Indo-Pacific Command a threat to peace in Indian Ocean

On May 31st this year, at a solemn ceremony in Hawaii, the United States military renamed its Pacific Command as the “Indo-Pacific Command”. The move, though significant in many respects, has not generated as much debate as it should have in the South Asian region. 

From IRDP to Gamperaliya The one big lie Why rural development programmes always fail

We have had very healthy debates in the past and ended up late in the day in high spirits. We’ve wrestled with very many issues often with disagreements and learnt more than we thought we knew.

Chinese financing to MR: Govt should down play

The recent story by New York Times that China Harbour Engineering Company financed the 2015 election campaign of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa has caused ripples in politics. That they are only ripples and not tidal waves may imply a degree of political maturity of the government, unseen when it came to power in 2015 and suspended most of Chinese funded projects. 

Vijayakala overshadows NY Times revelation

No sooner had the political debate generated by the New York Times article regarding campaign financing of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa died down than State Minister of Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran threw a bombshell in Jaffna on Monday, that took the South by storm.   

Parliamentary democracy or dictators: the choice is yours

With the Untied States yesterday celebrating or possibly commemorating the 241st anniversary of its independence at a time when the dangerously unpredictable President Donald Trump appears to show a liking for dictators in countries such as Russia, China and Turkey, the United Nations last Saturday marked the International Day of Parliamentarism. 

Poser for the self-righteous: Will yahapalanists back a Tamil or A Muslim presidential candidate?

Yahapalanists, i.e. those advocating yahapalanaya or good governance, as per their own articulation of the term, are for equality, justice, truth, transparency, accountability and other such lovely things. Again, as per their rhetoric, they abhor injustice, corruption, nepotism, graft, misuse of state resources and abuse of authority, among other things.   

PC polls under mixed system: Think twice

Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has reportedly been pressing the government to hold elections to provincial councils that already stand dissolved due to the expiration of their terms. 

WILL OUR PROBLEMS EVER END?

As I said in my last article, the things that are happening around us today could justifiably be classified as ‘Man’s Inhumanity to Man’!!! Though this disaster does not seem to impact our financial situation, it does impact our lives, because it directly affects the lives of all of us, particularly our children!!!

Allegation as bad as proof

“Arbitrary power is the natural object of temptation to a Prince, as wine and women to a young fellow, or a bribe to a judge, or avarice to old age...”~Jonathan Swift 

SRI LANKAN ALT-RIGHT PROJECT: MARCHING TOWARDS A ‘REICH’?

‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ was the title of the best Rod Stewart album. The landmark Viyath Maga event at the Shangri-La Hotel opened with the image in the very first slide, which showed Gotabaya Rajapaksa with only one other person in the frame, leaning over the shoulder of the seated GR.

FIFA and more: Why 2018 is a victory year for Putin

Russia’s victory over 2010 world champion Spain on Sunday was only icing on the cake for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. With the much-hyped Donald Trump and Putin meeting now scheduled for July 16 in Helsinki, the day after the curtain closer of FIFA, the Russian leader will meet his US counterpart as one who has regained the lost glory of Russia as a sporting nation.   

Maldivian Presidential election is no longer a one horse race

The opposition parties in the Maldives are rallying round Ibrahim Mohamed Solih alias “Ibu,” who was elected last Saturday as the candidate of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for the September 23 Presidential election. 

Bandula Nanayakkarawasam : The boy who loved to read

There was a boy once. He loved to read. He also loved to write. He loved languages and the study of languages, right down to music, literature, indeed the arts in general. But he had chosen Science for 

USA sought to bully Lanka during last phase of Eelam war in 2009

This essay is an effort to unravel the whispers about an American military team’s secret mission to Sri Lanka  at the height of the SL armed forces successful squeeze on the LTTE in 2009. 

Democracy needs a free media - EDITORIAL

The media are often described as the watchdog of freedom, and many journalists all over the world have lived up to the high moral values and standards....

Northern Fishermen Respond to Demand for Unconditional Release of TN Vessels

Small scale fishery community leaders from Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mannar held a press conference in Jaffna last week (Wednesday) in response to news....

Using Coal for power generation (PUCSL’S VERSION): “many countries do away with coal”

The debate between the power regulator Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the  powerful Engineers Union of the power monopoly CEB on power generation....

When Economists Blame Culture

After almost four decades of liberalisation around the world, economic development continues to fail. These failures have been characterised by increased national debt...

Predicament of the Legal Profession

There has been a growing concern about the deterioration of the professional standards of the legal community in many countries.

Empowering entrepreneurs to embrace our birthright

Last Friday, the Coalition Government launched one of its most enterprising schemes which it believes will be the centrepiece or showpiece of its sustainable, eco-friendly development strategy for the coming months and hopefully years.   

Thursday’s EU summit must conquer misleading immigration policies

Navel-gazing can sometimes be a good thing. But, as the self-help books and articles advocate, looking at one’s achievements to date to boost one’s morale is always a good step forward before attempting to improve the mind and spirit. 

Put these criminals behind bars!

The recent spate of killings by members of the underworld has made the Government accept that the situation must be checked before it gets out of hand. This was confirmed by reports related to the recent Defence Council Meeting-chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena- during which there was a huge showing of concern regarding the ‘underworld raising its  ugly head’.   

Erdogan’s victory: Regaining Turkey’s Ottoman power and heritage

A 2018 political phenomenon: First it was Xi Jinping, then Vladimir Putin and now Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It appears that they are all here to stay in politics for a long time. According to some development theorists, virtual one-party rule with popular support is good for growth as it ensures policy stability, provided the leaders have a vision. 

Dictators Others’ and Ours

The advice was given by Ven. Vendaruwe Upali Thera, the Anunayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter to former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to become a Hitler, in order to build the country, would not have become so controversial and a widely read topic in newspapers, if there weren’t a debate over the latter’s possible candidacy at the next Presidential Election.

Private or SOE?

“Having stabilized the economy of the country over the past couple of years, Sri Lanka’s key priority right now is attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs)”- Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickrama at the Sri Lanka Investment and Business Conclave 2018.

DESPERATE PEOPLE AND THE MIGRANT CRISIS

Today there are strident calls from the US -- the richest and most powerful country in the world -- to stop the entry of ‘migrants’ into the US. The present administration in that country even going to the extent of separating children from their parents in an effort to scare migrants-to-be from entering the country.  

So who wants Provincial Councils now?

The terms of the North-Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils expired in September 2017 and those of the Central, Northern and North-Western Provincial Councils will end this September. As of now, there’s no sign that the Government is interested in holding these elections.   

No torture under any circumstances

Yesterday was the United Nations Day in support of victims of torture with the world body saying that torture seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being. According to the UN, despite the strict prohibition of torture under international law, torture persists in all regions of the world. 

NEVER-ENDING DILEMMAS!!!

Today, we live in a world on the brink of annihilation. A ‘world gone mad’ with power-hungry people, disasters both natural and augmented, ferries sinking, volcanic hazards, floods, earthquakes, drugs, flights catching fire or airplanes going down, and additionally a record of 68.5 million people displaced worldwide. In a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organised greed always defeats disorganised democ

Thus Speaks the Judiciary

Two very recent court decisions deserve attention. One is the prison sentence imposed on Galabodaaththe Gnanasara Thera for criminally threatening a litigant who had sought recourse through courts to find her missing husband, a veteran journalist. The second involves the granting of Rs.400,000 by the Supreme Court, as the cost of appeal to the wife of a smoker who died of lung cancer.