WHAT INFLAMED BIGOTRY? – A RESPONSE

I refer to the above titled article in the dailymirror of June 1 by Uditha Devapriya (UD) and respond to some of the views expressed therein.

UNP IS AT IT AGAIN: CHANGING PARTY STRUCTURES, RULES AFTER ELECTORAL DEFEAT

Every election they lose the second tier leadership, have a morning after the night before reaction and run to the media to make excuses and rationalise the reason for the loss. 

LIBERAL REFORM PROGRAMME OF 2015: WHERE ARE WE TODAY ?

All the signs are that the 2015 liberal political program that was spearheaded by a broad coalition of social and political forces cutting across various divisions in...

Listen to the Ocean: “Stop destroying me”

Listen to the Ocean, echoes of a million seashells. Forever it’s in motion, moving to a rhythmic, unwritten music that’s played eternally. Immortal songs such as this need to be remembered and replayed for World Ocean Day, which the international community marked, yesterday.   

Let’s make it a blessing for the country

Legal Provisions available for Sri Lankan Women, involved in political space    In terms of the Article 12(2), Chapter III on fundamental rights in the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka, the State pledges to ensure that no citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of disability, race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion and occupation.   

Convicting the US of war crimes

There is a clock ticking towards July 20. That is when the International Criminal Court for War Crimes goes into its summer recess. The question is will it be able in the six weeks that remain start proceedings against the US for alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan?  

Social media put on red alert

Social media users in the island are once again under pressure with the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) warning that there could be a total ban on the use of social networking websites if they are used irresponsibly.  

A Government that itself is the Opposition

President Maithripala Sirisena has been making startling revelations since lately. He expressed hopes in mid-May that the GDP would rise by about 2 or 3 per cent if the rain continued, while the people living on the banks of several rivers in the country were anxious about a devastating flood.  

Argentina’s noble goal for sports boycott of Israel

A golden boot  award for Argentina for displaying moral courage and cancelling its final warm-up match against Israel in Jerusalem ahead of June 16 World Cup in Moscow, in what could be construed as chastisement of Israel’s criminal policies in Gaza. 

Politicians wearing mantles of Saints?. Ain’t it quaint?

There have been a spate of politicians recently marching in as Saints, trying to cover their past sins with a saintly cover, going so far as to court ethnic minority communities who were harassed by them, even in their time of prayer, during their tenure of office. 

Towards a nation of singers and taxi drivers

A friend of mine pointed out not too long ago that nearly every Sri Lankan parent wants his or her child to be a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, an accountant, etc.

It’s the development, stupid

What is the most important issue or issues in Sri Lanka today? Going by mainstream and peripheral online media, one is the hype over a list of 118 MPs supposed to have received money from Perpetual Treasuries, now speculated to be around 164.

More on ‘Constituting Buddhism in 1972’ Who erred; Sirimavo or Colvin?

I thank Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama for his educative and comprehensive observations on May 25, in response to my article of May 22 titled, ‘From Dominion Status to Sovereign Sri Lanka’appeared on Republican Day. Dr. Jayawickrama says,  

The tragi-comedy of Sri Lankan politics

In times of a national crisis the ideal is for all parties to sit down and talk. Though it was finally the war that brought an end to the protracted war here in Sri Lanka even the LTTE from time to time agreed to sit down with the Sri Lankan government. Call it premeditated still it did.  

Yahapalanaya: Congenital flaws and their discontents

The burning political question of the day appears to be who and how many Parliamentarians received money from Perpetual Treasuries Ltd (PTL) for their respective election campaigns. In a political season marked by scandalous memory-loss some have claimed that they didn’t always know who was depositing money in their accounts. 

MS and the 100-day-programme

Who would have thought President Maithripala Sirisena was not in agreement with the 100-day-programme marketed by those who toiled to see him as the President following the 2015 election? This has been the case, according to the President himself, who broke the news last week.   

‘IN THIS INTERREGNUM’ THINKING SRI LANKA’S FUTURE

“This is a sign of just how managerial and technocratic we have become; so much so that mediocre utilitarianism confuses itself with professionalism. And all of this is in place of what could be called humanism.”— John Ralston Saul, ‘Voltaire’s Bastards’ 

Promise of ‘15 Presidential Election shattered…

We are fast approaching the end of the first term of this Presidency. The lofty ideals expressed so abundantly on the Maithripala Sirisena/UNP platform have come out empty. The looming end result of efforts to establish Yahapalanaya seems not only self-destructive, it looks thoroughly unworthy to a set of politicians, 

THE BURNING QUESTION IS WHY???

One of our young Ministers has stated that if the Government had acted similar to Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad, those accused of fraud and corruption would have been punished by now!!! No one has ever said a TRUER WORD!!! This column keeps asking why these decadent people have not been brought to book, but we get no answers!!! No one seems to care, neither is anyone concerned!!!

Start doing green deeds today to beat plastic pollution

In socio-economic, religious or other dimensions, today marks one of the world’s most important days -World Environment Day, because the battle against global warming or climate change, is a matter of life or death for 

How resourceful Sri Lanka became a ‘teardrop ’

There is an old English saying “Fools Learn by Mistake, Wise from Others”.   

The need for regulating election financing

Perpetual Treasuries (PT) allegedly pulled off probably the largest ever financial scam in the country. But, now it is becoming increasingly clear, that the disgraced bond trader did not just scam billions of rupees out of public coffers, but it had also engaged in a well calibrated effort of state capture.   

The Middle East in chaos and the Pivot to Asia - EDITORIAL

In the aftermath of World War II, the weakened colonial powers were forced by circumstances to give up physical control of their colonies. It was therefore necessary to devise new strategies to continue controlling the resources of these areas....

Gay Pride in SL: A moment to accept, acknowledge and CELEBRATE LGBTIQ LIVES

As the month of June approaches, countries all over the world, be it conservative or liberal, celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, now celebrated as Gay PRIDE or LGBT PRIDE worldwide.

Trump’s blockade is to provoke regime change – Cuban Ambassador

Cuba’s National Assembly elected Miguel Diaz-Canel as the country’s President in April. Diaz-Canel followed Raul Castro who served two consecutive terms from 2008 when the health of his brother Fidel was in decline.

Legal avenue to exploitative Microfinance in Sri Lanka

Microfinance provides a gateway for financial institutions to reach and exploit the earnings of poorer sections of society by charging high interest rates. The unregulated and exorbitant interest rates have attracted many finance companies to enter the microfinance market.

Eastern Development and Co-existence

In this column, my articles have drawn attention to the failure of reconstruction and the escalating problem of indebtedness in the post-war North. My understanding of the economy of the East is limited to insights gained through periodic visits....

They need to be handled not systematically but immediately

In the Third World people go into government to enrich themselves. When patriotism and service have been sacrificed for bottomless appetite for personal avarice and indulgences, loyalty within the power bubble counts immeasurably. The Rajapaksa government managed to elevate that loyalty to a new 

FTAs and Malik: Reminiscing on Tea and Rugby with Shawallians

  Shaw Wallace & Hedges Ltd [now defunct] the more than 100-year old multinational company was mainly engaged in the tea industry and trading. The writer joined this conglomerate in the late 1960s to work at their plush Kollupitiya head office where more than half the ‘top men’ were Brits who were on a phased programme of desertion to their homeland disgruntled over ‘adverse effects’ of the ‘56 transformatio

Ex-PM Tony Blair should be prosecuted over Iraq

President Barack Obama was not a war criminal despite US involvement in wars in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and against ISIS. His predecessor George W. Bush was. Apart from anything else, his administration tortured captives. Was the former British minister, Tony Blair, the closest ally of Bush also a war criminal? And should he now be prosecuted and tried for war crimes?