New Law or the same old wine in new glasses?

What is transpiring in Sri Lanka now, is unprecedented. A constitutional scheme which in its default mode, was supposed to select it‘s Executive...

Tomorrow’s critical decision in Parliament

Tomorrow, the country is going to see a new President. Parliament is scheduled to accept nominations today from the members of it for the Parliamentary election for the Presidency that has fallen vacant following the resignation o

May Sanity Prevail in Parliament

Sri Lanka is ailing due to a lack of visionary and strategic leadership on one hand and the culmination of the citizens’ agitation on the other. I grieve when I think of the deaths of Lalith Athulathmudali Gamini Dissanayake and Lakshm

X or Y or System Change? The Role of Legislators and Professionals

Sri Lanka encountered several turning points in the last four decades that could have produced sustainable development as an island nation. The first instance was the 1977 political change which gave a 5/6 majority. The second in

Gota’s finally gone; but how do we keep our heads above water?

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is already in the dustbin of history. The reason why he delayed handing over his letter of resignation? He’s not planning a dramatic comeback as some conspiracy....

Ranil and Dinesh to Run the Interim

Gotabaya resigned and fled the country for Singapore, Arjuna Mahendran’s safe haven, that, the then President Sirisena’s plea in 2017 [remember 20,000 signatures] for the swindler’s extradition....

The need for stability amid crisis in Lanka - EDITORIAL

Lankan society is at a critical juncture. A number of crucial issues have converged at the same time. Our Government is indebted to the tune of US$51 billion to international financial institutions and is unable...

Rooting out corruption; a necessary step for Sri Lanka to prosper

Sri Lanka is facing a crisis which is essentially a crisis of governance. It is mainly due to political and financial mismanagement. It has led to an economic crisis and if we are to come out of it we should resolve....

FSP Leader Kumar Gunaratnam and his “Aragalaya”

“Gota Go Home” was the clarion call around which the people launched their “Aragalaya” or Struggle. It has achieved its primary goal.

President has gone, crisis remains with us

The government which earlier retreated in the face of the people’s uprising against it now seems to have determined to take the bull by the horns and defeat it. It is not clear if this is the result of the government exhausting its patience or the change of leadership after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country on account of the uprising intensifying.

Most of all, you’re my best friend

If conflicts could be settled by friendly dialogue instead of war or violence, then what a wonderful world we would be in.

The aragalaya must return to Galle Face - EDITORIAL

If Sri Lanka was crying now she is bleeding. This is because the Aragalaya is now pushing the country’s peaceful protest to a human....

Don’t cross the thin line between people-power and mob rule

People’s power is democracy and democracy is people’s power. Yet these notions which underscore that sovereignty lies in the people....

Without changing the situation in the country, nobody will help us - Hirunika Premachandra -

Former MP Hirunika Premachandra has made headlines over the recent past as she has led several protests with the participation....

When the centre cannot hold…

I write (the time is 12.09 pm, on Wednesday) at a time when there is a remarkable and unprecedented lack of political clarity in the country.

People’s power proves more powerful than people in power

Politicians, who no sooner elected to Parliament tend to forget they are obligated to serve the people but end up serving themselves,

Will the next fuel shipment arrive via a company owned by a Rajapaksa?

As of now Sri Lanka has run out of fuel. According to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) sources fuel reserves have completely....

What next? - EDITORIAL

On June 6, 1956, the day the ‘Sinhala Only’ Bill was introduced by the then Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike in Parliament, the Federal....

Unmasking of the false heroes

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is set to become the first of many things. The first executive president of Sri Lanka to be chased out of power....

the Aftermath of July 2022 revolution…

One may not be happy with the dramatic turn of events that occurred over the weekend, but he/she has to accept it to be the reality. No amount of restrictions by the authorities were able to prevent the people form converging in Colombo on Saturday af

Lankan bureaucracy needs to do more to ensure good governance

In developing countries, there is a deep-set notion that political leadership is the key to good governance and economic progress. For example, in Sri Lanka now, most people believe that a change in the political leadership will magi

Back to Peddling! Reminiscing Raleighs & Humbers

My steadfast iron horse’s wheels are so keen on kissing the gravel paths. Nostalgia for that bygone time took me down memory lane six decades. ‘Country roads, take me home; To the....

The resignation of the President and a despicable arson attack - EDITORIAL

On Saturday hundreds of thousands of protestors descended on Colombo demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa -the culmination of a non-violent protest movement demanding his resignation....

Corruption internationalised; Past haunts

A way out of the current economic crisis is not within sight. The government has sought financial assistance and support for debt restructuring from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but the progress of that programme also seems to be slower than expected.

The cry of Sri Lanka’s people: “Give us a Mandela”

With the Rajapaksa Government facing an unprecedented Aragalaya or public revolt and the protests going on in most parts of the country for three months, Sri Lanka desperately needs a statesperson who will work for the next generation and not for the election.

People’s power and thinking of July 9 - EDITORIAL

People taking the law into their hands is a common sight at queues and at fuel stations. People are frustrated to the brim, but that doesn’t give them the power to behave like hooligans. Just the other....

The creators and profiteers of our misery

Sri Lanka is in the depth of an economic and political crisis of apocalyptic proportions. Many millions in the most vulnerable sections are skipping meals; Inflation has crossed 50% ( unofficial figures.....

Recipes for co-opting and subverting #peoplepower

Ram Manikkalingam, Visiting Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam has sketched ‘An Agenda for Change’ (Sunday Times, July 3, 2022). Now change is an easy and cheap term.

Give heed to the cry of a people in pain

In the aftermath of all the available stocks of fuel being used up and as usual, different dates being mentioned by government spokesmen as to when the next fuel shipment is due;

The bias of ‘international media’ - EDITORIAL

The media play an important role in shaping public awareness and providing information that shapes attitudes and public opinion. Media also.....