Editorial
Home » EditorialSalawa: The fire and the people’s ire
The fire at the Salawa ammunition dump on June 5 was the most serious man-made disaster to occur in Sri Lanka since the end of the war in 2009. The raging inferno triggered off hours of explosions and heavy ammunition rained down on human settlements in mindboggling quantities. The damage was colossal. It is fortuitous [...]
Choose the right healing process
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has allayed the long entertained apprehensions within the Armed Forces whether they are going to be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency by throwing them before an international tribunal that will inquire into allegations of violations of International Humanitarian Law for committing the ‘crime’ of safeguarding the security, sovereignty, unity [...]
Back to the old days and old ways
The opening of the Shangri-La Hambantota Resort this week was a grand affair attended by President Maithripala Sirisena, several ministers and other VIPs. A notable absentee was Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former President, who was instrumental in securing investment for Sri Lanka from the renowned Hong Kong listed group. It did not escape attention that Mr. [...]
After the deluge — and before the next
There was a sense of deja vu to see the President (who is also the Minister of Environment) and all the Government leaders conferring on what must be done to mitigate the effects of another flood. Only days earlier the Disaster Management Minister was giving interviews to the media how amendments are to be brought [...]
The need for a Disaster Prevention Ministry
The floods and the landslides in most parts of the country have put a literal dampener on celebrations to mark Vesak, the month that is significant to Buddhists throughout the world. None celebrate the occasion with such gusto as the Sri Lankans. Nature’s forces are a grim reminder that humanity is at the mercy of [...]
Europe’s economic neo-colonialism
That even Cabinet Ministers were taken by surprise by this newspaper’s front page lead story last week was not the best example of transparency and good governance — supposedly the trademark of this Government. The story; that the European Union (EU) and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have agreed on 58 conditions for Sri [...]