Parakarama Samudraya: Mixed-up priorities
“Do not let even a drop of rain water falling onto the land of this country go to the sea without being used” – King Parakramabahu Sri Lanka, proud of being a country known for its long ancient civilisation, mainly due to hydraulic irrigation systems based on the above,seems to be under threat due to [...]
The Land of the Blind and Dumb
I was reminded this month about that old Sinhala saying ‘In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king’ – and musing about the fact that this observation is so true in our own country today. It is not that we citizens of Sri Lanka are simply blind – we are blind as [...]
Remembering SWRD
When considering global politics, there have been many incidents where popular leaders were assassinated and often had untimely deaths. Great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi of India, John F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln of the United States were shot dead, and Solomon West Ridgeway Dias (SWRD) Bandaranaike, who rendered an invaluable service to Ceylon in [...]
Maternity Covid-19 ward
A special ward for pregnant mothers afflicted with Covid-19 in the Gampaha District and Western Province was established at the General Hospital Aniyakanda, Kandana. Global Humanitarian Foundation Chief Executive Dr Mervyn Dhanawardena Guruge donated necessary equipment to the 55-bed ward, which is overseen by a gynecologist, nurses and family health workers, District Medical Officer Dr [...]
The specious special relationship
NEW YORK – Two days before the Normandy landings in June 1944, Charles de Gaulle demanded the right to govern France after it was liberated by the Allies. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who detested de Gaulle, had no intention of agreeing to this. Winston Churchill, who rather admired de Gaulle’s illusions of grandeur, sided with Roosevelt. [...]
When Taliban ministers refused to face female Sri Lankan UN officials
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan during 1996-2001, the United Nations was engaged in a losing battle fighting for women’s rights. And that battle was occasionally led by two senior Sri Lankan female officials, one of them who also provided humanitarian assistance inside unfriendly Taliban territory. Radhika Coomaraswamy, a former UN Under-Secretary-General, [...]
Faked honesty: Secret of success of our ‘great leaders’
Groucho Marx, the comedian, immortalised himself making the world laugh with his humour and wit. Groucho, however, should also be remembered as a philosopher for his trite observation of human behaviour: ‘The secret of life is honesty and fairplay. If you can fake that you’ve got it made’. It is not difficult to look around [...]
Corruption redefined: Promotion supersedes prevention
Failure in prevention of bribery and corruption has been the evident reality since 1962. Some law changes have been made leading up to the current Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). There is no dispute that the whole order has failed and that corruption continues to be rife and endemic with the [...]