Right and wrong of Independence Day protests

During the weekend, when Sri Lanka marked the 75th anniversary of its independence, it was a sober, sad, and indeed a bitter affair. Most of the public was bitterly critical of the celebrations. The police confronted...

Delaying remedy for legal delays

Colombo High Court Judge Adithya Patabendige rejecting a request by former police officer ASP Kulasiri Udugampola that he be acquitted and released from the famous Millennium City safe-house case without calling defence evidence, had decided on January 24 to proceed with the case. What is im

Doing justice to Slave Island

Last week, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena ordered the authorities to officially rename “Slave Island” as “Kompagngna Veediya”. Though already known as Kompanna Veediya, a formal change was considered appropriate as Sri Lanka is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its independence from colonial rule. The term Slave Island was a relic of Portuguese rule (1597 to 1658) when the area housed black African slaves called Kaffirs whom the Portuguese b

Stability, but at what cost?

Last week, much of the UK came to a standstill as the country saw its single largest day of industrial action in over a decade; some estimates put the number at around 500,000 protesters. Seen in the thick of this industrial action were nurses, teachers, university staff, civil servants and train drivers; forming a broad coalition from across the gamut of the British working class.

Independence for Dependent Economy

“Ceylon is settling down as a genuine Dominion. Present Ministers are extremely friendly and want to maintain and deepen the British connexion. They want, for instance, to preserve English...

Independence and the realities ahead - EDITORIAL

Our Independence Day celebrations are now over. The reality however, is we - everyone of us - irrespective of his/her political party affiliation faces is the international debt, which we have to pay. It hangs....

Reflecting on 13th A and upcoming elections

The 75th anniversary was celebrated amidst a certain degree of vagueness and tension. This would be an ideal occasion for both, the rulers and the people to ponder on the issues which would...

Why the Tamils want the 13th A implemented in full

A Direct appeal was made to the President by the Mahanayakes (head monks) of all four Buddhist chapters against the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. They point out....

75 Years of Independence and the Tamils of Sri Lanka

The resplendent Island of Sri Lanka celebrates her seventy-fifth anniversary of Independence from Britain today - February 4th 2023.

Independence; a misconceived concept

The very debate whether Sri Lanka should celebrate its Independence this year amidst an unprecedented economic crisis poses the question of what we, as Sri Lankans gained from the Independence.

Celebrating successes and failures on a 75-year journey

Today Sri Lankans celebrate the 75th year of Independence, after almost 375 years of subjugation to Portuguese, Dutch and British Imperialists.

Is the legacy of Sri Lanka’s ‘Independence’ in Dependence?

Sri Lanka, being a sovereign state since 1948, is celebrating its 75th year of being such a state today with much pomp and pageantry, lavishly spending millions of rupees from public coffers which could have been otherwise used on essential kinds of medicine and medical equipment to save those who are crying in hospital beds for nothing, but life, due to sheer want of proper medication.

Remembering a great soldier of Sri Lanka Signal Corps

The late Colonel Charles Reginald de Silva ED, FCIS was a loving husband, caring father, true and sincere friend and is remembered by all his juniors.

Attorney General and His Prosecutorial Staff

In our criminal justice system, the prosecution of trials is normally preceded by the investigation of criminal offences by the police. Investigation of crimes fall within the domain of the police, and for this specific....

Lanka’s Independence and the neocolonialist ‘dependence’ trap

Dependence is embedded in independence. This is the paradox we need to address as Sri Lanka prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary of Independence tomorrow amid an unprecedented economic....

Is the grass greener inside the university? - EDITORIAL

Ragging at universities pops up as a topic for discussion akin to a rubber ball finding its way from under the water after being pressed down by somebody. At present ragging at Sri Lankan universities is much spoken....

Independence: Did Sri Lanka gain anything by it?

Right now, we are all speaking of independence. But, what have we gained from independence? What have we carried with us through the years? What has proven positive for our nation?

Creating a peaceful society through interfaith harmony

Building bridges across boundaries is the theme of the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony week from February 1 to 7.

Of late I talk to an AI chatbot; and I love it

ChatGPT is the publicly available AI model unveiled in November last year. It has any one overseeing word-based content in a twist because of its plagiarism capacities – anyone can just get ChatGPT to write....

War in Ukraine; who gains, who loses? - EDITORIAL

CNN reported on January 30 - an elderly woman and three other people had been killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Ukraine. According to the ‘voanews.com’, around....

75th Independence Celebration: Where do we go from here?

Tomorrow, we move into a new month and a special one because on February 4 we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our independence. The government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) are taking practical, but difficult steps to revive the socio-political and economic crisis since independence. The Pres

Brazen hypocrisy of professional elite and lost promise of SL’s welfare state

Can someone tell me how on earth these two campaign slogans are mutually compatible? Both were heard loud and clear in the last week’s ‘Black week’ anti-tax demonstrations by the country’s professional classes - Government doctors, university dons, CEB engineers, bankers etc. First is the opposition to the government’s new personal income tax, a progressive tax system that lowered the taxable threshold to Rs.100,000 per month and levied an increm

UK-Ceylon Defence Pact (1947) How geopolitical interests of two nations clashed

The UK-Ceylon Defence Pact of 1947 was entered into with great expectations from both parties. But it was jinxed from the word go. Continually contested right throughout its existence, it was given a quiet burial by mutual cons

Poverty, taxation and protests - EDITORIAL

In April last year our country declared itself bankrupt and announced a temporary suspension of its external debt. We have not yet been....

Alliances and Coalitions - Shameless? A’s, C’s by Statesmen in Past

Sri Lanka has a history of forming political Alliances for well over a century, the first being Ceylon National Association founded in 1888....

Jeevan sets a record as Lanka’s youngest-ever Cabinet Minister

Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and Nuwara-Eliya district MP Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman, was inducted as Cabinet Minister into the Government headed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe last week.

How power cuts plunge students’ future in darkness - EDITORIAL

The Advanced Level Examination commenced on January 23 leaving candidates the opportunity to dream about the futures they would love to have. That’s of course if all goes well. Unfortunately Sri Lanka....

Ukraine: The Doomsday Clock moves closer to a nuclear catastrophe

A dangerously close 90 seconds to midnight may not be an adequate warning from the world’s renowned scientists who annually determine the time left for a global catastrophe, about which world leaders....

Shameless coalitions ahead of LG polls

The economic crisis and the resultant political upheaval that brought down the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime have created ridiculous political alignments. In fact, the major part of the “credit” for the creation...

SLMA urges government to focus on preventing road accidents

The recent Radella-Nanu Oya bus tragedy took away the lives of seven people. The Passara bus accident that happened in 2021 claimed the lives of 15 people. Statistics indicate that road accidents claim....