Do politicians need to have degrees?

Last week as Sri Lanka celebrated the 74th anniversary of its independence, there happened to be a lumbering amount of analysis as to what went wrong in our independent history. Much of that discourse....

Hypocrisy, apartheid and the people of Palestine - EDITORIAL

On December 29, 1947 the United Nations (UN) partitioned Palestine via Resolution 181 (II). The resolution recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish States and a Special International....

There will be a penalty on SL at UNHRC - Lakshman Kiriella-

Chief Opposition Whip and former Minister Lakshman Kiriella is one of the most senior politicians in the House with a vast knowledge....

Onus is on the Indian govt to resolve fishermen crisis

It is ironic that a section of the people in the country are accusing the government for giving in to external pressure to refrain from taking....

After 74 years: Where has the reconciliation gone?

Sri Lanka celebrates its 74th Independence Day today not as a successful nation or a stable state, but as almost a fragile state. Not only individual....

Competing Agendas: NPP Manifesto

Future generations will judge this period in Sri Lanka’s history as one defined by extreme turmoil and upheaval; as a country, we have been here before: the 1953 Hartal, the ’58 Anti-Tamil....

Politicians with their feet in the mouth - EDITORIAL

Politicians and mistakes are synonymous, from years gone by to more recent days, the the blunders politicians have sometimes changed the course of history. Some cast a dark shadow over....

Sovereign Bonds: Defaulting, Repaying and Banning

No one can deny the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The Government that wasted valuable time as the crisis deepened with its insipid vision of “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour”, is finally acknowledging the...

Garlic scam at Welisara Sathosa Warehouse: “How can a whistle-blower become a suspect?”

Former Executive Director Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) Thushan Gunawardena speaking to the Daily Mirror questions as to why the person who exposed the fraud....

An Unadulterated 75th Celebrations: ‘Clear the Path’ Through a New Constitution

The interviews that appeared in the Daily Mirror on the eve of the 74th Independence celebrations, provided ample proof of public antipathy towards the inauspicious waste of millions....

The Killing of LTTE Eastern Political Commissar Kausalyan

This column has for the past three weeks been focusing on the abortive Coup d’état conspiracy of 1962. There has been much reader interest in the articles. I have been pleasantly surprised to receive a lot of responses ranging from persons related or connected to some of the coup suspects to people from different walks of life evincing much interest in an important event in Sri Lanka’s history.

Sajith nerved by Champika’s actions

In a country of representative, multi-party democracy, it is conceivable that the waning of the popularity of the government is the gain of the opposition.

Women the backbone of society

One of Sri Lanka’s social stigmas has been the subtle or open discrimination against women and girls in vital areas.

Crafty lawmaking and celebrating independence - EDITORIAL

Military personnel were practising their moves for the 74th year Independence Day celebrations while a Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) worker was carrying on with his work regardless of what he saw. That was....

Freedom: Where the mind is without fear and the head held high

Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. To reflect on these words of the 18th century Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, there is no greater occasion than a Freedom Day anniversary. As Sri Lanka....

The architect of Sri Lanka’s independence From bondage to freedom

The first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) D.S. Senanayake entered the National Legislature in 1924. He was relatively unknown in the country and was pushed into prominence by his elder...

Much needs to be done to resuscitate Sri Lanka - EDITORIAL

Tomorrow, Sri Lanka will mark its 74th anniversary of Independence after being under foreign rule for 443 years since 1505 – dominated....

Notes for an essay on Independence

Sometime next week, perhaps on Monday, somewhere or maybe even in most parts of the country, teachers will task students....

War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and the UNHRC - EDITORIAL

Later this month, our country will once again be on the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) rack - the torture tool....

Removing Politico-Constitutional root cause of the crisis

Some would argue whether this juncture is hardly the time to be talking about constitutions. In fact, there are many who believe that Constitutions....

Land racket in Dambulla: Transferring Devalagama lands causes stir

Selling lands acquired illegally using fake deeds has become a practice in the country and Dambulla is infamous for such illegal....

Vaccine hesitancy

Although Sri Lanka’s vaccination programme against COVID-19 has been hailed by many the prospects of attaining herd immunity or the Community immunity is still in the balance. According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry only around 14 million o

Feb 4: The independence and beyond

Sri Lanka celebrates the 74th Independence Day this week under the most precarious conditions in its independent history. This is by far the economically weakest hour in recent memory, and the countries options to dig it out of the hole are narrowi

Factors that shaped Galle port’s varying fortune

Busy as a beehive when the Portuguese, Dutch and the British were ruling the roost in Ceylon, Galle port became a sleepy backyard at the end of the 19th Century due to factors beyond its control. It was little more than a secondary port of call throughout the 20th Century. But change is on the cards now. There are clear signs o

Urea Phobia and Organic Disaster: Catastrophic Economic Outlook

Fertilizers can make or break a farm. Farming systems and practices have evolved from farmers’ experience and technological advancement over a long period of time. Any sudden changes by government regulations can result in serious adverse social and economic impacts. Sri Lanka has more than 2000 years of agricultural history. Hence, farmers possess a signifi

Back to firewood – every politician should try it!

Last week, I took the plunge and set up a ‘firewood kitchen apparatus’ in the garage. I went without gas for two days before......

Corruption, mismanagement and our debt crisis - EDITORIAL

For the past 20 years or more different governments which ruled our country have borrowed large sums of money, amounting....

I urged SL Govt to take concrete steps towards Justice, Accountability - UK Minister

Lord Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, the Minister for Central and South Asia in the UK who arrived in Sri Lanka recently speaks to Daily Mirror.....

1962 Coup:Takeover of Govt. Through “Operation Holdfast”

The 1962 Coup d’etat conspiracy had three noteworthy aspects.Firstly the architects of the conspiracy wanted a bloodless coup.

“Sahara Snowstorm” and SL’s hilarious pledge for “New Normalcy”

“Sahara” the warmest and the largest desert on planet earth reported snowstorms on 18 January last. Spread across 9.2 million sq. km stretching from parts of North Africa,