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Home » ColumnsUPFA gang vandalises statue of Uva-Wellassa hero
Political rivalries can sometimes claim the most surprising of victims. An example is when a group of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) supporters ran amok in Bibile town this week and vandalised a statue of celebrated patriot and hero of the Uva-Wellassa Rebellion, Bootawe Rate Rala. The vandals had broken and destroyed the statute’s sword [...]
Ridding the system of myopia
My Dear Ravi, I thought I must write to you when I heard that you are being asked to ‘stand down’ from being the assistant leader of the Greens. Just when you thought a New Year was going to bring you some new prospects apart from being merely a ‘Colombo district MP’, matters have got [...]
Medi shocker: Brain dead girl’s organs removed whilst still alive
Ten vital questions: To what extent can doctors play God and give last rites to the brain dead by ripping their body parts?FIRST THE SAD FACTS: Twenty four year old Jeewanthi Alwis, the mother of a child, attended a wedding of a family friend with her husband last Saturday night, the 27th of January. On [...]
Seventy years of economic and social transformations and impressive progress in human development (1948-2018)
On this 70th anniversary of independence, it is appropriate to dwell on the economic and social achievements of the nation since regaining independence in 1948. Despite the economy’s underperformance discussed in last Sunday’s column, there have been significant social and economic achievements since independence. The structure of the economy has been transformed from a predominantly [...]
Noxious political actors and an election that is uninspiring
As furious competition for votes in the forthcoming local government elections reaches fever-pitch, hostility (real or contrived as the case may be) between the bedraggled actors that strut on Sri Lanka’s political stage has become positively noxious. Braggadocio and shifty evasion We may look in vain for inspiring policy driven speeches of the past or [...]
Confusion and confused in this miracle of Asia
Who would you believe in this age of yahapalanaya? As the election campaign to elect to local bodies even larger numbers of parasitic politicians surviving on the public purse gets into high gear the more the public is regaled with stories, promises and old wives tales. Open-mouthed politicians are roaming the country spreading confusion with [...]
Local council polls’ outcome would decide Govt’s future
President highlights corruption issue in bid to prevent Rajapaksa’s breakaway party from gaining ground Bond Commission makes serious charges against Ravi, but he refuses to step down as UNP’s Assistant Leader Magistrate’s court issues orders relating to Mahendran and PTL’s Aloysius and Palisena; sub-judice issue on Tuesday’s debate possible With just five days to go [...]
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