The Aragalaya and conspiracies to seize power

Over the past weeks, members of the ruling party have been at pains to ‘educate’-us the masses- that the Aragalaya, which led to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country and subsequently resigning, was a result of a secret plan hatched by a political party, which has twice tried to seize power through means other than by the ballot.

Sri Lanka’s business struggles and unwanted red tape! - EDITORIAL

The present rulers of this nation have asked time till 2048 to make a Sri Lanka a developed nation. When we look at the long journey ahead and the number of years that have to be slogged, we must...

Politics behind arrest of popular Imran Khan

Imran Khan is perhaps the best Prime Minister Pakistan has ever had. Today he is in remand custody in an unknown location amid fears that he would be killed by Pakistan’s all-powerful military, the state....

Digital coalition to bring the world online

In this era when Sri Lanka is facing its worst ever economic crisis since independence in 1948, President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Perapuna (SLPP) Government are making proactive efforts to pull the country and its people out of the mud hole. The agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the extended fund facility was a major step towards recovery while several countries including India, China and the United

The need for governance-linked State-contingent IMF programmes: A third way for Sri Lanka

In a recent article (“The need for governance-linked State-contingent IMF programmes: A third way for Sri Lanka” April 27, 2023, International Banker), Professors Charles A. Goodhart, Dimitrios P. Tsomocos and I advocate for the need for

Nalanda College wins Buddhist quiz

Eye-catching decorations were all over the town and dazzling lanterns were put up in every corner of streets and lanes. Vesak is celebrated in Buddhist countries and it is a very significant celebration for devotees following the teachings of Gautama Buddha.

A land where rulers don’t honour courtesy - EDITORIAL

Sri Lankans must be taught courtesy, but not diplomacy. Why? Because Sri Lankans who go abroad to work as diplomats have the knack to work there without antagonizing people over there. The problem....

This alien concept of public service media

Our state-owned media organisations have been abused by successive governments in power for so long that they have completely obliterated the idea of public service media organisations. These organisations....

World Media Freedom Index and Sri Lanka - EDITORIAL

Leaders and people of Sri Lanka cannot be content with the country having been ranked 135th among 180 countries in this year’s World Press Freedom index (WPFI) released by the Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), one of the premier international organizations acting with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information.

Reviving LRT project makes sense, but Japan’s re-entry is tied to pre-conditions

Reviving the Colombo Light Rail Transport (LRT), abruptly suspended in 2020, makes eminent sense from the transport point of view. But collaborator Japan’s re-entry into the project is tied to tough pre-conditions set by Tokyo, it is reliably learnt.

Genuine multilateralism and diplomacy vs the “rules-based order”

As is traditional, the month of May in Russia is marked by the broad celebrations commemorating the anniversary of the Great Victory.

Churchill & Volunteers Defeated the Only General Strike in the UK

A cunning plan by Winston Churchill and volunteers smartly defeated the first and only General Strike in Britain in May 1926. Churchill....

Coronation : Marrying 1000 years of history with a modern monarchy

The Commonwealth of Nations – of which Sri Lanka has been a loyal member for more than 75 years turned a new page when King Charles III....

Lankan Actor Ramdas gained fame for his “Marikkar” Role

Ramdas, who worked for many years at Colonial Motors in Union Place, used to live in Polhengoda then. He rode a scooter and used to give me a few rides those days. We have enjoyed each other’s company at gatherings hosted by members of the Sri Lankan film fraternity

They forget what they did to us

In the matter of forgetfulness, especially of their blemished past and of their failures, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna seems to be attempting to outsmart President Jayewardene. They too have forgotten that they have been running the country for the past three years and are clueless as to how the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa supported by them collapsed

Contradictions and challenges facing Britains monarchy

Commonwealth. Charles himself will be the oldest monarch to take the British throne as the ceremony unfolds at the Westminster Abbey.

Can Lankans find a new sense of belongingness and possibility? - EDITORIAL

How can Sri Lankans find a new sense of belongingness and possibility in a country full of contradictions? At the time of writing....

Vesak, Nakba and high principles in foreign policy

As the United Nations joins Buddhists the world over to celebrate the thrice-blessed Vesak today, there is much energy in the Buddha’s message for the world body to reinvigorate its commitment to....

Pillars upon which we build civilisations - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is a paradise for biodiversity, despite moves that political leaders and business tycoons take to damage this diversity. On May 22, the United Nations marks the International Day for Biological Diversity with the theme being building a shared future for all life. In a statement the UN says As the global community is called to re-examine our relationship to the natural world, one thing is certain; despite all our technological advances w

Charles’ coronation and secularists’ blues

Sunil Ariyaratne who wrote Nanda Malini’s celebrated song ‘Nidahas Baila’ got it all wrong when he claimed that no blood was shed in the struggle for independence from British rule. He claimed that no one was beaten, as Nehru and Patel were in British India and that no lives were sacrificed (as Mahatma Gandhi did).

Unwanted attention

On April 23, a Facebook post was shared by Shiromal Cooray which drew public attention to an incident of sexual harassment.

It’s time to end occupation of Palestine

In November 1947, the United Nations (UN) partitioned Palestine - a decision taken with no support from either the people of

Rajapaksas and false gods: Destroying the country and still hailed as saviours

Rather, some individuals are more culpable for the country’s economic miseries than others. Mahinda Rajapaksa and his extended family did more economic damage to the country than the megalomaniac terrorist Velupillai Prabakaran and Rohana Wijeweera put together

Long Walk: Haymarket-1886 to Colombo 2023: Evolution and Degeneration of Trade Unionism

To commemorate the heroes involved in the 1886 struggle, words stronger than anyone could write are engraved on the Monument....

Are we out of the woods? - EDITORIAL

Exactly a year ago, Sri Lanka was in the midst of an economic cum political crisis with an unprecedented foreign exchange slump having....

Significance of May Day must go beyond worker - EDITORIAL

May Day rallies like in the past, this time too would be heavily politicized. Just the other day there was speculation that the government has initiated moves to ensure district offices countrywide....

May Day after Aragalaya

The Great Revolt in weeks after the May Day in 2022, characterised by the masses taking over the streets in their millions, led to hopes of setting our country on a progressive path. However, despite....

Who’s afraid of the IMF

The details of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding our debt restructuring facility, have finally been made public and the debate in Parliament is ongoing. The persons, who designed the IMF framework at Bretton Woods in 1944, claimed the Fund would be an independent and objective body, subject to broad political constraints and limited by financial resources.

Ranasinghe Premadasa’s rocky road to Presidency

Former President Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed 30 years ago on 1 May 1993 at 12. 45 p.m. along with 17 others in a bomb explosion that also injured 38 more persons at the Grandpass Road – Armour Street Junction in Colombo.

Revisiting the Aragalaya

There was a highly tense situation in the country exactly a year ago with hundreds of thousands of people protesting against the Government across the country and especially in a permanent protest site at the Galle Face Green obstructing the main entrance of the Presidential Secretariat.