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Home » ColumnsA not so smart incident at smart library opening at AG’s Dept.
The Attorney General’s Department yesterday made frantic efforts at pulling down a controversial plaque that was erected when the outgoing Attorney general Dappula de Livera and Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong declared open a ‘Smart Library’ on Wednesday within the Department – funded by the Chinese Government. That the plaque was opened in front of the [...]
Ni Hao Xi Jingping,
I thought I must write to you now because, for some strange reason you are in the news in our little island. One may have thought it is due to the raging pandemic that has shut us down – even though no likes to use the word ‘lockdown’ – and because that originated in your [...]
Country in the dark as Port City Bill is passed
The Port City Bill was finally passed on Thursday with the contents of the Law shrouded in secrecy. The Bill was placed on the order paper of Parliament during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year break leaving would be petitioners who wished to challenge the Constitutionality of the Bill with barely two days to do [...]
Containing COVID crucial for economic survival
It is increasingly clear that controlling the rapidly spreading COVID virus is vital for the nation’s economic survival and a precondition to resolving the multiplicity of problems and reviving the economy. Priority The containment of COVID from spreading is the national priority. It is far more important than keeping the economy functioning. In fact, people [...]
Dancing to the tune of the Port City fiddler while the nation burns
There is great and coruscating anger that bubbles to the fore as covid-afflicted Sri Lankans die in (uncounted) numbers while ruling party politicians fixate on the exact parliamentary majority on which it won the Port City Economic Commission Bill vote in Parliament this week. Why this palpably indecent hurry? Who cares whether the Bill was [...]
Both sides of House came out all guns blazing; in the end, it was smooth sailing for Port City Bill
The Colombo Port City (CPC) Economic Commission Bill, one that will surely have profound implications for both Sri Lanka and the entire region for decades to come, was adopted on Thursday after a controversial two-day debate in Parliament. In the end, the Bill was passed comfortably, with 149 votes in favour and just 58 against [...]
Will Sri Lanka’s Port City be China’s Trojan Horse?
It was significant, no less than ironical, that the SLPP Government chose to present the Port City Bill to Parliament on the day the nation was commemorating the defining triumph over the Tamil militia’s long-drawn struggle to establish a separate state of Eelam on Lankan soil twelve years ago. On March 18, 2009, when Prabhakaran’s [...]
Tampering with facts and figures
When governments, politicians and officials at home or diplomats commit faux pas they bury their heads in the sand to avoid answering legitimate questions. They seek refuge by blaming the media to escape embarrassment. How often have we heard the guilty say they have been “misquoted” or their remarks “misinterpreted”. The latest escape route is [...]
Easter Sunday massacres: Grand conspiracy and questions as to who the mastermind is
Public Security Minister tells Parliament that Naufer Moulavi is the main culprit, but outgoing and outspoken AG disputes that claim While Sri Lanka investigations still incomplete, US Justice Dept. files case in LA court against three suspects Naufer identified by FBI as second Emir, but strong speculation as to who the first Emir is and [...]
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