Month: May 2020

Sri Lanka Lurches Further Away From Liberal Democracy as President Rajapaksa Puts Soldiers in Charge of Everything Thereby Creating “Normalisation” of Military Influence in the Civilian Sphere- The Economist BEFORE THE presidential election he won last November, Gotabaya Rajapaksa laid out for Banyan his vision for Sri Lanka. It was a sunlit upland of peaceful, inclusive “knowledge-based” development. All the political… Continue reading "President Rajapaksa Puts Soldiers in Charge of Everything"

By Rajan Philips – Rajan Philips “Even in those cases in which political and military leadership is united in the same person, it is the political moment which must prevail over the military.” ~ Antonio Gramsci Honestly, when I started this short series of articles comparing the malaria epidemic to the current pandemic, I did not foresee it ending in today’s title. History… Continue reading "Malaria Created The LSSP, Covid-19 Is Showcasing The Military"

A record 14,617 soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army are to be promoted on 19 May to mark the National War Heroes’ Day, the Army said today. The promotions will take place concurrent with the pinnacle of the day’s state commemoration scheduled to be held at the National War Heroes’ Monument at Battaramulla, Sri Jayawardenepura, headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Commander-in-Chief… Continue reading "Record 14,617 soldiers to be promoted to mark War Heroes’ Day"

A Malaysian Muslim organisation has called on Sri Lanka to allow the bodied of Muslims who died of Covid-19 to be buried according to the Islamic practice. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations (MAPIM) said that the current religious slur on the minority group of Muslims does not augur well to the pluralistic make-up and harmonious co-existence of the… Continue reading "Malaysian Muslim organisation calls on Sri Lanka to approve Islamic practice"

Nearly 39,000 Sri Lankans overseas have sought to return home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Foreign Ministry said that over 38,983 Overseas Sri Lankans (OSLs) in 143 countries at present have sought to return home, based on information gathered mainly through the ‘Contact Sri Lanka’ Web Portal of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. This comprises 3,078 students,… Continue reading "Nearly 39,000 Sri Lankans overseas seek to return home"

Tamil people and their leaders have been urged to take stock of the challenges and opportunities in the present political climate and act strategically by forming partnerships with all relevant stakeholders in Sri Lanka and in the international community. The Global Tamil Forum (GTF), an influential diaspora group based in the UK said that the importance and urgency of securing… Continue reading "Tamils urged to act strategically by forming partnerships with stakeholders by GTF"

TNA leader R. Sampanthan had assured new Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, on Thursday, his party’s fullest support to the latter on all matters that both countries have worked on for a long period, a statement issued, yesterday, by the TNA said It said: New Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, presented his credentials to… Continue reading "TNA assures fullest cooperation to new Indian HC"

Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha has called on migrant workers as well as students and parents, to carefully calibrate the effect repatriation at this time could have on their jobs and education, before making decisions to seek to return to Sri Lanka, availing of the limited flights being operated by the Government for those facing compelling circumstances. He made this observation… Continue reading "Foreign Secretary has called on migrant workers as well as students and parents, to carefully calibrate the effect repatriation"

by Zacki Jabbar The SLFP, which is contesting the Parliamentary Polls on the Podujana Peramuna ticket, shared common ground with the UNP, on the feasibility of holding the elections as scheduled on June 20 when the two parties along with 32 others met the Elections Commission in Colombo, last week. General Secretaries of the UNP and SLFP, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam… Continue reading "UNP, SLFP share common ground on feasiblity of holding General Election on schedule"

By Norman Palihawadane Monday’s meeting convened, at Temple Trees, to discuss the future course of action as regards the country’s fight against COVID0-19, had badly exposed those who boycotted it, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said, yesterday. Rajapaksa thanked the TNA for having attended the meeting to express its views on the difficulties faced by the Tamil people and made a… Continue reading "Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Thanks TNA for having attended the “Temple Trees” meeting to express its views on the difficulties faced by the Tamil people and Meaningfully contributing to the discussion on the anti-Covid-19 campaign."

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka has appointed an alarming collection of alleged perpetrators of war crimes and bureaucrats previously accused of corruption to his new government, said the International Truth and Justice Project.  The legal research organisation published a trilingual infographic depicting President Rajapaksa’s inner circle, which now includes six Generals and Brigadiers from the President’s Gajaba Regiment, whom he has put in… Continue reading "Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Inner Circle"

Sri Lanka has sought US assistance to recover from the current economic crisis. The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning in Colombo and discussed a host of issues, including the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, post-COVID-19 economic challenges and ongoing collaborations. Speaking about the COVID-19 situation in the country, Ambassador Teplitz… Continue reading "Sri Lanka seeks US assistance to recover from economic crisis"

By Vyshnavy Velrajh The Government says more flights will be operated to repatriate Sri Lankans stranded overseas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Additional Secretary to the President for Foreign Relations Admiral Professor Jayanath Colombage told the Colombo Gazette that two flights will be operated by National Carrier Sri Lankan Airlines tomorrow (06) to repatriate Sri Lankans from the UK… Continue reading "Sri Lankans to be repatriated from UK"

In connection with the investigations carried out on the 2019 Easter attacks, a mosque and a center in Puttalam belonging to a Non-Governmental Organization have been sealed off. The relevant mosque belongs to the suspect recently arrested from Kalpitiya area, said Police Media Spokesman SP Jaliya Senaratne. Meanwhile, the suspects arrested on May 03 at Kalpitiya were produced before the… Continue reading "Easter attacks: Mosque and NGO center sealed off"

It is well acknowledged that Governments must be transparent and accurate in their public communications, to the maximum extent possible, as part of their response to a global health pandemic. During a pandemic citizens and civil societies cannot be passive consumers of information that is put out by Governments. Questions must be asked and asking questions must not be considered… Continue reading "Eight Questions To Government From Tamil Civil Society Forum In Relation To Their Handing Of Covid-19"

Sri Lanka has earned the dubious honour of becoming the only country in the world to see its Coronavirus infection numbers increase sharply after nearly five weeks of islandwide curfew and questions are being raised about if testing during the shutdown was largely confined to high risk persons and security personnel attached to the Presidential Security Division and the Prime Minister Security… Continue reading "Repeat Tests On PSD Officers, Criticism Of Militarized Response As Lanka’s Covid-19 Numbers Climb"

By South Asia Monitor By Sugeeswara Senadhira* Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Council and it’s independent commissions face serious issues due to the postponement of the general elections. When the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in April 2015, it was hailed as the biggest achievement of the then government. Under 19A the Constitutional Council (CC) was reinvigorated, empowering independent democratic institutions.  Today,… Continue reading "Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Council, Once Hailed, Leading To Power Tussles – Analysis"

Covid-19 shows how vulnerable we remain to pandemics, which will be quite common in the future. Even though a vaccine is found, similar self-replicating pathogens will become a major threat to humanity. Therefore practicing working from home even under normal circumstances at least few days a week will bring in the self-discipline and the mindset shift required to work from… Continue reading "Working from home – The new normal?"