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Home » ColumnsA constitutional curate’s egg
Some weeks ago, this column likened the performance of the Sirisena Presidency and the Wickremesinghe Government to the proverbial curate’s egg in the colloquial meaning of that term; good in some parts but demonstrably less so in others. A ‘yahapalanaya’ scandal But fifty days into what should have been the euphoric honeymoon phase, its [...]
Modi operandi has House in its spell
Sri Lanka Parliamentarians’ enthusiasm was not dampened by the heavy downpour around the Parliament Complex in Kotte on Friday afternoon, as they welcomed India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a special session of the House. Even though he had to ‘bypass’ the ceremonial red carpet laid out for him at the entrance to [...]
Angry CBK wants Defence Secretary removed
It was a heated session of the National Executive Council (NEC) last Monday when former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga picked up a mobile phone to speak to Defence Ministry Secretary K.M.U.D. Basnayake. She was angry. “Who the hell asked you to issue a letter to Nissanka Senadipathi, the Chairman of Avant Garde Maritime Security?” she demanded. [...]
Trade deficit tops US$ 8b in 2014 as import growth wipes out export growth
Last year’s trade deficit increased to as much as US$ 8.3 billion from US$ 7.6 billion in 2013. This 8 per cent increase in last year’s trade deficit was disappointing, as the trade gap was expected to be reduced owing to exports gaining momentum and lower expenditure on fuel imports due to declining international oil [...]
Modi’s visit, Chinese projects, the baby and the bathwater
The visit of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, to Sri Lanka brings into focus complex issues that stretch beyond the limits of Indo-Lanka relations. It brings into relief the importance, like it or not, of Sri Lanka in the geo-politics of the region. It is vital for Sri Lanka to understand some of the [...]
Premier presents 62-page constitutional amendment, but deadlock over deadline
A new crisis within the rainbow coalition, just 66 days old, deepened this week. At issue is a 62-page draft Bill titled the 19th Amendment to the Constitution presented at Thursday’s meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. A heated discussion ensued with two non-United National Party (UNP) Ministers, Patali [...]
The importance of being Maithri
My dear Maithri, I know that you are busy these days travelling to London to visit the Queen and then, soon after your return, playing host to Modi. Still, I thought I must write to you to remind you that nearly two thirds of your ‘first 100 days’ have now passed and that we are [...]
Shoot first, ask later: Lanka trigger happy in Palk Strait
What on earth could possibly have made the normally unflappable, suave Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to blow his lid and tell a Tamil Nadu television station last week that the Lankan Navy will shoot Indian fishermen who enter Lanka’s territorial waters in the Palk Strait? Especially when the Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was [...]
Thoughts from London: Looking for sharks and catching sprats
Two months before the presidential election campaign last year reached its crescendo this column raised the issue of stolen national assets and the international effort to bring offenders to book. The reference was to the joint effort by the United Nations drug and crimes agency and the World Bank which is called Stolen Assets Recovery [...]