A glorious past in Sri Lankan politics we dream of

The first week at work by cabinet and state ministers was disrupted by a sudden island-wide power failure on Monday (August 17) which called for a response from the subject minister Dullas Alahapperuma.

GoSL to reset foreign policy with Asia-centric approach

The foreign policy motto of the previous government was ‘friendship with all, enmity with none’. Its verbatim meaning suggests the then Government’s policy was to be even-handed in its dealings with the world,

Plea for a nuclear-free world - EDITORIAL

A fortnight ago, the world joined Japan to mark the 75th anniversary of the detonation of two atomic bombs by the United States over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the final stages of World War II in 1945.

Two-thirds, 19th and other oppositional anxieties

In the run up to the recently concluded parliamentary elections we saw grave concerns being expressed by certain quarters over the possibility of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) securing a two-thirds majority.

With power comes great responsibility - EDITORIAL

At the August 5 general election, the people gave the president and his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) a landslide victory, which together....

Parliament convenes sans a single UNP member the new shape of representative democracy

The unforeseeable has happened. For the first time in the history of our Parliament, at least after the UNP was founded in the year 1944....

LESSONS ON HUMANITARIANISM

Humanitarianism is not just qualified by man’s humanity to man, but encompasses the world in general. For the betterment of humanity....

Understanding politics and the politicians

In spite of the current electoral system being called Proportional Representation (PR) system, in fact there are elements in the very system that disturbs the proportional representation. One is the bonus seats awarded to the party that gets the highest number of votes in a particular district while another being the appointment of members to the parliament through the national list.

Saving UNP Karu Jayasuriya as interim leader may be the best out of the fratricidal struggle

The United National Party (UNP) is on life support. Its plight is an aberration in the history of centre-right politics. Generally, it is the polar opposite of the UNP’s political ideology, the Communists, Marxists and the hard Left that found themselves thrown into the dustbin of history at home and elsewhere. Even in comparison to the gradual decline of the LSSP, Communist Party and ideological bedfellows, the UNP’s fall from grace is all too s

UAE-Israel peace plan and a cry for Justice - EDITORIAL

During World War I, the Arab countries having come to an agreement with the British colonialists, via the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence....

DEBT, DISTRESS, SUICIDE

When someone takes their own life, it is the ultimate consequence of great distress. But the specific causes for such tragic endings are never clear, and are often compounded by a myriad set of factors. H

Rethinking religious education

A teenager’s worldview... In writing this article, I’ve been cautioned against using the word “secular” too much, and while that seemed shocking to me, it seems to be reflective of Sri Lanka’s - and even the world’s - general ineptitude at word association, and how in increasingly dynamic and constantly changing societies, this has caused more problems than one would think. Secularism is, sim

SJB and what official election results don’t show

Sajith Premadasa’s newly formed Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) has managed to overcome the hurdles and booby-traps laid in its path ahead of the 2020....

Did Sumanthiran Win In Jaffna By “Stealing” Sashikala’s Votes?

The one-word answer to the question “Did M. A. Sumanthiran of the Tamil National Alliance win in the Jaffna Electoral district by “stealing” the preference votes cast for another TNA candidate Ms. Sashikala Raviraj?

Humanitarian work: let’s live it as the norm

Essentially, a good human being is not selfish or self-centred but other-centred and ready to share and care for others, mainly the millions of people caught up in the poverty trap. While some look at or judge by outward actions or appearances,

Four lessons from my father

My father was the first in his family and my mother’s, to foretell Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rise to power in the 1990s. At the time the man was in charge of Labour and Vocational Training, a threadbare though challenging ministry if ever there was one. Challenging, not because one could not do much in it, but because by then the SLFP’s approach to labour had begun to depart from its traditional vantage point.

Young lawmakers and golden opportunities - EDITORIAL

The engagement of youth in politics is important in reconciliation work and for the prosperity of the nation. In the present Cabinet sworn in on August 12 we saw two youthful faces that of Namal Rajapaksa (34) and Jeevan Thondaman (26) being presented ...

Racism could pave way for foreign invasion through a fifth column

The Sri Lanka Podujana Permauna’s triumph in the August 5 general election is massive if not astounding, given the improbabilities of the Proportional Representation system. But if there is one infliction that blemishes this super majority victory, it is racism.

Are Tamils tilting towards National Politics?

The polarisation of the electorate on ethnic lines that had been highlighted at the previous elections was not so visible at the last week’s Parliamentary election or it was eclipsed by some of the new developments in the north, this time.

‘Right to Reject’ as a fundamental right

At the recently concluded General Election, Colombo District topped the list of rejected votes with 81,034 ballots going to waste of a total 1,263,810 registered votes. Several other districts including Gampaha, Kandy, Kalutara....

Non-career lawmakers secure political authority

The results of the August 5 Parliamentary Elections reflected on new political dynamics in Sri Lanka, be it in the north and the east, or outside.

When political power dwarfs everything around

Sri Lanka gets little praise from the rest of the world for anything these days. But there was praise showered on the nation by Japan for conducting a fair and peaceful election. This is a good start for a country which is trying to be counted among the world’s performing nations; at least going on the promises made by the incumbent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

What of the 13th, 19th, Circular 5/2001 and MCC Compact?

Election results meet aspirations, exceed them and sometimes fall way short of the expected. The winners are naturally euphoric. The also-rans struggle to explain defeat, cling to consolation-straws and put on a brave front. Such behavior is timeless.

People have spoken: Govt’s turn to deliver the goods

The ‘Grand Old Party’ -- which strode Sri Lanka’s political arena for the past 70 years since it was founded on September 6, 1946 by the country’s first post-independence Prime Minister Don Stephen Senanayake,

Saving the leopard for future generations

Sri Lanka Leopard or Panthera Pardus Kotiya is the largest species of cat in Sri Lanka. It is unique to the island and categorized as ‘endangered’....

MORE VIRUS!

The “HUNGER” ‘VIRUS’ kills about 8,000 children a day and the vaccine for it exists, it is called ‘FOOD,’ but you won’t hear that in the media.

A tsunami of change hits the North and East - EDITORIAL

The much-awaited August 2020 general elections have been completed. A new government elected, and the Prime Minister sworn in. The electoral tidal wave, brought about by the electors saw....

Over half a million dollars spent on FB ads

What happened over August 6 night as ballot counting reached its conclusion in Jaffna is testament to the growing influence of social media during an electoral process. As the counting neared the end, the accusations.....

People expect government to deliver, not excuses

Parliamentary election which had been postponed twice due to issues related to the spread of COVID-19 in the country, is over and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) along with its friendly parties has swept the electorate with two thirds majority in Parliament. Now it is time to look ahead without wasting time on celebrations. The first and foremost

Opposition in the oblivion; how and why it happened?

What happened on August 5 was an epic rout of the Opposition. No time since the proportional representation system was adopted under the 1978 Constitution, had the Opposition been relegated to oblivion as it was at the parliamentary election held last week. Not even before that. Many refer to the UNP landslide in the Parliamentary election in 1977 when it won 140 seats out of 16