5th Column
Home » ColumnsSome hope for Jaya in Paradise Isle
My dear Jayalalithaa, I thought I will write to you even though I am not certain this will reach you because I understand your address has recently changed from the Chief Minister’s Residence in Tamil Nadu to a prison cell somewhere in Bangalore. We all heard about what happened to you, suddenly being dumped in [...]
Sustaining the boom in tourism to achieve targets
Tourism is booming. There has been a progressively increasing trend in tourist arrivals since 2010. The target of 2 million tourists in 2015 and 2.5 million in 2016 is ambitious, but achievable, if conditions remain favourable for travel in the country, prices are competitive and global economic conditions are on an uptrend. The surge in [...]
What price does a country’s integrity command?
In these perilous times, Sri Lanka faces possibly its severest test of democratic strength since the granting of independence. A dearly loved judicial philosopher in the United States, the late Judge Learned Hand (1872 -1961) said it best when he warned that ‘liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, [...]
Hurtling on to the wrong side of history
Are the ruling elites in a state of denial over the signs of people’s discontent, manifested in the results of the recent Uva provincial council election? Does the government feel it is on the back foot, and is this discomfiture resulting in an acceleration of serial blunders in the areas of media and diplomacy? Spurred [...]
Jaya jailed but graft rules ok in Lanka
Last Saturday a Special Indian Court in Bangalore gave manifest evidence to show that India truly deserves the accolade of being the world’s most populace democracy where the rule of law reigns supreme; and that each and every one without exception — no matter the power they wield, the riches they command and the political [...]
The Sajin Vass scandal: Will they say Nonis slapped himself?
Information that Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena was holding a news conference at 7.53 a.m. on Thursday. The briefing was to take place in one hour and 30 minutes. As last-minute advisories went, this one took the cake. But the media were raring to go. By now, it was widely known that Gunawardena had [...]
UPFA spin doctors bring shame on Sri Lanka
President Mahinda Rajapaksa left little doubt in the minds of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) partners that a presidential election early next year was a certainty. He, however, carefully avoided any references to timing. He met them after the weekly ministerial meeting, rescheduled for last Tuesday. This was on account of his absence from [...]