vital concern to the public. Irrespective of the outcome of proceedings,

The solicitous and virtuous life of Professor C. C. de Silva

When I started my career in Paediatrics nearly 25 years ago as a Trainee at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, I learned gradually, one by one, the great professionals who developed the field of Paediatrics in this country.

Budget Blues and Violence against Judiciary

In a significant shift, the JVP has abandoned its ideological rigidities and embraced a more pragmatic approach, acknowledging the complexities of the country’s current politico-economic realities.

Underworld has many fathers - EDITORIAL

Exactly a month ago, on January 28 we editorially discussed some aspects pertaining to the ongoing crimes in the country while pointing out that minimising crimes should be one of the top most priorities of the government’s “Clean Sri Lanka” programme.

Govt. to impose stricter punishment for cattle theft

Two incidents of cattle theft were reported from Galewatte, Udugampola in January 2025. One cow, who had been blinded in one eye, was stolled on January 25.

Killing in the Court house and political patronage

Three days after the so-called shocking murder in the courtroom at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, the alleged killer has been taken into custody, the man behind the killing identified but the female suspect linked to the killing still roams free. The ‘lady’ has been identified, but has not been taken into custody.

Impunity is worse than crime

The killing of Ganemulle Sanjeewa, who is described as an underworld leader at a courtroom of the country’s main Hulftsdorp court complex on Wednesday was not the first of its kind. The officer in charge of the Weerangula police station and his uncle was killed inside the Attanagalla Magistrate court in early 1990. In another incident, Dammika Amarasinghe, a witness of a case involving a high-profile businessman was shot dead within a Hulftsdorp

Misconceived, Misinterpreted, Miscast and a big Mistake!

After seeing a screening of the film RANI, I walked out of the Majestic Cinema devoid of any feelings. It was a terrible film. Badly acted, badly directed, and badly researched. It was only after I started hearing the many plaudits being voiced by the self-satisfied hoi polloi of Colombo that I decided that I want to state my opinion about two people that many of us loved, respected, and knew intimately.

Was Ganemulla Sanjeewa involved in a Plot to Murder M.A. Sumanthiran?

Notorious drug trafficker and criminal gang leader Sanjeewa Kumara Samararathne known as ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa,’ was shot dead in the No. 5 Magistrate’s Court within the Hulftsdorp Court Complex this week. The suspected assassin was arrested in the Paalaavi area of Puttalam. It was announced first that the arrested person was 34-year-old Mohamed Azman Sherifdeen. Subsequently Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala disclosed that the suspected kil

“Bureaucratic corruption, the only obstacle for SL in becoming a futuristic country” - Prof. Henrik von Scheel

Sri Lanka has been recognised as a country with the potential to become its own brand. However, strategic experts opine that in order to become a futuristic country, Sri Lanka should first eliminate corruption in the bureaucracy.

Trump upends US policy on Ukraine

Donald Trump was right: Ukraine started the war. Again, Trump was right; if he had been in office, the Ukraine war would not have happened.

The impact is huge when good clashes with the bad - EDITORIAL

The present government has been tested to the brim these days. The Hulftsdorp Court shooting posed enough questions about security in this country.

Disturbing Activities that Threaten Wilpattu National Park

On the 25th of February 1938, the Wilpattu National Park was declared the second National Park in Sri Lanka under the provisions of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, No. 2 of 1937; a landmark in the history of Wildlife Conservation in this country.