Yahapalana promoters, vultures and patience

By about the end of the second year of the Yahapalana regime those voted for a change hung their heads in shame. They had already started thinking whether they had done the right thing. The much promised Executive Presidency wasn’t abolished and there was enough plundering of state wealth and robbing taking place.

To win over Working Committee majority UNP factions in a race against time Is Karu compromise candidate?

Further confusion added to the internecine feud of the United National Party (UNP) over presidential candidacy after its civil society allies floated the idea of fielding Speaker Karu Jayasuriya as the presidential candidate this week- that is in place of either Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe or Minister Sajith Premadasa.

ABOLITION: A bluff of presidential proportions

Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake has issued an interim order preventing protesting disabled soldiers from entering the Lotus Road and being anywhere close to the President’s and Prime Minister’s office.

The risks commuters take when travelling by bus

Tucked away on Page 4 of the September 11 Daily Mirror is an alarming if not shocking news item quoting Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne as saying that some 50 per cent of private bus drivers and conductors countrywide are addicted to narcotic drugs.

REBELS WITHOUT A CAUSE

Rebellion is very much part of our time, of one sort or another, for one reason or another. But it is certainly a cause for alarm to see those holding top positions in the Grand Old Party – once the most disciplined of all – disobeying rules, flouting discipline and taking the law into their hands for no worthy cause; their sole aim being to get the man of their choice nominated as presidential candidate.

Elections, Indian Ocean undercurrents and external dimension

As party infighting continues to dominate the political landscape, voters are still left guessing as to the nature of programmes the main contenders in the forthcoming presidential election hope to introduce if they win. This is with only a couple of months to go before the poll. The uncertainty comes against a backdrop where competing big powers are showing increased

When the Maha Sangha talks sense.... Making Karu the Candidate to abolish Executive Presidency

It is not every day that you hear some sense being talked by those who wear saffron robe; to the contrary what we are used to hearing from them is absolute nonsense and worse still, verbal material that incense already raging fires. In such a backdrop, it was quite refreshing and reassuring to hear some common sense and good counsel being talked by the Maha Sangha in the

Corruption rises above Lotus Tower?

While the fireworks were illuminating and banging the Colombo’s skies during the celebrations for official opening of the 350-metre high Lotus Tower, the tallest structure in South Asia, President Maithripala Sirisena dropped a bombshell by revealing the country in a live telecast a startling fraud that had allegedly taken place at the beginning of the construction of the tower.

Vision of our lawyers and the brilliance of our civil servants

Legislation is one of the most important instruments of government in organising society and protecting citizens. It determines amongst others the rights and responsibilities of individuals and authorities to whom the legislation applies.

SRI LANKA’S REALITIES!

In this resplendent isle, the day begins with the chanting of Pirith to invoke blessings and ends again with the chanting of Pirith to thank the deities for their blessings and guidance. Evening prayers are also recited, Bana (lectures) are delivered by various Monks in many of the Temples to inculcate the tenets of Buddhism; and, in addition Bhavana (meditation) classes are widely

Mid-Life stress or Mid-life crisis

Handling demanding, rebellious teenagers and balancing multiple roles as parent, spouse, son/daughter, son-in-law/daughter- in- law while holding on to a competitive career beset with never-ending challenges, all with deteriorating stamina are enough to make one exhausted for sure. Financial woes can only make matters worse. Mid-life, starting f

Karu: UNP’s best choice

The UNP’s all lose–no winners cold war over the Presidential candidacy seems to be heading to a saner end. Party heav

Afghanistan: An elusive object of desire since ancient times

Afghanistan, a link between South and Central Asia, has been coveted by external powers for its strategic location from the earliest times. This has led to endless invasions, leaving in their wake devastation and disruption of colossal proportions.

More than just her good karma

Sandya Salgado’s’Not Just My Good Karma’ is partly an autobiography and partly an account of a very different era in advertising in the country. Which of these I should be reviewing in this space, I don’t know. I haven’t met Sandya, I have only heard of her, but her prose affirms much of what others have said of her. Tempestuous, brash, frequently assertive, never really hostile, she has, to put it diplomatically, experience. If she says what she

Cyril Mathew revolted against Dudley in 1960s and JR in 80s : Can a Divided Party Rule a Nation?

As reported in Friday’s Daily Mirror,Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has met with a few party men loyal to him and stated last Wednesday, that he commanded majority support of the party’s Working Committee.

Rethinking Land and State with Hasbullah and Geiser

Why hasn’t there been a powerful peasant movement in Sri Lanka? Are the rural people governed by an ethnicised Sinhala state? Is political patronage the reason for changes in land use in the countryside?

is Our public service sector beyond redemption?

The national development of any country, if to be successful, requires three essential elements: First, honest, knowledgeable and committed political leaders. Second, a robust or thriving private sector and third....

World tourism day - EDITORIAL

Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27. This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted.

Where did Sajith go wrong?

Perhaps, politicians are exempt from compulsory retirement for a reason; maybe, years of experience compensates for progressively diminishing cerebral function. After all, Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamed came....

‘Emerging International Order in the Indian Ocean’

Although the smallest of the three major oceans, the Indian Ocean has been growing in geo-political significance. Asian countries accounted for more than 60 per cent of world economic growth last year.

Microfinance, a nightmare for the global south

The global hegemony of finance capital is based on burgeoning household debt accompanied by devastating dispossession. This is more evident in peripheral societies, where state investment in the rural economy....

Politicians remember, Democracy is all about people - EDITORIAL

With Sri Lanka preparing for a presidential election later this year, the United Nations tomorrow marks the International Day of Democracy and we need to reflect deeply on the vital importance of democracy with its values and transparent processes.

SLFP’S SURVIVOR Party’s announcement to enter fray and its desperate struggle for survival

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Maithripala Sirisena is the third major political party that has communicated to the National Elections Commission (NEC) that it would field its candidate at the forthcoming presidential poll.

Academic responsibility and students in IUSF crisis

While the upcoming presidential poll has left major and minor political parties in a dilemma in deciding their “winnable” candidate, the “price” of most tiny registered political parties have soared to some Rs. 5 million....

Japan has plans to remember JR - EDITORIAL

Japan making elaborate arrangements to mark the 113th birth anniversary of the late Sri Lanka President JR Jayewardene on September 16 (Monday) makes Sri Lankans reminisce the good times the islanders enjoyed under his regime.

Why we need good governance

With national security being touted as the most pressing issue in the upcoming presidential election campaign, good governance, an equally important issue, has virtually become a non-issue.

Role of lawmakers in SL refugee crisis

The present elections hype created by the three main political parties brings with it many promises, but little has been spoken about the issues bothering minority Tamils.

UNP’s internecine feud

When Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs Minister Sajith Premadasa sat down for talks on Tuesday night, the party members thought the quarrel over presidential candidacy would end raising positive prospects at the upcoming presidential elections. After talks that lasted for two hours, there was no final agreement on the

My Vote is for a Green President

No, not that ‘green’. That’s not what I meant. That said, this is not about a particular political party or a particular presidential hopeful. It is about policy that abandons the idiocy of economic planning that has put the entire country at risk. The entire country meaning the entire population and the full complement of natural resources, either opening it all to mindless plunder (by

Let’s together ensure a free and fair election

With the presidential election fast approaching crunch time, the Election Commission is not pulling any punches in ensuring that the country’s important election to be held this year, most likely towards the end of November, will be peaceful, free and fair. With this in mind the EC issued several directives to political parties, monitoring groups and the media including social