The Sunday Times Sri Lanka

Columns

Political Column

'Rise, Lanka rise; to your full grandeur'

The unprecedented political events culminating in the swearing-in of Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa for a second term as the President of Sri Lanka were not only contemporary history, but some were also sure additions to the Guinness Book of Records or Ripley's Believe it or Not.

5th Column

Run with the hare and hunt with the hounds!

My dear Champika,

I know you must be still busy probably eating some of the left over kiribath and planting a few of those million trees, but I thought I must write to you, especially because I was surprised by the recent actions of your party.

The Economic Analysis

Budget 2011 critical for second term achievements

The budget for 2011 to be presented tomorrow is critical for the achievement of the economic goals of the President’s second term of office. It is through the budget that the economic programme of the government could be implemented. The foremost objective of the President’s second term of office is to achieve rapid economic development, reduce unemployment, mitigate poverty, reduce inequality and regional economic differences and improve the social welfare of the people.

Lobby

Not issued with this week

Focus on Rights

Development or democratic freedoms

Coronation euphoria, as one wag neatly termed it last week, has certainly gripped the less discerning among us. Erstwhile grumblers have now lapsed into what is commonly termed as the ‘if you cannot beat them you must join them’ mode. This most astounding transformation of a flawed but nevertheless functional democracy into a virtual monarchy has taken place with scarcely the proverbial whimper. The law as we see it is now at the whim and fancy of those in power.

Talk at the Cafe Spectator

The night caller said: Go home!

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian Sunil Handunetti met a Lebanese couple when he was on a visit to that country sometime ago. The husband is a political activist in a students union in that country.

From the Sidelines

Media in the dock – ‘Innocence of the pen questioned’

Victor Ivan’s new book “Innocence of the pen questioned” (Ravaya publication, Sept.2010) makes its appearance at a crucial point in time in the trajectory of Sri Lankan media and politics. During a phase when both the media and the political system are struggling to adjust to the new realities of a post-war situation, the contents of this book are likely to re-ignite intractable debates surrounding these subjects.