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Home » ColumnsRanil’s golden jubilee as lawyer: Urged to follow Bishop’s College motto
At the largely attended felicitation ceremony for President Ranil Wickremesinghe completing 50 years as a lawyer, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) Chairman and Managing Director Ronald Perera PC presented the President with a Mont Blanc fountain pen with the initials “RW” engraved. The President was quick to respond saying “now I have a nice pen [...]
Diana, the rebel with a cause
My dear Diana, I thought I must write to you because you have become a hot topic these days, what with people talking about your citizenship and passports and whether you are eligible to sit in Parliament. If you carry on at this rate, you will soon become more famous than the other Diana, the [...]
Finally, Budget 2023 is passed amidst accusations of ‘unrealistic’ and ‘unfair’
By Sandun Jayawardana After a committee stage debate lasting 13 days, Parliament passed the third reading of Budget 2023 by a majority of 43 votes on Thursday (8). The vote brought the curtain down on the debate of a Budget that is of profound significance, not just for next year but beyond as Sri Lanka [...]
Current state of external finances and prospects of improvement
There has been a slight improvement in the external finances of the country mainly due to increased remittances and earnings from tourism. Overview Increased export earnings and decreased imports reduced the trade deficit in the first ten months of this year. The balance of payments too improved owing to increased tourist earnings and higher remit-tances. [...]
Deja vu ‘truth and reconciliation’ in Sri Lanka?
Truth and Reconciliation is now again in the air, we are sublimely told by the Govern-ment of Sri Lanka. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, along with his merry men and women in Parliament in the Pohottuwa ranks are singing to the eminently hypocritical refrain of truth and reconciliation commissions and the like. ‘Reconciliation with the North but [...]
No sex before or outside marriage in world’s third largest democracy
270 million Indonesians reel under new tyranny of morality New laws make it illegal to renounce one’s religion or belief The world’s third largest democracy, Indonesia, took a step back to the Middle Ages this week when it introduced a new penal code that makes sex before or outside marriage or living together, a criminal [...]
Hoax investigations don’t fool the people
It will be exactly one month tomorrow since the scandalous conduct of an officer of the Panadura police raised howls of protests not just in Sri Lanka but internationally too. And as the anger of the common citizenry mounted and opprobrium from around the world spread, the pro forma excuses were trotted out, and investigations [...]
President formulating roadmap for all-party talks on ethnic reconciliation
TNA seeks provincial elections, full implementation of Provincial Council Act and measures in the CBK package Justice Minister proposes parliamentary select committee to work out new constitution; talks with minority parties soon SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa takes ‘let’s see’ attitude to reconciliation moves; Basil pushes for local council polls US imposes travel ban on Lt. [...]
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