5th Column
Home » ColumnsRetire and reflect on what went wrong
My dear Mahinda maama, I thought I must write to you because this is a time when most people will start ignoring you and some will even forget who you were and what you did. I am also not certain where to send this letter to — to Medamulana or to Colombo — because you [...]
No flinching from restoration of the rule of law
Quite apart from the exhortation to reconcile and heal, there is a remarkable if implicit message in Pope Francis’s recently concluded visit to Sri Lanka for this country’s new President. Difficult decision-making Even for skeptics who tend to look with a wary eye at organized religious hierarchies, (the excesses of which the Roman Catholic Church [...]
The guilty must not go free
A new dawn has broken upon these island shores. With the New Year, Lanka has a new president, a new prime minister, even a new saint; and reflected upon the now sunlit countenance of her people is a new air of freedom, a new smile of hope. Though once trumpeted from the rooftop by the [...]
Mangala’s task: More than spring-cleaning
Mangala Samaraweera is back at his old desk (if it has not been replaced with expensive furniture by an ostentatious predecessor) at the Foreign Ministry after a break of several years. There have been two positive developments since the Maithripala Sirisena administration took office. The new minister’s first official visit abroad will, quite rightly, be [...]
Reduction of large trade deficit third economic imperative
The three most important challenges facing the new government are, in order of priorities, the containment of the fiscal deficit, reduction of the foreign debt and lessening the trade deficit. Sustained economic growth is not possible without resolving these interrelated fundamental problems. An improvement in each leads to improvements in the others. Fiscal consolidation and [...]
The ‘disappearance’ of an Opposition, and a system in crisis
The week following the presidential election has witnessed further extraordinary developments. It saw a wholesale capitulation from the SLFP membership to the new President, reducing the UPFA to a minority in Parliament. The second spate of crossovers combined with the handing over of the party leadership by Mahinda Rajapaksa to President Sirisena has created an [...]
Basil in LA; bustle over missing baggage
A purported photograph of former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport together with his wife Pushpa went viral on websites. Its veracity has not been confirmed. However, what many did not know is what went on after the couple came out of an Emirates flight and went to collect [...]
Corruption and abuse of power probes by special tribunals
New Maithri-Ranil administration must ensure that all offenders, top to bottom, are brought to justice Major questions over KP’s millions, but Rajapaksa seeks protection for ex-LTTE kingpin also Magnitude of illegal telephone tapping shocking; blatant invasion of privacy by SIS and TID on pretext of national security SLFP trio works out deal with Sirisena; Fonseka [...]