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Home » ColumnsRajapaksa facing uphill task before Commonwealth summit
JHU, NFF intensify campaign against 13th Amendment; private-member motion and unofficial referendum Basil says concerns expressed by UPFA partners and officials need to be considered President going ahead with plans for polls, SC ruling and Gazette notification this month Two giant Russian Antonov 124 transport planes touched down this week at the Bandaranaike International Airport [...]
Green dreams are made of these
My Dear Green Man, I am writing to you because I heard that you had unveiled a proposed new constitution for us this week. Naturally, I was curious to know how you wanted to run the country if and when you came to power — and I must say I am not disappointed. You say [...]
MR gets Lunu Dehi with Dosa
The occasion was the wedding ceremony of the son of Justice Sri Skandarajah, President of the Court of Appeal. A number of judges and those in the legal fraternity had gathered for the ceremony followed by lunch. President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was among the guests sat to have lunch according to Hindu tradition. It was rice [...]
A grand failure of the Sri Lankan state
Verily, one is not sure whether to be outraged or amused by assurances made by Sri Lankan Government’s Permanent Representative this week that non-summary proceedings into the brutal killings of 5 students of Tamil ethnicity in Trincomalee during 2006 will commence in the first week of June 2013. This statement made at the 23rd Regular [...]
The Importance of accurate economic statistics
There has been much scepticism about the reliability of economic statistics. This is particularly so with respect to estimates of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) that measures price increases. Both these are calculated by the Department of Census and Statistics and used for assessments of economic growth and [...]
Reason vs.emotion in the push to repeal 13A
From the sidelines The presentation of a draft bill to repeal the 13th Amendment by the Jathika Hela Urumaya this week was a relatively low profile event. It was not followed by a news conference characterised by high octane rhetoric. Handing over the document to the Secretary General of Parliament, the JHU reportedly hinted that [...]