Budget for IMF with Fiscal Waterboarding

Last week in Colombo might have appeared eventful. An Interim Budget was announced for the last four months of the year, a Staff Level agreement was reached with the International Monetary Fund....

Gota’s legacy and the ecological damage: This disaster is environmental as well as economic

In a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, a woman survivor of the Holocaust is having coffee at a roadside café many years after the war when she sees Adolf Hitler crossing the street. Terrified....

Pop Singer A. E. Manoharan Flopped as a Film Actor

Blessed are those Sri Lankans who have lived in different parts of the country, travelled widely within its borders and interacted with all people cutting across ethnic and religious barriers during times of peace and tranquillity in the past. Those who have had such broad experiences unsullied by narrow sectarianism know that the Island is truly “God’s own country” populated by friendly, good-natured people.

Trade unions’ dilemma over IMF programme

The government’s move to restructure state-owned enterprises (SOEs) such as SriLankan Airlines, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has irked the trade unions in those institutions.

Peace: Let us remember we belong to each other

In Sri Lanka, racism and racial riots have often created crises. The first riots against the Tamil-speaking people took place in 1958 and thereafter several times, the worst being in 1983.

The political legacy of Gorbachev: The death of balance of power

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, died on Tuesday at the age of 91 in a Moscow hospital, without confirming or....

Reflecting on the words ‘work or depart’ - Editorial

State employees in general need to lift their performance as workers. This is the general thinking of people who visit state....

Legal Implications of the recent Protests

The protests that started in mid-March and culminated in the storming of the President’s House and Presidential Secretariat on....

In remembrance of Mikhail Gorbachev

On the evening of August 30 this year, Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last President of the Soviet Union passed away. It marked the end of an era and the demise of a man of great integrity.

Julie Chung and fire hoses of falsehoods

US Ambassador Julie Chung was spot on. A few days ago, she pointed out, correctly, that ‘fake news - and fake tweets - are a real problem.

Devastating economic crisis and the interim budget - EDITORIAL

Yesterday President Ranil Wickremesinghe submitted his government’s interim budget to parliament. It comes at a time of desperation.....

Children, the most vulnerable group today

In a community survey conducted by a TV station over the weekend, a girl of about five years old, was heard saying that she has been served with an egg by her mother only on the day her father brings home his salary. This heart-wrenchin

Can Lankans make politicians pay the cost of economic ruin?

Sri Lanka ranks 102 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s corruption perception index. However, in terms of grand corruption, or the corruption at the highest level, and capable of distorting entire national policy, it rivals African kleptocracies

Need to reform PTA ahead of UNHRC session

The demand in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the repeal of Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and its replacement with a law consistent with international norms has been persistent. In the September 2022 session of the council, it is likely to get top billing, given the recent events related to the civil disturbances in the i

Will Asia go the way of Ukraine in Europe? - EDITORIAL

Europe considers itself to be among ‘the most civilized nations in the world’. Yet, here we are in the 21st century witnessing death....

Fascists, neo fascists, and SL’s future

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is everyone’s problem, and hostility to his presidency has been mounting from day one. He didn’t help.....

Appapillai Amirthalingam From Enfant Terrible to Elder Statesman

Friday August 26th was the 95th birth anniversary of well-known Sri Lankan Tamil political leader and one-time leader of the opposition Appapillai Amirthalingam.

Democracy: people must choose well and wisely

In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and the unprecedented public uprising against the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa or the socio-economic and political crisis,

Sri Lankans migrating to greener pastures

The commonwealth games have come to an end with several members of the Sri Lankan team gone missing which had made a mockery of the Sri Lanka points table as Gold - 0, Silver -1, Bronze-3, Missing-10, Found-2, bringing much embarrassment to the country.

The place for law in a country obsessed WITH peace and religion - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is a country which begins the day with Buddhist hymns being aired on all televisions early in the morning. When....

Ukraine war, Sri Lanka and IMF prescriptions

While an International Monetary Fund delegation is in Sri Lanka to hold further talks on a staff-level agreement, a preliminary step....

The Elephant in the Room

During a recent speech to the audience at an economics seminar, President Ranil Wickremesinghe suggested that the IMF bailout will require a restructuring of domestic debt, referring to Treasury Bonds and US Dollar-denominated Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDBs).

Plugging loopholes in Sri Lanka’s maritime security architecture

The recent Sri Lanka-India-China triangular controversy over the docking of the Chinese research vessel Yuan Wang 5 at Hambantota port, once again underscores the need to have a Sri Lankan National Maritime Strategy, a functioning National Security Council (NSC) staffed by experts, and the appointment of a National Security Advisor (NSA).

Free health-care, debt restructuring and subsidy cuts

As far back as 340–368 AD, King Buddhadasa of Anuradhapura - himself a practicing Ayurvedic physician - pioneered the building of many hospitals in the country. He set up a healthcare system with one hospital for ten villages which were funded by tax on the revenue from fields of the villages.

Beware the Neddas!

The Aragalaya brought to the fore an interesting class of people, small in numbers but certainly effective, at least in terms of delivering the deliverables for which their bosses reward them one way or another. All countries have had such people, Sri Lanka included. Given the circumstances of their current manifestation they could be called ‘NEDdas.’

Of blushing buttocks and freedom to express

I grew up in a non-conformist household. We were encouraged to question the norm if we felt it should be and never ever made....

Restructuring the domestic debt is a red line - EDITORIAL

In an overview of our country’s economy the World Bank reports ‘Sri Lanka faces unsustainable debt and significant balance.....

Importance of looking at the bigger picture

The Police Department had sought assistance from the public to identify a group of people whom the police said had forcibly entered the President’s House, the Temple Trees and the Prime Minister’s official residence. This raises the questions whether the authorities are planning to arrest all those who stormed these two state buildings as well

Sri Lanka’s lost people’s revolution

If anyone is looking for a crash course as to how hard it is to push for genuine democratic reforms from the bottom up, the recent Sri Lankan experience offers one. It is an even more poignant lesson for it once looked like a fairy tale success. Spontaneous night-time vigils held by the citizens, enraged by the rising cost of living and shortage of basic sup

IMF facility and future burdens - EDITORIAL

A delegation from the IMF is expected to visit our country between August 24 and 31 in response to Lanka’s application for a facility from the institution. At present....