Editorial
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Last week marked the 25th anniversary of a controversial agreement officially known as the ‘Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement to establish Peace and Normalcy in Sri Lanka’, more commonly called the Indo-Lanka Accord. In a few months, we will mark, though not necessarily celebrate, the 25th anniversary of the 13A (the 13th Amendment to the Constitution) and [...]
Illegal migration: Two sides
People smuggling and asylum seekers have been competing for space in the media for some time now, and succeeding in grabbing the headlines. The focus at the moment is on the boatloads of Sri Lankans, as the headline in our report on the subject last week had it “risking blue waters in search of greener [...]
Diplomacy: More than workshops
Sri Lanka’s Heads of Diplomatic Missions (HoMs) overseas were summoned for an ‘orientation course’, given some lectures and sent on a tour to familiarise themselves with the developments taking place in their home country. The intentions may have been good, but did it serve the purpose? The answer would best come from those who attended [...]
RTI: A people’s govt. must enact it
It took an Indian Minister to come to Colombo and extol the virtues of a Right to Information (RTI) Law and explain how it has empowered the ordinary citizens of his country. Ironic as it is, this piece of progressive legislation was first introduced in Sri Lanka even before India did, but it was stillborn. [...]
The colossal farce of PC polls
Elections are not the be-all and end-all of democracy. Even more so, elections that are tainted. The Government’s decision to dissolve three Provincial Councils (PCs) before their mandate expired is firstly, robbing the people of their franchise. A Council, like Parliament or an elected President, is elected for a specific period. Extending or restricting this [...]
Don’t forget Ed.
In the US capital in close proximity to the famous Washington monument, 857 desks were placed as a protest organised by the College Board. It was to powerfully demonstrate the number of drop-outs from high school each school hour. Those responsible for the protest carried placards saying ‘Don’t forget Ed’ for Education and asked the [...]
Dangerous signals from the south
One factor that backfired in the shooting at a legitimate political meeting in a remote village in the deep south last week was that the resonance was heard in Colombo. The culprits could not have anticipated the fallout. They would have believed it would be just another statistic of unsolved crimes in police records, and [...]