What govt. should do to win over environmentalists?

The environmentalists have come up with a fretful confrontation with the government over the Sinharaja issue. This irritable attitude of environmentalists is justifiable with what is said and done so far by the government regarding the few environ

Strong executive presidency needed for rapid development - GL

Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, in an interview with Daily Mirror, comments on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution

UNHRC: To be or not to be? - EDITORIAL

On September 16, media reports revealed that United Nations (UN) investigators had emphatically stated the government of Venezuela committed egrarious....

Constitution to Restrict the Politician 220-year History of Constitution-Making

Covid 19: Democracy crucial to calm the storm

Amid a crisis where many independent analysts are warning that the proposed 20th Amendment could be a death certificate for parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, the United Nations this week marked the International Day of Democracy with Secretary General António Guterres saying that as the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, democracy is crucial in ensuring the free flow of information, participation in decision-making and accountability for

The downside of cow slaughter ban

In both Sri Lanka and India, which share a culture, cow slaughter is generally considered unethical by the majority Sinhala-Buddhists and Hindus. In Hinduism, the cow is considered “holy” but in Buddhism it is not. However, cow slaughter and beef eating are discouraged in Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka because the faith is against the killing of all sentient beings, and the cow is one of them.

Rambo, Uda Walawe’s Iconic Elephant to be Translocated?

There is reliable information coming through that the Uda Walawe’s iconic elephant, Rambo may be captured and trans-located to a holding ground (which is effectively an elephant prison) by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC). This will in effect be the signing of a death warrant for this famous elephant.

Who is going to decide the contents of the new Constitution?

Leaders of the Opposition parties, especially those of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the United National Party (UNP) are making an unnecessary big fuss over the architect of the draft 20th Amendment to the Constitution that has already been gazetted.

79th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 79th Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday the 10th of October 2020, at the Sri Lanka Federation of University Women: Resource and Training Centre at No. 96/25, Kitulwatte Road, Borella, Colombo 08.

Keep to your lane and eye the police! - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka needs stricter road laws and tough law enforcement officials to implement them. When ever an authority says this it underscores one major issue; a good number of Sri Lankan motorists.....

Trump plays new card for peace with Pharaoh

First the United Arab Emirates, then Bahrain and which Arab nation is next in line to make ‘peace’ with Israel? In Washington on Tuesday, the UAE and Bahrain formally signed with Israel what is touted as peace agreements....

An attempt to rediscover historical demarcation of provincial boundaries

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is reported to have suggested the creation of an administrative structure remodeled on the ancient demarcations of Sri Lanka into regions as ‘Ruhunu, Maya and Pihiti’ to govern the country in place of Provincial Councils.

Sri Lanka’s ‘stroll’ on the corridors of world power

As kids we knew of China as a country producing inferior or cheap goods. There was even a joke shared among schoolchildren when one kid had penned in her notebook that the opposite of ‘original’ is ‘Chinese’. That’s the old China we knew of. Fast forward from the past to 2020 and China is contesting against America to establish itself as a global economic power. And the scary part is that China is slowly getting rid of obstacles in its way in pur

Make books your best friends

The 22nd edition of the Colombo International Book Fair will open its pages to the public from tomorrow, September 18 till September 27. Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association President Upali Wanigasooriya has said that in previous years some million people attended the book fair, but this year with the COVID-19 pandemic casting its shadow over the country, the numbers may be about 500,000.

20th Amendment: ‘Yahapalanists’ are subverting objection

When constitutional amendments are proposed and they are made public in draft form, there is a general rule of thumb that can be employed to figure out where one should stand -- for or against. It goes like this: You disregard whether or not you are generally in favour of the immediate would-be beneficiary or beneficiaries in the political order; instead you ask yourself a simple question, ‘what if

The Ozone Layer and the saving of the Sinharaja - EDITORIAL

September 16 is designated the ‘International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer’ by the United Nations General Assembly.

20A Bill may be fatherless now; But many are its gleeful beneficiaries

They say that there are so many fathers to victory but defeat is a bastard. Well, in the present Sri Lankan context we can make an adjustment....

Amendments must be done with broader spectrum

The government is going to change the present Constitution in two steps, in line with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policy statement at the inaugural session of the Parliament on August 20. Accordingly, the government has already gazetted on September 3, a Constitutional Amendment Bill - 20th Amendment to the Constitutio

20A is redundant in supra-majority; so why this unholy hurry?

The abiding feature of the indigenous constitution-making in Sri Lanka is personalism. Since the first Republican Constitution of1972, successive constitutions and endless amendments have been adopted to remodel the supreme law of

Ethnic issue only a few are talking about a political solution - media minister Keheliya Rambukwella

The former Government placed much focus on a political solution for the Tamils, fighting corruption and assuring justic

Lessons from Palestine - EDITORIAL

For the past 53 years (since the 1967, Israel-war, also referred to as the 1967 Arab-Israel War), Palestine has been under Israeli militarily occupation. In 2018, Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East Director at Human Rights....

Criminals in Legislature: Speaker - Convict - Speaker in 1930/40s

“… One reason why voters choose to elect candidates with dubious reputations is due to the huge abyss between the aspirations of the people and what institutions can deliver “

Charity will bring about a just and fair society built on rock

If we speak in every language but do not have love or charity, we are like resounding gongs or clanging cymbals. If we have various talents and imaginative skills or fathom mysteries and all knowledge or even if we can move mountains, but do not have love or charity, we are nothing. If we give all we possess to the poor and give over our bodies to hardship that we may boast, but do not ha

20 A; manifestation of a crisis in political culture

The proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution which the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) government is going to pass in Parliament next month is nothing but another round of manifestation of uncultured politics in Sri Lanka. It is going to be a further step of incivility of politics not only because of the contents of this piece of legislation, but mainly because it manifests the rashness

The hydra against the behemoth

“To put it very simply, Sajith is not Mahinda.” (A man on the street) Sajith Premadasa’s decision to deliver his speech at the commencement of the ninth parliament in English gleaned mixed reactions from various crowds. Some argue that he was channelling

Officers not following the due legal process

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. It must be stated at the outset of this article, that the knowledge of the law in relation to subjects coming under the purview of various officials, be they be attached to the Government, Provincial Administration or even the Local Government administration is much to be desired. If the position of the officials is such then one can imagine as to what would be the posi

When politicians make the unthinkable happen! - EDITORIAL

The Parliament has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all government institutions, including executive and judicial bodies. Hence it is only just to send people with dignity and a sound education to serve as lawmakers.

19 years after 9/11, global order in turmoil

Nineteen years ago today, a series of terror attacks shook the United States and with that the world changed. While fear-struck Americans were witnessing a massive attack on home soil for the first time....

Bracing for state interference

The present regime is doing a lot to raise the country’s image, but not knowing the thin divide that separates what’s accepted and what’s not certainly won’t help this government.

PM moots idea to rediscover Ruhunu, Maya and Pihiti

Apparently for the first time since the presidential election on November 16, 2019, dissension has emerged among the members or the groups of the Government. That is on the content of the bill titled ‘20th Amendment to the Constitution’ which primarily seeks to roll back the 19th Amendment.