Will we ever learn?

Some time ago, kids were going to be given free TABS; why could they have not assessed what they really needed in each school district and ensured that they got it ?Moving from global warming and energy crisis to school crisis, rising prices, mega sales, train crisis, medical, environmental, salaries, the country is riddled in CRISES!!! The world over it is worse, natural and

Age of viral optics: #Wall_Art_In_Sri_Lanka

In a new documentary on her life, Imelda Marcos, the lady with the thousand pairs of shoes comes up with a gem. She is quite deadpan when she says “perception is real, truth is not.” This is not wisdom, this is worldly experience that is talking here.

Shall we have forests in Colombo ? - Editorial

Dubai has its own indoor rainforest now. India is creating mini-forests in all big cities following the ‘Akira Miyawaki’ method while Brazil, the home of Amazon forest, is doing the same. China which is creating forests in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai at a rate is in the process of building a fully-fledged forest city. Once completed, the Liuzhou Forest City will have all its

Posters, paintings leave room for expression of ideas

The wall painting trend that has emerged after the Presidential Election among the youth who had got together reportedly through social media is a unique phenomenon. Youth get together in their respective localities and clean public walls in towns and cities, reportedly collect funds from friends and businessmen in the area and draw murals on them, giving a pleasant look not only to the walls but also to the entire vicinity. Most of these w

Street art vs patriotic arts Downside of in your face ‘patriotism’

After Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s assuming of the office of presidency, a wave of street art sprung up and spread across the country like a bushfire. The official version is that it was spontaneous civic-minded volunteerism by disparate groups of local youth who felt inspired by the unfolding political ‘change’. Mr Rajapaksa’s graduation to civilian affairs after the end of the war was via the secretary of the urban development ministry. A city beaut

waiting for the tsunami Some thoughts on Somaratne Dissanayake

I know a friend who can’t wait to watch Tsunami because, as the trailer makes it clear, it’s a movie with a strong anti-racist message. Exactly 18 years ago when Saroja came out, I would have been eight: younger than he was by more than a half. Both films, of course, were made by Somaratne Dissanayake, who now seems to have come back full circle to his favourite theme: racism. As of today he may well

Lanka and Japan to enhance ties based on past goodwill

Japan, which was the single largest source of development funds for Sri Lanka before the muscular entry of China following the end of the civil war in 2009, is now keen to re-establish its presence in the island to contain China’s inroads.

Who Burnt One of South Asia’s Biggest Libraries?

Retired DIG Edward Gunewardene [EG]’s speculative allegations sans provable facts on the Jaffna library inferno in June 1981, stirred up a hornets’ nest six years ago when he accused the LTTE rebels of the crime.

TEACHER TRAINING IS VITAL

Educational Reform is on every educator’s mind and already we can see that this reform is taking place. While sensible results are being sought may I say that one area has not been much mentioned....

A tale of two elections - EDITORIAL

The general elections in the UK are now over and done with. Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party whose platform was Brexit now, swept the board so-to-say, seizing seats from the Labour party in its traditional heartlands.

Democracy, Ideology and the Radical Right

The Right wing slide in global politics continues with the recent parliamentary election in the UK. The victory of Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a major political shift in the UK – with the hope of a Left come back....

Switzerland connection in LTTE fundraising activity

Recent events have focused the media spotlight on the Federal Republic of Switzerland known officially as the Swiss Confederation. The landlocked European nation is respected highly on a global scale due to its policy of armed neutrality. Despite the impeccable credentials of Switzerland, the country is being viewed negatively by influential sections of the Sri Lankan people. There is suspicion that an orchestrated campaign is being pursued by ce

Crisis of the new left and the new left intelligentsia

Why is the left in Sri Lanka so weak? From a distance, it doesn’t look so brittle; every other day we see and hear of protests, demonstrations, and rallies. Indeed if protests and rallies indicated strength and solidarity,

Don’t throw the baby with the bathtub

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had stated in an interview with “The Hindu” during his visit to India between November 29 and 30 that if his party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna(SLPP) got a two-thirds majority in parliament at the forthcoming parliamentary elections he would take action to scrap the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which has created a mess in governance, and much more so in party politics.

13 A Just a cudgel in India’s hand

It was India that first sent its External Affairs Minister to Sri Lanka within 24 hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s President on November 18.

New Rajapaksa government in “power” crisis

“Since 2011, over 700 renewable energy projects totalling 2,400 MW, had been stalled due to opposition in the CEB” read a news report, quoting sources at a meeting the new Minister of Power and Energy Mahinda Amaraweera....

A pilgrimage that sets aside differences - EDITORIAL

The beginning of the annual pilgrimage to Sri Pada, also known as Adam’s Peak, makes us reflect on the cultural harmony that exists when pilgrims make the journey together as one.

Mother Earth is drowning: We need leaders like Greta Thunberg

In 1992, when the United Nations convened its first world environment summit, Third World cynics questioned whether it was a ruse by rich nations to maintain their economic dominance over the developing world.

Opposition Leader post can spell Luck or doom for Sajith

In a way, it is a significant achievement for Mr Premadasa who was reeling from the electoral defeat at the November 16 Presidential Election. Now, he is in charge of the Parliamentary affairs of the party. He will be entitled to different perks and authority in and outside Parliament. In Parliament, he is shouldered with the responsibility to keep the new Government under

Curbing ‘executive’ enthusiasm

The arrival of Sajith Premadasa

After days of feet-dragging, indecision and procrastination, the United National Party (UNP), at its parliamentary group meeting on Thursday, December 6, unanimously appointed the party’s former deputy leader Sajith Premadasa as the Leader of the Opposition having heeded to the choice of a majority of its MPs. The party, which was in government till the November 16

Building Solidarity

“This is no time to talk of hedges and fields, or the beauties of any country. Sadness and fear and hate, how they well up in the heart and mind!!!” Delving into Alan Paton’s ‘Cry the Beloved Country’ we certainly do have to cry for our beloved country, the ignominy, the blatant disregard for truth and justice, the dauntless power struggle, the huge sums of money donated for the

President’s Call for efficient Public Service: Can it be done?

Many promises by the yahapalana mandate, in relation to an independent and vibrant public service were ignored, forgotten or forsaken. The promise of bringing to justice those officials who, with their former political masters, had engaged in humongous robbing of national wealth not only escaped justice but became inner circle of the officialdom of the government, making a

Navigating the minefield that is ‘Foreign Relations’

The detractors of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime (2004-2015) are fond of saying that the then President had an abyssmal record when it came to international relations. If such things are to be judged by approbation and contempt from high seats of global power, then they are not off the mark.

Why Gota’s new face is likeable

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Indian tour concluded on a positive note. This was despite Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko staging a protest opposing the Sri Lankan president’s visit to India.

Youth standing up for Human Rights:let them be the decision-makers

Though Sri Lanka is again having problems with the international community over alleged human rights violations, none could deny it is a vital right. That is why some 200 countries will today hold various ceremonies to mark International Human Rights Day (IHRD). The UN marks different issues such as International Anti-Corruption Day yesterday, but analysts say the most important days are the International Human Rights Day and the International Wo

Abduction saga of Swiss embassy employee

The story line of the alleged abduction of a local staffer of the Swiss embassy in Colombo is fast degenerating into a tragicomedy with a bad plot. Everyone, even the Swiss who went to town with the high profile abduction claim, agrees some facts do not add. Those who have a bit more nuanced understanding of the local context could well have spotted red flags long before.

When microfinance amounts to a bagful of myths

Hardly a day has passed during the past few years without the media referring to microfinance negatively. The issue has now reached such heights where politicians of all different parties seem to have made election promises to relieve the recipients of microfinance credit from their burdens. Would writing off the loans of the poor r

Mahinda puts lid on re-negotiating H’tota port deal

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has put a lid on the controversy over President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s remark that his Government will re-negotiate the 2017 agreement with China over Hambantota port to gain greater control over it and reduce the lease period, which is now 99 years. With the Prime Minister’s statement and formal assertions from the Chinese side, renegotiating the port deal is ruled out. Mahinda told the Chinese news

Swiss Embassy ‘abduction’ case, media manipulation and Geneva - March 2020

In what must surely be one of the strangest games of diplomatic brinkmanship to be played out in this country, the Swiss Embassy in Colombo demands an investigation into an alleged ‘abduction’ of one of its local employees.