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Home » ColumnsAmid world pressure, SL ‘loans’ itself to China
Scores of huge contracts given to Chinese firms on “unsolicited project proposals” EAM comes under heavy firing for mishandling Pillay visit; serious repercussions likely The External Affairs Ministry (EAM) came in for heavy flak at Thursday’s weekly meeting of the Cabinet. It was Minister Wimal Weerawansa who raised issue over why the EAM failed to [...]
Playing for keeps
My Dear Kumar, I thought I must write to you when I heard that you were having difficulties with your employer, Sri Lanka Cricket, with letters between you and your employer being distributed to the media. Certainly, it provided more entertainment than some of our recent cricket matches! I heard that Sri Lanka Cricket — [...]
South Africa holds Sri Lanka reconciliation talks in Singapore
The UPFA Government has appointed a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to formulate a new political package to resolve the national question. This, however, has not deterred South Africa from continuing its initiatives towards seeking a settlement. The only problem it has faced is the difficulty to meet in Colombo in the pursuit of that exercise. [...]
UNP call for public sector pay hike an election gundu: Govt.
An adjournment motion moved by the United National Party (UNP) demanding that public sector employees be given a minimum pay hike of Rs 10,000 did not go down well with Government members when the matter was debated in the House last Wednesday. Government members saw the introduction of the motion, just days away when public [...]
Dismantling dictatorship is Sri Lanka’s national question
Even after years of persistent inability on the part of the United Nations agencies to assess the exact nature and extent of the ‘national crisis’, it is profoundly encouraging to see United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay articulating her concerns at the concluding press conference last week to the effect that Sri [...]
TNA’s manifesto speaks to diaspora Tamils, not Sri Lanka’s Tamils
A look at the manifesto of the Tamil National Alliance for the upcoming Northern Provincial Council election, released this week, shows that the positions adopted by the alliance have hardly changed, in spite of the other variables having altered significantly. The demands of the TNA reflect an unwillingness to adapt to their ‘new circumstances’ following [...]
Benefits and costs of economic infrastructure development
The development of the country’s physical infrastructure has been a striking achievement in the post-war period. Improvement and development of the road network, increasing power generation, the construction of bridges, development of ports and the improvement of railways have been an important aspect of economic development in the last four years. This is in contrast [...]