Columns
Home » ColumnsPresident talks of ghost stories
It is not only intra-party clashes and the campaigning for polls that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has to cope with. The man known for his unparalleled enthusiasm for public relations seems to go with it. Last Sunday, he was at the President’s Lodge in Nuwara Eliya. Summoned for a meeting were UPFA Nuwara Eliya District candidates [...]
Govt. rinses its mouths of Weliweriya, Opposition dutifully swallows it
By the time Parliament took up the Opposition initiated adjournment motion debate on the Rathupaswela incident last Wednesday, the dust had more or less settled on the issue, and the resulting debate did not generate sufficient enthusiasm either from the Opposition or the Government side to justify the gravity of the incidents that took place [...]
Govt. keeps blowing hot and cold on key issues
Paradoxical enough, it was a chance foray last week for External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris into the realm of Indo-Sri Lanka bilateral relations. Though within his purview, tagged “top priority” then, it was handled exclusively earlier by a troika — Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Strained relations between Colombo [...]
To stay or go?
My Dear Manmohan, I know you would have received an official invitation from GL, our international postman whose job these days is to fly around the world delivering invitations for the Commonwealth summit, but I thought of writing to you too, to clarify a few issues. Instead of accepting the invitation and thanking us for [...]
Reducing government expenditure essential to decrease budget deficit
Last week we pointed out that the fiscal imbalance required a two-pronged strategy of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. The foremost challenge in this strategy is to restrain aggregate demand of both government and private sector spending. However, in the current situation, the containment of government expenditure is the principal priority. The curtailment of recurrent [...]
Don’t rock the boat, just confiscate the trawler
It almost seemed as if External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris went to New Delhi with the CHOGM invitation in one hand, and a warning in the other. On Sunday, the day he arrived, he informed Indian media of Sri Lanka’s intention to prosecute 106 Indian fishermen who are under arrest for crossing the International Maritime [...]
The twin evils of militarisation and dictatorship
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s announcement this week that ‘I am no dictator’ (see Daily Mirror, August 21st 2013) may gladden the hearts of his eager sycophants but will do little to placate fears of concerned Sri Lankans that the country’s democratic institutions are being gradually dismantled. Establishing a new ministry under the purview of the military? [...]