September brings us vital lessons in coexistence - EDITORIAL

One key aspect about the many events lined up for September is that there is room for plenty of thoughts on religion. September is a month full of religious activities. And Sri Lanka being a multi-religious...

Exhaustive public debate needed before regulating social media

Like everything we use, there is good and bad in social media. The knife saves lives if used by a surgeon, but it can take a life if used by a killer. Similarly, social media, like fire, carries with it the properties...

Why Sri Lanka’s children continue to be victims of sexual exploitation

On September 8, a shocking news item revealed that a nine-year old girl from Mawathagama, was reportedly severely abused...

SL’s economic future depends on integration with global supply chains - EDITORIAL

In today’s dynamic global economic landscape, Sri Lanka stands at an important juncture, where the path to its economic prosperity...

Transforming Education for Sustainable Future

T he current period is marked by significant challenges in various fields, with education being one of the main areas facing these challenges. Education is crucial for a country’s outlook and building a prosperous future generation is the foundation for sustainable development. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, emphasized the importance of education. De

The troubling lack of compliance by public authorities with RTI Act

Today (28 September) marks the international day for universal access to information. This year’s theme is ‘the importance of the online....

On Children’s Day, our children are in a bad place

World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day. It is the day in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In our country-Sri Lanka - Children’s Day is marked on 1 October every year. Since independence, we have many laws protecting children including laws preve

Commemorating Thileepan!

Last week, Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), which is in stiff competition with the TULF for the Northern Tamil votes, launched a commemoration campaign of Thileepan, a self-styled Lt. Colonel of the LTTE, who died in 1987 while engaging in a hunger strike. A vehicle procession carrying a life-size idol of Thileepan kicked off from Pottuvil on September 16th when Thileepan started his hunger strike ostensibly against the atrocities of the

Shared heritage of archaeological sites in the North and East

The recently established task force for the survey and preservation of archaeological sites in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka is a worthwhile endeavour as the preservation of a people’s cultural heritage is an important one.

Expand higher education and tackle toxic political culture

Sri Lanka has long been celebrated for its commitment to free education, a legacy that has empowered generations to pursue their dreams, regardless of their socio-economic background. However, as we find ourselves at the crossroads of a rapidly evolving global landscape, it becomes necessary to reevaluate our approach to higher education. The time has come to explore the idea of opening up the higher education sector to private universities, part

Plantation women: Marginalized within a marginalized people

Tamil women in Sri Lanka’s plantations are a marginalized lot within the marginalized plantation Tamils, who prefer to be called Hill Country or “Malaiyaha Tamils.” Women do the most critical job in the plantations, plucking tea leaves exactly the way it should be, from the crack of dawn to late in the afternoon in the biting cold of the hills. Women tea pluckers are also the visible symbols of the iconic “Ceylon” Tea in advertisements across t

Canada rushes in like a bull in a china shop with accusations of genocide and assassination

Relations between India and Canada have reached their lowest ebb, and relations between the two countries hit rock bottom after Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, in the Canadian parliament claimed there was strong evidence implicating the Indian government in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar -a Canadian citizen. Singh was gunned down outside a Sikh temple, of which he was President.

Saudi Arabia - Sri Lanka poised to expand trade ties - Saudi envoy

Saudi Ambassador Khalid Hamoudh Al-Qahtani, in an interview with Daily Mirror on selected topics, details the current status of bilateral relations....

Food security and mixed tales from ministers and bureaucrats - EDITORIAL

Our country is becoming or should we say has always been, notorious for the disconnected messages passed on to the public. Even....

Glorious Uncertainties; Psychology of Losing: B’day Gift to Modi?

The comments and statements highlight the ignorance of certain individuals who cannot distinguish between a cricket ball and a tennis...

Hanzeer Azad Maulana says ready to testify at independent international investigation

The first part of the article titled Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana the Whistleblower on Channel 4? Was published in these columns last week. Even as I was writing the second part of the article, I received some interesting information about an event in Geneva relating to the Channel 4 TV documentary and Hanzeer Azad Maulana the chief whistl eblower featured in the film.

The row over the commemoration of Thileepan

Two Sri Lankan courts have given two different orders on the commemoration of Rasaiah Parthipan alias Thileepan, the one-time political leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Jaffna who died after a twelve-day fast over five demands, in September 1987.

For God’s sake, give us a Gandhi - EDITORIAL

One of Sri Lanka’s most important needs today is the emergence of a statesman of the calibre of Mahatma Gandhi to give our country leadership or guidance, which our leaders will follow.

Do we need heroes or working professionals? - EDITORIAL

This is a ‘pearl of a nation’ which looks up to heroes rather than working professionals. We saw the Mahinda Rajapaksa era when people looked up to the former president as a hero and said that they’d survive...

Canada-India row: Look, who’s casting the first stone

Politics is a killing field where no one is a saint and human rights are a sham. The accuser is no better than the accused. Every country has its share of blood on its hands. Such thoughts may spring to mind....

Privatising Nuwara Eliya Racecourse: A case of changing horses in the middle of a race!

The Sugathadasa National Sports Complex Authority (SNSCA) alleges that Royal Turf Club (RTC) is yet to pay a sum of Rs. 40 million as maintenance dues over the past few years. The 82-acre expanse of land- located...

President Wickremesinghe navigating the Geopolitical Tightrope

In a world of international relations defined by power rivalries and shifting alliances, Sri Lanka stands resolute in its pursuit of non-interference in its foreign relations and taking a neutral approach. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent statements in New York at the ‘Ocean Nations: The 3rd Annual Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue’ on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, shed light on his foreign policy stance and commitment to saf

ZIonist Anti-Semitism from Palestine to Philadelphia

On November 28, Prof. Marc Lamont Hill of Temple University delivered a speech at the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It is reported that he used the phrase ‘from the river to the sea,’ in his speech. This phrase, apparently, has been used by anti-Israel terror groups and is perceived by some as ‘language that threatens the existence of the State of Israel.’ Temple University issued a statement a few da

Personal agendas and blocking avenues of ForEx - EDITORIAL

Member of Parliament Ms Diana Gamage is often accused of making outrageous suggestions regarding ways and means through which Sri Lanka can raise foreign exchange...

Why Sri Lanka should privatize the Railways but not give it to the usual wheeler dealers?

Last week, a wildcat trade union action by the locomotive drivers cost the lives of two commuters and inconvenienced hundreds of thousands of others. A young man who rode on the roof was killed....

Playing politics with empty stomachs in Padiyathalawa!

Although it is raining heavily in most parts of Sri Lanka these days, there are still many districts that have not received any rain. Ampara district is one and the locals are awaiting the arrival of rain; hoping....

“Today’s issues happening in Sri Lanka are all rooted in bad policies” - Roy Ratnavel -

Several Sri Lankans have immigrated and reached success in their own ways. Roy Ratnavel is one of them. The Sri Lankan born Tamil-Canadian business executive has been featured in the Canadian media for his ‘rags to riches story’ for being an immigrant who went from mailroom clerk to a Senior Executive at CI Financial, Canada’s largest independent asset management firm. Ratnavel escaped torture and imprisonment in Sri Lanka during the war and with

Brain drain takes us down dangerous precipice

While Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented issue of brain drain accelerated by the current economic crisis and the resultant political uncertainty, the leaders of the country are announcing plans for establishing more Universities. It can only be justifiable if they are certain that the migration trend or the craving for migration among the country’s youth could be restrained by the recovery of the economy. Otherwise, establishing new higher e

National AI policy: Is Sri Lanka falling behind?

Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI /ChatGPT3 speaking at a recent US Senate hearing on AI, warned of serious consequences if this technology goes wrong, increasing joblessness, misinformation, and deepfakes impacting democracies among others. These are all deeply concerning. Are we ready for such a future? In Sri Lanka as a country looking to transform domestically and also export technology products and services to other countries, it seems a l

Sri Lanka’s Dangerous Domestic Debt Restructuring

More than a year after the mass protest movement - the Aragalaya ousted Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his .....