The Sunday Times Sri Lanka

Columns

Political Column

Amid victory day here, crucial talks with US

Battle tanks, artillery, rockets and rifles that boomed to militarily defeat Tiger guerrillas and the men behind them will go on parade next Saturday, a reminder for Sri Lankans and the world outside, for a third year in succession, how a separatist war was won.

5th Column

What ‘Geneva Lost’ won’t tell Hillary

I thought of writing to you since you are meeting our genial External Affairs Minister, Geneva Lost Peiris this week. I am sure it will be an exciting meeting since our two countries have been trading insults recently over your decision to sponsor a resolution against us in Geneva.

The Economic Analysis

Disappointing export performance worsens trade balance

The inadequate growth in exports in the first two months of this year raises further apprehensions about the trade balance. Hitherto the balance of payments problem had been perceived of as being mainly due to the huge increases in imports that outpaced export growth.

Lobby

LLRC boomerangs on Govt.

Up until last December, the Government wanted those demanding prompt action to address accountability issues in Sri Lanka, to wait until the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) is released, so that it could act on its recommendations. Ironically, since then, it has been mainly the Opposition politicians who are calling for the recommendations of the LLRC to be implemented promptly, while the Government fights shy of doing so, attempting to buy time by appointing more committees to advise it on how to move forward with what the LLRC has recommended.

Focus on Rights

A regime that has discarded commonsense

Certainly, deceptively smooth representations and outright lies cannot divert international storm clouds which are now gathering with greater force as a result of this Government's belief that it can escape accountability at all levels of governance without incurring any consequences.

Talk at the Cafe Spectator

Garment giant Gap: To be or not to be here

On Tuesday, The Gap whose leisure wears are available in Sri Lanka and abroad, will decide whether or not to manufacture its products locally. Here is what the website Financial content has to say: "As The Gap's (GPS) shareholders reflect on how to cast their votes between now and the May 15 annual meeting, they've got a doozy of a proposal to sort out that one of our eagle-eyed researchers, B.B. Murti, spotted in the company's April 3 proxy.

From the sidelines

Clinton in Asia - shifting the goal posts in international law?

Hillary Clinton on a three-day visit to India has reiterated the United States' message that India should 'do more' to comply with US strategy of putting pressure on Iran by reducing crude oil imports from that state. This is with a view to squeezing Iran's oil revenues to a point that Iran is forced to 'give up irrevocably' what the US claims is a nuclear weapons program.