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Home » ColumnsGovt. launches two-pronged battle here and abroad
There is no one who is busier than President Mahinda Rajapaksa over the upcoming North Central, Sabaragamuwa and Eastern Provincial Council elections. Without the glare of publicity, in the past days he has been chairing meetings with MPs of different districts in the three provinces. Co-opted to help them and given specific areas to campaign [...]
Talk at the Cafe Spectator
Envoy in Malaysia recalled despite his plea and protest If the troops fought Tiger guerrillas during the final stages of the separatist war with modernised weapons, he waged his own battle in the media. Hosannas were sung for many in the UPFA government in his commentaries. The most prominent among those who received plaudits every [...]
Govt. fiddles while Z-score fiasco and FUTA strikes simmer
While both the school education system and the university education sector have been thrown into turmoil in the past few months, due to the Z-score fiasco and the protracted trade union action by university academics respectively, Government response remained more lukewarm than one of urgency to resolve the matters, when the issues came up last [...]
Losing diplomacy and gaining lunacy
My Dear Lakshman K, Even though you are in the Land of Never Return, Lakshman K, I thought of writing to you because it has been seven years since you left us never to return and unfortunately we have missed you so much during that time. You may wonder why this is so, especially since [...]
The high price of our culpable inaction
Public debate is rife with heated opinions in regard to the virtual breakdown of the law and order process in Sri Lanka. The government continues to deny that there is a steep rise in crime and quite absurdly blames the media for reporting on crime. The root causes for this deterioration in law and order, [...]
Understanding India: an Indian opposition viewpoint
Dr. Subramanian Swamy, President of India’s Janata Party, was a foreign speaker whose comments were awaited with much interest at the three-day Defence Seminar organised by the Sri Lanka Army and held at the Galadari Hotel this week. An academic and an economist, Dr. Swamy is known for his outspoken manner and has been a [...]
Illusive inclusive growth: Exploring causes of poverty
The persistence of poverty despite economic growth has remained the puzzle of our times. Nations have learnt strategies to achieve economic growth; not the art of distributing wealth and incomes equitably. Inclusive growth is illusive in developed and developing countries around the world. Although most countries in South Asia are experiencing reasonable economic growth, a [...]