Commemoration of war victims-celebrations and harassment

Each year in April, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) marks its first armed insurrection against the government in 1971, as ‘April Heroes’ Commemoration Day. The second JVP insurrection is memorialised by way of the ‘November Heroes’ commemoration marking the death of JVP founder and leader Rohana Wijeweera in 1989. Wijeweera led two rebellions, one in 1971 and a second in 1989. Thousands of young Sinhalese men and women died in the two insurg

God won’t change your destiny until you change yourself

Following the Election Commission’s announcement on May 9 that the Presidential election would be held between September 17 and October 16, President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the Cabinet on Wednesday that only the said election would be held this year putting an end to speculations that Parliament might be dissolved before the Presidential election. However, the race for the top most post started months ago with the Jathika Jana Balawegaya

The Marga Dialogue: Nationalism and centre-left

While moderating an event earlier this month at the Marga Institute, I was struck by the emergence of that age-old tension between nationalism and liberalism during a spirited question and answer session. The subject of that evening was the launch of Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka’s collection of essays, titled: “Interventions: Selected Political Writings”. While Dr. Jayatilleka himself insisted that the event and especially the panel discussion and Q&A b

ICC arrest warrants on Israeli leaders: US protests and threats outrageous

Israel has no intention to slow down its genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip, even after a series of blows it suffered this week in the form of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for its leaders and the recognition of Palestine as an independent state by three European countries: Ireland, Norway, and Spain.

On a ‘divided’ road and heading for trouble - EDITORIAL

The Sri Lanka Police has caused a stir in the motoring scene by making great efforts to strictly follow an old law that relates to the ownership of vehicles. What stirred a hornet’s nest in social media was when a female police officer checked a vehicle recently and demanded to know details of vehicle ownership.

Travelling on politics’ rough sea needs grooming

Sri Lanka is a country which believed in electing to Parliament individuals with unproven track records and later repented their actions. This is because this nation doesn’t have a system in present day politics where the senior lawmakers hand over the baton to the next generation of budding lawmakers.

Vesak: AlpachCHathawaya and moment-to-moment living - EDITORIAL

Millions of Sri Lankans and Buddhists across the world will celebrate their most hallowed festival of Vesak today while participating in various religious ceremonies with pandals, eight-fold lanterns and other decorations.

Social media comes to the fore in Indian elections

The 2024 Indian parliamentary elections will be remembered for many reasons. They are the longest to date, stretching....

Elections must be decided only by law - EDITORIAL

The elections in Sri Lanka are said to be conducted in a free and fair manner and according to the law. However, some laws....

Protests and crackdown: Rappers vs. the regime in Iran

In a country where rap is illegal, Toomaj chose rap to challenge Iran’s hardline regime which doesn’t tolerate dissent. Now he’s facing the death penalty for refusing....

Govt. should learn from Civil Society Organisations in commemorating dear departed

The joint commemoration event titled “Turning Point” held on May 17 at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo was in memory of the loss of life that took place 15 years ago....

The OHCHR strictures on Lanka -spitting in the wind - EDITORIAL

The Office of United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday the17th issued a strident call to the Sri Lanka Government (SLG) to urgently establish an independent....

IMF programme: The lender is the winner

The world is collapsing for our working people, with the tremendous rise in the cost of living, mass disruption of livelihoods, skipping meals due to broader food insecurity, and rising malnutrition....

Will Ranil regain support of Tamil and Muslim voters?

The three numerical minorities namely the Sri Lankan Tamils, Muslims and Indian Tamils together are 25.5% of the population. These three ethnic groups form the majority in some Sri Lankan districts. In other districts they are a substantive segment of the population. Since the people of all districts vote together in the Presidential elections, the entire island is transformed into a “single” constituency with a 74.9% Sinhala majority and 25.5 %

Who will benefit from an election boycott by Tamils?

Prediction of the results of the forthcoming Presidential election would be the most difficult one in Sri Lankan history, since almost all traditional attachments of the voters with the main political parties seem to have been shattered to the core by the economic crisis that brought millions of people to the streets in 2022.

Members of our Parliament and French Queen Marie Antoinette -EDITORIAL

Hardly a day passes without hearing the profligacy and misdeeds of one or the other members of Parliament. Just two days ago, while strong criticism was being voiced at Members of Parliament for demanding permits to import new cars for themselves, a State Minister reportedly slapped an airport worker for demanding payment for services rendered.

Lawmakers must note that stars in galaxy are dead - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is divided politically at present. Many years ago this country was divided in terms of race. Politics seems to be the cause of all this evil. Now we are told to prepare for a presidential.....

Nakba continues amid Zionist newspeak

Nakba is indisputably a living testimony to the brutality of the beast among humans. The fact that it has been committed against victimised Palestinians for the past 76 years, again and again....

1998 Bharathipuram killings and accountability for wartime atrocities

The killing of civilians and other atrocities were widespread during the three-decade war mostly in the North and the East. The Sri Lankan armed forces, police and the Liberation....

Family is the first essential cell of human society

Families stay together if they regularly pray or meditate together. This is a hallowed philosophy that goes a long way to show that good families make good societies and countries. We need to see unity in diversity in families with none dominating or having his/her way. Family members need to be sacrificial and forgiving, embodying values of love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, humility, gentleness and meekness. Some believe the husband is the h

Stolen Assets Recovery Framework: There is much room for improvement

The rallying call for recovering stolen assets during the 2022 protests is still fresh in our minds. If the Abacha loot could be returned to Nigeria by Switzerland, could Sri Lanka not do the same? In response to the protests and building on the work done by experts over many years, the agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the IMF now contains a structural benchmark where the GoSL has committed to enact a Proceeds of Crime Ac

Lankan mercenaries fighting in Russo-Ukraine war - EDITORIAL

Media reports have been circulating of Sri Lankan ex-military personnel being involved in the Russo-Ukraine conflict. With the war raging in Ukraine, many Ukrainian males of military age have...

Last throes of dynastic enterprise: Rajapaksa plots to stall recovery after ruining economy

Like the rest of his ilk in this part of the world, Mahinda Rajapaksa overstayed his welcome in the power. He ran the economy to the ground as he did with the national carrier...

Expressway beam COLLAPSE causes Rs 66 ML loss to Govt.

The construction of the phase from Kottawa to Pinnaduwa- of the project titled ‘Expressway Network of Sri Lanka’- was completed in 2011. During its construction, a medical....

Election merry-go-round

Election fever is in the air. Yet elections have not been announced. It’s ‘Fun-O-Rama’ time for politicians who are having a ball. Past President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his time was a past master at splitting political parties that opposed him. This time around, the ex-president’s party-the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)- is one of the political outfits that is faced with several splits. The former chairman of the SLPP with 13 SLPP MPs def

Foreigner, Freeman forced out of Parliament 90 years ago First British passport holder elected to Parliament in 1924

Abolish the National List; empower the electorate to choose their representatives. The current system is flawed, with party leaders and secretaries often lacking insight. They appoint individuals with dubious backgrounds, including terrorists and non-citizens, merely for financial gain. This practice undermines the credibility of our democratic principles and turns them into a farce. Let’s restore integrity to our electoral process by allowing pe

The rise and fall of South Asian leaders in Britain and Ireland

An extraordinary change had taken place in Great Britain and Ireland in the recent past. Persons from the erstwhile British Empire entered British politics, became MPs and Ministers and a few rose to be heads of government. These events changed the racial and political profile of the former imperial power. In 2017, Leo Varadkar (45), part Irish and party Indian, became the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland for the first time. In 2022, he beca

Untangling Sri Lanka’s messy government structure

It would be an absolute surprise for someone walking into a local ministry to find everything crystal clear. Rather it could be just the opposite with the operation all over the place. Sri Lanka’s system of government has a history of assigning unrelated subjects to a single ministry, thereby including multiple departments and institutions under one roof. The latest blueprint document for rational government by Verité Research reveals that the co

Tamil and Muslim voting trends in Presidential Elections

This is the fourth article in a series focusing on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his evolving strategy to contest....

Israel has lost its moral compass and conscience

Protests against Israeli excesses in conducting its war against Hamas in Gaza are widening in scope....