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President, PM vow to continue National Govt. despite friction

President, PM vow to continue National Govt. despite friction

Sirisena insists there will be no link with the Joint Opposition and declares war on the Rajapaksas Ranil also insists UNP should continue to work with the SLFP despite fresh disputes over new Constitution and major projects such as the Hambantota port By Our Political Editor   President Maithripala Sirisena vowed Tuesday to continue the [...]

Two long years

Two long years

My dear Maithri, I thought of writing to you to congratulate you on completing two years in the top job in Paradise. Just over two years ago when you were Minister of Health and dealing with minor matters such as dengue mosquitoes and warnings on cigarette packets, who would have thought that you would get [...]

Udayanga’s 16 bank accounts frozen: Total balance Rs. 225 million

Udayanga’s 16 bank accounts frozen: Total balance Rs. 225 million

Colombo’s Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne has directed that the bank accounts in Sri Lanka of Udayanga Weeratunga, former Ambassador to Russia, be frozen. The move follows an application to Court made by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), which gave details of the account numbers and the balances remaining in each one of them. Mr. [...]

Contemptuously rejecting the path cut by venal politicians

Contemptuously rejecting the path cut by venal politicians

From the reports of the Disappearances Commission in the 1990’s to the findings of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (2011) to the most recent report of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation (2017), it has been a long and undeniably hopeless ride for Sri Lanka’s victims. Throughout that process, which has also been littered [...]

The Unity Government’s two years of disappointing economic performance

The Unity Government’s two years of disappointing economic performance

Much was expected of the Unity Government’s two year regime but too little achieved. There have been improvements in governance but economic policies have been uncertain, confusing and ineffective. Economic Performance The economic performance in the last two years has been disappointing. Compared with an annual average economic growth of 6.4 percent in 2010-15, the [...]

Some guidelines for development

Some guidelines for development

  Only those in power know the efforts they made to come to power. They know the struggles and battles they went through.  Those who lost need to reflect deeply on why they lost.  Those who are now in power also need to think of the past. In life, we have to accept both success [...]

Hail our petty potentates, hail our misled people

Hail our petty potentates, hail our misled people

Each time at the dawn of a new year our rulers enact a ritual farce. They address the nation and tell the people of their great achievements in the previous year or two and what they hope to achieve in the days ahead. These messages are replete with pious platitudes on good governance – a [...]

Mahinda’s shot in the dark to topple government this year

Mahinda’s shot in the dark to topple government this year

Coups, even bloodless ones, to topple people elected popular governments are generally planned under cover of darkness and executed with lightning speed to take all by surprise to ensure its success. But not so, it seems, for former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. When he fancies overthrowing regimes, he gives one year’s notice and trumpets his intended [...]

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