President Maithripala Sirisena’s reported suggestion at the Cabinet meeting last week that former army commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka be given the task of running the essential services uninterrupted cannot be a joke, as suggested by La

?Transitional Justice refers to the set of judicial and non-judicial measures that are implemented in countries which are coming out of a period of armed conflict, or state repression, and are in transition to a state of peace and good governance.

Confusion reigned within the government regarding the proposal to appoint Minister Sarath Fonseka, the one-time tough, battle-hardened Army Commander to deal with the emergency situation arising due to trade union actions. It evoked a provocative r

At May Day rallies there were resolutions to provide a better deal for workers in the coming months and years. Essentially the human dignity of workers and their families need to be restored. Doles and acts of charity are good but we need to go to

May Day (in Sri Lanka) is not about workers. It’s about show. This time it was about challenges thrown and accepted, one-upmanship and bragging rights.

It has been more than two weeks since a section of the Meethotamulla garbage dump had collapsed, snuffing out the lives of many....

The pile of garbage was as tall as a 14-storey building. Its collapse was crushing, no pun intended. Two weeks ago the death toll....

The 2016 media freedom report card makes for uncomfortable reading.    Impunity for those who kill....

It was very clear that when the Mahinda Rajapaksa led UPFA faction of the joint opposition demanded a parliamentary debate....

A strategic response looks to the causes of ragging rather than its symptoms. It is based on the answer to the question: why do....

Cabinet Spokesman and Minister, Rajitha Seneratne earlier confided to the media that President Maithripala Sirisena had asked Field....

In the afterglow of his unexpected victory at the US presidential election Donald Trump the new American president, began his term....

May 1 is celebrated as International Labour Day in most countries except those under military dictatorship or authoritarian rule. In the United States of America and Canada, the first Monday in September is observed as Labour Day whilst the first S

The eight-hour working day has its legacy in a long history of May Day protests. Over 150 years ago, in 1866, the first general congress of the International Workingmen’s Association, commonly known as the First International, resolved that t

The worker reads history on the very first day of May every year. It is called MAY DAY. Its genesis is related to the sweat of the proletariat. Yet, its spirit seems to have been robbed by the capitalists in the course of time. The drastic conseque

It’s not about workers, their trials and tribulations. It is not about unfair terms of exchange. It is not about capitalism, the extraction of surplus value and the immiseration of the working class. It is not even about class consciousness.

May Day was born in 1884, flagged by blood-splattered clothes of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for a worthy cause in Illinois, Chicago, USA — The Blues and Greens here in Sri Lanka with lost memories of a proletariat struggle have vandalis

Next Wednesday, May 3 is World Press Freedom Day and the United Nations in a statement says the year’s theme is “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies”. Indeed a de

When we were political cubs, we knew of Chelvanayagam as one who was the ‘father’ figure of Tamil nationalism. He was a Tamil political leader who was affectionately called ‘Thanthai’ – meaning ‘Father’ &ndas

The result of the first round of the French presidential election has given the Euro-pessimists a knock over the head. About time too. The European Union is not going to face a break up. Big crises come but they also go. The Euro currency crisis was

With the social revolution in 1956, the then Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike—activating the ‘Pancha Maha Balawegaya’ comprising the Sangha, Veda, Guru, Govi, Kamkaru—declared May Day as a holiday and provided many benefits fo

May Day or the International Workers’ Day has long lost its purpose and spirit. However, in Sri Lanka the first of May is still a general holiday and political parties using it to boost their images by showcasing their strength by gathering as

The earth continues its rotation on its axis and moves along its orbit around the Sun, suffering in silence and not knowing what poisonous attack it will suffer next.  Most of the Earth’s inhabitants go about with their daily chores withou

History almost always leaves behind lessons that are never learnt. That is why (quoting Santayana) those who forget it are condemned to repeat it and why (quoting Marx) it repeats itself first as tragedy, second as farce. This forget-factor is probab

“We  must ask, why Federalism to Tamils? Why not to the Sinhalese in the South? We need Federalism for South because centralised power from 1947 Parliament to 2017, for 70 years, have failed to develop the rural Sinhala society” said

About 30 years ago there was a beautiful paddy land known as Pothuvil Kumbura. In the canals that bordered it people even used to bathe. In 1989 under the land reclamation policy, this land was filled up. Afterwards towards 2000-2001 this paddy land

Around 1,500 petroleum workers could cripple fuel distribution in the country through their strike action. This appeared to have rung alarm bells for the Cabinet Ministers regarding the operation of state affairs smoothly. It became apparent at Tue

The Hambantota Port development deal was frowned upon as a loss-making venture during the previous government. With China gaining prosperity over Sri Lanka, the Port too would fall in to their hands as means of development. Major changes were done

Any conflagration and especially one marked by the clash of arms that lasts over several decades can be defined in multiple ways. For some, the conflict in Sri Lanka, was a matter between the Sinhalese and Tamils. They call it ‘Ethnic Conflic

Around the world in some 600 cities, hundreds of millions of people marched last Saturday, April 22 to mark Earth Day, emphasising the significance of evidence–based science on issues ranging from climate change to new technology. It was esse