Basl can’t be a private club - Tirantha Walaliyadde

As the battle for the head of Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), the policy making body of over 11,000 lawyers in the country heats up, the Daily Mirror queries from one of the two main contestants, Tirantha Walaliyadde on pertinent issues relating to country’s  justice system, bar, law and order.........

WE MUST NOT COMPROMISE on PRINCIPLES - Upul Jayasooriya

Attorney-at-Law and candidate in the two-pronged race to the helm of the Sri Lanka Bar Association (BASL), Upul Jayasuriya speaks to the Daily Mirror on the challenges ahead, the mistakes of the past and the need to consolidate. The hotly contested election scheduled to be held tomorrow would decide on the next man.......

Committee of Conscience Spirituality that Reconciles

Several religious delegations making representations before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) emphasised that Sri Lanka was enriched  by the traditions of four world religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

Editorial - Building without a foundation

Many of the top officials in the public service go to places of religious worship, to placate the one they give obeisance to. From the highest in our land to the lowest, they go on pilgrimage to such well-known places here and abroad.

Failure of CB, Golden Key Curse and fall of a CJ

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in its order of 23.03.2009 granting leave to proceed in the SC applications filed by some depositors of the Golden Key Credit Card Company stated thus: ‘On a perusal of the file…

Coconuts, courts and cultural concoction

The President, an exceedingly nice man, has been moved by the plight of a schoolgirl who stole some coconuts so that her class room could be painted brightly. Kumbhakarna is deeply touched. We know that the President has not been pleased with the Judiciary lately

Celebration of WIJAYA KUMARATUNGA’S LIFE AND VISION

Wijaya was brutally gunned down outside our home on February 16, 1988. Wijaya was my life’s partner and we raised two children, but he did not live to see them grow up. We shared a vision for our country and sought a solution for its burning issues based on humaneness, equality, justice and plurality.

‘Afzal’s hanging an act of political expediency’

The government  on Saturday was accused by some jurists of hanging Afzal Guru on account of political expediency as it was finding itself on the backfoot on issues of national security and law and order.

Editorial - Valentine how many rapes will it happen till they know…

This year February 14 was marked not only by the commercially hyped and abused Valentine’s Day with flowers, teddy bears and chocolates but also with another campaign that is timely and has far greater value. ‘One Billion Rising’(OBR), a global movement of about 200 countries to end gender.......

VINDICTIVE JAYALALITHAA’S ‘VISHWAROOPAM’ AGAINST VISHWAROOPAM

Ostensibly the ban on ‘Vishwaroopam’ was caused by the protests of Muslim groups in Tamil Nadu who claimed the film depicted Muslims in a negative light. Although the film had been cleared for release by....

Iran and the Cuban nuclear missile crisis

It’s always better to talk than be super-tough. But Iran’s supreme leader, Ayotollah Ali Khamenei, last week firmly rejected the US attempt to resume negotiations over its suspected nuclear bomb making.

A Light Unto the World - Editorial

The resignation or retirement of Pope Benedict XVI from one of the most powerful posts in the world is a noble move that gives an inspiring example to other world leaders – many of whom have a tendency to cling to power.

Signs of possible third world war in Asia

Democracies do not fight with each other. This theory stems from the fact or the assumption that democracies are committed to justice and non-violent means of conflict resolution.

Attack the enemy who paves the road and the one who treads on it

A dialogue has commenced regarding the directives the Human Rights Council would impose on Sri Lanka at its summit to be held in March this year. We see an environment being created for such a state.

Restore a patient-friendly health service - Editorial

Two shocking incidents in two private hospitals recently highlight the need for the government to regulate what is happening in the growing number of private hospitals and medical clinics where patients are known to be paying high consultation fees while expensive drugs are being prescribed and non-essential tests are being done.

Sri Lanka in dire need of a better healthcare system

“My little girl who walked into the MRI scanner room with her usual mischievous smile returned in an unrecognizable state. By the time she was taken out of the MRI scanner bed her whole body had turned blue,....

Sharma’s diplomatic skills put to the test

Unwittingly or not, Kamalesh Sharma is a name that hit the headlines of the Sri Lankan media this week. The visiting Secretary General of the Commonwealth, an Indian national, was caught in the eye of a storm over the venue for the next Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting.

Do our rulers suffer from cognitive dissonances - Editorial

There is a fox in one of the stories in Aesop’s fables who craves for some real sweet grapes. But they are beyond his reach and suddenly, the sweet grapes become real sour to the fox. According to modern psychology, the mental state the fox in Aesop’s story underwent is called cognitive dissonance.

There is no persecution in Sri Lanka

You were one of the primary individuals involved in the negotiations to obtain a pardon for Rizana Nafeek; when the attempt by the government was unsuccessful it came under a lot of criticism. Some even termed it a diplomatic failure, which showcased the weakness of the government’s ability to negotiate with a foreign government. How did you take all this criticism?

A Third Republican Constitution for SL?

Mahinda Chinthana-Towards a new Sri Lanka —Victory for Sri Lanka the policy statement issued before the Presidential election of 2005 stated thus: ‘With the consensus of all,.....

Justice without mercy is a tyranny - Editorial

The reported theft of coconuts by a schoolgirl to find the money to pay for colour-washing her school premises and the subsequent ordeal she had to undergo especially from the law enforcement authorities has hit media headlines.

THE GARRISON STATE DELUSION Strategic Misconceptions And Foreign Policy Misperceptions

As an island, Sri Lanka’s history has been shaped by the dialectic of the internal and external, with the latter playing a decisive role for prolonged periods. These external forces and factors have primarily been the neighbouring powers and the colonial ones.

Ethno-Religious Extremism Requires A Dual Response

I want to begin by stating the obvious, mainly because the obvious is sometimes hardest to see, least acknowledged and easiest to overlook. The rise in ethno-religious extremism in general and the recent instances of anti-Muslim propaganda in particular is a reflection of the breakdown in trust between

Editorial - Adding Diesel to the Fire of Corruption

The breakdown of the rule of law, the apparent end of constitutional democracy and the lack of checks and balances after the independence of the Judiciary was subverted, have produced unprecedented corruption.

BREAKING THE SILENCE!!! Of cornflakes, ham and bacon - the creation of a “superior class” of citizen

Since the sudden “fizzling down” of the hyperactivity in Hulftsdorp and following several weeks of reflection; I’ve finally decided to answer questions like “why are you now silent”, “so what will (y’all) do next” etc. coming from many quarters. I must heed my conscience and at least try to offer an answer.......

Power Hungry Leadership fails international system

Following the end of a long drawn 30-year-old war in Europe, the Treaty of Westphalia was seen as a harbinger of peace to mankind. Yet to blame the treaty itself for the quagmire in which the world has cast itself is a matter of argument based on good sense.....

The United Nations: Now an ineffective tool of the US

This is an excerpt from the Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Oration on the “Emerging Doctrine of Responsibility to  protect” delivered by former High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka and UN Advisor Nirupam Sen.....

Editorial - Structural c hanges necessary

Largely due to arrogance instead of magnanimity in the afterglow or aftermath of the May 2009 victory in the war, the Rajapaksa regime appears to have plunged into one hell of an international, political and economic mess. Cabinet changes or even a change of administration apparently won’t provide a solution.

THE WORLD’S FREEDOM - UP OR DOWN?

The Cold War ended and the good times began - the big powers stopped using their veto in the UN Security...

Integrated medicine - alternative remedy for dengue - Editorial

The Daily Mirror on Wednesday reported the sad news of the loss of 220 precious lives out of 44,395 dengue cases...