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Home » ColumnsWeerawansa’s open revolt rattles Govt. as it prepares for elections
Like a roulette wheel, partners in the UPFA Government have gone into a spin over the controversial casino issue. The latest is the National Freedom Front (NFF) led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa, often dubbed as the mouthpiece of President Mahinda Rajapaksa on controversial issues. His colleagues even identify him as the point man to raise planted [...]
Death to paste Queen’s stamp upside down
Oh to be in England! Last month there was a flurry of activity in the British Foreign Office stemming from its present keen obsession with Lanka, declaring that it was ‘a country of concern’. Whilst the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hugo Swire was declaring that he had no plans to visit Lanka in the [...]
When Wimal waves the wand again
My Dear Wimal, I am writing to you to congratulate you because I heard that you held your own May Day rally last week, instead of joining the Blues and Mahinda maama at their grand meeting in Colombo. Only you could get away with such a bold and daring decision, Wimal! I heard you say [...]
Courting the consequences of political hubris
Classical Greek mythology beautifully dramatizes the high price extracted by the goddesses of justice or the three Furies on kings and princes who through extreme hubris, mocked at the Gods themselves. Poetically, this is the nemesis which visits rulers who believe that their power is unassailable and perpetrate profound injustices. Somewhat aptly moreover, nemesis is [...]
Two faces, two names for mysterious force in EAM
The External Affairs Ministry (EAM)) now has a “Human Rights Division” masquerading as a “Human Rights Taskforce”; or, a “Human Rights Taskforce” masquerading as a “Human Rights Division.” Those who set it up cannot seem to decide. The Human Rights Division or Human Rights Taskforce, whichever, authoritative sources say, was set up earlier this year [...]
Speaker fights odds to make House accessible to public, control unruly MPs
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa has made several attempts over the past few months to make Parliament more accessible to the public, and also to make the business of the House more proactive, so that elected representatives could discharge their duties better.One like the attempted live telecast of proceedings failed, not for want of trying on his [...]
Geneva resolution: Human rights and economic impact
Good governance is intrinsically good for the nation and people irrespective of any economic consequences. Nevertheless, if the government fails to ensure law and order and protect human rights of her citizens, it would harm the country’s economy in several ways. This was the gist of the message from the LBR-LBO CEO forum on “Meeting [...]
Dayan and Dayapala on winning the peace
Sri Lanka in a week’s time marks five years since it won the war against the LTTE, and the question inevitably comes up as to how much progress has been made in ‘winning the peace.’ Not enough it would seem, going by the continuing discontent in the North, the failure to reach a political accord [...]