Columns
Home » ColumnsWhen politicos clash, dogs get crushed
Canine species are often referred to by politicians of all hues to drive a point home. Years ago, the late retired Major General Sarath Munasinghe joined the People’s Alliance Government. Then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga made him Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Months later, rumours floated that he was to cross over to the United National Party [...]
No honey blandishments for Veddah Chief
There is a lot to learn from Lanka’s first citizens, the Veddahs. Though the Sinhalese decry the discriminations practised and the deprivations inflicted upon the aborigines of Australia, Canada and the United States and hold it as prime examples of human rights violations in those countries, they conveniently look askance when it comes to the [...]
Govt. turns war crimes probe into polls issue
Though not publicly known, a subject of importance Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, just hours after being sworn-in, was the issue of Pakistani militant groups gathering in Sri Lanka to plan terrorist acts against India. That was during talks at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on May 27. It [...]
The impotence of being a premier
My Dear Maithree, I thought I must write to you when I heard all these rumours circulating in newspapers and websites about you being appointed as the next Prime Minister. I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry-or whether I should even be worried about you. Of course, whenever there have been rumours about Prime [...]
Is our external debt sustainable?
Although the comments of the recent IMF mission were positive, there were a few words of warning about the country’s foreign debt. They cautioned the country about the rising commercial debt and advised it to invest borrowed money in high return projects that will make the economy and tax revenues to grow. This was sound [...]
The UN’s lopsided assault on Sri Lanka’s rights record
The investigation of alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights starts on an inauspicious note. Team coordinator Sandra Beidas, the only member officially named so far, turns out to be a controversial figure accused of submitting false reports on the conduct of the South Sudanese [...]
Advocating a different political project
The normalisation of the abnormal is an inevitable result of conflict. This is hoary wisdom. Yet there is a lived-reality of this truth which needs to be meditated on with painful clarity. The breakdown of the Rule of Law and the clear-headed compulsion of the State to oppress without much resistance are symptoms. So too [...]