A nature loving president’s battle at home

President Maithripala Sirisena knows where to score points as a statesman. His efforts to preserve the environment back at home came in handy during his recent visit to Kenya where he was an invitee at the United Nations Environmental Assembly.

Principals and Teachers: Students are not a bargaining chip - EDITORIAL

This editorial was influenced by the statements made by the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin, the Ceylon Teachers Services Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe and.....

Reconcile this, baby!

There are words and terms that lose all meaning simply due to overuse. Sometimes, in fact, the words/terms take on meanings diametrically opposed to their original meaning. Language, friends, as we all know and often forget, is political.

Only one flower bud can bloom this time Mahinda knows that

The Wickremesinghe led Government is sitting pretty after having passed the second reading of Budget 2019, but it has to emerge victorious at the Budget vote, scheduled for April 5.

As racial, religious intolerance raise their ugly head…….

As the United Nations gear up to celebrate the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination, or Anti-racism Day, as it is commonly and conveniently referred to, on March 21-- that is tomorrow -- the entire civilized world finds itself reeling from the gruesome mass murder that took place at two mosques in

Be an island unto yourself

Monks, live with yourself as your island, yourself as your refuge, with nothing else as your refuge. Live with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, with nothing else as your refuge – Buddha in Cakkavatti Sutta

Should we reform the Buddhism we practice?

As an avowed admirer of the profoundness of the science and philosophy, Gautama Buddha gifted to mankind, I was overjoyed to read that Theravada Tripitaka was to be recognised as a World Heritage. But my elation was short-lived as I realised, contrary to misleading media reports, it is yet to happen. A ceremony is due to

700 children die every day due to lack of safe water

One of the year’s most important days, the United Nations World Water day will be marked all over the world on Friday with this year’s theme being, ‘Leaving no one behind’- water for all. It may be somewhat of a cliché to say that little drops of water make the mighty oceans and great rivers. But in this era when the world is known to be running short of safe water supplies and there is a danger of the super po

UN Human Rights Council:mere formality, get over with it

For years, foreign policy mandarins and their political bosses in this country lived and re-lived a lie that Sri Lanka’s destiny would be decided in Geneva. They were joined by the acolytes of the Tamil Tiger terrorists, their financers and paid and otherwise propagandists, who made the gullible in the diaspora part ways with their hard currencies, thinking that they were winning the war that the Tigers lost in May 2009. That debate had lost its

Sexual violence in SL’s armed conflict NEED TO TACKLE STIGMA Associated with victim-survivors

2019 marks the first decade after the end of the war. Along the road to peace-building and reconciliation that we have tread since 2009, it is crucial that we recognize and acknowledge issues related to the conflict and address them promptly. A grim reality of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict was that girls and women were subjected to different acts of sexual violence by members of the army, government officials, and relatives and even married partners

China’s systematic approach to poverty reduction paid off

Addressing delegates from Gansu Province at the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on March 14 ,China’s President, Xi Jinping, pointed out that time was running out for fulfilling the lofty pledge to rid China of “extreme poverty” by 2020. “There should be no retreat until a complete victory

Expedient Politics Toy with Executive Presidency

When politicians do something to advance themselves politically, something that offers an easy way to attain a goal or result, but not necessarily an ethical solution, it is called expedient Politics. We use expedient when we want to hint....

Stand together against rhetoric of hate

As the horrific details of Friday’s Christchurch shootings began to emerge, my mind went into throwback mode to January 1, 2018. My friends and I were on a long-planned and eagerly anticipated visit to New Zealand....

Terrorism, hate speech and religious bigotry - EDITORIAL

On Friday, March 16, New Zealand, known best for its sheep and wide-open country sides, literally exploded onto the world stage when a white supremacist gunman coldly and deliberately opened fire on Muslims at prayer in two mosques.

Budgets in Uncertain Times

With Provincial, Presidential and Parliamentary elections looming over the next year, these are uncertain times. With the Budget for 2019 itself delayed by four months due to instability within the Government and political crisis late last year....

Getting priorities on human rights right in Syria

The long war is almost over in Syria. Tyranny has won. Violence has won. Most have suffered, many unspeakably. For too long all sides were stalemated by each others’ brutality. Now the government of Bashar Al-Assad has come out on top, aided by Russia and Iran What to do next? Tomorrow EU member states hold their third annual Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region. It’s time for some radical re-thinking. Well-wishing for g

TUITION: A BANE OR A SPUR?

Can good teaching in schools outwit the tutor’s hold on students of today? Ravi Nagahawatte’s thoughtful article motivated me to make these observations on WHY tuition is so popular and why so many students (even very bright ones) seem to need this special help. There are many reasons why children seek tuition and it is not always because there is a poor teacher in school. I can speak with a certain authority on behalf of private and internation

HIDDEN AGENDAS IN CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

Constitutional reforms to whose benefit? Will it provide any consolation to the national economic crisis? Was there a demand from the masses for a new Constitution? You may find answers to these questions once you peruse this article. Article 3 of Chapter 1 of the Constitution states that “in the Republic of Sri Lanka, sovereignty is in the people and it is inalienable.” Article 4 of same chapter states that “sovereignty of people shall be exer

New Zealand, terrorism and obstinate memory - EDITORIAL

There’s been an incident. That’s the polite way of putting it. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described it as a ‘terrorist attack’ while Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said one of the suspected attackers, who was born in Australia was ‘an extremist right-wing violent terrorist’.

UNHRC turns into just a ritual

Finally, President Maithripala Sirisena and the UNF government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have averted a ridiculous situation that was to arise at the 40th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by agreeing to send a unified group to Geneva this month.

Budget 2019: Fantasies for short term debate

What is a collection of fantasies called? Fantasy is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “….Imagining impossible or improbable things”. But what is a ‘collection’ of such imaginations called?

The TNA and Budget 2019 - EDITORIAL

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) complains bitterly that the Budget allocations for the North and East aren’t sufficient. However the TNA offered its support to the Government a few days ago when the second reading of the Budget was made in Parliament.

A cesspit of injustice with a hardliner leading it

For more than 100 years, South Africa’s non-whites had been subjected to inhuman laws known as the Pass Laws. Their beginning was in the mid-18th century. The natives were treated as slaves and required to carry in their person a metal badge to enter mines and work areas.

When you have a bone to pick….

‘Pay dirt!’ I am sure this term or an equivalent would have escaped the mouths of certain people when the much ‘celebrated’ (yes!) mass graves in Mannar were discovered. Of course ‘pay dirt’ technically refers to a site where the ground contains ore in sufficient quantity to be profitably extracted. As a metaphor, ‘striking pay dirt’ or having ‘hit pay dirt’ is about achieving

People told to brace themselves during warm weather

Sri Lanka’s weather is tropical and climatically the island is divided into two monsoonal seasons which bring rain to the west and south-west coasts from May to September; and the east coast and northern region between October and February.

UPFA riddled with differences on the Budget Parties brace for Presidential Elections

Initially, it was anticipated that the Government would have a hard time in roping in the MPs to get its 2019 Budget passed in Parliament. If anyone expected such a fiasco during the Budget vote for the Government, it was well with reason because the ruling the United National Party (UNP) was commanding the support of 107 MPs on its roll, falling short of six more to cross the

They left their Footprints on the sands of time

On March 8, Sri Lanka joined other countries the world over to mark International Women’s Day (IWD). First celebrated more than a century ago, it is a day set apart to remind us to make a genuine and positive difference for women.

Sri Lankan politics Lawmaking in a multicultural society

Sri Lankan Muslims’ links with India

Like their compatriots, the Sinhalese and the Tamils, Sri Lankan Muslims also came from India. Although their links with the Indian subcontinent had weakened over the years, Sri Lankan Muslims do retain one strand in the relationship, the Tamil language.

Ranil Wickremesinghe: Performance vs promises

The writer’s article titled President Maithripala Sirisena - Performance Versus Promises appeared in two newspapers on 16 February 2019. There was one inadvertent error in that article that required correction, namely, that it was “Sri Lanka Telecom” and not the “Telecommunications Regulatory Authority” to which President Maithripala Sirisena (MS) had appointed one of his