Why would early elections not solve But make worse- the economic crisis?

The rallying cry in political circles nowadays is a call for snap elections as if that would produce a magic wand to solve the economic crisis. This coterie of newly minted champions of electoral rights comes in all hues, many of whom do not see eye to eye on many issues. By extension of their argument, the current government does not have a political mandate to fix the country’s broken economy, implement the IMF program or pursue debt restructu

13A is here to stay but it has to be fine-tuned

The recent statements made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and those attributed to the leaders of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) make it clear that the 13th Amendment to the constitution (13A) that devolves some powers to the Provinces has the tacit support of the Sri Lankan political parties notwithstanding overt opposition to it. In his Special Address to Parliament on August 10, the President stat

Our ageing population amid the financial crisis - EDITORIAL

Our population is ageing and ageing rapidly. Old age is a very sensitive and fragile period in life where elderly people need extra care....

The ghosts of the war are still haunting us

Seemingly isolated incidents are related to larger events which concluded years ago. They concluded, but ...

BUDDHIST PRELATE MUCH ADORED BY TAMIL PEOPLE

The conduct and pronouncements of some prominent Sinhala Buddhist monks have in recent times contributed greatly towards the deterioration of inter-ethnic amity and inter-faith relations in this country. It is indeed a matter of grave concern that the “antics” of these “patriotic” Buddhist monks have created a very negative image of the Buddhist clergy among the Island’s non -Buddhists in general and North-eastern Tamils in particular.

WHICH CAME FIRST: ARAGALAYA OR THE CRISIS?

A reminder of the question ‘Which came first: the chicken or the egg The public uprising that shook the country last year was not an event organised by any political party or organization. It was largely a spontaneous response by the people to the unprecedented effects of an unprecedented economic crisis on their day-to-day life.

ADVERSE WEATHER, POOR PLANNING AND THE PLIGHT OF AGRICULTURE - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is going through a prolonged period of dry weather this year. However, this is not the first time such variations in the climate have adversely affected this country. We underwent similar dry spells during the Presidencies of Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa. The failure of the monsoon causes prolonged periods of dry weather leading to power cuts and crop failures.

Present day children need a better ticket to life - EDITORIAL

The youth of Sri Lanka are immensely talented and there are so many television programmes designed especially for them these days. Just consider the talent shows that are conducted for children these....

Is Govt. shooting blanks in fight against rising gun violence?

Adding to the people’s despair in a bankrupt country are regular reports of gun violence. Last Saturday, TV channels and news websites posted CCTV footage of a shooting incident in the Negombo wholesale....

Too many ‘known unknowns’ in Sri Lanka’s IMF programme

It has been five months since Sri Lanka entered the board-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its 17th programme. Month-to-month progress has been tracked in the public domain by the IMF Tracker (https://manthri.lk/en/imf_tracker ), a platform maintained by Verité Research. The IMF Tracker identifies programme commitments that have been “met” and “unmet” on verifiable criteria. Those achievements for which no data has be

Do even small things with great love

President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Government—while giving priority to debt reduction and the stabilization of the economy—also need to take practical and effective steps for poverty alleviation. Most rich countries of the world and to some extent in Sri Lanka also, about 10-20 percent of the people have control over or manipulate about 80 percent of country’s wealth and resources.

Adverse weather, poor planning and the plight of farmers - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is going through a prolonged period of dry weather this year. However, this is not the first time such variations in the climate have adversely affected this country. The older generation....

Singer Umara Sinhawansa: APPRECIATE, CONDEMN HER NOT

It’s tragic that a handful of petty minded patriots have leaped out to vociferously condemn Umara Sinhawansa’s rendition of the National Anthem of Sri Lanka at the IPL opening ceremony held...

The guard becoming the thief

Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena has ordered the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), the island-wide state-owned bus service to disband its Flying Squad and re-establish it within a strong legal framework, as the officers who are tasked with stamping out corruption in the SLTB themselves have become corrupt elements. In short, the guard has become the thief.

The Minister of Health, hospital deaths and politics - EDITORIAL

Our health system is in a mess. Today there is a serious shortage of drugs at the premier cancer hospital on the island. According to the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital, Paediatric Oncologist Dr Sanjeewa Gunasekera....

70th Anniversary of Hartal 1953: Dudley’s 1953 withdrawal and its impact on Gota’s 2022 bankruptcy

The economic downturn that eventually led to the 2022 bankruptcy commenced on August 12, 1953, when the Dudley-JRJ government reversed its policy of sustaining an extensively subsidized rice ration....

Lanka’s Finest Foreign Minister

Sri Lanka’s finest Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated in Colombo by a suspected sniper of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on August 12, 2005.

Is 13A debate to further defer PC elections?

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution; a subject matter of unending debate for the past thirty-six years since 1987 when the so-called Indo-Lanka Peace Accord that was imposed by India on Sri Lanka was reached. The debate is continuing and seems to continue for another decade or two.

The IUSF and recognition of private medical universities - EDITORIAL

On 10 August the Inter University Students Federation (ISUF) attempted to hold a rally protesting government’s move to grant recognition to the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) as medical degree awarding universities.

The minister who dislikes the ‘colour’ of sports - EDITORIAL

Sports in Sri Lanka must be protected and nurtured at all costs. This is because sports have given this blessed country and its sportsmen and women numerous opportunities to showcase their talents to the....

13th Amendment: Power devolution and beyond

To rekindle the devolution-debate fire in a country that has still not come out of the economic bankruptcy may appear to be out of sync. Since devolution of power is linked to political stability, which in turn....

Dialogue for conflict resolution: True friendship is priceless

Recently the United Nations marked the International Day of Friendship in a world wreaked and ruined by wars and violence, mainly the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the crisis in the West African country of Niger where the Presidential Security Division ousted the legally elected President and the African Union is threatening to take even military action to restore democracy.

The 13th Amendment and the Bhutanization project

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called on all political parties to submit their views on the 13th Amendment. He, more than anyone else, should understand that right now the legitimacy of all political parties (including his) and all politicians (including himself) is suspect (and I am being kind here). Nothing illegal about his ascension to the post of president, and nothing illegal about 225 persons representing various political parties rema

Subsidies, deficit budgeting, and the end of the welfare state - EDITORIAL

Since independence, the Sri Lankan government has implemented a number of welfare state measures, such as subsidizing the costs of food, fuel, transport, providing free education and free health care. These.....

Tragedy and Farce of ‘Free Education in Sri Lanka’

Two weeks back, the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Expansion of higher education issued its report, which anyone who has not defined their whole existence on finding fault with every other government....

Drought and the departmental mindset of ministers

The plight of the farmers in the Udawalawe area who have been severely affected by the prevailing drought was the most prominent news item carried in the Sinhala language newspapers yesterday. The water capacity in the Udawalawe Reservoir which is said to be 217,000 acre-feet has reduced up to about 2,000 acre-feet (less than one per cent of the full capacity), according to reports that quoted the engineer in charge of the reservoir as stating.

Changing pattern of suicide in Sri Lanka

The incidence and nature of suicide in Sri Lanka have varied over time. The cause, frequency and method of suicide have changed with changing conditions. In the last three years (i.e.: 2020,2021 and 2022) 15.6 out of every 100,000 of the population in Sri Lanka had died by suicide. And for every successful suicide, there were 15 unsuccessful attempts, according to Dr. Rohan Ratnayake of the Sri Lankan National Institute of Mental Health. Globa

Ousted PM Imran Khan handed three-year prison term

On 5 Saturday August 2023, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges and issued his arrest warrant. Imran Khan , a former cricket star who went on to forge a political career, serving as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, was elected in a free and fair election, but was overthrown by a no confidence motion. There were reports of involvement of United States and its collaborat

The World Leader of Black Transplants In Ukraine organs are traded online and offline

Ukraine has long been known as a world leader in organ trafficking. Scandals involving the illegal removal of organs from corpses began to appear in the late 1990s in the wake of the country’s socioeconomic deterioration. The problem began to mount in the early 2000s, and the violent coup in Kiev in February 2014 and the ensuing conflict in Donbass were an additional contributing factor. In 2014, the OSCE stated that corpses with removed inter

Another electric shock in the making - EDITORIAL

While we Lankans are still engrossed in the mispronunciation of a single word in our National Anthem, many earthshaking events.....