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Home » ColumnsMistaken identity and Lanka Chang gets a taste of northern anger
A protest aimed at the military based in the north, opposing the acquisition of private lands in extent of 617 acres, seemingly to extend a naval base in Vadduvaakal, Mullaithivu, took an ugly turn on Thursday when locals came to know that a ‘foreigner’ also has ownership of 49 acres in that plot. The so-called [...]
Man in the news for all the wrong reasons
My dear Rishad, I thought I must write to you because you are very much in the news these days, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. You and your brother are detained in prison for having alleged links with the Easter bombers. Then we hear of this horrible tragedy of a teenage girl employed in [...]
Protest against plan to place universities in military jacket
Incredible, as it may seem, the present SLPP Government has started stoning the same hornets’ nest lying in the Groves of Lanka’s Academe, not even three years after its predecessor, the Yahapalana Administration, was left bitterly stung trying to pelt the same. Undeterred by the Yahapalana experience in 2018, which left the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration thoroughly [...]
Easter Sunday attacks–the truth yet to unfold
Nearly two and a half years after the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, the country is no closer to unravelling the truth. Although there was a security failure, not an intelligence failure, and synchronised attacks that left innocent civilians at several churches and hotels dead and injured could not be prevented, the law enforcement agencies quickly [...]
Path found but where is it heading
If Alice could say curiouser and curiouser to happenings in Wonderland what would she have said if confronted with Sri Lanka’s foreign policy or what passes off for it? Foreign it is but policy it is not, if by policy is meant a clearly articulated position that would be central to its international and bilateral [...]
Are we resolving the economic crisis?
The island’s economic problems are gaining momentum. Farmers are protesting against the lack of fertiliser, loss of incomes and livelihoods. Food prices are rising far above those reflected in price indices. Many have lost their livelihoods and facing starvation. Scarcities of essential foods, fuel and pharmaceuticals are on the horizon. Political and social protests Political [...]
Hundred victims here, thousand victims there, what does it matter to the state?
Amendments certified on the 15th of July 2021 to Sri Lanka’s Code of Criminal Procedure Act (1979) and to the Convention against Torture (CAT) Act (1994) are, to put it baldly, an insult to the hundreds if not thousands of victims bloodied and battered by torture at the hands of law enforcement agents. Core changes [...]
Oil prices: No short-term solutions in Gammanpila’s booklet
Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila in preparation to face the No -Confidence Motion against him by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya had prepared the groundwork for the challenge by publishing a 56-page booklet called the ‘Indana Mila Sanshodanaye Eththa Kathawa‘ or the ‘True story of the fuel price revision’. Minister Gammanpila circulated the booklet not only among [...]
How will the economic crisis be resolved?
Everyone is aware that the country is in an economic crisis. Especially that we are facing a severe crisis in foreign finances. Low foreign reserves have to meet foreign debt repayment obligations and pay for essential imports. When and how will the Government resolve the crisis in external finances? Problems compounded The difficulties in external [...]
Farmers’ goosebumps as fields go cold turkey
If expectations had been raised to fever pitch among farmers that Basil Rajapaksa’s return to Lanka last month to assume the nation’s financial reins would see reversed a presidential ban on chemical fertiliser, they were swiftly flayed when the Government’s media division announced two weeks ago that the new Minister of Finance had no intention [...]
Opposition gets kicked in its butt
These days when allusions to military doings of one sort or the other seem quite au fait, a reference to the charge of the Light Brigade is quite in place surely. Especially so if it refers to the ill-conceived and thoughtless actions of the SJB-led opposition that charged at the solid phalanx of the government [...]
The very great harm of the PTA and lessons from history
To a protesting (Sinhalese) Stalin, (or for that matter, a Marx or Lenin), who is released along with comrades following public outrage and street anger after unjustifiable detention by the police using Sri Lanka’s covid-19 health protocols, there are a hundred others who languish in squalid detention under the country’s savagely inhumane anti-terrorism laws. Health [...]
SJB, UNP leaders pow- wow in the making?
Nuwara Eliya Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Palani Thigambaram has been missing from Parliament in recent months. It turned out that he had been abroad on a personal visit and on three-months leave from sittings. He returned to the country early this month and attended a meeting at Sirikota, headquarters of the United National Party [...]
How will the economic crisis be resolved?
The country is in a multiplicity of inter-related and intertwined crises and widespread social upheavals. Apart from solutions to the specific grievances, drastic changes in economic policies are required to ensure financial and economic stability. Social unrest Protests and social upheavals due to severe economic difficulties, unavailability of fertiliser, protests against the charging of fees [...]
On militarised universities and a government’s harebrained folly
Friday (July 16th) was an eventful day for Sri Lanka. Just as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was holding forth to obediently head-nodding members of the Maha Sangha comprising the Government’s Buddhist Advisory Council gathered at the Presidential Secretariat, on his firm intent to proceed with enactment of the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) Bill before Parliament, students [...]
Litro Gas fiasco yet to be resolved
It is both inconceivable and incomprehensible that laws are applied selectively in a democratic society where the Constitution itself postulates that all are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law. When such selective application applies to individuals the norms of justice stand violated. When such violations relate to larger [...]
Government hoping for near normalcy by September amid multitude of challenges
Plans to vaccinate all under 30 within next 75 days; military playing key role in battle against pandemic Basil moves fast into forefront of policy making and diplomacy; meets top envoys for a balancing act vis-à-vis China Govt. throws full weight behind Gammanpila as he faces no-confidence motion next week; Cabinet reshuffle put on hold [...]
Saving the gentleman’s game
My dear Namal baby, I thought I should write to you because everyone is concerned about something that is very near and dear to most of us and they are relying on you to ensure that it stays that way. No, I am not thinking of the ‘Royal family’ of which you are the Crown [...]
Govt’s ‘Aloysius Special’ poured back to the bottle
A whopping one for the road was offered on the house by the Excise Department two weeks ago to ‘bond scam’ first accused Arjun Aloysius to help the fallen financial magnate revive his ailing liquor firm W.M. Mendis & Company Ltd and get his arrack distillery back on the production line. The deal done with [...]
Course correction on the cards
Cometh the miracle man: Accolades and bouquets from members and supporters of the party that the new finance minister put together from scratch continue. Like the three “Wise Men” who followed the star to Bethlehem, envoys from countries near and far have trekked to the Finance Ministry to meet the man tasked with uplifting the [...]
The second coming of Basil Rajapaksa
The appointment of Basil Rajapaksa as Finance Minister last week was overshadowed by the situation arising from the use of regulations purportedly under the Quarantine Ordinance to prevent demonstrations and protests from taking place. Several trade unions and political parties defied the Police orders and held protests resulting in many of them being arrested and [...]
Sweeping powers for new Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa
Nine-page Gazette notification sets out wide ranging subjects and functions for SLPP’s chief strategist Overnight Basil has become the Government’s most important personality after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa; New FM’s tasks also involve reconciliation Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa gets back some of his subjects given to Basil SLFP to wait and see before taking decision on [...]
The age of the three ‘R’s
My dear Basil maamey, How can I not write to you this week, maamey? So many are excited about your return to Parliament and the Cabinet. Some make it sound as if your ‘second coming’ was the most anticipated arrival after Vijaya’s arrival to meet Kuveni and Arahat Mahinda’s arrival to meet Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale! [...]
On adjournment debate and puppets on strings
A heated exchange on Thursday over who should move the adjournment debate on the annual report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka led to a back and forth among government and opposition MPs as to who among them were ‘puppets.’ It began when National People’s Party (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake demanded to know [...]
Remittances from around the world strengthen balance of payments
Remittances that are the main strength of the balance payments, have been increasing in recent years. They increased from US$ seven billion in 2019 to US$ 7.1 billion in 2020. In the first five months of this year, remittances increased by a further 18 percent compared to the same period last year to US$ 2.8 [...]
Rajapaksa triumvirate in Chariot of the Demi-Gods
With all the hosannas sung in his grace, all the invocations to the Devas made in his hallowed name, with all the blooming adulations garlanding his mortal frame, even before the Messiah’s arrival on this thrice blessed island’s soil, by a host of SLPP angels gathered in choir to sing his praise in unison, one [...]
Lifting Sri Lanka’s Covid mask to unveil the frightful face of state terror
Waves of brutal police violence directed towards trade union leaders, students, fishermen and farmers in Sri Lanka this week underscored a deadly purpose on the part of the State. It was no accident that the clothes of female protestors were torn, that the media was shoved while covering these ugly scenes and even white haired [...]
Justice and the B’lore principles
Just the other day Justice Minister Ali Sabry told parliament that there would be a major overhaul of the country’s justice system. Not capable or willing to undertake that Herculean task alone, the minister has gathered 200 experts and true to help him modernise the system that has been creaking for years. Some litigants waiting [...]
Media groups take aim at top cop for veiled threats against journalist
Media rights groups have written to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana Wickramaratne raising concerns over “indirect threats” levelled by a Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) against a journalist on Facebook. In a joint letter to the IGP, six media rights groups have drawn his attention towards a series of angry Facebook posts by the [...]
In collective move, SLPP backbenchers invite Basil to enter Parliament
(As the Sunday Times Political Editor is unwell, we publish today a translation of the Thiraya Pitupasa (Behind-the-Scenes) column that appears in the Sunday Lankadeepa today.) As fertiliser crisis deepens, President meets farmers’ representatives and promises relief President says no family feud, Rajapaksa brothers remain united and Basil is coming back with their blessing SJB holds [...]
Greener times ahead?
My dear Green Man, I thought I must write to you because you are in the news once again after many months, entering Parliament as the only Green MP. It must have been a surreal experience for you to take oaths as a mere MP, when you have been Prime Minister and Leader of the [...]
Inappropriate economic policies in a weak state of the economy
The country is heading towards a severe economic crisis. External finances are perilously low; foreign debt repayments are large; weak public finances severely limit the capacity of the government to take adequate measures to alleviate the escalating poverty by providing income support and prevent starvation or stimulate economic growth. These fragile financial conditions are compounded [...]
Give heed to the war cries of Sri Lanka’s farmers
As the seething fury of Sri Lanka’s farmers spills over onto village roads and sets the country ablaze with war cries of ‘give us fertilizer to farm our crops, our paddy lands and our vegetable fields,’ the best role that an utterly inept and incompetent Opposition can play is to refrain from polluting this anger [...]
Where have all the patriots gone?
Continuous mismanagement of the economy has made the country vulnerable and over dependent on questionable measures to keep the economy afloat. Large scale printing of money and currency swaps are being resorted to as a means of replenishing the empty coffers of the Treasury. With Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings being shown up in a negative [...]
Economy flashes red light: ‘Coming colours, no good’
People may be compelled to brace themselves for a brewing financial storm that may make landfall soon and possibly leave the country’s economy flattened in its relentless trail. On both the domestic and the international front, the rupee has come under siege with no relief in sight. In the domestic sphere, the Government took the [...]
The Chinese are coming or are they
Though I did not hear the deafening sounds of relief, there surely must have been many from different quarters back in our Resplendent Isle. Concerns began to mount as Chinese nationals in seemingly camouflaged military-type fatigues were spotted digging up the ancient Tissa Wewa in Tissamaharama not too far from the Hambantota port. It was [...]
SF reveals how prison days made strange bench fellows
An exchange took place between the Government and Opposition in Parliament on Tuesday regarding the plight of detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Namal Rajapaksa pointed out that many LTTE suspects arrested under PTA had been held for years without charge or had their cases still pending [...]
Importance of English to empower youth
There is a national consensus about the importance of increasing the English competency of our youth but it is not supported by a strong commitment to achieve this goal. No longer is it necessary to argue the case for the importance of English. English is a window to the world and therefore an important skill [...]
President mulls Cabinet reshuffle
Officials who have failed to get the axe; New faces and portfolios The dilemma of the Opposition as Ranil returns to Parliament Core group may announce tough measures ahead of UNHRC Sept. sessions A motley collection of tractors, earth movers, vans and buses carried the main opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) MPs last [...]
Back to old ways
Hello machan Dumi, I didn’t think I would be writing to you so soon, although I knew I would have to, sooner rather than later, knowing that Gota maama would grant you a pardon one day. Honestly, I can’t understand why all these people are expressing their shock and horror – we all knew this [...]
Hunger and starvation amidst a multiplicity of economic problems
The severest blows dealt by COVID, globally and in Sri Lanka, is the deprivation of employment and income, which has increased poverty and starvation. Resolving or even ameliorating this human tragedy in poor countries around the world is a near impossible task. It is a near impossible challenge in Sri Lanka too owing to the [...]
Ranil returns with a bang; SJB holds protest over fuel hike
When he took oaths before Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Wednesday, former Prime Minister and United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe finally filled the lone National List seat secured by his party at the 2020 parliamentary election. The fact that the seat had been left vacant for 10 long months is a reflection of [...]
Justice in flames and a president’s grievous paradoxes
Stirring scenes of Sri Lanka’s ancient grandeur in the backdrop of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s speech to a nation in tumult this Friday does not minimise the frightening disconnect between perception and reality that emerged from what the President thought it fit to speak (or rather, fulminated) about. Limits of presidential powers This must surely concern [...]
Euro bells toll the knell of Lanka’s GSP+ status
On June 10 the European Union Parliament overwhelmingly voted for a resolution calling its 27-member states to temporarily withdraw all the concessions coming under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). The GSP is a trade arrangement that allows developing countries to pay less or no duties on their exports to the EU. But it’s [...]
Who pushed for the fertiliser ban?
As the furore over the ban on chemical fertiliser and pesticides continues unabated with soil scientists, economists, agriculturists and experienced tea producers joining in the verbal fray, one is tempted to look back at promises made at election time by contending candidates. One is reminded of a remark made by the leading candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa [...]
The good, the bad and the deadly: Daily official info flow on COVID
The spread of news over COVID -19 in Sri Lanka is as fast as the deadly coronavirus. Whilst the only formal source for the public is the Government, reporting accounts which are diametrically opposite and often correct, is the social media. Sri Lankans discerning enough can gauge that in this age of new technology, including [...]
Time for SLFP to use the ‘’remote control’’ in the country’s interest
The shifting Sri Lankan political landscape has many implications for the country—right now and in the future. Right up to 1956 the United National Party (UNP) dominated the polity with the left parties such as the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party functioning as the ideologically strong but numerically small political parties. [...]
The pitfalls of the major fuel price hike
Cabinet of Ministers kept in the dark Rumblings within government ranks A caucus within ruling alliance calls for relief measures for poor Relaxation of measures against COVID-19 may lead to more revenue ‘Carnival’ of contradictions continues Sri Lankans — men, women and children now confined indoors due to the lockdown — were mostly asleep when [...]
Quite an energetic minister these days
My dear Udaya, I write to you because you seem to be at the centre of the controversial fuel price increase, a decision which will raise the price of almost everything in the market, and make many people forget even the current crisis with the coronavirus and the prolonged lockdown. What is puzzling is the [...]
Scapegoat Gammanpila turns the tables on SLPP
Energy Minister Gammanpila found himself stranded on the government highway and left holding the can for the oil hike, after the governing party secretary accused him last Saturday of being responsible for the increase and called for his immediate resignation. In a letter sent last week to Gammanpila, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Secretary, Sagara [...]
Fertiliser shift: when Haste makes more than waste
The current controversy over the ban on chemical fertiliser and pesticides and the consequences of this policy move remind me of the days long gone by when I used to write on agriculture for the Daily News. This was way back in the second half of the 1960s when the then Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake [...]
On the singular importance of judicial courage under fire
Even as arrests of Sri Lankan social media critics and opposition protestors continue in a covid-afflicted nation with an oppressive net slowly tightening on democratic spaces, the appellate court’s acting in revision to grant bail to former head of the country’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Shani Abeysekera this week is akin to a deep and [...]
Growing concerns in external finances
The external finances of the country are in a perilous state. External reserves have fallen, the trade deficit is widening, the balance of payments deficit is increasing and there are foreign debt repayments of about US$ four billion during the rest of the year. External reserves External reserves that were US$ 4.47 billion at the [...]
SJB frontliners claim “fictional” reasons prompted ‘confidence’ vote on Sajith’s leadership
Crisis within the largest opposition grouping continues as Premadasa seeks unwavering support EU Parliament adopts Sri Lanka resolution which portends the withdrawal of GSP plus tariffs Foreign Ministry misses another opportunity to present Sri Lanka’s viewpoint just like the UNHRC in Geneva COVID-19 pandemic takes a catastrophic turn with more deaths and afflictions as Government [...]
An officer and a gentleman to the damsel in distress
My dear Sarath, I had to write to you this week because you are making headlines in these difficult days of ‘lockdown’ or ‘travel restrictions’ as those in high places like to call it these days. This is in your role as the minister in charge of the Police – though some will say that [...]
Exports threatened by resurgence of COVID
Merchandise exports are likely to decline this year despite a revival of global demand. The resurgence of COVID, travel restrictions and the island-wide lockdown from May have restricted the capacity of industries to meet export orders. Consequently, merchandise exports that were expected to increase this year, are likely to fall. It is indeed unfortunate that [...]
More ‘classic’ tweets courtesy Foreign Ministry
The Foreign Ministry’s Media mandarins have added two more to their repertoire through recent tweets. One said, “Addressing the officers of French Navy ships Tonnerre and Surcous which called at the Port of Colombo today (June 7) Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage emphasised the context of Indo-Pacific strategy from Sri Lanka’s and India’s perspective.” [...]
Hard questions that the government must answer to an anarchic populace
Fast on its way to illustrating South Asia’s frightening object lesson on how to reduce one of the region’s oldest democracies to a dystopian nightmare of rampant disease, poverty and pathetically dependant people made to grovel for handouts, Sri Lanka’s unfortunate citizenry watch with surreal fascination this week as Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa blandly asks [...]
Crisis on all fronts: Govt. on the back foot
Facing controversies on multiple fronts, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led Government would surely have been glad that this week’s Parliament sittings were limited to just Tuesday (8) owing to COVID-19 concerns. Nevertheless, for much of the day, the Government was forced to defend itself against attacks by the Opposition over its handling of key [...]
Inland oil leak nearly made capital run dry
With a container ship leaking dangerous chemicals on fire at sea for over 12 nerve-racking days despite the best efforts of the fire-fighting crew to extinguish its wind swept flames, a major disaster on land broke out last Friday night when oil stored in the tanks at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery started to flow into [...]
Playing pandu with our diplomacy
So what are we — fish, flesh or fowl? Judging by what appears in the print and electronic media on happening in Sri Lanka we are foul, and fouled up badly. For years we thought we were the only Pearl in the Indian Ocean. Now another pearl — an X-Press one at that — has [...]
Proactive professionalism the need of the hour as public unease on the rise
Foreign Ministry slow in handling Sri Lanka’s response to tough resolution in the US Congress Has the Ministry outsourced policymaking to the Pathfinder Foundation? Cardinal launches his strongest attack on the Govt; calls for course correction before further damage is done to the country Medical specialists say death toll and casualty figures are underreported in [...]
Waiting for that second opinion
My dear Sudarshini, It is not often that I write to two doctors in two weeks, but I had to write to you this week, after writing to Doctor Padeniya last week. That is because these are difficult times when medical issues have brought the country a standstill, and you are one of the many [...]
Promoting organic agriculture: Repercussions of the fertiliser ban
The Government’s decision to ban chemical fertiliser and pesticides immediately to promote a green agriculture in the island has serious repercussions on the economy and livelihoods of people. The Government should consider the economic consequences of banning chemical fertilisers immediately and adopt a phased introduction of organic agriculture on scientific principles. Economic consequences An immediate [...]
Use electoral reforms at local government level to promote national unity
Sri Lanka was one of the earliest countries to be granted universal franchise. Since 1931 all citizens above the age of 21, (and since 1959 all those above the age of 18)have got accustomed to electing their representatives to the different arms of government at periodic elections. With the voters’ willingness to defeat incumbent governments [...]
Sri Lanka’s version of Dante’s inferno and the ruination of this land
As the stricken X-Press Pearl lays waste to Sri Lanka’s marine environment including one hundred and twenty five kilometres of prized coastline from Chilaw and Negombo to Bentota and Galle in a veritable modern replay of Dante’s Inferno, is there enough money to calculate as fair compensation? Will no one punish these wastrels? The country [...]
Lanka: The burning pearl
A raging inferno at sea and disaster clusters on land: Has all hell simultaneously broken loose in Paradise? It seems as though this once thrice blessed nation has been rendered bereft of its four guardian deities and left, naked and bare, to the mercy of incessant calamities to strike at will with wanton impudence. Such [...]
It is madder than you think
As though Sri Lanka’s Government did not have multiple problems in its hands that appear to be getting more complex by the day, there enters a ship into our territorial waters. That is not surprising, for Colombo Port accommodates many from different parts of the world, even a suddenly surfacing Chinese submarine as happened in [...]
UNHRC puts Govt. in a spot, diplomacy deficient
Funds obtained for secretariat on human rights issues in Lanka, while UK Govt. pushes hard for major action Farmers, teachers and others intensify protests, while COVID and economic crises also pose tough challenges The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is set to crack the whip on Sri Lanka at its 48th sessions just [...]
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