Urban Wetlands: Prized land, not wasteland

Yesterday was World Wetlands Day and Sri Lanka, as we celebrate Independence, needs to give priority to this issue with this year’s theme being Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future. 

Who stole the anti-corruption drive?

A whole week was spent or wasted for a debate on the Parliamentary debate over the reports of Presidential Commissions on the controversial Central Bank bond tractions between 2015 and 2016 and serious frauds committed during the previous regime.

If the US and Turkey clash, gates of hell may open further in Middle East

The tension between the United States and Turkey strangely did not find mention in Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday, though the events on the ground are as worrisome as the North Korean missile-and-nuclear issue is.

Much to celebrate on RTI

Amidst the Government’s Independence Day events and excitement over next week’s elections to341 local councils, quiet and gradual steps in bringing about a better standard of governance have gone almost unnoticed during the previous months.

70 years with the ‘filthy rich’

This Blue-Green coalition government will go on stage at Galle Face Green this Sunday to celebrate 70 years of Independence from British colonial rule. 

Reflecting on Silent Revolutions What’s in store for Rainbow Revolution of 2015…?

The idea that Sinhala and Tamil shall both be given official language status after independence was agreed among political leaders until the eruption of language controversy in 1955.

70 years of Independence We need to move from confrontation to compromise

It’s now 70 decades since the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ broke free from the bondage of colonial rule. Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), which was subjected to one of the longest periods of foreign occupation from 1505 to 1948, had a very smooth transition to the democratic parliamentary system. 

‘Independence’ and the need to be like Keppetipola

In 2002 when the United National Party (UNP) was briefly in power there were plans to celebrate, yes ‘celebrate’ (!) the 500th anniversary of the Portuguese arrival in the island. It was as though that party had no notion whatsoever about about the relevant history.   

Let’s make some Independence Day resolutions

As we begin February today, what we remember most is Independence Day on February 4 and it is more significant this year because it is the 70th anniversary. In addition we are amid an intensified campaign for the February 10 elections to 341 Municipal, Urban councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas. We hope the results will help bring about more political freedom and democracy and sustainable development to carry us towards a peaceful, just and all-inclusi

FORESTS AND US

Sri Lanka’s forest cover is estimated to be about 27% of the land area. It was three times this extent a few decades back. The Forest Department was one of the first to be established by the British and is a hundred years old. The dwindling forest cover is a constant lament among Environmentalists, 

Why my vote is for Ranil’s host?

With another election on the cards, the daggers are drawn with accusations going to and fro, hither and thither. The former ruler who suffers from selective amnesia about his past record is at it again, playing to the gallery, waving both arms and shouting himself hoarse. Attempts are also being made to blame the PM for the recent disgraceful behaviour in Parliament. This is, as is usual with the JO and others who do this, just another slanderous

FAST & FURIOUS: THE POPULIST ‘POHOTTUWA’ PHENOMENON

The UNP Establishment has just raised the stakes. It is proclaiming from every platform that if it wins the upcoming local government election it will form a UNP government perhaps with TNA and SLMC participation,

Compromise and consensus good for Democracy

Through consultation, compromise and consensus – key factors for democracy and public accountability – Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced yesterday that a special session of Parliament would be held on February 6 to hold the widely-awaited debate on two bombshell reports.

Reconciliation A mandate by the People for the People

The events of 2015 set out a path of reform to strengthen our democracy and institutions, entrench respect for human rights and the rule of law. We saw pledges made to take the essential steps needed to learn from our past such that we could ensure that future generations of Sri Lankans of all

Bond Scam Report President’s trump card against UNP? But did he act prematurely?

The Bond-scam Report is the trump card any politician would like to have against his opponents. In a wildly chaotic political scenario, the Bond-scam Report was released by its authors, not to the public or Parliament, but to President Maithripala Sirisena. In rushing to make political capital out of a

Will bond debate impact on election results?

Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has expressed concern over Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s request to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to convene Parliament on February 8 to debate the Presidential Commission reports on the controversial bond transactions between 2015 and 2016 and the serious frauds or corruption that had taken place mainly during the previous regime.   

Post-release; Padmaavat triggers new issues

Controversy seems to be relentlessly dogging the Bollywood magnum opus Padmaavat.  It was released on January 25, after a titanic struggle against a two-month-long politically-backed campaign marked by violence, persistent calls for a ban, threats and intimidation of the most horrific kind.   

Govt. Bonds, what the people should know

The Sri Lankan Local Government elections are getting closer and the hot topic for many participating major political parties is the “Irregularities that had taken place at the Central Bank when auctioning Government Bonds”. Almost every Sri Lankan is talking about the alleged Bond fraud. The Opposition has deployed a strategy to pin the responsibility of the alleged fraud on the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe because he had appo

Conversing Climate Change

“It’s surprising, but people are interested in Climate Change” a volunteer said as I made my way through crowds at the entrance of Hall De Galle where Lord David Puttnam is delivering a lecture on Climate Change as part of the Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2018. The volunteer’s amazement is imaginable as the hall brims with excited film and literature lovers, young and old, eager to listen to what the veteran British fil

Sri Lanka’s eye crisis on thin ice - EDITORIAL

While a balanced and country-first insight is vital for the people to make the correct verdict at the February 10th Elections to Local Councils, physical eye....

Alcohol and Brain: The Science behind getting drunk

We all know that when people drink alcohol they behave in a certain way. Either we have seen this or have experienced it ourselves. Unfortunately, we hardly explore...

Who plays to the gallery?

No sooner than later there will be a Sri Lankan version to the book “Fire and Fury” which has sold millions of copies in USA. When you read and....

SL-Singapore FTA comes with Govt’s ‘Look East’ policy: What does it mean?

Last week saw back-to-back visits to Sri Lanka by two South East Asian leaders, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong and Indonesia’s President...

Kataragama shooting: No just society if police behave like this - EDITORIAL

The Kataragama shooting is one of the latest black marks in the history of the Sri Lanka police. Armed police or military shooting at unarmed civilians in Sri Lanka is not something new, though the frequency has declined since....

Arming against China

Last week, the American Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis, declared a new era: “There has been a return of great power competition -- great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of US security”. In the new national....

PM confident Unity Govt. will continue - EDITORIAL

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed confidence that the two major parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), will continue their National Unity or consensus government....

Wildlife Conservation Department: Should act in a humane manner

It is now more than a month since it was reported that the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) is making efforts to capture a leopard that had attacked several people at an estate in Hatton and that it was....

President’s words cannot be trusted fully - JO MP Ranjith Zoysa

MP Ranjith Zoysa, who was stripped of his post as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) organizer for the Rakwana electorate in the Ratnapura district, speaks about the current political status of the country and mayhem in Parliament....

‘We should instill some discipline into local administration’

Public Administration Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara in an interview with the Daily Mirror spoke about the current political situation in the country in the run up to the Local Government Elections. He also responded to....

President’s Catch-22

President Maithripala Sirisena has been making, for the past few months serious statements that could imperil the so-called Yahapalanaya Government or the National Unity Government, as those statements have been....