Editorial - Samitha’s success story

Anyone who sees Dr. Samitha Samanmalee manoeuvering around hospital beds today, would find it hard to believe that at one point of her life, she was lying almost lifeless on a bed, with minimal chances of becoming normal again. Yet, unlike the majority who took everything to be a creation of fate or bad karma, she swam against it.

DO IT ON YOUR OWN DOORSTEP, NOT OURS

Although it was thought the defeat of the LTTE was the performance of the last rights of Tamil Eelam, the homeland concept is kept simmering by Eelamists in various hues and disguises.

Living between Phonies

Are we living in the Wonderland of Alice or in a sorry State called Alas? Government blunders with self-inflicted gaffes and goofs to display its mounting incompetence - UNP reciprocates by keeing the government buoyant in promoting serially unpopular causes to alienate and annoy voters. We sure lead a life between phonies.

More stupidities by Ministry of External Affairs

Tamara Kunanayakam, Sri Lanka’s former   Permanent Ambassador to the UN, Geneva, was compelled on to  another posting, much against her wishes, and as far as is known without any valid grounds for such a move.

The Unread Tagore

As Tagore’s  birth anniversary became a trending topic on Twitter, the social media site, it seemed like a good time to ask which Tagore we were celebrating. There are really three Tagores who have emerged over the last century. The first, Rabi Thakur, is venerated—almost literally—by the Bengalis.

French socialism at work

  Elysee Palace has a new socialist to house. French epitome that for almost two decades had been one of liberal-cum-capitalist edifice has some pen pricks to do as Francois Hollande moves in to recast the foreign and socio-political mosaic.

Editorial - Honey traps and money traps

If the cry is that match fixing has become rampant in the recent past, the authorities that operate above the players should also be held responsible for it. In fact, it is their duty to see that the players’ discipline is maintained, irrespective of the bad times the local cricket authorities go through financially. Instead of counting their money in the dark, it is high time they open their eyes to the ground realities.

Transport woes

Private bus operators are a law unto themselves. What prevails is the law of the jungle. There are no properly organized queues as the busses do not start off from the assigned sheltered bus stand but completely outside it. They start in the open air in front of the statue facing the main road. If the Weather Gods decide to prove their worth and skill and cause a downpour the passengers are bound to have a good ducking.

Poverty in South Asia a fluid problem

Climate, human population and water are intrinsically linked. In Asia, most water (80 per cent) is used for irrigation in support of agriculture – in other words, food production. As human population grows, demand for food and water will increase. Policies which prioritise this use of water need to be developed.

Aunty Clinton comes to Asia with a ‘do-it’ list

The United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, during her recent eight-day visit to Asia was acting more like a matron than the chief diplomat of her country. Her aim, obviously, was to thrust a US-centric world view...

Annan’s word of caution

Kofi Annan has drawn the line. The United Nations special envoy believes that the non-compliance attitude of Syria is resulting in an escalation of violence, and the country could easily slip into a perpetual civil war.

Pageantry will not heal the bruises of high Cost of Living

Vesak is over and the crowds who apparently ha and ho’ed regarding the beautiful decorations and pandals and visited each and every dansala now perhaps replete with all the goodies that  satisfied mind and body...

Selective Criminal Accountability

From all that we know, Charles Taylor deserves to be held criminally accountable for his role in the atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during the period 1998-2002. Taylor was then President of Liberia, and did his best to encourage...

Editorial - ‘National’ conspiracy

If those who caused the explosion at the Dalada Maligawa were called terrorists, the label should not change when it comes to those who continue to plunder temples with lesser known names. Breaking into places of worship and spiriting away the relics is nothing short of treachery.

ICT for diplomacy

Sri Lanka is one of the fastest growing nations in South Asia. South Asia and South America as two fast growing regions of the world could contribute immensely to global trade. Sri Lanka has maintained very cordial diplomatic relations with Cuba for over half century and both countries have been loyal to the ethos of the Non Aligned Movement throughout the years lobbying against polarity in the international system.

Crude pressure

For once, the top line in the agenda for Hillary Clinton’s just-concluded visit to India wasn’t Pakistan or Afghanistan or even terrorism but the Obama administration’s obsessive compulsive desire to turn the screws on Iran and all those who do not back its confrontational approach to resolving the Iranian nuclear question.

Appeal to the sri Lanka’s President and Politicians

Three years has passed since the heroic armed forces eliminated terrorism enabling Sri Lankly to proudly go down in history as the only country to have eliminated terrorism and an internationally banned terrorist organization.

D E W acting as Minister of External Affairs ?

When we were in Geneva in the dark days of March, I was surprised to read that Senior Minister D E W Gunasekara had been appointed Acting Minister of External Affairs.

Injustice by the philatelic bureau

It is most disappointing to note that the Postal Department (Philatelic Bureau) has very systematically and cunningly mislead all the ignorant Buddhist institutions and the Buddhist public in Sri Lanka by issuing special cancellation covers which are of no philatelic value for stamp collectors of historical/religious events which come in once in a life time such as the

Editorial - ‘National’ conspiracy

If those who caused the explosion at the Dalada Maligawa were called terrorists, the label should not change when it comes to those who continue to plunder temples with lesser known names. Breaking into places of worship and spiriting away the relics is nothing short of treachery. The massive robbery at the Colombo National Museum proved beyond doubt that even the heart of the capital city was not safe enough for the priceless artifacts. To thi

who’s guilty?

After the end of the longest war in Asia in the 20th century, after the end of the longest war in Sri Lankan history, after the decimation of the Tamil leadership in the democratic mainstream,  after the killing of India’s prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, which boomeranged on the Jaffna Tamil leadership,

Vesak: Of cheap plastic tat and ownership of truth

In the week leading up to Vesak many commentators used their positions to plead for the ‘true’ meaning of the festival not to become lost amid the  garish kaleidoscope of light and sound.  Walking down Bauddhaloka Mawatha on Saturday, I began to empathise with these pleas.

Rio+20: the Future We Want

We are living in exceptional times. For climate change activists the last few decades have been ‘the best of times’ and ‘the worst of times’. While the world saw unprecedented efforts for environmental protection leading to many ongoing developments; our awareness on the need to take action and mitigate climate change has risen faster than our capacity to do so.

Putin checks in

Russia’s new czar is at work. The difference, however, is that Vladimir Putin is no new face. He is back to the presidency for a third term and that too for six years. Putinisation of Russia, as it is widely called, has come full circle. Though the elections that brought him back were marked with controversy, nothing much will matter for Putin, as he knows how to take the bull in governance.

18th May as a mockery of history

The month of May has given several important days not only for us Sri Lankans but also to the whole world. The first is May 1st, the International Workers’ Day. The next is the Vesak Day which is the day accepted by Buddhists all over the world as the day in which the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Nirvana took place.

Peace in South Asia

Real-politics in Southwest Asia is in flux. The United States after a decade of physical presence in Afghanistan is clueless as what to do next. The enigma gathers strength as policy-makers in Pentagon and the White House keep experimenting with drones and the erstwhile carrot and stick policies.

Reality of Economic Vandalism in Sri Lanka:

Lanka became a colony in 1815 and inherited self-sustaining economy and the agriculture was almost destroyed as colonial rulers involved in cinchona, cinnamon, and coffee cultivation which was later shifted to a plantation economy, based on tea, rubber and coconut cultivation mainly.

Vijja udapadi, Aloko udapadi

An Excerpt from the book, ‘Light of Asia’ by Sir Edwin Arnold

Vesak Full Moon Poya day: The saga of the Buddhahood

By Gamini Jayasinghe Vesak full moon poya day is of special significance to Buddhists due to three main incidents taken place on this day. The last birth of the Bodhisattva took place on a Vesak full moon poya day. He attained Buddha hood also on a Vesak full moon poya day. The Exalted One’s Parinibbana also took place on a day like this.

The world as its battlefield

President Barack Obama, through his National Counter terrorism Adviser, John Brennan, has finally stated, at least in part, the United States position on the use of remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, to kill people elsewhere who allegedly pose a threat to the U.S. or its citizens. In a speech in Washington, DC on May 1, Mr. Brennan made several claims, for example, that targeting members of al-Qaeda in any other country is not illegal under in