Columns
Home » ColumnsFrom zero to hero: Ranil cracks snappy jokes after becoming PM
Tackling hard-nosed questions with witty responses is not something new for the new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who assumed duties on Thursday, though he did not have a single seat in Parliament and had to be nominated as an MP. Many times he deflects hard questions by cracking jokes. Shortly after he assumed duties on [...]
Violence erupts as the rule of law takes a beating in the absence of independent commissions
The tragic events of last week where violence broke out all over the country underlined the need once again to revamp and strengthen the institutions of governance in the country. It took several deaths, injuries and destruction of private and public property to bring home the truth that such strengthening of institutions was imperative if [...]
Here’s hoping there’d be no premature ending, this time
My dear Green Man, I know I should congratulate you on being appointed PM again, but I really don’t know what to do: whether to hang my head in shame or heave a sigh of relief, knowing that you will be better than lazy Nimal, ‘deal’ Wijey or dodgy Dullas so I will close my [...]
Political stability urgently needed to address economic crisis
The resolution of the current severe economic crisis is in any case a herculean task. Without political stability, it is an impossible one. At the time of writing there was no word on who would be chosen the Prime Minister of a “national” interim government. No Finance Minister Without a Finance Minister and Cabinet, the [...]
As armoured cars rumble into Colombo, this is what a military state signifies
In the shambles left of the Rajapaksa Government this week in Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s last-ditch conjuring of many-times Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to fill the vacuum left by the resignation of his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was hardly unexpected. The bitter aftermath of Monday’s attacks That was the most predictable move left to the [...]
Ranil harnessed to bear Rajapaksas’ feudal yoke
Though dumped by the people 20 months ago, Ranil Wickremesinghe popped out like a long shut Jack in the box to be harnessed to the Rajapaksa yoke as the chief tiller to furrow anew the land they had turned to waste. After secret talks held behind closed doors with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s [...]
Let slip the dogs of war
The travel ban imposed on Mahinda Rajapaksa and a motley group of his supporters by the Fort Magistrate following an application by the Attorney-General suffices to buttress the widely circulating opinion that “Temple Trees” was where the rabblerousing originated last Monday, leaving a bloody and indelible mark on a peaceful protest movement. It was from [...]
The dark hours of black Monday
How politico-led goon squads unleashed violence and terror on protestors Groups retaliate killing an MP, eight others and cause extensive damage to property Ranil becomes Premier for sixth time; rattles SJB leader Sajith who initially refused but sought premiership later At the seafront luxury two-storied house of a young politician in the deep south, with [...]
Read More