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Home » ColumnsGolden memories and silver tears for Mahinda at Johnston’s new office
The party office of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) parliamentarian Johnston Fernando at Wilgoda in Kurunegala had been burned down during the ‘Aragalaya’ period. The building where the Wilgoda office was located was about 105 years old. It was only this week that the newly rebuilt office was declared open by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. [...]
A lot of acting
My dear Justice Wijey, I wanted to write to you after hearing that you too had been appointed as ‘Acting Chairman’ of the Blue Party, this time by those led by Aiyo Sirisena. We really don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. It is honestly difficult to decide whether this is a comedy or [...]
Easter attack debate sheds no new light, more of the same accusations traded
By Sandun Jayawardana Five years after the Easter Sunday attack, Parliament held yet another debate on the matter. This was the third such debate on the subject and for the most part, it followed the pattern of the debates that preceded it, with various parties and individual MPs hurling accusations at each other as to [...]
Attempt to trivialise Easter attacks and downplay lack of progress in probe
Parliament discussed this week the issue of the investigations into the East Sunday terror attacks of April 21, 2019. Mapping the views expressed in Parliament last week by various speakers and the statements made outside Parliament clearly demonstrates that the gravity of the suicide bombings is not realised by many. The fact that even after [...]
Widening trade deficit will weaken balance of payments and external reserves
This year’s trade deficit is likely to widen. It may exceed US$ 6 billion, compared to last year’s trade deficit of US$ 4.7 billion. The widening trade deficit will weaken the balance of payments and strain the external reserves. Two months In the first two months of this year, the trade deficit widened to US$ [...]
The Cardinal Versus a (former) President; justice be damned
An (un)holy row has erupted between Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, head of Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church and former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa regarding ‘who said what’ in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks on April 21st 2019 by ‘home grown’ jihadists. Symbolic punishment is insufficient Examining several aspects of this dispute is relevant against the wider [...]
How all Sirisena’s horses and all his men couldn’t put SLFP together again
The SLFP’s ongoing leadership controversy took a dramatic turn last Sunday when the ousted Maithripala faction appointed an acting chairman to the party. Following Maithripala stripping Government Ministers Amaraweera and Alagiyawanna, together with Duminda Dissanayake of all positions in the SLFP for joining the Government and holding ministerial posts in it, Chairman Maithripala declared: “If [...]
As elections near, same old ruses used to hoodwink voters
So it is nearing election time—or so the constitution says. But then, as events in the past couple of years have shown, not everybody respects the Constitution, do they? The Supreme Court makes a ruling, but those in power take it through one ear and send it out from the other. There are some who [...]
SLFP in turmoil as parties prepare for presidential poll
Crisis within crisis and wheels within wheels as party splits into several factions Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe comes under fire from SLPP; UNP also hits out at him for playing double role US State Dept. issues stinging report on the extent of corruption in Sri Lanka By Our Political Editor It is usually customary for those in [...]
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