The Essence of all Religions is Love

With Presidential elections scheduled for this year, most political leaders and party members are focusing on how or where to get new votes. They also need to give priority to issues like interfaith harmony in a sincere and steadfast manner, instead of just rhetoric and external participation for publicity purposes. All major religions are based on Truth and when they come together, we will see a truthful, just and fair society. From February 1

Four Priorities for Sri Lanka in Election Year 2024

In 2024, Sri Lanka faces two major challenges. Having largely achieved macroeconomic stability, with inflation falling from 70 to 2 percent, the country needs to resume economic growth, which has been negative for the last two years. The Sri Lankan people have suffered too long with declining incomes. Growth is also critical for the debt restructuring programme, which aims for a debt-to-GDP ratio of 95 percent. This is a high number. A large exte

Unveiling Sri Lanka’s Fishing Dilemma: Quality Loss and Climate Challenges

When you stroll through your seafood market, you find the ocean’s bounty laid out in stalls in front of you. But, have you ever paused to ponder whether the quality of fish you bring home holds the distinguished mark of the highest grade? The answer is probably “no”. The fishing industry plays a key role in Sri Lanka’s social and economic life, and consists of three main sub sectors - coastal, offshore or deep sea, and inland or aquaculture. Ac

Houthis, the Red Sea, and Sri Lankan Politics

Naval assets are tools through which a country’s geopolitical standing is constantly being tested – especially in contested waters. After Hamas...

“Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva”: ‘Good’ Religious Conmen and ‘Bad’ Religious Conmen

Police have arrested a self-styled god-man, who claims to be Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, a Buddha in waiting, after the Buddhist clergy...

2024 – The Year of VAT and Elections - EDITORIAL

The last year 2023, was a difficult one for us Lankans. This year, with an additional VAT increase, it is surely going to be more....

Distortion of Religious Teachings and the Freedom of Expression

One who has even a slight knowledge of the essence of Buddhism would have been perplexed with the reports of seven individuals with close connections having committed suicide with the advent of the New Year, allegedly to seek eternal peace after a discourse among them based on Buddhism. Ruwan Prasanna Gunaratne, an individual who has delivered religious sermons claiming to be Buddhist teachings had first taken his life on December 28 last year,

China Suffers Set Back in Myanmar Peace Effort

Yet another attempt by China to mediate between the Myanmar ethnic rebel groups and the Yangon-based military rulers failed last Saturday. The talks failed to yield results because conflicting interests over-rode the desire for peace. In Myanmar, political and ethnic divisions are also exacerbated by foreign meddling. This is why attempts to bring about lasting ceasefires and the resumption of talks to find solutions to the country’s underlying

Election for the Leadership of the Federal Party and the Future Course of Tamil Politics

As political parties in the South gear up for the Presidential Election expected in September, the election of a new leader for the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) known as the Federal Party in English has assumed great importance in Tamil politics. The ITAK is holding the election today in Trincomalee, ahead of the long-delayed convention of the party next Sunday. In its almost 75-year history, the election of the ITAK leader has always been

‘Old MEN’ and the SEA - Apologies to Hemingway: Reminiscing ‘RMS Titanic’ & Cabinet on board ‘HMS Newfoundland’

Observing two reports detailing reckless activities linked to the ‘devil and the deep blue sea,’ where the SL Navy is conducting surveillance on international seas and a group of ruling MPs are having....

Bonanza for our Diplomats and Doctors, VAT for the Rest - EDITORIAL

Hooray to the diplomats and doctors of our country. The government has granted diplomats a bonanza for the new year. The government will waive previously introduced austerity measures....

antarctica unveiled: a deep dive into the icy wilderness and scientific marvels of the southern continent

Antarctica, the southernmost and the least-populated continent on Earth, is home to some of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders. However, it is also one of the region’s most vulnerable to climate...

ITAK President Election on Jan 21 will be a Sumanthiran-Shritharan Duel.

“Suma, Shri and Yohes in Triangular Contest for ITAK/FP Leadership” was the heading of my article published in the “Daily Mirror” of 16 December 2024. The article was about the forthcoming election for the party Presidency of the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK). The ITAK known as the Federal Party (FP) in English is the premier political party of the Northern and Eastern Tamils of Sri Lanka. Currently, the ITAK/FP has six MPs in Parliament re

Houthi Challenge In The Red Sea And Lanka’s Battleship

Earlier this month, President Wickremesinghe said, a decision had been taken to deploy a ship from the Sri Lanka Navy to the Red Sea. He was in fact floating a notion of Lanka being part of a US-led multinational force to ‘protect trade in the Red Sea’ from the Houthis (an Iran-backed group), and de facto rulers in Yemen. In actuality, the Houthi action in the Red Sea region is limited to targeting vessels with links to Israel which is conducting

Why So Many Tools For Reconciliation?

Nearly 15 years after the end of the separatist war, the government has taken steps to promulgate a law last Tuesday enabling the establishment of an “Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR).” The office is not entirely a new entity but a re-establishment through an Act of Parliament of an entity that has been in operation under the same name since 2015. Despite it having been passed with the backing of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna

Covering shame in a paradise island - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka can be promoted as a tourists’ paradise or be highlighted as a nation where there is food insecurity and a very unstable economy. Still the majority in this country who has decided....

Gaza genocide and Lanka’s Red Sea mission

Sri Lanka, whose economic independence has been severely undermined due to its economic bankruptcy, has little freedom or external sovereignty to take a principled stance concerning....

“ The Selfish Man” Values, Morality and Economics

This article is part appreciation and part analysis. It is a direct thank you and tribute to the DailyFT’s regular columnist, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. W.A. Wijewardena. I have been reading his columns for almost as long as he has been writing them; Dr. Wijewardena always brings a nuanced perspective to Sri Lanka’s economic matters. In an article published on the 1st of January: “Still Batting and not out yet” that notes his

If You Want Something Said, Ask A Man; If You Want Something Done, Ask A Woman

In Sri Lanka as elsewhere, women need to play a key role in vital areas such as politics and business. We have already passed a law that women need to comprise at least 25% of Parliament and other local bodies. But the number has fallen far short and thereby the country has suffered. This year being an election year women need to agitate for gender equality in politics, business and other important fields or work because in most cases women work

Must Our Future Leader Come In Military Garb?

Sri Lanka has begun a new year with petrol, gas and all essential goods available in the market, but the country’s citizens are still in search of a ‘leader’ who can be trusted. Recently there was a video that went viral on Youtube where a prospective presidential candidate met with one of the chief prelates of a well-known Buddhist chapter in the Central Province, and instead of winning the heart of the saffron robed monk was forced to eat humbl

“What Do We Think About?”

‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast’ is axiomatic, but these days the spring is getting very weak indeed. The trumpet blasting schemes being advocated at the moment seem to be regarded by optimistic Parliamentarians as if Angel Gabriel himself was blowing his horn. We are on the brink of electing a new government (we hope) and this is hardly the time for new committees, new appointments, new education schemes, new ANYTHING to be proposed an

Why Are Our Governments So Scared Of Media People? - EDITORIAL

Other than in the early post-independence era, governments of our country have been extremely wary of media personnel. Such was....

A Separate Common Tamil Presidential Candidate: A Dangerous Gamble

Northern Tamil elites always had a problem. It is not just a gripe with the successive Sinhalese-dominated governments that have ruled....

We Need Good Mechanisms Rather Than ‘Good People’

President Ranil Wickremesinghe had claimed during his Northern Province tour over the weekend there are ample powers awarded to provincial councils to establish a robust local economy, under the provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. He urged provinces to utilize the powers granted by the 13th Amendment for economic development, asserting that devolution should not merely be a political concept but an economic reality. This claim s

Israel To Send Gazans To Congo

The Telegraph of the UK recently reported that Israel is planning to send all the Palestinian residents of Gaza to Congo or any other country willing to take them under what it calls a “Gazan Voluntary Migration Scheme”. It is proposed to implement the scheme after the war ends. And the vacant space in Gaza will be given to Jewish settlers with army protection. Though Israel calls this nefarious scheme a “Voluntary Migration Scheme” it will, in

Can We Bridge The VAT Gap - EDITORIAL

It was the shortage of medicines, the non availability of fuel, the non availability of cooking gas, 12-hour rolling power cuts, the shortage of basic foods, and the ban on agro-chemical fertilisers which....

Sajith Demands ‘No Crossover Pact,’ Despite Welcoming “Tom, Dick & Harry”

Reflecting on the Hysterical Stand-Up by Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean’s) poignant performance in paying tribute to Tom, Dick and Harry, who tragically passed away, after each of them faced unique....

Whither the “Ilankaith Thamizhar” of Sri Lanka?

Had the LTTE transformed its military strength into political bargaining power at the appropriate time, the Tamil people would certainly be in a better position. But this did not happen, and today the Tamils as a people are in a difficult situation

Coming Soon: A Common Tamil Presidential Candidate

Despite none of the major political parties having presented a viable programme to the country to come out of the current economic crisis and to build an economy that would weather future storms, all parties are preparing for the next Presidential Election which has to be constitutionally held in September or October this year.

Migrant Workers Are Not A Commodity - EDITORIAL

Nations around the world issue travel advisories for the protection of their citizens. They (advisories) warn against visiting particular countries for one reason or the other.