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Home » ColumnsThree seniors did not want portfolios, but eventually got them
For most Sinhala cinemagoers, the attraction remains a formula film – with scenes of fighting, comedy, songs and a happy ending. One is not sure whether the same phenomenon has entered the political spectrum. It was the United National Front (UNF) parliamentary group meeting this week chaired by Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe. In the absence [...]
A new mandate? Not quite
My dear Green Man, I am writing to you to congratulate you on your assumption of office as PM, yet again, for a record fifth time. This time it was special because you had to fight for several weeks against Aiyo Sirisena’s devious plans. What is important, though, is that you eventually got what was [...]
The question that baffles the nation: Why is Sirisena still holding office?
Today on the presidential throne of Lanka, there sits a man who gambled with the nation’s heirloom of democracy and endangered the people’s sovereign inheritance, who gambled with the nation’s economy and imperiled it, who gambled with the nation’s international image and sullied it, who placed his bets and waged his all on his bizarre [...]
Time to eat your words, Mr. President!
Last Sunday was a special day in Sri Lanka’s political history. It was the day that President Sirisena eventually got back on his feet instead of standing on his head — metaphorically speaking naturally. At the tail-end of October he had resorted to skullduggery to undermine his own government. Last Sunday, he reversed his decision [...]
Continuing squabbles are a severe constraint to economic stability
Political consensus policy certainty and effective implementation are vital for economic development. The disagreement between the President and the Prime Minister is a severe constraint to the country’s economic stability and progress. This is especially so after 52 days of political hiatus that made the government dysfunctional and setback the economy. The uncertainly is hampering [...]
A citizen’s power against the might of the state
A citizen’s power against the might of the state In her signature article ‘Telling it Like it Is’ comprising part of a collection of writings with the same title, the late Anne Abeysekera asks an important question, ‘Do we in Sri Lanka have the courage and honesty to tell it like it is?’ This question was [...]
President rejects UNP’s call to revive ‘National Govt.’
Sajith Premadasa and Ravi Karunanayake threatened to boycott swearing-in ceremony Ranil to campaign to abolish Executive Presidency thought National Democratic Front (NDF) President Maithripala Sirisena has rejected a request by the United National Party (UNP) to re-activate the onetime ‘National Government’ with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and thus enlarge the Cabinet of Ministers. [...]
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