Should Bhikkhus play an active role in politics?

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided not to accommodate any member of the Buddhist clergy in the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) nomination lists for the upcoming General Elections, according to Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.

Re-framing debate around Women, Peace and Security

When a peace deal is struck between warring factions, it is widely understood that amity has been achieved. However, when key sections of society—in most cases all women—are kept from the negotiating table,

Playing politics with Coronavirus - EDITORIAL

The spread of Coronavirus worldwide has now topped 100,000. In February 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated the disease COVID-19 According to latest statistics over 100,000 persons

Big Match UNP vs UNP

The tragedy with the UNP isn’t that it is divided; the tragedy is that it seems to be in denial of the fact that it is divided. With the same breath with which he sends dispatches and holds press conferences consoling the minds of UNP voters and reassuring them of unity,

Free education or free-market education?

Government moves to liberalise higher education through setting up ‘free education zones’ and ‘charter universities’ have sparked concern among academics who fear State universities could succumb to market demands and harm free education overall. Concerned by these free-market trends, university academics of ‘Forum for Free Education’ recently held a panel discussion at the Colombo University to review the government’s new higher education polici

Answers to two key objections

On 26th February 2020, the Government formally announced that it was withdrawing from the co-sponsorship of UNHRC resolution 30/1 of October 2015. As someone who advocated for withdrawal from the time the resolution was first adopted, I applaud the Government’s bold stance. However, a number of critics notably Mr. Sajith Premadasathe Leader of the Opposition and Mr. Mangala Samaraweera the Foreign Minister in 2015 have presented what at first gla

I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights

With the mission of the Me Too movement and other gender equality crusades gathering momentum, Sri Lanka joins the United Nations in celebrating International Women’s Day tomorrow with the aim of achieving gender equality within ten years.

Monks and their roots in politics - EDITORIAL

It’s intriguing to know that high ranked Buddhist priests themselves have called for the stoppage of saffron robed monks from getting involved in politics.

Afghan peace deal: Triumph for Trump and Taliban

Last Saturday, a significant world event took place in the Qatari capital of Doha. Shaking hands and exchanging documents were the United States’ special envoy and a senior Taliban leader.

Increasing judicial strength need of the hour : Kodagoda

Addressing the ceremonial welcome in both Sinhala and English languages, newly-appointed Supreme Court Justice Yasantha Kodagoda PC said there was a compelling need to increase the number of judges in all courts along with the allocation....

UNP’s unceasing suicidal efforts…

Two issues prevented media discourse on the proceedings of the 43rd regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) where Sri Lanka, on February 26, withdrew its co-sponsorship for last year’s resolution on the country.

The price of neglect

Sri Lankans are looking forward to two things next month; the Sinhala-Tamil New Year and the General Elections. Hence we can say that the wait till then amounts to hope; hope that something positive can be witnessed when these

Impasse over symbol stifles Sajith faction

The impasse over the symbol has compounded internal squabbling of the United National Party(UNP) beyond redemption. The party led by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe refuses to budge an inch from its stance

2nd Anniversary of establishment of OMP The missing and the miserable

The establishment of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) on February 28, 2018, with a broad mandate to investigate the fate of the missing and disappeared and protect the rights of their relatives, represented an explicit

UNHRC Resolution 30/1: Entrance and Exit

After years of huffing and puffing by the then joint opposition -- against the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution 30/1 since its adoption on October 1, 2015 -- now in government in its current format as the Sri Lanka

The elephant is not in the room

There are rooms, there are discussions and there are elephants in certain rooms whose existence is denied. Sometimes people do say ‘hey, there’s an elephant here, we can’t ignore it.’ Once that’s said, you can’t ignore it or

Elections shouldn’t be mere events for politicians

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has dissolved the Parliament at midnight on Monday, at the first moment he was constitutionally authorised to do so. He has fixed April 25 for the next Parliament election and the week between March 12 and 19 for tendering nominations by political parties and independent groups.

Whither reconciliation in the light of withdrawal from Resolution 30/1?

Sri Lanka withdrew from the 2015 UN Resolution it co sponsored with US and eleven other countries. The Foreign Minister in his speech informing the international community of the withdrawal referred to the fact that some of the commitments made through the Resolution could not be achieved through the constitutional framework currently existent in Sri Lanka and that there were issues affecting the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka.

Sons of political stalwarts face challenges

The political scene in Sri Lanka is filled with stories of dynastic politics and we are witnessing the trend continuing, but with a small twist.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS!

We are the last generation that did not wear a helmet when we rode our bikes or went roller skating. We played in the street without fear. We drank water from the water fountains and taps without any worry and never from plastic bottles. It was not a problem to share our toys with others. We had no reinforced steel security doors or medicine cupboards full of bottles with childproof safety caps.

Happiness Index by Rajarata University

uantifying happiness has often been seen as a futile task by psychologists given the elusive nature of the concept of ‘happiness’. Positive psychologists view happiness with two theoretical perspectives - hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic happiness is largely about pleasure and therefore is viewed as being subjective. The hedonic happiness theorists view that an increase in ‘positive’ events and lowering of ‘negative or painful’ events lead to happ

The Millennium Challenge Grant and the Government’s political calculations

The government last week announced that it would not be signing the Millennium Challenge Cooperation (MCC) Agreement, a US $ 480 million development grant from America that was negotiated by its predecessors of Yahapalanaya. The government’s decision might make a cynical political logic as electoral calculations loom over everything else and the country is set to go for an all- important parliamentary election in the latter part of April. (Parlia

A Muslim leader’s bid to build a secular State: The saga of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country where the State religion is Islam. But “secularism” is embedded in the preamble of its constitution, thanks to incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. However, Hasina had only revived a constitutional principle enunciated by her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who founded Bangladesh after a long and hard struggle in 1971.

Challenges facing the new government

Whenever a new President is elected, hope rises among the populace, that the new leader would find a new path to prosperity and a brighter future. This has often happened, only to be disappointed later.

Sajith Emulates JR, RW, RK or Perceived Reality?

Sajith Premadasa has a birth right to claim Colombo Central his home base; it was in Kehelwatte, the heart of Colombo Central, where his father and grandfather were nurtured.

IMF: Inhuman at micro and macro levels

Hiruni, a fisherman’s wife, who has to manage her household (of five people) with an income of about 2.5 euros (500 Sri Lankan rupees) per day, is heavily indebted. In order to increase her household income, she borrowed 50,000 rupees.....

The US is forced out of Afghanistan - EDITORIAL

The US invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 over Taliban’s refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden -the architect of the 9/11 attack to the US- and to dismantle al-Qaeda and its bases in Afghanistan. The invasion aimed at removing....

Debt in Times of Economic Crisis

Debt relief is now a call at all levels of state and society in Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister recently requested a three-year moratorium on debt repayments to India, the Government earlier announced....

Arrest, detention and release of ‘Tiger Twelve’ in Malaysia

In October last year, twelve Malaysian nationals of Tamil origin were arrested by the Malaysian Police over suspected links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and alleged involvement in terrorist activity.

Sustaining all life on Earth

In today’s digital, capitalist and globalized world, wildlife is symbolically in the wilderness with even the forest’s kings -- the elephants and the rhinoceroses -- being way down in the priority list for most countries though maintaining the delicate biodiversity is vital if we are to win the battle against climate change.