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Home » ColumnsAnti-C’wealth Gayoom guest of honour at Lanka’s C’wealth day
The Commonwealth Day was marked in London on March 11 during the diamond Jubilee year of Queen Elizabeth II. It began with a multi-faith observance at the Westminster Abbey and extended to other events. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth with a population of 2.1 billion citizens, was unable to attend. The move came amidst [...]
South Africa mediation offers way out for Govt
Whilst Sri Lankans were observing the National New Year last week, the Government of South African President Jacob Zuma set in motion a broad initiative towards reconciliation in Sri Lanka. It came when Pretoria’s special envoy Cyril Ramaphosa, widely regarded as a future President, took the first step of holding talks with a delegation from the [...]
The know-all Presidential peththappu
My Dear Peththappus, I was greatly distressed to hear that you had escaped from Mahinda maama’s bird cages, sparking a nationwide hunt for the four of you. I know many people are criticising this and asking why the Police are so keen on locating you, when they should have been looking for ‘Nediyavan’ or ‘Vinayagam’. [...]
Bodu Bala chickens come home to roost
Like curses wrongfully made return home to him that curses, at long last it seems the Bodu Bala chickens are coming home to roost in accordance with the karmic law of cause and effect as expounded by the Buddha. Hardly had the cheering reached its crescendo over Lanka’s T20 cricket victory in Dhaka, which had [...]
Why are these thugs not arrested?
With the dawning of the New Year the citizenry witnessed two incidents in as many weeks, where unbridled thuggery was unleashed on people while police personnel looked on, seemingly unable or unwilling to intervene to restore order. Video footage depicting the grotesque manner in which a news conference held by Ven. Watareka Vijitha Thera at [...]
Economic growth amidst serious apprehensions
The economic performance of 2013, as revealed by the Central Bank Annual Report, was for the most part a positive one. However, somewhat concealed were serious concerns in public finances and debt that threaten economic stability and growth. The economy revived from its dip in 2012 to register a growth of 7.3 per cent, one [...]
Our toy soldiers and a boorish political culture
The sheer buffoonery and boorishness reigning predominant in Southern Sri Lanka’s political culture was well demonstrated during the New Year by two incidents exposing a rotten and corrupted political reality despite post-war development and the beautification of roads and cities. The sacred veil that protects the BBS Last week’s column dwelt on the first of [...]