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Home » ColumnsMeeting a deepening challenge of credibility
The 20th century essayist and philosopher George Santayana’s caustic observation that ‘those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’ may well have been specifically tailored for Sri Lanka. This is true not only for politicians who are generally characterised by a singularly bovine stupidity but also for many others whose capitulation to [...]
President defends FCID even though SLFP ministers call for its disbanding
Green light for arrests in major cases; PM stresses need for collective responsibility within the Cabinet More stunning revelations about Yoshitha’s CSN operations; Rajapaksa loyalists have no option but to appeal to deities Ranil tells UNP members to focus on local polls but elections unlikely this year due to constitutional issues Last Saturday’s arrest of [...]
Will Sonny come home?
My dear Mahinda maama, I am writing to you because I know this is a difficult time for you and despite leading the nation for ten years and winning a war against the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world, I know you must be struggling to come to terms with the idea of a [...]
If Sushma won’t go to Mangala he will go to her
Like on the previous occasion there were no lassies in rows, attired in reddai-hettai holding coconut oil lamps and gyrating to the beat of drums at the entrance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Perhaps that ritual, invented by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, is only for VIP visitors from the United States. In what seemed [...]
Sixty eight years after independence: “A tale of missed opportunities”?
The celebration of 68 years of independence three days ago had an additional significance. It was also a celebration of regaining democracy, the rule of law and freedom from autocratic rule a little over a year ago. This significant political change is an opportunity to pursue pragmatic policies to achieve the nation’s full economic potential [...]
And now for the other independence
Another independence day – the 68th since we gave the British the brush off or so some say – has come and gone. The bugles are silenced. The swords are back in their scabbards, the soldiers back in their barracks. The high and the mighty who sat on the stage on Galle Face Green have returned [...]
The question the Rajapaksas ask the nation: ‘Is it YP to arrest a 28-year-old ‘small child’ on a Rs. 365m money laundering charge?’
Pass the wet hanky, folks. These are not the best of times for the Rajapaksa Family after having lived it up for a decade or more in the best of all possible worlds that undiluted power created and total ignorance of the decadent other side of the mid day moon that had once shone on [...]