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Home » ColumnsMinister’s wife asks police to protect her from her husband
A minister’s wife has made two requests from the Inspector General of Police – to afford her protection and also investigate corruption allegations against her husband. She has said in a letter to the Police Chief that she is being suspected over a letter which the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption has received. This letter [...]
Petty warlords shake Govt. as it faces the crucial Geneva sessions
Scandalous sex-and-crime allegations against Kamalendran and Hulugalle cause embarrassment to President Gotabaya holds secret talks in New Delhi, possibility of deal with India and Manmohan Singh’s visit to Jaffna A pre-emptive strike by President Mahinda Rajapaksa appears to have saved his Government from one more accusation before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva — [...]
Nadu looking Jaffna going
My Dear Manmohan, I thought I must write to you when I heard that you were planning to travel to Jaffna. Needless to say, it came as a big surprise because we had been told that you were too busy to attend the Commonwealth Summit a few weeks ago. We heard that although you rejected [...]
Militarising civilian roles in North, shanty clearing of Colombo dominate debate
As the Committee Stage debate of Appropriation Bill 2014 got under way in Parliament last week, the debate on the votes of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development brought several issues into focus, with Opposition legislators questioning the role of the military which is engaging in civilian activities, as well as the Urban Development [...]
Let freedom reign; the death of a truly great man
Touching the bars of the cell within which the late Nelson Mandela, who passed away this week aged ninety five years, was imprisoned on Robben Island was an unforgettable experience some years ago. The claustrophobic spaces within which Mandiba, as he was known to his people, spent years unjustly confined by a racist white apartheid [...]
Beyond the Budget debate: Fundamental economic issues
The 2014 budget was passed by an overwhelming majority in parliament after a debate that brought out only a few relevant and constructive comments. The fundamental issues of the budget were mostly beyond the debate. Budgets are the centrepiece of economic policy. It is not a mere statement of revenue and expenditure. It lays down [...]
Cameron’s human rights humbug and the Chinese fortune cookie
When British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Beijing earlier this week on a three-day visit to China, he did not spurn the red carpet honour guard that was arranged to welcome him. He did not drop the business at hand and take off to Tibet to meet representatives of Tibetans fighting for autonomy or [...]
Lanka’s rape plague set to burst
While the nation balms its bosom and soothes her conscience that sexual outrages are effectively contained by daily religious preaching and moral sermons blared on a daily basis from each temple of worship, the rape of Lanka’s women and children have risen alarmingly to scandalous proportions that mark the sordid shame of a society that [...]