Towards forming a disciplined Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka at present is more in a holiday mood than in a mood to celebrate. People have to struggle to find freshly baked bread or buns these days because most bakeries are closed. Some inquiries made revealed a fact that’s interesting. Workers in bakeries have not returned from villages after going there to vote. A tuk tuk driver was heard telling a customer that these bakery

India, China and Pakistan woo new SL Govt.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his address to the nation after being sworn in on Monday, articulated that his foreign policy would be neutral, and Sri Lanka would not get entangled in any super power rivalry in the region.

Racism the Loud Claimsand Small Print

Scratch a Sinhalese and you find a racist,’ I’ve heard my Tamil friends say. In jest of course. ‘Scratch a Tamil and you find an Eelamist,’ I’ve heard my Sinhalese friends say. In jest of course. ‘Scratch a Muslim and you find a Jihadists,’ I’ve heard people say. In jest of course. Perhaps it is not a laughing matter. Rivers have sources, trees have roots and perceptions

New President assures a Sri Lanka for all Sri Lankans

Today’s column joins millions of fellow Sri Lankans in congratulating and conveying our good wishes to Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his unprecedented election victory obtaining 52.25 per cent or 6,924,255 of the total votes polled. A non-politician elected President for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history; he took oaths before

STEEL AND VELVET

When STEEL AND VELVET became the subject of my article, I was transported back to what I had read about the incomparable former US President Abraham Lincoln, the Poet Carl Sandburg said of him and I quote from ‘OUR DAILY BREAD’: “Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who holds in his heart and mind the

Toxic sludge opens after election

The election is over; done with. At least for the time being that is. In the run-up to the election, so much attention was paid on the threat posed by fake news and disinformation.

Tolerance is not indulgence but a commitment to unity in diversity

With the resounding victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the presidential election conducted on November 16, much attention is now focused on what will happen or what should happen in Parliament. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s office in a statement says it has been holding consultations with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and

Prez-PM need to put heads to gether - EDITORIAL

The country must thank, apart from the National Elections Commission (NEC), the outgoing President Maithripala Sirisena who handled the Defence and Law and Order portfolios for maintaining peace during the month-long Presidential election campaign. And also it is pertinent to commend the leaders of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), especially President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa for ensuring the continuity of

The new president’s duty by the nation

In Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was sworn in as the 7th executive president of Sri Lanka yesterday, there is an efficient administrator of policy that the country had been lacking during the past five years. In his large election mandate that was embossed with over twenty per cent lead in the southern electorate, there is a vast reservoir of political capital, that the new president can put into good use to introduce necessary s

Maithripala Sirisena’s troubled Presidency Showed unsuitability of co-habitation

Maithripala Sirisena’s Presidency, which ended with the swearing-in of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President on Monday, will go down in history as one of the most controversial, unstable and nonfunctional in the history of Sri Lanka.

What does it take to be a good President?

The people have spoken and their decision is sovereign. We all have to respect it. I congratulate His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his impressive electoral victory and wish him success and good luck throughout his career. Since I am a senior citizen, I have had the privilege of casting my vote for all Presidential elections since 1982. Within these 37 years I have realised that every President who held the reins had his

Stunning Victory! Expression of Gratitude or Protest Vote?

One of the most radical political victories ever scored in this country will, we are certain, receive the widest acceptance. The will of the people as indicated by the ballot box at this election leaves....

Kattankudy Muslim leaders: hold varied views on Muslim marriage law reforms Challenges are Daunting

The presence of gun-toting-soldiers, stationed at selected points, brings back wartime memories to the otherwise bustling township of Kattankudy in the south of Batticaloa.

President Gotabaya - EDITORIAL

Today begins the first day of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s tenure as the Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. It is obviously the hope of all those who voted for him and indeed....

Northern Vote and National Engagement

With Gotabaya Rajapaska claiming victory in the presidential elections, how does one understand the Northern vote? The Northern electoral districts of Jaffna and Vanni with just around 5% of the population of the country.....

Future President must prioritise MMDA reforms: MPLRAG

Sri Lanka is home to 1,967,523 Muslims. Muslims of Sri Lanka are of various ethnic groups: Sri Lankan Moors, Coastal Indian Moors, Malays, Memons and Bohras. The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act....

Sri Lanka - Home of the unfulfilled

In Sri Lanka, everyone wants to become a doctor or an engineer. On the other hand, according to official statistics, most end up in the arts faculties. Experts tell us that this is a problem, and they prescribe solutions.

Learning curves inside prisons - EDITORIAL

A term in prison might look hopeless or gloomy, but inmates who are released often vouch for the fact that there were lessons learned behind the ‘bars’.

Are We Insane?

Albert Einstein irrevocably changed the face of physics. One of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, he achieved fame not only as a physicist, but also as a philosopher and a humanitarian.

Who are WE after next Sunday?

We are the most important Citizens right now. All Candidates need us to elect the next President of Sri Lanka for the eighth time tomorrow Saturday, 16 November, 2019. We are therefore treated with respect and are spoken of as educated, intelligent and as rational decision-makers.

one- time superman of the Indian Elections Commission is gone

The iconic former Indian Chief Election Commissioner Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan popularly known as T.N. Seshan, who was feared by almost all politicians, including Prime Ministers in India, passed away last Sunday at the age of 86, at his Chennai residence.

The Maithripala Sirisena PrEsidency

The final Cabinet Meeting chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena is reported to have ended with pleasantries. His tenure, however, was all but pleasant. For all the positive talk about bipartisanship, it was obvious that from Day One, it would be a challenging term.

Let no one distort the will of the sovereign people

Tomorrow’s presidential election is a D-day. It is the day on which we should feel that we are the true kings and queens of this county as we exercise our franchise to elect our chief servant.

Flip the script, Citizen (a note to myself) !

Do citizens go where they will or are they led? Do they lead or follow? Do they have a free choice or is choice framed in ways that disqualify certain journeys and destinations? Karl Marx, in ‘The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte,’ said ‘“Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under

Together, we can make tomorrow better than today - Editorial

Sri Lanka’s day of reckoning or the day of destiny as it were, is only a touching distance away. The fever-pitch and keenly-contested, presidential election campaign which began in earnest soon after the close of nominations on October 7 will culminate on Election Day, November 16.

November 16; Lanka’s date with destiny

The 2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election will be the 8th, scheduled to be held on November 16, 2019. Incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena’s term of office will end on January 9, 2020. It is also the first presidential election in the country where no incumbent President, Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition is contesting.

Election Diary Message from Northerners nudges lawmakers

The Tamil community in Sri Lanka has played a crucial role in the country’s politics despite Sinhala hardliners not willing to give members of this community much hope and opportunities.

THE CHILDREN OF JANUARY 2015

The country came together in a historic political revolution in January 2015, not altogether unlike the revolution of 1956. That revolution was not only a political revolution, but more a social revolution, hence it was a sustainable one. In contrast the January 2015 revolution was purely a political change that the country embraced, dethroning a seemingly unassailable President.

Sajith for the forgotten man; Gota for a forgettable family cabal

Only two more days to go. Presidential election 2019 is here. The candidates have behaved fairly decently, except perhaps the political charlatans who are supposed to represent the Rajapaksas, Mahinda included, have resorted to their usual uncouth statements, sometimes bordering on outright falsehoods and other times dwelling in the twilight zone of the delusional.

CHANGE -IS IT POSSIBLE?

Change is necessary. It is vital but are our politicians geared to effect the necessary changes? Are they capable or more correctly, do they recognise that CHANGE IS VITAL? Change is important from the country’s point of view, for its very survival. In the throes of pre-election fever, it is natural for us citizens to ask who will bring the CHANGE our country desperately needs.