MR’s parting shot of violence at the Galle Face Prime Minister leaves office only after almost setting the country on fire

By the time of this writing, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly submitted his resignation. Assuming he does not recant his decision for yet another time, he might be leaving the office, but only after coming almost close t

ROTARY SOLIDARITY WALK: “We are standing up for the humanitarian aspect of the crisis”

Rotary District 3220 held a press conference on May 8, 2022 at Radisson Hotel. Rotarians at the press conference voiced out their demands for good governance. They also called upon the state, private and public sectors to be accountable

Lanka’s flawed Emergency law Safeguards could be provided as per the South African model

Sri Lanka’s Emergency law is flawed, being devoid of adequate protections against its misuse. It is easily invoked and lacking in adequate legislative and judicial oversight. The overwhelming power vested in the Executive has led to the law’s frequent u

Decoding political messages from the citizens

The political messages coming from the Gogotagama (‘Go Gota Village’) at Colombo’s seafront Galle Face grounds and other protest sites are simple, yet sharp. They are unorthodox and uncompromising too. The slogans....

HARTAL ’53 & Indefinite Hartal ’22?: EXPAND ‘GotagoGama’

The tremendous power of the masses in action was displayed for the first time in post-independent Sri Lanka on August 12, 1953 when the enraged people rose in active dissent. A new factor re-entered....

SL’s energy crisis from a global scale perspective

Sri Lanka’s current political and economic turmoil is the the culmination of many political and economic misadventures by its political elite backed by a bureaucratic elite which had no strategic vision....

Saner counsel prevails amid financial crises - EDITORIAL

Our country is wrestling with its worst economic crisis since Independence in 1948. Presently foreign currency reserves sit at their lowest level on record due to what many see as gross economic....

State Minister Geetha sparkled on screen as an actress

Actress turned politician Geetha Kumarasinghe grabbed media attention a few weeks ago when she spoke out strongly in support of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Yesterday’s ‘Hartal’ a change from racial and religious politics

In the face of our country’s unprecedented political and economic crisis -a result of government corruption and mismanagement- which led to the near bankrupting of the country, a majority of trade unions, agricultural workers unions and civil society, came together to call for a ‘Hartal’ on May 6.

Southern protests and Northern Tamils

The political impasse in the country continues with various groups except for very few suggesting various solutions keeping their individual interests in mind.

India, US and other friendly countries must encourage rulers to step down - M. A. Sumanthiran

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for the Jaffna district M.A. Sumanthiran, in an interview with Daily Mirror, airs his views on the present status of the economy and the political....

Hartal, fright, doom and dismay - EDITORIAL

As protests against the regime grow louder a massive ‘hartal’ is scheduled to take place today (May 6) all over the island. The public’s dissent against....

Executive presidency a curse for economy; cause of sovereign default

Apparently, no country has laws to punish government leaders responsible for economic mismanagement. In Sri Lanka, government leaders’ economic incompetence has precipitated a gargantuan....

Sri Lanka’s youth in revolt; government in denial

The extraordinary protests taking place around the country today are unlike anything this country has seen before. Its participants come from all walks of life, cutting across lines of race and class, not representing any political party or group.

No let-up by protesters across the country

Whoever in his or her right mind would have ever imagined that a president elected to office by more than 6.9 million votes and vested with absolute power via the 20th Amendment to the Constitution and a government elected by more than 6.8 million votes with a two-thirds majority in Parliament,

Pelosi encourages Ukrainians to war with Russia - EDITORIAL

The war in Ukraine has been expanding since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year. According to UN IOM (UM Migration) since the Russian....

The dead bestride us all

It was eerie to hear the three names ‘Lasantha, Prageeth, Thajudeen’ mentioned in the same breath. I was watching a live feed....

Corruption in Sri Lanka: A crime without criminals

The political impasse that was created by the ongoing unprecedented economic crisis seems to aggravate as the government has failed to convince the Opposition parties in its efforts to form an all-party interim government. On the other hand, there seems to be no agreement among the Opposition parties on their actions against the government, d

Life after the Rajapaksas

Soon after the military victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a nihilistic terrorist group of its right, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the t

‘Siblings … end up quarreling’: Split or Drama?

Dishonest politicians abused the 1978 Constitution in rampaging and ransacking a nation: On July 8, 2019, we wrote on these columns an article Sub titled, “Even two siblings would....

Undemocratic political culture paved way to the present disaster

As month long mass protests are continuing all over the country against government’s failure to provide some of the most essentials such as fuel, cooking gas, fertiliser, and medicine and people are forced....

Financial crisis, street demos and political chaos - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka’s multiple crises caused by a lack of foreign reserves is at the heart of the country’s huge foreign debt and the inability to purchase the imported goods that Lankans rely on, including...

State Power, Working People and the Crisis

Great economic crises lead to tremendous political changes. At the heart of such changes is the state and the use of its power. The public anger mounting over the last two years and culminating....

Premadasa’s vision could lift Sri Lanka’s struggling economy

It is with great pride that I pen this article on the on the 29th death anniversary of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa who was the father of the 200 garment factories programme. The programme led to major industrial development spread throughout the country creating employment and exports which brought in the valuable foreign exchange to the country.

A labour leader who even the British feared

The present uprising against the government brings to memory an incident which sent shivers through the colonial rulers ninety three years ago; the aftermath of the tramway strike in 1929.

Drastic changes in economic, political and legal policies are needed

Sri Lanka is negotiating with the IMF for help to overcome the present forex crisis. But the IMF’s prescriptions could be challenging.

Fearless journalists need to support public revolution

Famous American newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst has said that news is something that someone wants suppressed.

Sri Lanka Crisis: Professionals create an action plan

‘Direction Sri Lanka - Independent Professional for the Nation’- a collective of professionals consisting largely of legal and medical practitioners held a press conference on April 20. At the press conference....

Mr. Prime Minister, the mandate is no longer valid

In the face of an unprecedented massive economic and political crisis and a mounting public outcry demanding the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa....

Promises by power-hungry lawmakers and the law - EDITORIAL

Lawmakers are now airing their views about punishing wrongdoers if and when they come to power. The last person to make a statement in this regard is Field Marshall and former Army Commander....