Mayhem in Iraq

IRAQ IS once again experiencing bloodshed. A series of blasts across the country on Sunday killed more than 50 people and left behind scores in a state of despair.

Care for others is the measure of greatness - Editorial

Destiny has seen to it that everyone who meets another is given the opportunity to influence and enrich that person. Most times however, being wrapped up in our selfish pursuit of seeking self fulfilment, we lose it.

I love the people and the people love me: Mervyn

Q: What are your views about the is­sue in Mun­nesh­war­am? This is an is­sue I spoke about a long time ago. Even last year, my friends and I res­cued the an­i­mals from the Ko­vil and re­turned them to their own­ers a few weeks lat­er.

The birth of Tamil militancy

The root causes of the three-decade conflict in Sri Lanka can be traced back to unequal treatment of the Tamil population and real and perceived discrimination by the State.

Provincial Councils: A money-eating monster? - Editorial

When the provincial council system was introduced to Sri Lanka with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, it was more of a gesture to please India than to fulfil the needs of the natives.

Constitutional Design in Plural Societies

Following are some excerpts of the 13th Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture delivered by Prof. Sujit Choudhry, Law Faculty Director, Centre for Constitutional Transitions, NYU School of Law

Today’s elections: Free poll or farce - Editorial

After a campaign during which more than 300 incidents of election law violations and violence were reported, elections will take place today to the Eastern, North-Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils.

Information poverty in democratic states

Every State has secrets. A state keeps certain happenings, dealings, moves, countermoves, inventions, discoveries and plans secret because it believes...

Sustaining peace after war

When it comes to creating a peace in Afghanistan sufficient for the US and NATO to pull their troops out with some degree of confidence in the country’s...

Editorial - Are we sovereign or a pawn?

In the wake of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Teheran, Sri Lanka which has played a significant role in NAM since its inception needs to review its...

Tehran summit underscores role of the South in global decision-making

It was the most high-profile diplomatic gathering in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. As leaders from 120 non-aligned nations converged in Tehran for the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) they were defying calls from both the US and Israel to shun the event.

Jayalalithaa's Sri Lanka muddle will have consequences

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa appears dead set on taking on the ordinary Sinhalese for her inability to influence the Indian government to pursue a Sri Lanka policy of her choice.

Eastern PC Election: Join Together to Silence the Communal Cry

The Provincial Council election campaign has now shifted to top gear in all three provinces but it is the Eastern province which has become the cynosure of all for several reasons. Firstly, the government having carried out development projects investing billions of Rupees

Editorial - Hostile hospitality of Tamil Nadu

South Asian nations take pride in being the most hospitable breed on earth and sometimes compete among each other for the brightest smile. Yet, the recent attacks against the Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu expose the hypocrisy of the hospitality practices of the Southern Indian state.

Doing what politics cannot

A growing number of sports persons and organisations have sought to intervene in conflict zones to encourage reconciliation between estranged communities.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO FIRST CITIZEN OF THE BOROUGH

Harrow is an ethnically diverse outer London borough in the northwest of the capital. It has the highest number of different faiths and religions of any local authority in England and Wales and over half the population is from a minority ethnic background.

How inclusive is Inclusive Growth?

Over the last few years ‘inclusive growth’ has become an increasingly dominant theme in development thinking and policies.

An Urgent need: the health of the differently-abled

Although there is some legislation for the protection of mentally retarded children below 18 years of age, there is no legislation or Safety Homes / Rehabilitation /Development Centres, provided by the State, for this category of persons after they reach 18 years of age.

The death of diplomacy

DIPLOMATS HAVE a gamut of tactics up their sleeves to get their job done. They flash charming smiles and chitchat amiably to cajole leaders into accepting their country’s demands

Editorial - The balancing act

United National Parliamentarian Lakshaman Kiriella recently challenged the ruling party to point out a single factory that was built by the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. If you keep aside the political rhetoric of this statement by MP Kiriella, it gives an insight to the Rajapakasa government’s economic policy.

South Africa’s Role?

If we were to count on the repeated denials issued by the Ministry of External Affairs during recent weeks, there would be no South African mediation effort in Sri Lanka to bring about a political settlement to the ethnic conflict. The official statements however suggest that the Sri Lankan government.........

When patience is not a virtue…

There is a saying that patience is a virtue. However, this saying cannot be applied to all situations.The Rajapaksa regime told the masses to be patient. It was during the war when the government increased prices of essential commodities and burdened the masses with more and more taxes.

The growing refugee crisis

THE STALEMATE in Syria can only mean the brewing refugee crisis could result in a regional humanitarian disaster. Over 1.2 million have been displaced so far with no signs of the wave of refugees flooding into Turkey, Jordan and other neighbouring countries ebbing any time soon.

Editorial - Inter-religious dialogue for unity in diversity

The continuing controversy over the animal sacrifices at the Munneswaran Temple has created religious tension though the temple priests at the request of the President have decided to put off the animal sacrifices because the hallowed Kapilavasthu Relics are in Sri Lanka.

Police powers policing the powers

The post-war ethnic discourse in Sri Lanka has often been interspersed with election campaigns of one kind or the other. It was so during much of the era of ‘Eelam War-IV’, but the battle bugles had suppressed the electoral loud-hailer. Today, poll campaigns have taken the place of those bugles

Story of killings of bin Laden and Prabhaharan: Contradictions and double standards

A firsthand account of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden contradicts previous official accounts and raises questions as to whether the terror mastermind presented a clear threat when SEALs first fired upon him.

A fair verdict

NEARLY FOUR years after terrorists went on a killing spree in Mumbai, the lone surviving gunman behind the attack has finally been awarded the death penalty by India’s Supreme Court.

Editorial - Going jumbo with a tiny purse

Compared to the rest of the countries in the world, the geographical entity of Sri Lanka may be called tiny. Yet, when it comes to rearing a bandwagon of spendthrifts in its higher echelons, there is nothing ‘tiny’ about the extravagance and wastage of public money the people are compelled to witness every day. 

Destruction under the guise of development

The Negombo lagoon’s mangroves which mitigated the great tsunami waves back in 2004 are now at the mercy of a development project. The mangroves in the Thaladuwa grama niladhari division in Negombo stretch for 36 acres. Eight of theses acres have been allocated to a development project

Sri Lanka’s Education Mafia

Undeniably something is wrong somewhere and that somewhere is our education. The stock exchange is supposed to be ruled by the mafia, perhaps even the sports arena, so too are present day politicos and it is no exaggeration to say that there is a mafia controlling the education of Sri Lanka.