RELIGION AND POLITICS ARE STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

We have recently seen religious dignitaries, both Buddhist and Christian, vociferously voicing their views on politics. As a mere observer, I think the time they have devoted to this would have been far better spent in the guiding of their flock.

Notes from an election Gotabaya versus Sajith

I wonder how many people remember ‘Always Breakdown.’ It was probably the first political satire TV series in Sri Lanka, long before ‘Kathura,’ ‘Ethuma,’ and ‘And Company.’ The political figures....

An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind - EDITORIAL

The April 21 Easter Sunday Islamic State suicide bombing catastrophe turning into a blessing through the consolidation of an all-religions solidarity alliance, there was special significance for Sri Lanka in Thursday’s....

Reconciling with the MMDA

Reconciliation is not only for victims of war. It is a concept which should reach out to every citizen of Sri Lanka equally. Consultations that were carried out countrywide showed that while equity and fairness are....

Picking the “Worst” from the “Worst Presidential Candidate list”

This caption for the article may have strong disagreements, but I believe this presidential poll is just that. Run up to the presidential polls seems to rope in “nonentities”, though most who clamour for a “strong” Sinhala Buddhist president...

Has Gota renounced his US citizenship?

Out of the main four possible contenders for the presidency two have already confirmed their entry into the fray. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which can be identified as the real Sri Lanka Freedom Party....

World takes on an officer who’s a gentleman - EDITORIAL

The appointment of Shavendra Silva as the new Army Commander has brought the focus of the world’s super powers on an island which is still to recover from the mental wounds caused by a civil war which concluded in 2009.

In this era of demagogues, democracy on death row

Is democracy a cause worth dying for? This question assumes greater relevance amid fears that democracy is dying, as populists with little democratic credentials are elected to office even in iconic democracies.

UNP committing collective Hara-kiri

The United National Party (UNP) used to be a disciplined party. When party members, stalwarts or others, went off course from the strict code of discipline which it imposed upon itself, they were punished, without exception. That was the code of conduct under which J R Jayewardene built up the party from 1973 onwards. In fact, it was R Premadasa -- one of the first offenders

Let us exhume, ladies and gentlemen!

When the koha calls we know it is avurudu. When certain names are mentioned over and over again, we know elections are around the corner. Yes, Thajudeen, Lasantha and Ekneligoda.Throw in Keith Noyahr and Upali Tennekoon if you like. And of course white vans. The first two were killed. The third disappeared. Keith and Upali were attacked; Keith in fact

Dalada Perahera: Harbinger of communal harmony

In the wake of Britain’s colonization of Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon came to be popular the world over as the producer of the world-famous Ceylon Tea. But from time immemorial, Sri Lanka was at various times described as Taprobane, Thambapane and prompted by its shape, as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean or the Tea Drop Island and the land of the Esala Perahera,

SLPP faces challenge to sustain momentum

Well ahead of the presidential elections, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) announced its candidate for the Presidency. By announcing the name of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the party created a momentum. But, there is still time for electioneering. Therefore, the party is now grappling with the challenge of sustaining the momentum till the election is declared next month.

Lessons Sajith can learn from Ranil

Minister Sajith Premadasa is experiencing days where everyone is loving him. Interestingly President Maithripala Sirisena and opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa have had encouraging words for him. Recently Rajapaksa had asked Sajith whether he should congratulate him now or wait till the United National Party (UNP) names him as the election candidate. Sajith in a

Alternative foreign policy for South Asia

The Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on two catholic churches and an evangelical church and two other five-star hotels have paralysed all possible imagination and thinking as to why these innocent people were made victims for some hidden conspiracy.

FACING REAL ISSUES

Is bond scam the only one of its kind our country encounters today? Let’s take a pre-election walk; do you hear the promises made, the ones they never intend to keep? Oh yes, they even condescend to shake your hand, but that’s not all, they also come to your homes no matter how poor you are, because you’ve got what they want – that all-important vote! Once that is

Run-up to Presidential Polls Demise of Parties and policies

With Gotabhaya Rajapaksa being declared the SLPP candidate for the Presidential Election and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, from an alliance led by the JVP also nominated, the Presidential race has started to warm up. With the tug of war taking place within the UNP-led configuration to decide whether it is Ranil, Karu or Sajith who would be their candidate, the suspense that is

Don’t deprive the eligible of exercising their franchise - EDITORIAL

Every person who had attained the age of 18 is qualified to be an elector (voter) if he/she is a citizen of Sri Lanka. The exceptions are the situations where a citizen “is under any law in force in Sri Lanka found or declared to be of unsound mind” or “is serving or has during the period of seven years immediately preceding completed serving of a sentence of imprisonment for a

Ladakh Union Territory; is it only a strategic move?

Multiple realities can co-exist. They often do. Two weeks after the scrapping of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution the ensuing debate is presenting the world many layers of the reality existing in the Jammu-Kashmir region.

Gotabhaya presidency and the trappings of American citizenship

Whether the former strongman Defence Secretary and youngest of the Rajapaksa brothers, Gotabhaya could be the next president of Sri Lanka is now being narrowed down to a technicality of the procedure governing the renunciation of the American citizenship. The quarterly publication of the US Inlan

Chinese way of curbing Islamic radicalism

Like what Sri Lanka did with the 12,000 surrendered LTTE cadres after winning Eelam War IV in 2009, China is re-educating and rehabilitating suspected and confirmed Islamic radicals from the troubled Muslim-majority Xinjiang province.

Economy in the first ten years

The period from 1947 to 1956 in Sri Lanka’s history is, more often than not, presented as an Eden before its fall. Part of the reason for this was the way in which independence was, and was not, secured. If there was no equivalent here for the mass scale pogroms which greeted India when it secured freedom from Great Britain, it’s because freedom was largely granted, and not won, in SriLanka. In

Family Bandysm, Crossovers are Typical and Traditional

Kalutara district MP Kumara Welgama in an interview with ‘The Hindu’ said former President Mahinda Rajapaksa should not field a sibling as the next Presidential candidate. He said family bandysm is not appropriate for the country and MR...

Ragging needs a fresh viewpoint

Rituals of ragging can be gruesome, sometimes deadly. Since 1975, there has been 16 ragging-related deaths and according to UGC, over 2000 students drop out every year in order to stay away from ragging.

Brexit and transformation of coloniser into colonial - EDITORIAL

Britain is on the verge of leaving the European Union. Or is it? On June 23, 2016 at the United Kingdom’s European Union membership referendum, also known as the ‘EU...

The Left, Democratic Space and Presidential Elections

As we approach another cycle of elections, it is democracy that is at stake. And by democracy I do not only mean electoral democracy with the periodic moments of voting, even though that is also important.

Rajapaksa redux and a democracy in peril

Sri Lanka is again at crossroads with the presidential election due before December 9. The political drive since the newly-formed Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which swept the local government polls in February 2018

Decline of the fifth precept

I had been invited to the home of one of Colombo’s most wealthy and distinguished families for a dana (alms-giving). They told me they were particularly interested in having a suduhamdru visit and that the man of the house had a deep interest in Dhamma.

Terrorism: Turning calamities into blessings - EDITORIAL

With Sri Lanka still suffering from the after effects of the 30-year war against LTTE terrorists and the April 21 Easter Sunday bombings by terrorists linked to the Islamic State, Wednesday, August 21 will be an important day....

Unconditional basic income: Small step but a quantum leap

Human well-being is in crisis: whether we look at the way men are these days or how women fit into the current paradigm, how children survive, how the old are treated and the way the LGBTI community....

Election promises and what must be changed

We have read much about what potential election candidates and Pohottuwa party’s Gotabaya Rajapaksa have had to say these days. Now its the turn for these presidential hopefuls to read the minds of voters and check out their needs. Given that Sri Lanka is debt-ridden, the country’s citizens are concerned about lawmakers spending lavishly on elections propaganda. Right now we see many posters