Surviving on two meals, when even one meal is uncertain

“To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant” – Alcott Bronson Lest we forget to remember, we begin today’s column by once again highlighting the fact that those most affected by Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic and political crises are those in no way responsible for causing it. In that case who is?

The need for foolproof mechanisms of governance

Whatever happens from here onwards, Sri Lanka as a country is going to go through a few years, at least, of hardship, shortages, scarcity.....

Grounding of flight and SL-Russia relations - EDITORIAL

On June 2, 2022, Russian Aeroflot flight A330-343 was detained in Colombo by aviation authorities, at the request of Irish Aircraft .....

Nobody is to take the blame

Sri Lankan Finance Ministers have been presenting annual budgets with an ever-expanding deficit for the past several decades. Past or present governments neither took it seriously nor were serious measures taken to reverse the situation.

PROS AND CONS OF LIFTING BAN ON OIL PALM CULTIVATION Experts differ over environmental issues

On June 2, the Palm Oil Industry Association of Sri Lanka (POIASL) appealed to the government to allow the cultivation of oil palm to boost the economy, save forex and increase employment. But the Sri Lankan scientific community may oppose it as it did in a report in 2018. The POIASL told the gov

Govt. used Sinhala-Buddhist shield to its maximum benefit Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thera

Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thera who currently heads the Walpola Rahula Institute for Buddhist Studies has been addressing issues related to social justice and harmony while promoting an inclusive and plural society. Having gathered a wealth of experience during the height of war for instance and having encountered various incidents d

Presidential pardons and Courts of Justice - EDITORIAL

‘Presidential pardons’ are once again in the news. Earlier this month the Supreme Court of the country overturned the presidential pardon on a particular former Member of Parliament. The verdict....

Ranil W. and Rajapaksas

On that fateful April day this whirlwind of peaceful protests began, I sensed a profound change in people. When the Galle Face green became the epicentre of protests with its highly creative.....

Left with Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Sri Lanka is being ripped apart by an economic crisis shaking our very existential foundations. Incomes for the large majority of our people making the informal sector are collapsing. And people.....

Will 21A pave way for a 22A?

A debate on another controversial issue over adding one more patch to the arbitrarily tinkered Constitution. G.G. Ponnambalam, Queen’s Counsel, the senior defence lawyer at Trial-at-Bar....

“Que Sera Sera”: Doris Day’s Song of Cheerful Fatalism

The first part of my article on Ranil’s return was published in the “Daily Mirror”of May 21st 2022. In that I made a brief reference to the song “Que Sera Sera” sung by the American singer com actress Doris Day. This was in the context of speculation about Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political future. This is what I wrote then – “However as Doris Day sang in ‘The man who knew too much’ movie- “Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be.”

Is Aragalaya dying down?

A common agreement has been developed among all those who are politically conscious, at least for some extent that an immediate economic solution has to be found for the current economic mess that has engulfed the country while the political crisis which is a direct upshot of the economic mess has also to be addressed politically.

Climate crisis: A do-or-die battle

Tomorrow the United Nations marks World Environment Day 2022 and the issues, precepts and principles are so important that we should effectively and actively participate in the battle against climate change. Literally it is a do-or-die crisis because if it is not tackled on a worldwide scale, the generations to come will be forced to breathe poison and suffer the physical and mental consequences. Beautiful and wonderful nature itself will be dist

We had no option but to choose Ranil - Dr. Wijeydasa Rajapakshe

The recent appointment of a new Prime Minister and a new Cabinet has drawn mixed reactions. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Cabinet have been accused of attempting.....

Is Sri Lanka forced to wake up to child deaths? - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka has been in the news for some time as a nation where one often hears of child murders. The latest victim was a nine-year-old child from Atalugama in Bandaragama. Sexual.....

If we do not take interest in political affairs, then we’re doomed to live under rule of rogues

If ‘con’ is the antonym of ‘pro’, then constitution is the antonym of prostitution. So goes the joke. But in Sri Lanka, since the introduction of the 1978 constitution, constitution-making.....

Govt. loses its way amid shortages and queues

We begin this column with an excerpt from a statement made by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to India’s NDTV at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Raising Kachchativu issue was both needless and ill-timed

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister rendered a disservice to India and its relations with Sri Lanka by raising the Kachchativu issue with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public function in Chennai on May 27.

Agro-forestry and easing Lanka’s food crisis - EDITORIAL

Not so long ago, our country - a nation of 22 million people - had achieved near self-sufficiency in food production. However bad.....

Why are journalists feeling exhausted and betrayed?

Is public anger against the media rising? There are some indications that protesters have reacted angrily and at times violently.....

21 A should be a genuine move

As we editorially commented a few weeks ago, the reintroduction of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in the form of 21st Amendment as the solution to the current political impasse, it would not definitely be a solution to the immediate economic issu

Unpopular opinion: Gota pushed the failing economy down the precipice Perhaps someone had to break it to fix it

Some Parliamentarians are calling for the appointment of a commission of inquiry to hold those responsible for the current economic crisis. The worst-ever economic crisis since independence has already created cascading effects of looming hunger, shortage

Our home grown democracy begins now

May 9, year 2022, when mobs loyal to outgoing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa made the biggest political blunder of recent times by attacking the peaceful protest site of GotaGoGama, Galle Face....

Statement marking 5o days of Gotagogama struggle: Establishing democracy;the need of the hour

A Statement drafted by the Artists of the People’s Movement or Jana Aragalaye Kalakaruwo reiterating their demands on the occasion of the 50th consecutive day of protests....

Racism has to be proscribed - Kumar Gunaratnam

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) is a party that, along with others, spearheads the public struggle against the Government. Its General Secretary Kumar Gunaratnam takes questions from Daily Mirror regarding.....

No Intl. Economic Fix for Democracy in SL

Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the regime of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on the ropes. On May 9, the supporters of his brother and the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa....

Rising costs in Lanka and friends in need - EDITORIAL

Foreign loans built highways, airports, cricket stadiums and convention halls. Unfortunately these investments have not brought in expected returns in foreign currency. So the country is straddled....

How Ranil Wickremesinghe became Prime Minister again

The first part of the article titled “Ranil Returns: Remarkable Resilience of Premier Wickremesinghe”

2022: Year of Hunger and Conflict?

As Sri Lanka is reeling from the shock and awe of a three-pronged crisis compromising the very core of its Political, Energy and Food security.

There are billions of galaxies and planets but only one world

With Sri Lanka’s worst ever ‘Aragalaya’ or public revolt continuing for its 50th day with large crowds gathering at the GotaGoGama or Galle Face Green to demand the resignation of the Rajapaksa Government and the abolition of the executive presidential system,